The New Yorker: Poetry

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Tributaries: A Conversation with Robin Coste Lewis

When the poet Robin Coste Lewis discovered a trove of photographs under her late grandmother’s bed, she recognized them not only as a document of her family’s history during the Great Migration, but also as a testament to Black intimacy and ingenuity across generations. From studio portraits to snapshots, tintypes to Polaroids, these pictures provide the foundation of Robin’s latest book, “To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness,” excerpts from which were published on newyorker.com. Robin Coste Lewis formerly served as poet laureate of Los Angeles, and her debut collection, “Voyage of the Sable Venus,” won the 2015 National Book Award for poetry.

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  Jim Moore Reads Jane Mead

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  Amber Tamblyn Reads Didi Jackson

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  Valzhyna Mort Reads Victoria Amelina and Wisława Szymborska

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  Raymond Antrobus Reads John Lee Clark

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  Amy Woolard Reads Charles Wright

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  Special Feature: Major Jackson reads Clint Smith on The Slowdown

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  José Antonio Rodríguez Reads Naomi Shihab Nye

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  Ada Limón Reads Carrie Fountain

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  Donika Kelly Reads Mary Oliver

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  Richie Hofmann Reads Henri Cole

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  Bianca Stone Reads Franz Wright

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  Evie Shockley Reads Rita Dove

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  Dorothea Lasky Reads Louise Bogan

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  Diane Mehta Reads Eavan Boland

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  Adrienne Su Reads Maxine Kumin

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  David Baker Reads Stanley Plumly