In Her Footsteps: Editor’s Discussion, March 2023

Dear Readers,

Our ancestors, who include both born and chosen family, pass poetry on to us. A Poetry Foundation reader’s email reminded me of the inspiration elders can offer new readers of poetry. Stephanie, on behalf of her daughter, Jess, emailed to ask if we might consider adding an online resource to our offerings. Jess found this resource while perusing the internet for writing and poetry. Stephanie credited Jess’s love for writing to Jess’s grandmother, saying,

I think this passion stems from her grandmother taking Jess under her wing. She was an English teacher for many years and inspired Jess so much to follow in her footsteps. … I am really thrilled that she had the idea to share this with you (proud mom moment!). … She would love to hear back, and I think her grandmother would also be so proud. :)

Many of us have poetry lovers in our lives—maybe a caregiver, a librarian, or a teacher—who gifted us a book and enabled us to teach ourselves. Learning to read is perhaps one of the first great gifts people receive—and, in turn, pass on to others. Reading allows discovery of the world around us, and it is absolutely vital to protect that right to learn and to protect and empower the teachers and spaces that enable us and also share that joy.

Many writers featured and mentioned in the Poem of the Day newsletter this month consider and celebrate their lineages, including Lady Gregory through her revitalization of literature in the Irish language, Virginia Woolf with her compassionate biographical attention to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Naomi Shihab Nye through her passion for bringing young people to poetry. March is Women’s History Month, and as with Black History Month in February, March is not the only time to celebrate women and women’s lineages and history; it is simply another special time to acknowledge and celebrate women for the sake of empowerment and equity all year long.

As a way of telling our stories, the language impulse to poetry is a primary expressive urge coming from our bones. As Muriel Rukeyser wrote in The Life of Poetry, "If there were no poetry on any day in the world, poetry would be invented that day. For there would be an intolerable hunger." We share poetry because we need it; in many ways, language needs poetry too.

With 110 years of Poetry magazine in print, I look back to founding editor Harriet Monroe as an example of a woman who sought to create a home for poetry and poets. The Poetry Foundation continues that legacy in a way I believe she would be proud of, and I hope each of you carries the torch for learning in your own way. To Jess, Stephanie, and all our readers, I wish you passion and pride in curiosity, both for yourself and for those you love and teach.

Power to the lineage and to learning,

Robert Eric Shoemaker