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    • A Review of Juvenalia by Reid McGrath

      The Society
      October 12, 2020
      Essays, Poetry, Reviews
      12 Comments
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      June 24, 2025
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      June 23, 2025
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    • ‘Six’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier

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      June 23, 2025
      7
    • ‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ by Rilke and ‘Reconciliation’ by Goethe, Translated by Josh Olson

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      June 22, 2025
      8
    • ‘The Prayer Blanket’: A Poem Based on the Real Experience of Tim Cassar

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      June 22, 2025
      10
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      The Society
      June 21, 2025
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      The Society
      February 16, 2024
      Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
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    • The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

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      June 21, 2025
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    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

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      May 13, 2025
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      March 31, 2025
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      February 1, 2025
      28
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      February 1, 2025
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      September 29, 2024
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Author The Society

The Society

The Society of Classical Poets was founded in New York in July, 2012.

‘To Falun Gong’ by Michael Curtis

The Society
April 3, 2014
Poetry
A little hurt, a little grime, a little dirt, a little crime on Falun Gong. A little smell, a little sale, a little cell, a little nail to Falun Gong. A little fit, a little fist, a little...

‘Morning Song’ by Mandy Moe Pwint Tu

The Society
March 31, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
5 Comments
O sweet be this soft morning’s song As golden mist on earth descends And skylarks trill an hour long While gently this wild river bends: The daisies rise to kiss the sun Fond lover of dear Mother...

‘Who Needs a Chinese Tractor?’ by Reid McGrath

The Society
March 28, 2014
Poetry
2 Comments
Because he gave up life in town To graze the old undulant farm They called him a provincial clown Who did not get all up in arms. They said, rashly, he did not care About the evil ways of men. But...

‘Of a Swiss Fortress – Ruined’ by Camilla Marx

The Society
March 25, 2014
Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
I dreamed again last night, of waters, raging, That break in waves across the Thunersee, Where mountains coldly climb, fir-clad and aging; Impervious to the rain against the scree; Of ramparts there that...

‘Splendor’ by Kathy Figueroa

The Society
March 19, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
A grand council of trees Stood majestic, serene Heavy laden with snow Beautiful and pristine And I felt reverence For such a peaceful scene And awe at the splendor Of a tall evergreen   Kathy...

‘Truth in Fairy Tales’ by Susan Martin

The Society
March 16, 2014
Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
If you want your children to be brilliant, tell them fairy tales. If you want them to be very brilliant, tell them even more fairy tales. -Albert Einstein Oh, the magic of Once upon a Time, an entryway to...

2014 Journal Released

The Society
March 14, 2014
From the Society
7 Comments
We are proud to announce the publication of The Society of Classical Poets' 2014 Journal! The best poetry of the last year has culminated in this publication.  Poets include competition winners Bruce...

‘Daybreak’ and Other Poetry by Dawn Munro

The Society
March 13, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
  Daybreak As day begins in honey’d light, I watch a flock of geese take flight. They fly formation heading south o’er field and stream, past river’s mouth. Where in that clearing, such...

‘Where Does the Sky Begin or End?’ and Other Poetry by Sierra July

The Society
March 10, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
Where Does the Sky Begin or End? Where does the sky begin or end? The sea above, the stars attend? Burn bright, a galaxy anew Not in the sky we see so blue Could paint a line up to the moon Hear...

‘Waiting for Dawn atop Butterfly Mountain’ and Other Poetry by Martin Elster

The Society
March 7, 2014
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
  Waiting for Dawn atop Butterfly Mountain A dilapidated lepidopteran dying atop The Mountain of Butterflies holds out her wings to the darkness — wings as thin as the mist that swirls beneath...

‘Autumn’s Kiss’ by Aaron Berkowitz

The Society
March 4, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
The wisp of wind that makes the leaves go dance and play above the browning grass, cannot but stir awake my eyes and ears from trance to sound and sight more fine than can  be bought. Where sun and earth...

‘A Message in the Halloween Decorations’ and Other Poetry by Damian Robin

The Society
February 26, 2014
Poetry
1 Comment
  A Message in the Halloween Decorations (Based on a True Story) Compressed and clandestine, the Chinese script small, The paper slip’s flimsy “Will it get out at all?” He’s hidden it...

‘Unbroken’ and Other Poetry by Andrew Gelinas

The Society
February 23, 2014
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
  Unbroken If I should break myself today Unchanged from every burden bare Determined unafraid to say That I shall find the strength to wear Whatever fortune great or small My maker has...

‘The Philadelphia Pepper Pot Legend’ and Other Poetry by S.M. Westerlie

The Society
February 20, 2014
Culture, Poetry
  The Philadelphia Pepper Pot Legend This day in 1777, American soldiers, at Valley Forge, camped. By hunger and winter's breath, spirits were damped. Paying a toll for the new...

‘Death by Animated Sponge’ by Janice Canerdy

The Society
February 17, 2014
Humor, Poetry
"More SpongeBob, Mimi"--this I hear a dozen times a day. How much more can I stand to see? No more of this, I pray! I turn the TV off and run to fetch his favorite toys. When he says, "Spongebob's much...

Announcing 2014 Poetry Competition Winners

The Society
February 15, 2014
From the Society
1 Comment
  First Place: Bruce Dale Wise (Prize: $500) Second Place: Damian Robin Third Place: Reid McGrath Honorable Mention: Betsy M. Hughes Honorable Mention: Michael Curtis High School Winner: Gloria...

‘Made (by Imprisoned Falun Gong) in China’ and Other Poetry by Khalid Mukhtar

The Society
February 14, 2014
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
1 Comment
  Made (by Imprisoned Falun Gong) in China It's mass production everywhere I look, From toys of plastic hope to airplane parts, And after all the livelihood you took, You're pressing mass...

‘The Better Life’ by Tyler Horn

The Society
February 11, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
What’s out to kill us makes us more alive. Let’s go escape with me forget our fear, So run with me my brother lets survive. We just have to get in the car, and drive As fast as we can, racing to the...

The Sculptor to His Apprentice: A Five-Sonnet Cycle by Michael Curtis

The Society
February 8, 2014
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
  Instruction The tales of Ovid are a theme that suits The Prince, but will not do for your repute. Avoid lust.  Clients of the better kind Desire the tales that beautify the mind. You may...

‘Research Guideline’ and Other Poetry by James Ph. Kotsybar

The Society
February 5, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
  Research Guideline Throughout investigative history, a basic principle has long held sway: When we unravel Nature’s mystery, complexity’s the first to fall away. Upon one underpinning...

‘Metaphorical Meditation Musings’ and Other Poetry by Rama Devi

The Society
February 2, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
  Metaphorical Meditation Musings My thoughts, like waves of ocean's surface swells that roll repeatedly, then crash on shore, neglect to find how silent treasure dwells in depths of calmness...

‘Contemporary Chinese Holocaust’ by Jim Dunlap

The Society
January 29, 2014
Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
Imprisonment, torture, pathetic wrong - begat from  a people of age-old culture, wit, classic beauty, artistry and song: practices akin to hyena,  vulture, or other sadistic depravity - such is the...

‘Greeks, Bearing Gifts’ and Other Poetry by Phill Doran

The Society
January 26, 2014
Culture, Humor, Poetry
1 Comment
  Greeks, Bearing Gifts The coils of wood cascade as worn blades glide from cedar lengths, rough-hewn deformed and coarse, while nearby, ships await a final tide and summer’s winds chase sand...

A Sonnet by Evan Guilford-Blake

The Society
January 23, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
What wonder! - In the arcs described by wings Aloft and floating on the fair spring air. In graceful glides, parabolas of dare Defying, in ascent, all earthy things. Blue light this, that arises o'er their...

‘The Rainbow’ and Other Poetry by Robert Woods

The Society
January 20, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
  The Rainbow A wave of color binds our sentiments before it fades. For each emotion, is a subtlety in hue expressed, And through life's noble journey, may we add these tints and shades To vivid...

“Ballet Lesson” and Other Poetry by Betsy M. Hughes

The Society
January 17, 2014
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
  Ballet Lesson The flow has ebbed and left a tidal pool. A little tern wades in with webbed feet So delicate they wobble in the cool But keep the balance of this athlete. She moves her slender...

Humorous Poetry by Wayne Lee

The Society
January 14, 2014
Culture, Humor, Poetry
5 Comments
  Calpurnia’s Paranoia Beware the Ides of March, she said— if you ignore the signs, you’re dead. But Caesar did not share her dread and shuffled off to work instead. Once on the Senate...

‘Stars from a Different Sky’ by Robert Walton

The Society
January 11, 2014
Beauty, Poetry
Sparks from nearby campfires Might be stars of paradise Glimpsed through twilight’s window Too briefly for surmise Of their height above the pines, Their hues - red, green, or gold -– Or mountains...

‘Building for Eternity’ by Richard D. Lackman

The Society
January 8, 2014
Humor, Poetry
4 Comments
He looked all around him and saw monuments so vast Built with good intentions to endure and hold steadfast Awesome structures pointing up to heaven as to say Here is my creation and forever it will...

‘Bounty’ and Other Poetry by Bronwen Hudson

The Society
January 6, 2014
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
  Bounty When apples hang untouched on branches’ bottom, Or beans lie grounded, neither grown nor dead, Or bulbs down-nestle into earth of autumn, Then let them lie! Don’t hurry them...

Haiku by Evan Mantyk

The Society
January 3, 2014
Beauty, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry
  The Persecution of Falun Gong I. Meditating group One clear crisp day at Shanghai In earth’s sunny loop II. What is Zhen-Shan-Ren? Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Refiner of men III. Police arrive...

A New Year’s Eve Poem: ‘The Pendulum’ by Lee Ubis Cardew

The Society
December 31, 2013
Culture, Poetry
  The pendulum o' th' old grandfather clock goes back and forth, and forth and back, and back and forth, and forth and back, again, again, again. It stays on track, and oscillates both east and...

‘Ode to Matters of Fact’ and Other Poetry by Joseph Psarto

The Society
December 30, 2013
Humor, Poetry
2 Comments
  Ode to Matters of Fact The best advice I've ever read -- if you don't breathe you'll soon be dead. And secondly -- a pleasant wife can rid a man of moan and strife. Then third -- rye...

‘Smile’ by Kylee Draper

The Society
December 27, 2013
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
It spreads like wildfire when you give a smile. At first you won’t really notice at all, But if you wait patiently for a small while, You’ll notice that each domino will fall. In the smile you see...
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Essay: ‘Twas the Night after Rhyme…

The Society
December 24, 2013
Poetry
4 Comments
By Clinton Van Inman Editors who reject classical styles of poetry in submissions usually respond with, “I hate meter, rhythm and rhyme.” It is no secret that free verse dictates the modern world with...

Preparing for Winter and Spring by Damian Robin

The Society
December 21, 2013
Poetry
  An English Autumn’s Coming Indoors, a crisp leaf skates on smooth floorboards, gunned by silent puffs from our gapped doorway – A fragile scout in advance of damp hoards soon to glut local...
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‘The Actor’s Prayer’ by Francesca Cappelli

The Society
December 18, 2013
Culture, Poetry
  You came to life from dreams and thoughts and whispers. You were told and you were – forever true. The centuries have left you young and graceful. I come to ask you: please, let me be...
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Poetry on Opera by U. Carew Delibes

The Society
December 15, 2013
Beauty, Culture, Performing Arts, Poetry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBmdmFCtTNU   Near the End of Don Giovanni The terror starts with the entrancing entrance of Commendatore's shattering note in the brass one long, diminished...

‘Cosmorama’ by Kemar Cummings

The Society
December 12, 2013
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
Beyond the skies is universal eternity. Nebulous ghosts of dust float around In the black hole of space. A night profound As death itself, as life in its old infancy, Contains a trillion grains of stars...

A Psalm of Christmas, A Psalm of Life

The Society
December 12, 2013
Beauty, Poetry
Revised October 18, 2021 A Psalm of Christmas What the heart of the young activist said to the psalmist by Evan Mantyk Tell me not in boring numbers ___About today’s economy, For our consciences grow...
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