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    • On Oxford University's Classics Department Proposing to Drop Homer and Virgil, by Ted Hayes

      The Society
      May 4, 2020
      Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
      10 Comments
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    • poem/arredondo/niobe tears/crying

      ‘Disemboguement’ by Anna J. Arredondo

      The Society
      January 31, 2023
      6
    • poem/jesus/does god exist

      ‘So Close By’ by Warren Bonham

      The Society
      January 31, 2023
      10
    • poem/freeman/love and loss

      ‘Love and Loss: Poems for Viktoria Sokoli’ by Paul Freeman

      The Society
      January 30, 2023
      11
    • poem/sea/ocean

      ‘Comfort’ and Other Poetry of the Sea by Catherine Lee

      The Society
      January 30, 2023
      18
    • ‘Media’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain

      The Society
      January 29, 2023
      9
    • poem/covid/James Sale/church closed

      StairWell Canto 8: ‘Covid-Priest’ by James Sale

      The Society
      January 28, 2023
      20
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    • Winners of 2021 High School Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      February 1, 2021
      From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      5 Comments
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    • 2022 FIFA World Cup Poetry Challenge

      The Society
      December 9, 2022
      21
    • Prose-That’s-Really-a-Sonnet Poetry Challenge

      The Society
      November 22, 2022
      47
    • Metrical Clerihew Poetry Challenge

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      October 9, 2022
      72
    • Ekphrastic Poetry Challenge: Fireplaces

      The Society
      September 23, 2022
      19
    • The 2022 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition

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      September 1, 2022
      8
    • poetry/contest/inspiration

      The 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition

      The Society
      September 1, 2022
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    • Essay: A Tribute to John Keats by Sam Gilliland

      The Society
      December 7, 2017
      Beauty, Culture, Essays, Poetry
      1 Comment
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    • poetry/essay/Salemi/transgressive

      Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      January 23, 2023
      35
    • ‘I Met a Shepherdess’ by Guido Cavalcanti, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      January 8, 2023
      20
    • ‘Calendar Poems’: An Essay by Margaret Coats

      The Society
      January 1, 2023
      37
    • Henny and Sal: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      November 14, 2022
      12
    • An Essay on John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      October 20, 2022
      24
    • ‘Obedience’ by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi (with a Long Note)

      The Society
      September 13, 2022
      16
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Author The Society

The Society

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

‘Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 16, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
34 Comments
. Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty upon reading this Atlantic article Today I hear a murmur of surrender--- A shifty whisper from the cutting edge Of vicious tongues (sword-sharp with...

‘Repaired’ by Dean Z. Douthat

The Society
November 16, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
12 Comments
. Repaired Debris drifts down my lacrimosa stream shards discarded when my life exploded. Her cheating ripped apart my every seam left a rubble heap she soon unloaded. Finding all my parts, your love resummed...

‘The Return of Trump’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
November 15, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
31 Comments
. The Return of Trump No matter how you try to stop Don Trump He always will come back. He’ll lie in wait then jump In tiger-like attack. You put him in a box that’s wrapped in chains And throw him in the...

For Gene Cernan, ‘The Last Man on the Moon’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
November 15, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Last Man on the Moon for Gene Cernan My gaze was set toward the Western sky, To see if I could see him flashing by, I’d never felt so glad to be alive, With my model of the mighty Saturn five. With...

Henny and Sal: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
November 14, 2022
Essays, For Educators, Poetry
12 Comments
. Henny and Sal by Joseph S. Salemi My father, Salvatore J. Salemi, was a noncommissioned officer in G-2 (Military Intelligence) during the Second World War. Although he was 29 years old in 1942, he was...

‘Blake’s Tyger’ by Paul Buchheit

The Society
November 14, 2022
Poetry, Satire
18 Comments
. Blake's Tyger Tyger Tyger, burning bright, sorry if I'm impolite: What immortal put a hand to verse we'll never understand? Face it, face it, Mister Blake, 'Tyger' was a big mistake. What good reason could...

‘Writing a Poem’ by Sally Cook

The Society
November 13, 2022
Beauty, For Educators, Poetry
15 Comments
. Writing a Poem Our planet moves, and so do we, By forces that we cannot see. Rhyme, meter always seem to track The rhythm of the planet. Lack Of sense or sensibility Inhibits our ability To see. In every...

‘Lullaby of New Mexico, Part Two’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 13, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
34 Comments
. Lullaby of New Mexico, Part Two Part One can be read here. Duerme Papi---Dad, it’s time to rest. I smooth your blanket here at Desert Sage And look with worry at your wrinkled face. My calloused hand...

‘Do Not Return’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

The Society
November 12, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
26 Comments
. Do Not Return "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." ---Philippians 3:13 Do not return where once you were contented--- It is a trap to seal you...

‘No Extra Lives’ by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
November 11, 2022
Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. No Extra Lives While all his friends were learning skills To gain them wives or pay their bills, John fought with monsters on a screen, Got knighted by a game world’s queen, Amassing troves of...

‘Cop27—A Sonnetised Summary’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 10, 2022
Poetry, Satire, The Environment
54 Comments
. Cop27---A Sonnetised Summary upon reading the Cop27 VIP jet dinner menu  A swarm of jets belch fumes that blight the blue As contrails stripe the skies of Sharm el-Sheikh, Where greedy gluttons gorge on...

Poem on a Long-Surviving World War II Veteran: ‘Our Superman’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 10, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
51 Comments
. Our Superman Porfirio Landa (1925–2022), one of the United States Army’s longest surviving World War II veterans The modest glory of this veteran Began when he was born a Mexican, Baptized before the...

‘Mother Nature Is Bipolar’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
November 9, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, The Environment
24 Comments
. Mother Nature Is Bipolar Mother Nature is bipolar. She needs to take a pill. One minute she's a blowhard. The next one she is still. I've seen her hail in April. I've seen her snow in May. I've seen her sun...

‘The Cricket’ and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
November 9, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
13 Comments
. The Cricket These mornings there’s a cricket cross the way Whose chirrup purls and eddies in the air, Autumnal now and cool, to counterpoint The city’s muffled thrum as well anoint The drowsy traipsing...

A Get-Out-And-Vote Poem: ‘Lest We Forget’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 8, 2022
Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Lest We Forget     Today’s the day I cast my hard-won vote   (My voice and choice, my prized ancestral gift)   Bought with guts and grit to stop the bloat  Of greedy grifters known to...

‘Hell Rising’ by C.B. Anderson

The Society
November 8, 2022
Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Poetry, Satire
29 Comments
. Hell Rising They’ve come with a purpose: to numb or perturb us __By infecting the already-sick, And with them they bring a more tangible thing: __A nice carrot along with a stick. They live in The Palace...

‘Who’s Behind the Door’ by R.M. Zimmerman

The Society
November 7, 2022
Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. Who's Behind the Door The quiet words, the trembling lips, __we’ve heard it all before. Keen questions dwell within our minds, __like who’s behind the door. We saw the lights, heard voiceless...

‘Autumn Trail’ by Dan Tuton

The Society
November 6, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
15 Comments
. Autumn Trail Dreamy glimpses of a world recalled and yet to come: The Stagecoach Trail declines and wends through thickets under trees, Illumined red and gold beneath November’s slanting sun And rustling...

‘Think (Ideo)logically’ by Daniel Magdalen

The Society
November 5, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
11 Comments
. Think (Ideo)logically Say---friend or foe? What else could people be? … Stop thinking, since it’s useless, and it’s hard. We’ll do your thinking for you---play our card! These glasses will now show...

Two Poems by Victor Hugo, Translated by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
November 5, 2022
Love Poems, Music, Poetry, Translation
10 Comments
. Guitar by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) Translated by Joshua C. Frank Gastibelza, the rifleman coming to town, Sang loud and clear: “Has someone seen Doña Sabina around, Someone from here? O villagers, sing...

‘CDC: Save the Planet from Poison CO2!!’ by Mike Bryant

The Society
November 4, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire, Science, The Environment
113 Comments
. CDC: Save the Planet from Poison CO2!! “We used to think CO2 was a harmless trace gas… How wrong we were!” ---Dr. Dillard “Sparky” Barker, SMFS, The CDC’s Second Most Famous Scientist Your...

‘Poetry 101 Lecture’ by Mary Gardner

The Society
November 4, 2022
Culture, For Educators, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
. Poetry 101 Lecture Today we shall discuss why poems have a poor repute (Though if one dislikes poetry, apology is moot). Let’s take four types of poems with their strong points and their...

‘1914 Sierra Honeymoon’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 3, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. Note: The above photos are of the poet's grandparents, Herbert W. & Evelyn Slater Tweedie in 1914 Wedding Picture; Glacier Point, Yosemite; Top of Pyramid Peak, Desolation Wilderness . 1914 Sierra...

‘Sonnet to a Friend’ by Johanna Donovan

The Society
November 3, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
19 Comments
. Sonnet to a Friend It’s you who’ve been a constant in my life from earliest thirst and to this very day. You’ve helped me sail through lassitude and strife, have always kept the ennui at bay. You’ve...
poetry/adventure/legacy the saga begins

‘The Players’: An Excerpt from Legacy: The Saga Begins, by Michael Pietrack

The Society
November 2, 2022
Beauty, Children's, Poetry
26 Comments
  The Players Legacy: The Saga Begins is a 14-chapter narrative poem that is set to launch on January 21, 2023. This is an excerpt from Chapter 11 in which Vallenbee the Wise speaks to the main character,...

‘Fool’s Gold’ by David Watt

The Society
November 2, 2022
Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
. Fool’s Gold In a febrile jungle region where the threats to life are legion And deflected rays land each on greenness rich as burnished jade Ventured forth a treasure seeker, heeding not a Mayan...

‘Gone Are the Days’ and Other Poetry by Cheryl Corey

The Society
November 1, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Poetry
16 Comments
. Gone Are the Days The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young. ---Oscar Wilde Gone are the days—the halcyon, magical days of yore, When you were young and full of marrow in your...

‘A Half Century Ago’ and Other Poetry by Phil S. Rogers

The Society
November 1, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. A Half Century Ago Oh there once was a time in our nation so fair, When the pledge to our flag was in schools everywhere, When young children could safely walk daily to school, And not be attacked by some...

‘Halloween—The New Normal’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
October 31, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
29 Comments
. Halloween---The New Normal The maskless masses mingle on the street Pooh-poohing overreaching, grouchy rules. The granny-slaying, unvaxxed ogres meet As curtain-twitching witches eye these ghouls From...

‘It’s Halloween’ by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
October 31, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
16 Comments
. It’s Halloween It’s Halloween, and musty tombs expel Damnation’s brides and grooms; ghoulish creatures rule the night, a ghastly resurrected blight as Satan’s grinning visage looms. Hell’s emptied...

‘Night Visitor’ and Other Ghost Poetry by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
October 31, 2022
Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Night Visitor Between the ticking of the clock I thought I heard a haunting knock. I pondered what I thought I heard, "Perhaps the tapping of a bird?" The hearth was warm and so was I, Until a cold draft...

‘Are You Prepared for All Hallows’ Eve?’ by Kevin Hayes

The Society
October 31, 2022
Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. Are You Prepared for All Hallows’ Eve? All Hallow’s Eve will soon be here--- A time when our two worlds come near. They roam our world for just one night--- And you may fear until it’s...

‘Shroud-Eater’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
October 30, 2022
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Shroud-Eater The undead Shroud-Eater, or mâcheur de suaire, is not as well known as the vampire, but is just as horrifying. He prowls cemeteries chewing on his shroud and his own flesh, attacks persons,...

‘Ghouls Rules’ by Norma Pain

The Society
October 30, 2022
Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
. Ghouls Rules Out in the middle of Howling Heath Lives a mean old monster with a million teeth, In a mouth as big as a catamaran, To accommodate the limbs of moose and man, And kids that fiddle with their...

A Poem of Frankenstein: ‘The Modern Prometheus’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
October 30, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
39 Comments
. The Modern Prometheus Grrrr! Linden trees with falling leaves infest These ancient mountains. Crimson-faced they scream Like mobs in Transylvanian villages Which brandish knives and torches....

‘A Seasonal Concoction’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
October 29, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. A Seasonal Concoction He loved to have a cup of coffee in dawn’s dimmest light. It helped clear cobwebs from those heavy eyelids of the night. His narrow pumpkin head could start to gaze with orange...

‘The Three Democrats of the 2020 Election’ by Phil S. Rogers, after Macbeth

The Society
October 29, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry, Satire, Shakespeare
18 Comments
. The Three Democrats of the 2020 Election after Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1 Scene: Thunder illuminates a 2020 calendar page in an undisclosed conference room where a pot bubbles on an electric...

‘The Italian Job’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
October 29, 2022
Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. The Italian Job a true story “I’m from Pisa,” she cried with a giggle, As she leaned, towering over the man, With the beard, the bald head and the glasses, Climbing out of the janitor’s van. He...

‘Everyday Angels’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
October 28, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
30 Comments
. Everyday Angels  inspired by Guadalupe Amejorado (1955-2021)  They don’t appear in swathes of white   __On scintillating wing.  Their heads aren’t crowned with rings of light.  __They never...

‘The Empirical Strikes Back’ by Paul A. Freeman (For UK Readers Only)

The Society
October 28, 2022
Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. The Empirical Strikes Back Let’s emulate Liberia with measurements superior; once more we’ll weigh our cereal in ounce and pound imperial. And why not copy Myanmar--- use p.s.i. and ditch the...
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