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    • 'Do I Remember?' by Martin Rizley

      The Society
      August 9, 2019
      Beauty, Poetry
      7 Comments
    Recent
    • ‘How to Write Contemporary Poetry’ and ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ by Brian Yapko

      The Society
      March 21, 2023
      2
    • poem/pain/education

      ‘Learnin’ Letters’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain

      The Society
      March 20, 2023
      10
    • poem/stellinga/antiques

      ‘The Antiques Buyer Meets His Match’: A Poem by Mark Stellinga

      The Society
      March 20, 2023
      15
    • poem/winick/free speech

      ‘Ex-Freedom of Speech’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

      The Society
      March 19, 2023
      29
    • poem/anderson/banks

      A Poem on Bank and Financial Collapses: ‘Ponzi’ by C.B. Anderson

      The Society
      March 19, 2023
      24
    • poem/essmann/family photo

      ‘Old Orphan’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

      The Society
      March 19, 2023
      10
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    • Haiku Competition 2021

      The Society
      July 28, 2021
      Beauty, Culture, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      807 Comments
    Recent
    • poetry/bryant/contest

      Whatfinger Poetry Contest

      The Society
      February 27, 2023
      28
    • poetry/tweedie/equal

      Poetry Challenge: Equilateral Proverbs

      The Society
      February 7, 2023
      56
    • poetry/contest/inspiration

      The Best Poems of 2022: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition

      The Society
      February 1, 2023
      14
    • poetry/contest/inspiration

      Winners of 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      February 1, 2023
      2
    • 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
      49
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    • Essay: ‘Poetry and the Muses Part 4’ by James Sale

      The Society
      August 24, 2017
      Beauty, Essays, Poetry
      19 Comments
    Recent
    • poetry/whidden/poetry is dead

      Modernism and the Murder of the People’s Poetry and Art: An Essay by Phillip Whidden

      The Society
      February 15, 2023
      51
    • poetry/essay/Salemi/transgressive

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

      The Society
      January 23, 2023
      39
    • ‘I Met a Shepherdess’ by Guido Cavalcanti, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      January 8, 2023
      22
    • ‘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
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Author The Society

The Society

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

‘A Thanksgiving Offering’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. A Thanksgiving Offering We offer thanks to You who made this Earth The sun and stars, for health and love and mirth. For granting us the sacred gift of life Along with faith to overcome all strife; For...

On the Islamic Palestinians’ Recent Terror Attack: ‘Just Say It’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 23, 2022
Culture, Poetry
35 Comments
. Just Say It Two bombs exploded in Jerusalem Today. A boy of just 15 is dead--- A Jewish student on his way to school. And 18 more were wounded, all of them Israeli Jews at bus stops now streaked red. The...

‘When Light Begins to Dim’ by James Green

The Society
November 23, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
9 Comments
. When Light Begins to Dim When light begins to dim and color fades, the shape of things begins to matter more. An edge defines, the angles hint, and shades of layered grays I never knew before come faintly...

‘Heirs to Alexander’ and Other Poems on the Kalasha People by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. Heirs to Alexander These snuff-brown mounds piled up ten thousand feet Gaze on toward Hindu Kush peaks twice their height; Green threads of valleys mark the rough retreat Wherein Kalasha keep their...

Prose-That’s-Really-a-Sonnet Poetry Challenge

The Society
November 22, 2022
Poetry, Poetry Contests
49 Comments
. Construct a convincing paragraph of well-written, coherent prose that also happens to be a properly composed Shakespearean sonnet. This challenge and the below example come from poet James A....

‘Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner’ by Jeremiah Johnson

The Society
November 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner after Ben Jonson's "Inviting a Friend to Supper" Tonight, dear friends, you’re welcome to observe Another birthday dinner---and deserve To know it’s mainly an...

‘Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
November 21, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus And Peter, looking steadfastly against Simon, said: “I adjure you, ye angels of Satan, who are carrying him into the air, to deceive the hearts of the unbelievers,...

‘The Elders’ by John Creekmore

The Society
November 21, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Elders I watched them wilt, I watched them fade, I watched them pass In the evening shade, And now I tread The path they trod, Having walked the walk For seventy odd, And though I know The course is...

‘Clowns Teach Writing Classes’ by Janice Canerdy

The Society
November 20, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
25 Comments
. Clowns Teach Writing Classes Students’ attitudes were dismal; composition skills, abysmal! Desperate to make things better, teachers asked expert go-getters, “Will you please get their attention? What we...

‘Valiant Men’ by Angel L. Villanueva

The Society
November 19, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
5 Comments
. Valiant Men The sailors brave the angry storm __As waves the ocean brings. It seems to them one hundred years Of fighting death despite their fears, __Like ancient warring kings. The frigid water stings...

Science or ‘The Science’? A Poem by Mike Bryant

The Society
November 18, 2022
Culture, Poetry
26 Comments
. Science or “The Science”? “‘The Science' and science are opposites.” ---Richard Lindzen So you believe “The Science”? That is odd.Science cannot be about compliance.Scientists are skeptics....

‘Potina’s Charm’ by Michael Curtis

The Society
November 18, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
. Potina’s Charm In this excerpt from the screen novella, Potina, Lady of the Stag, Potina speaks to Kaptara, the god of the volcano that she approaches. She is an initiate in the mysteries and is a...

Three Poems on Mortality, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 17, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
. Leaves Behind In size and shape and symmetry The leaves upon a maple tree Are like small selfies of the tree itself. And in their veins the leaves display The trunk and branches in a way That equals any...

‘A Sleepless Night’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Howard

The Society
November 17, 2022
Love Poems, Poetry
10 Comments
. A Sleepless Night Lest I should suffer sleeplessly this night Of loathsome loneliness, whose strength severe So weakens me that many a bitter tear Bewails my sweetless, ever souring plight; I call on my...

‘No News Is Good News’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
November 16, 2022
Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry
23 Comments
. No News Is Good News The world contrives, in many different ways, To overload the minutes of our days __With items that anesthetize __The sensibilities that filter Our sound ideas from the...

‘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,...
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