Poetry Foundation & POETRY magazine

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“My Heart and I” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“An Unexpected Meeting” by Wisława Szymborska 

[I carry your heart with me] by E. E. Cummings

[The blind persistence] and [Oh life begins in fluent blood] by Emily Dickinson

And quotes from essays and commentary by Eileen Myles and Gertrude Stein

In our poem samplers you can find Love Poems from Poetry Magazine, Queer Love Poems for Valentine’s Day, Poems to Send the Person You’re Crushing On, and a variety of Break Up, Sad Love, and Friendship poems.

“Romance” by Claude McKay, a writer born in Jamaica and associated with the Harlem Renaissance. McKay arrived in South Carolina in 1912 and made his way to New York City in 1914. He advocated against racism throughout his life.

McKay’s “Romance,” above, is one of hundreds of poems that high school students across the nation can choose to recite through Poetry Out Loud. On Valentine’s Day, see Chicago-area students compete in their regional competition at the Poetry Foundation, details here.

You can also download a copy of this broadside to post on your fridge.