poetry

Via Muslimah Media Watch, Anida Yoeu Ali's "Mistaken for Muslim" is a powerful video that juxtaposes diverse images of Muslims, and the artist herself, with a poem relentlessly detailing xenophobic and Islamaphobic hate crimes in post 9/11 America:

1700% Project: Mistaken for Muslim from Anida Yoeu Ali on Vimeo.

Sylvia Plath is the most famous woman poet of the 1950s. She's probably one of the most famous poets of the 20th century. And she was a pretty good poet. Her work is honest, heartwrenching, and chock-full of angst and guilt and daddy issues. But she’s also famous for her bummer life story (anybody who’s read The Bell Jar knows the extent of the bummer factor), and frankly, I’m a little tired of her. That’s why this week’s Adventures in Feministory is not about Plath. I want to profile another ‘50s-era poet who is sometimes overlooked and whose story is filled with a lot of sassy, smart letter-writing and a prolonged Brazilian vacation: Elizabeth Bishop.