go back to Shows
Poetry in America show's poster

Poetry in America

Poetry in America explores the diversity of American poetry. In each episode, members of various American communities join host Elisa New, following Gwendolyn Brooks to the South Side of Chicago, Alberto Ríos to the Sonoran Desert, Richard Blanco to Marco Island, and more. Joining along the way are singers and Supreme Court justices, playwrights and physicists, and teachers and their students.

Latest episode

RMPBS Passport

Please log in to your PBS Passport account to watch this video

Become a Member

Steps

Season 4 Episode 8 | 24m 42s | CC

A portal into 1950s New York City, Frank O’Hara’s “Lunch Poems” have the feel of playing hooky: of roaming from museums to Central Park and sneaking into cinemas. Choreographer Mark Morris, poets Terrance Hayes, Robert Pinsky, Todd Colby, and Eileen Myles, and musical duo Rachael and Vilray join host Elisa New to read “Steps,” O’Hara’s ode to NYC art and dance.

Episodes

Support for Poetry in America is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Dalio Family Fund, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Deborah Hayes Stone and Max Stone, Nancy Zimmerman and Walmart. Seasons 4 & 3 are distributed to PBS stations nationwide by PBS Plus, with Seasons 1 & 2 distributed nationally by American Public Television.

Related stories

Rocky Mountain PBS
Matt Maes' tendency toward "hyper-focus" led him to a career as an artist and a cozy life as a family man.
 | Elle Naef, Alexis Kikoen
Rocky Mountain PBS
Matt Maes' tendency toward "hyper-focus" led him to a career as an artist and a cozy life as a family man.
 | Elle Naef, Alexis Kikoen
Rocky Mountain PBS
Celebrating synergy between business and the arts
CBCA's 'Business for the Arts Awards' went virtual this year to honor dynamic partnerships from an unprecedented year.
 | Rocky Mountain PBS