poetry

the archivist April 24, 2026

Waiting John Burroughs Serene, I fold my hands and wait, Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea; I rave no more ‘gainst time or fate, For lo! my own shall come to me. I stay my haste, I make delays, For what avails this eager pace? I stand amid the eternal ways, And what […]

the archivist March 2, 2026

To Joanna William Wordsworth Amid the smoke of cities did you passYour time of early youth; and there you learnedFrom years of quiet industry, to loveThe living Beings by your own fire-side,With such a strong devotion, that your heartIs slow towards the sympathies of themWho look upon the hills with tenderness,And make dear friendships with […]

the archivist January 1, 2026

Polyarchive’s Most Visited Pages of 2025 Introduction to Collected Poems (1938), E.E. Cummings The Poems of Our Climate | Wallace Stevens After a While | Veronica A. Shoffstall (NOT Jorge Luis Borges) Flannery O’Connor: “Where you come from is gone” Book Review: Love Unknown: The Life and Worlds of Elizabeth Bishop by Thomas Travisano The […]

the archivist May 1, 2025

May-Day Ralph Waldo Emerson Daughter of Heaven and Earth, coy Spring, With sudden passion languishing, Maketh all things softly smile, Painteth pictures mile on mile, Holds a cup with cowslip-wreaths, Whence a smokeless incense breathes. Girls are peeling the sweet willow, Poplar white, and Gilead-tree, And troops of boys Shouting with whoop and hilloa, And […]

the archivist April 21, 2025

Absence Matthew Arnold In this fair stranger’s eyes of grey Thine eyes, my love, I see. I shudder: for the passing day Had borne me far from thee. This is the curse of life: that not A nobler calmer train Of wiser thoughts and feelings blot Our passions from our brain; But each day brings […]

the archivist March 9, 2025

Links of the Week, vol. 15 The following are links to interesting content we’ve read recently. If you would like to recommend a piece to share with our readers (no paywalled content, please), please use the contact form on our About page. ────────────── ● ────────────── How a Pop Band Tricked 9 Million Americans into Being […]

the archivist January 6, 2025

Top 9 Posts of 2024 Readers came here for many different posts during the year, but these were the most popular: The Poems of Our Climate | Wallace Stevens Dorothy Parker on New York: Autumn is the Springtime of big cities Introduction to Collected Poems (1938), E.E. Cummings You Want a Social Life, with Friends […]

the archivist July 18, 2024

After a While Veronica A. Shoffstall (1952-2024) After a while, you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your […]

the archivist March 16, 2012

62 Aleksandr Blok О, весна без конца и без краю – Без конца и без краю мечта! Узнаю тебя, жизнь! Принимаю! И приветствую звоном щита! Принимаю тебя, неудача, И удача, тебе мой привет! В заколдованной области плача, В тайне смеха – позорного нет! Принимаю бессонные споры, Утро в завесах темных окна, Чтоб мои воспаленные взоры […]

the archivist March 8, 2010

E.E. and Me In university, I took a summer monograph class on E.E. Cummings. It was in the basement of… Mason Hall? Or maybe that’s still Angell on that side. I can’t remember. There were 15 students the first day. The professor had a surname which looked like it should only be pronounced in two […]