Poem of the Day
Study of Children
By Asha Futterman
did you know
that you all work for me?
I asked them as a joke
Poetry: 2000s
Pomework: An Exercise in Occasional Poetry
By A. R. Ammons
of cloud dispute
the sky of late afternoon,
the going sun suspended
Occasional Poetry and Poetry on Occasions
By Robert Pinsky
What does it mean that so many distinguished and gifted poets responded to the somewhat goofy games and assignments suggested by The Paris Review for this issue? Not just willingly, but with spirit, they have composed poems to strange titles like "An Empty Surfboard on a Flat Sea" and "Lavatory in a Cathedral," written commentaries on worksheets—written, in other words, to suit the occasion.