We’re kicking off National Poetry Month 2026 with a new round-up of poems to celebrate the work of the United States’s current Poet Laureate, Arthur Sze …
Arthur Sze (pronounced “zee”) is an Chinese-American poet, translator, editor, and professor. He was born in New York City in 1950 to Chinese immigrant parents. He currently lives in Santa Fe New Mexico, where he works as a professor emeritus at The Institute of American Indian Arts. New Mexico’s landscapes, geography, and cultures feature prominently in his poetry.
In September 2025, he was named as the 25th United States Poet Laureate. He is the first Asian-American to hold this honor, and is using his tenure to focus on translating poetry from other languages into English.
Since 1972, he has published twelve collections of poetry. Honors and awards include being a finalist for the 2026 PEN/Jean Stein Award, a 2024 National Book Foundation Science and Literature Award, and the 2019 National Book Award for poetry. He was also awarded the Bobbitt Award from the Library of Congress for lifetime achievement in poetry.
In these Arthur Sze poems , you’ll find beautiful and interesting depictions of landscapes; evocative uses of languages; and themes of justice, oppression, and freedom.
(Sources: Wikipedia, Library of Congress)
Scintillant
Arthur Sze
SNIPPET:
…
As I bask in the heat of the afternoon,
I cannot say I had the courage
to march on a bridge for the right
to vote and be beaten; at an antiwar rally,
I retreated when police, mounted on horses,
crossed the street with batons swinging.
…
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*** What are your favorite Arthur Sze poems ?
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