Poems of Struggle and Empowerment

Poems by Suzanne Frischkorn and Ae Hee Lee. A new book by Kymberly Taylor

It’s a time of struggle in the arts. Dark forces are trying to turn the arts into organs of propaganda. They are working to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. If that was not enough, the least cultured President in history has enthroned himself atop the Kennedy Center as if it were one of his Atlantic City casinos.

But with struggle comes resistance and with resistance comes empowerment. Last Monday, Café Muse Online became a platform for two poets who showed us how the road to empowerment runs through courage and honesty. This week I have two powerful poems from the program which show the way to stand up and speak back to those who would rob us of free expression in the arts. Here’s a link to the entire program and the Café Muse YouTube Channel.

Dear America

Suzanne Frischkorn led off her reading with a poem of instructions for a daughter coming of age in a dangerous time. For me it was most poignant because it is our children who will suffer the most from authoritarian rule, if it is allowed to stand.

To dig deeper into the work of Suzanne Frischkorn, check out her latest book, Whipsaw from Itasca Books.

Ae Hee Lee

In her poem, Green Card, Ae Hee Lee shows us the plight of an immigrant seeking a green card in today’s America.

Grab a copy of Ae Hee Lee’s Dorset Prize winning book, Asterism, at Tupelo Press.

Kymberly Taylor - Thinandflyingdress

This week, I had the great pleasure of working with Grace Cavalieri’s Forest Wood Media Productions, helping to produce the debut poetry collection of Kymberly Taylor’s, Thinandflyingdress.

As David Keplinger says in his preface to the book: “There are many poems to praise in this collection, a bright debut from a writer whose music literally rises from under the lines here, a synaesthetic experience that is the marriage of poetry, collage, and song.”

The penultimate poem in the book, Remnant Flight, speaks to our topic of empowerment—in this case through the evolutionary adaptation of a beetle. Here’s a reading of the poem backed by an amazing piano track by Asher Fulero.

Just one of the many wonderful moments to be experienced with Thinandflyingdress.

Coming Up

Saturday, May 17, 2025, Gaithersburg Book Festival.

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Have a reading or event coming up? Let me know and I’ll pass it along. And as always, feel free to email me with questions or comments at henrycrawfordpoetry@gmail.com. Use the subject “Coming Up” Stay creative!

If you’d like me to list an upcoming poetry event in Everyday Poet, please let me know by emailing me at henrycrawfordpoetry@gmail.com. Use the subject: “Coming Up”.