Dead Poets -- Live From The Grave

Forty-Three Readings at Poets' Graves Online

We have now posted forty-three (43) videos of readings and adventures from the gravesites of famous American poets. Journey to the graves of Elizabeth Bishop, James Dickey, Gwendolyn Brooks, Theodore Roethke, Henry Timrod, Robert Penn Warren, Carl Sandburg and many more.

New Webliography of Videos at Poet's Graves

We've begun a webliography page that lists links to online videos related to the graves of poets. So far we have Whitman, Plath, Virgilio, Kerouac, Neruda, and others.

If you know of a link to a video of someone reading at a poet's grave, or just of footage of a poet's grave, please send them along to, picsvids {at} deadpoes DOT org

"For Jim, Easter Eve" By Anne Spencer

Hear Lynchburg, VA poet and professor, Jim Peterson, introduce Anne Spencer and then read and discuss her poem "For Jim, Easter Eve" (The Jim in the poem refers to her friend and fellow poet, James Weldon Johnson.)

At the Grave of Robert Hayden

Come have a Sunday-morning sit down at the grave of poet Robert Hayden, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Watch as the gravestones of Hayden and his wife emerge from the surrounding grass and become the setting for Tombstone Art.

4th of July at Henry Timrod's Grave

Join the celebration of July 4th, 2009, in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, at the gravesite of "The Poet of the Confederacy," Henry Timrod.

"Little Orphant Allie" By James Whitcomb Riley

Visit the boyhood home of James Whitcomb Riley in Greenfield, Indiana, and the grave of the original Little Orphant Annie, in the Philadelphia Methodist cemetery just down the road. Hear "Little Orphan Annie" recited in the very kitchen she used to work in when she and Riley were childhood friends. (The original title of the famous poem was "The Elf Child," then Riley changed it to "Little Orphant Allie" A printer's error was responsible for the final title. The book was selling well and Riley agreed with his printer to keep the mistake as the title.)

"The Dream of All the Springfield Writers" By Vachel Lindsay

Hear folksinger, poet, and journalist Job Conger, of Springfield, Illinois, sing one of Vachel Lindsay's poems, "The Dream of All the Springfield Writers" at Lindsay's grave.

"The Trappist Cemetery: Gethsemani" By Thomas Merton

Journey to the beautiful back hills of Kentucky to hear Brother Paul Quenon read the work of Thomas Merton and tell stories of the famous poet-monk. Hear Brother Paul, who is also a poet, read "The Trappist Cemetery -- Gethsemani" in the very same, next to Merton's grave.

"Heaven" By Mary Swander, Iowa Poet Laureate

Wander into the Amish countryside of Iowa and listen to Mary Swander's poem "Heaven." Mary is the Poet Laureate of Iowa.

Ode to the Confederate Dead at Magnolia Cemetery

Hear Poet-Laureate of South Carolina, Marjory Wentworth, introduce the man once called "The Poet-Laureate of the Confederacy," and read the poem Henry Timrod composed for the dedication of the famous Magnolia Cemetery, in Charleston, SC.

"The Idea of Ancestry" By Etheridge Knight

Join the Dead Poets Society of America at the gravesite of Etheridge Knight as former Poet Laureate of Indiana, Joyce Brinkman, reads "The Idea of Ancestry."

Haki Madhubuti reflects on Gwendolyn Brooks

Join the Dead Poets Society for a moving tribute to Gwendolyn Brooks at her gravesite in Chicago. Listen to one of her dear friends and a giant in African-American poet and publishing, Prof. Haki Madhubuti, as he talks about her legacy and reads from her work.

"Reading the Obituaries" By Marilyn Taylor

State Poet Laureate, Marilyn Taylor, reads the obits at breakfast, and as the orange juice goes down the poetic juices come forth.

13 Grand Tour 2009 Videos Posted

We've posted 13 new videos from the Grand Tour. From Wisconsin to Virginia and South Carolina, and from Confederate poet, Henry Timrod to famed African-American activists and poets, Gwendolyn Brooks and Prof. Haki Madhubuti.

See them all here. We'll be embedding them into this blog soon.

Sylvia Plath reads November Graveyard

This is a YouTube video of Sylvia Plath reading November Graveyard in the very graveyard she ended up being buried in.

Obscure Savannah Poet and His Worldwide Hit Song