When you think of poetry written over one hundred years ago, what comes to mind? Thee and thine? A long-winded soliloquy?

In 2020 I learned about public domain poetry, meaning poetry so old it is freely available to the public, and I was curious enough to poke around in anthologies and collections. It had been over ten years since I read poetry in college, and I wanted to see what I could find.

Apparently — a lot! I began saving poems like a squirrel into a document that quickly swelled in size. I unearthed poets forgotten in recent days, and discovered poems that I found myself reading again and again. I think that is the magic of poetry — in the right moment, you will read some words written in another lifetime by someone completely different from you, but those words will strike you at your core. They will resonate, affirm your own experience, and perhaps even move you to feeling or action.

I do acknowledge as a Korean-American woman, that poetry anthologies in English tend to be crowded by white men. I made a conscious effort to bring in a variety of voices, going so far as to translate poems from languages I know.

So, dear friend, I hope you come with me on this journey to read more poetry. Each collection is curated, designed, and illustrated by me, and printed on newsprint paper that feels nice in your hands. Happy reading!