NewsHour Poetry Series | PBS NewsHour Podcast | PBS

Jennifer Fitzgerald's family and friends have been greatly impacted by superstorm Sandy, and though she immediately got involved in relief efforts in her Staten Island community, she felt that her poetry would be another way to reach a much larger audience and explain the physical and emotional impact Sandy had on New York.

Joy Harjo, who was born into the Muscogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma, describes herself as a poet, musician, dreamer and questioner. Her poem "Perhaps the World Ends Here" is particularly fitting as people gather around the table to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Sharon Olds shares work from her latest collection of poetry, "Stag's Leap," a book grieving and healing at the end of a marriage. Olds also talks about her partner's New Hampshire nature retreat where she spends her days, about finding her poetic voice in her 30s, and the "usefulness" of poetry.

Billy Collins was the U.S. poet laureate at the time of the 9/11 attacks. A year later, he wrote "The Names" in honor of the victims. He read the poem before a special joint session of Congress held in New York City in 2002, and reads it again now.

Writer and professor Priscila Uppal is serving as "Poet in Residence" for Canadian Athletes Now, a non-profit group supporting Canada's athletes at the 2012 London Olympics. Uppal talks to Jeffrey Brown about her residency and where she's found inspiration, as well as sharing some of her poetry.

After spending several years away from home, poet Natalie Diaz felt a calling to return to her reservation to help preserve the Mojave language, which is rapidly being lost.

After spending several years away from home, poet Natalie Diaz felt a calling to return to her reservation to help preserve the Mojave language, which is rapidly being lost.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey was named the 19th U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, the Library of Congress announced Thursday -- noting her ability to "dig beneath the surface of history." The NewsHour first profiled her in 2006 for her third book of poems, "Native Guard." Jeffrey Brown reports.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey was named the 19th U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, the Library of Congress announced Thursday -- noting her ability to "dig beneath the surface of history." The NewsHour first profiled her in 2006 for her third book of poems, "Native Guard." Jeffrey Brown reports.

"A poet should be private and invisible," says U.K. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, "This is a different way of being a poet, to be laureate." Meanwhile, "I think we witness things, but are not witnessed," says U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine. They reflect with Jeffrey Brown on having very public roles as private poets.

"A poet should be private and invisible," says U.K. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, "This is a different way of being a poet, to be laureate." Meanwhile, "I think we witness things, but are not witnessed," says U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine. They reflect with Jeffrey Brown on having very public roles as private poets.

When shaping verse, poet Naomi Shihab Nye reflects on her Palestinian heritage, family and the power of humanity. Nye discusses her most recent compilation of work, "Transfer," and what inspires her to continue crafting thoughtful and expressive poems.

Judy Woodruff reports on the death of widely read and influential poet Adrienne Rich, who died Tuesday at age 82, then Jeffrey Brown takes a look back at the life and groundbreaking sound of banjo legend and bluegrass musician Earl Scruggs with Bela Fleck, another Grammy-winning banjo player.

Using her career as a molecular biologist as a starting point, Katherine Larson shapes her poems with descriptions of squid, suction cups and branchial hearts. She won last year's Yale Series of Younger Poets competition and was recognized as a poet of "genuine promise" with the Kate Tufts Discovery Award last month.

In honor of Valentine's Day, poet Tony Hoagland reads "Romantic Moment" -- a poem about a man and woman who have just watched a nature documentary on a date, and how their expressions of affection stack up against those of leopard frogs, chimpanzees, bull penguins and so on.