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Poetry: Food & Drink

Whet your literary appetite with the symbolism-rich selections in the Poetry: Food and Drink Collection. The poems in this Collection explore the concepts of food, beverages, and eating and their connection to culture, often using food to represent themes related to identity, nature, and nostalgia.

Publication year 2019Genre Poem, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Mental Health, Society: Politics & Government, Identity: IndigenousTags Lyric Poem, History: U.S., American Literature, Food, Race / Racism, History: World

Joy Harjo is a seminal voice in the US poetry canon, and she has long been an advocate for Native American women in the literary world. Her work has merited tremendous acclaim, such as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, the Josephine Miles Poetry Award, the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets, the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the American... Read An American Sunrise Summary


Publication year 1980Genre Poem, FictionThemes Natural World: Food, Values/Ideas: Literature, Identity: LanguageTags Lyric Poem, Food

Genre Poem, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Fathers, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Appearance & RealityTags Food

Publication year 1914Genre Poem, FictionTags Lyric Poem, Sociology, Arts / Culture, American Literature, Realism, Food

Publication year 1986Genre Poem, FictionThemes Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / PerseveranceTags Lyric Poem, American Literature, Food

Publication year 1968Genre Poem, FictionThemes Relationships: FamilyTags Lyric Poem, Food, Religion / Spirituality, African American Literature

Publication year 1999Genre Poem, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: ConflictTags Romance, Love / Sexuality, American Literature, Food

Publication year 1957Genre Poem, FictionTags Lyric Poem, Animals, Science / Nature, Grief / Death, Latin American Literature, Food

Genre Poem, FictionThemes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: FoodTags Lyric Poem, Narrative / Epic Poem, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, Food, Poverty, American Literature

Publication year 1861Genre Poem, FictionThemes Natural World: AnimalsTags French Literature, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Food, Lyric Poem

Publication year 1968Genre Poem, FictionTags Lyric Poem, Food

Publication year 1922Genre Poem, FictionThemes Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: NostalgiaTags Lyric Poem, Immigration / Refugee, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Harlem Renaissance, Food

Publication year 2012Genre Poem, FictionTags Lyric Poem, Modernism, Food, American Literature, Classic Fiction

Publication year 1960Genre Poem, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / PerseveranceTags Classic Fiction, Black Arts Movement, Lyric Poem, Harlem Renaissance, Food, Education, Education, African American Literature, History: World

Gwendolyn Brooks stands among the foremost American poets of the 20th century. A master of poetic form and portraiture, she explored black life in Chicago, where she lived for the majority of her life. The poem “We Real Cool,” Brooks’s most famous work, appeared in her 1960 collection The Bean Eaters.As a fledgling writer, Brooks combined early influences from the literary era of modernism, defined by poets like Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, T.S. Eliot, and... Read We Real Cool Summary