Persona is one of my favorite techniques and crafts to work with in writing. Here are 13 poems that are written through persona:
1. Patricia Smith – “Skinhead”
2. Leah Umansky – “Khaleesi Says”
3. Linda Bierds – “The Ghost Trio”
4. John Berryman – “Dream Song 29”
5. James Tate – “The Motorcyclists”
6. Kevin Young – “Reward”
7. Margaret Atwood – “Pig Song”
8. Hannah Kucharzak – “Anxious Diva”
9. Richard Brautigan – “Trout Fishing in America”
10. Cornelius Eady – “Nina’s Blues”
11. A. Van Jordan – “From”
12. C.D. Wright – “One Big Self (excerpt)”
13. Louise Gluck – “Vespers”
Joanna C. Valente is the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Xenos, and the editor of A Shadow Map: An Anthology by Survivors of Sexual Assault.