Two Riddles
These poems have right answers. Does that diminish them?
Click the arrow on the audio player to hear Robert Pinsky read "Sir Walter Raleigh to His Son."
(You can find "Sir Walter Raleigh to His Son" discussed with learned penetration by the poet-scholar Linda Gregerson and read by her and two other splendid poets on the Atlantic's Web site.)
For me, these poems exemplify how the feeling of a magnetic, prized, and somehow illuminating mystery survives any literal solution. Explanation is not necessarily demystification.
Slate Poetry Editor Robert Pinsky will be participating in the Poems "Fray" this week. Post your questions and comments on "On the Cards and Dice" and "Sir Walter Raleigh to His Son," and he'll respond and participate. (In the interest of keeping the discussion as rich as possible, please read existing commentsbefore posting your own.) You can also browse "Fray" discussions of previous classic poems.
“Stink Onions,” “Heart’s Farm,” “Place to Find Gold”: Literal Names of U.S. Places, Mapped
Why Don’t Cops Believe Rape Victims? Brain Science Explains.
Wu-Tang’s GZA Teaches Kids Science With Least-Lame Classroom Rap Ever
Former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky is Slate's poetry editor. His Selected Poems is now available.
For Slate's poetry submission guidelines, click spacerhereyeshyperlinkPoetry SubmissionsSlate reads new poems from Oct. 1 to April 30. Manuscripts sent between May 1 and Sept. 30 will not be considered.To submit poems: Send, as a single attached document, up to three poems of no more than 50 lines each to editors@slatepoems.com. Use the poet's name for the subject line of the e-mail and for the title of the attachment. We prefer Word documents (.doc or .docx) to PDFs.Please include a brief, professional cover letter, including publication history, in the body of your email. Please limit submissions to one per poet per annual reading period. Simultaneous submissions are OK. Slate no longer accepts poetry submissions by mail. The email address editors@slatepoems.com is for poetry submissions only (or to notify editors of acceptance elsewhere of a poem under consideration at Slate). Other inquiries, etc., will not be addressed.10000false220061444537PMWednesdayJanJanuary161/4/2006 9:45:37 PM63271989937000000020061444537PMWednesdayJanJanuary161/4/2006 9:45:37 PM632719899370000000.Clickhere to visit Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project site.Click here for an archive of discussions about poems with Robert Pinsky in "the Fray," Slate's reader forum.Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh by Nicholas Hilliard, courtesy Directmedia Publishing/Wikipedia.