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 2017

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Mental Health, Society: Politics & Government, Identity: Indigenous

Tags 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 1980

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Food, Values/Ideas: Literature, Identity: Language

Tags Lyric Poem, Food


Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Fathers, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Food


Publication year 1914

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem, Sociology, Arts / Culture, American Literature, Realism, Food


Publication year 1986

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, American Literature, Food


Publication year 1968

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family

Tags Lyric Poem, Food, Religion / Spirituality, African American Literature


Publication year 1999

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Romance, Love / Sexuality, American Literature, Food


Publication year 1957

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem, Animals, Science / Nature, Grief / Death, Latin American Literature, Food


Publication year 1985

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Food

Tags Lyric Poem, Narrative / Epic Poem, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, Food, Poverty, American Literature


Publication year 1861

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Animals

Tags French Literature, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Food, Lyric Poem


Publication year 1968

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem, Food


Publication year 1922

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Immigration, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia

Tags Lyric Poem, Immigration / Refugee, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Harlem Renaissance, Food


Publication year 1934

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem, Modernism, Food, American Literature, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1960

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags 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