Happy National Poetry Month! It is our Blue Heron Review tradition to choose a voice from the past for the month of April. I hope that you will enjoy these poems by renowned poet, Lucille Clifton. As we celebrate National Poetry Month, search for voices which you either haven’t heard for awhile, or voices which are new to you. There are many treasures to be found. This April, on our Blue Heron Speaks page, we are shining a bright light on the work of Lucille Clifton, who speaks of sadness and truth. She speaks of celebrating the fullness of our wondrous selves—our bodies and our bold, brave spirits. Clifton dares to entice the reader with what is known and felt in the hearts of all beings, and yet, she gloriously speaks of her own, unique existence in ways which light up the sky with both her pain and her love of life. When reading Lucille Clifton’s poetry, something breaks open in the reader. What hidden depths and unspoken truths will you harvest in your own life, after reading these offerings from our featured author this month?
Please visit the Blue Heron Speaks Featured Author page of our site to read 4 sample poems by Lucille Clifton, and to learn more about her life’s work and books.
The mistake teachers sometimes make is that they think art and poetry—they think that’s about answers, and it’s not about that, it’s about questions. So you come to poetry not out of what you know, but out of what you wonder. —Lucille Clifton
Blue Heron Review 
I read but the first few lines of the first poem penned by this marvellous writer and believed ached out loud before I continued. Lucille Clifton certainly holds one tight in vivid emotion. A pleasure to read, more so the mulling that lingers as you reflect upon her words or where they took you and why.
Lucille Clifton has such a gift for taking the reader on a communal and personal journey, all at once. I agree, her words linger and cause you to reflect and stay with the task at hand of dealing with some weighty issues. I love her authentic spirit and feel so honored to be able to share her work with our readers. Her legacy is one of such strength, courage, and vulnerability. She is a true role model for poets everywhere.
I absolutely love Lucille Clifton! I’m scrolling through your posts now and really loving your site =).