Poetry Trivia Questions

In case you missed them, here are the past five Columbia Granger's World of Poetry trivia questions of the day.

  • December 26

    Question:

    Who read a poem at Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration in 1993?

    Answer ->

    Only the second poet to be asked to read at a presidential inauguration, Maya Angelou read her poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," which she wrote for the occasion. The first poet asked to read at an inauguration was Robert Frost, who read at Kennedy's inauguration.

  • December 25

    Question:

    Who read a poem at John F. Kennedy's presidential inauguration in 1961?

    Answer ->

    Robert Frost read his poem, "The Gift Outright." President Kennedy asked Frost to change "would" in the last line to "will" and Frost acquiesced, though the printed text was unchanged.

  • December 24

    Question:

    What poem form does Robert Frost's (1874-1963) "Acquainted with the Night" share with Percy Bysshe Shelley's (1792-1822) "Ode to the West Wind"?

    Answer ->

    The terza rima sonnet (aba bcb cdc ded ee). Shelley linked five terza rima sonnets together to form his poem.

  • December 23

    Question:

    Which twentieth century American poet coined a now-popular phrase regarding neighborliness?

    Answer ->

    "Robert Frost wrote "Good fences make good neighbors," in "Mending Wall." Similar proverbs have been around for many centuries in many nations however. One English precedent comes from George Herbert, who printed in Outlandish Proverbs (1640), "Love your neighbor, yet pull not downe your hedge"; another by Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanack (1754) is "Love thy Neighbour; yet don't pull down your Hedge." "

  • December 22

    Question:

    What poet, born in California, but known as a New England poet, was named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee?

    Answer ->

    Robert Frost.

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