Seeing Things
This Is Not About Us

Keystone Poetry

From Philadelphia to Erie, and from the shale fields to the coal mines, Keystone Poetry celebrates the varied landscapes and voices of Pennsylvania. This collection brings together the work of 182 poets who, with keen eyes and powerful language, commemorate the hometowns, history, traditions, and culture of the Commonwealth.

Organized geographically, the poems traverse county lines, ancestral lineages, and thematic concerns–as well as gender, racial, and socioeconomic barriers. The poems in this collection seek to bring the reader close to home while fostering the discovery of new places and a deeper understanding of all those who live in the Keystone State.

Keystone Poetry also includes resources for teachers. Drawing from this collection of place-based literature, high school and college educators can use students’ hometown experiences to make disciplines such as literature, composition, creative writing, history, geography, sociology, political science, and psychology more engaging and accessible.

– To delve more deeply into class discussion, see “Let’s Talk About It,” a helpful aid for individual or group reflection.

– To fuel creativity, access “Let’s Write About It,” a practical guide to inspire writers of all levels.

More Adult Books

  • Winner of the 1987 American Book Award The Essential Etheridge Knight is a selection of the best work by one of the country’s most prominent and liveliest poets. It brings together poems from Knight’s previously published books and a section of new poems.
  • It's 1836, and the Mexican province of Texas is in revolt.
  • In The Golem of Brooklyn, Len Bronstein, an art teacher with little knowledge of Judaism, accidentally brings a golem to life after stealing clay and getting high. As this nine-foot-six, Yiddish-speaking creature learns about contemporary crises, including the rise of white nationalism, it embodies the weight of Jewish history and trauma, prompting profound questions about humanity and identity.
  • Discover the lyrical beauty of early American verse in "The Harp Of Delaware, Or, The Miscellaneous Poems Of The Milford Bard" by John Lofland. This collection presents a vibrant tapestry of 19th-century poetic expressions, reflecting the cultural and historical nuances of Delaware. Lofland, known as the Milford Bard, captures the essence of his time through evocative language and heartfelt themes.