The World wasn’t a Christmas magazine. Edited by Anne Waldman for the first decade of its life and published by The Poetry Project at St. Marks Church In-the-Bowery in New York from 1967 to 2002, it included work by hundreds of writers within, adjacent to, and succeeding the New York School. Some of the best-known writers of these generations published in The World, and some of them, it turns out, wrote on the topic of Christmas. We’ve gathered our favorite holiday poems to share, but we encourage you to click through to explore all of the incredible poetry included in these issues. So make yourself a mug of hot chocolate, sit yourself within range of a Christmas tree, and enjoy The World. Happy holidays, and happy reading!
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“Poem” by Yuki Hartman
“Seasonal Poem” by Anne Waldman
“Midwinter Day” by Bernadette Mayer
“A Christmas In the World” by Clark Coolidge
“Smile” by Scott Cohen
“Sounds of Angels” by Wang Ping
“White Snow” by Apollinaire (tr. Alice Notley)
“Office Party” by Dominic Arbolay
“Little Story” by Eileen Myles
“Christmas Lists” by Jim Carroll
