In times of crisis, many turn to poetry for comfort--and also for galvanizing inspiration. The Guardian pulled together five poems to help counter despair—and apathy—in the days following Trump’s election. 

But why do we seek out poems? The editor of Poetry magazine attempts to explain poetry’s allure in times of war and uncertainty, to chart the intersection between politics and art, between poetry and activism. “Sooner or later, we’ll find that poetry has been waiting for us.”

“The New Yorker poem” is a kind of poem all poets know, and many hate. Abraham Adams at Triple Canopy outlines the evolution of “the New Yorker poem,” from doggerel about panhandlers (He juggles the nickels / And jingles the dimes / And duly dispenses the quarters) and dog shows—you  know, the kind of stuff we can all relate to—to a “communiqué on experience” that assumes both reader and writer share a certain, specific cultural vocabulary.

Trump has taken on an unexpected literary role—that of the muse. In the past year, he and his combover have served as the subject for over two thousand poems on the website Hello Poetry. The website is free to join and allows users to post anything they’ve written.