10 Contemporary Pastoral Poems

The pastoral tradition in poetry began in Greece around 750 BCE and reemerged during the Renaissance in Italy and England. It’s marked by idealized depictions of rural life and landscapes, presenting a simpler and more innocent way of living, often imagined for the benefit of urban audiences. Writers such as Hesiod, Virgil, Dante, Petrarch, Alexander Pope, and Christopher Marlowe all contributed to the development of this tradition.

Pastoral themes continue to appear in contemporary poetry, sometimes to echo earlier works and sometimes to question or complicate them. To illustrate this ongoing influence, we’ve gathered ten contemporary pastoral poems available on JSTOR. As always, all are free to download.

“Pastoral,” Louise Glück
“Central Park,” Alex Dimitrov
“Nebraska,” Barbara Guest
“Pastoral,” Rebecca Lehmann
“Anthropocene Pastoral,” Catherine Pierce
“Pastoral,” Debora Kuan
“Hematology,” Sam Sax
“Divining Rod,” Arielle Greenberg
“Pastoral,” James Tate
“Southern Pastoral,” Natasha Trethewey

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