David Lehman

David Lehman, a contributing editor of the Scholar, is a poet, a critic, and an editor. Ithaca, his new book of poems, won The New Criterion Poetry Prize for 2025. He runs the “Next Line, Please” poetry feature on our website.

Two birds on a wire

Updike on Couples

By David Lehman | Tuesday June 25, 2019
Person walking down stairs, black and white photo

Nine-Line Stanzas

By David Lehman | Tuesday June 18, 2019
Black and white "walk" sign

Impromptu

By David Lehman | Tuesday June 11, 2019

A Sonnet Is Ample Space

By David Lehman | Tuesday June 4, 2019

How to Be a Big-League Critic

Helpful hints from a professional

By David Lehman | Monday June 3, 2019
Old fashioned mailbox that says LETTERS

Read Emily’s Mind

By David Lehman | Tuesday May 7, 2019
A black and white photograph of a subway car

Poetic Metamorphosis

By David Lehman | Tuesday April 30, 2019

The Love Poem in an Unromantic Age

By David Lehman | Tuesday April 23, 2019

Twentieth-Century Quiz Show

By David Lehman | Thursday May 21, 2026

A Photographer in Words

By David Lehman | Tuesday March 17, 2026

Why Lee Wiley? 

By David Lehman | Monday March 2, 2026

Resolutions or Regrets

By David Lehman | Monday February 9, 2026

A Leap Without a Safety Net

By David Lehman | Monday November 10, 2025

Let’s Write a Villanelle

By David Lehman | Monday October 6, 2025

The Stolen Lines

By David Lehman | Monday September 1, 2025

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