1980s: Charles Bernstein, Ron Silliman, and Bob Perleman criticize academic poets and poetics, arguing for a new kind of poetry that would foreground language's materiality and be more political and experimental. They came to be known as "language poets."

Today: Bernstein and Perleman, and many others associated with the language school of writing, teach in universities and colleges.

1980s: The Los Angeles Times announces that it will review fewer books of poetry, and many critics begin penning essays announcing that poetry in America is dead.

Today: Many of the same arguments regarding the irrelevance of poetry that were heard in the 1980s continue to be heard today. Meanwhile, creative writing programs across the country confer degrees in creative writing to an increasing number of graduates.

1980s: Kizer wins the Pulitzer Prize for her collection, Yin: New Poems and an award from The American Academy...