For two days last week, a Pilsen-based arts collective called Cream Co. brought a unique exhibit to the Logan Center’s patio: It allowed members of the community to trade a poem for a tomato plant.

A new anthology highlights the charms and drawbacks of very brief verse. By Elisa Gabbert I remember where I was when I first read two short poems. One, Margaret Atwood’s “You Fit Into Me” (“you fit ...