Presenting the 2018 Fall-Winter Events of the Academy of American Poets

New York, NY (September 6, 2018)—The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce its fall-winter events, which will run from September through January and include readings and panel discussions by the Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets at the Dodge Poetry Festival in Newark, New Jersey, conversations between poets and artists in other disciplines and readings by acclaimed and emerging poets in New York City, as well as a lecture by Academy Chancellor and New York State Poet Alicia Ostriker, author of the award-winning book Waiting for the Light (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017). 

 

SCHEDULE:

 

September 12: Words Without Borders presents “A River of Images: An Evening of Punjabi Poetry,” a celebration of Punjabi poetry with poet and playwright Ajmer Rode and journalist and literary critic Rafia Zakaria. Copresented by the Academy of the American Poets. Astoria Bookshop, 31-29 Thirty-first Street, Astoria, NY 11106, 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.

 

September 13: Join poets, scholars, and cultural writers for “Publishing American Sign Language Poetry,” a reading and performance of signed poetry, featuring a variety of genre and styles, followed by a discussion on linguistics, translation, publishing, and poetics. Cosponsored by the Academy of American Poets, ASL SLAM, Sign Language Resources, Poetry Society of America, Bowery Arts and Sciences, and Lost & Found: The CUNY Poetics Document Initiative. CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, Proshansky Auditorium, New York, NY 10016, 6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.

 

September 17: “O. B. Hardison Poetry Series: Won’t You Celebrate With Me?” Linda Pastan and Academy Chancellors Ellen Bass and Marilyn Chin celebrate fifty seasons of poetry at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Co-promoted by the Academy of American Poets. Elizabethan Theatre – Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003-1004, 7:30 p.m. Tickets ($15) are available for purchase online.

 

October 3: “A Tribute to Lucie Brock-Broido.” Celebrate the life and work of influential and beloved poet and professor Lucie Brock-Broido, whose poems "glistened with embellished, inventive language about her life, beauty, art and real-world people" (New York Times). Hear reflections and readings by Mary Jo Bang, Sophie Cabot Black, Henri Cole, Timothy Donnelly, Emily Fragos, Harmony Holiday, Marie Howe, Binnie Kirshenbaum, Dorothea Lasky, Robert Polito, Srikanth Reddy, Tracy K. Smith, and Kevin Young. Copresented by Columbia University School of the Arts Writing Program, Poetry Society of Amerca, Alfred A. Knopf, Academy of American Poets, Poets House, and The Poetry Foundation. Miller Theatre – Columbia University, 2960 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, 6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Register online.

 

October 18 to 20: Join the Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets for readings and conversations at the Dodge Poetry Festival—the largest gathering of poets and readers in the country. New Jersey Performing Arts Center, multiple dates and times. For tickets and more information, visit DodgePoetry.org.

 

October 29: Celebrate the newest issue of American Poets magazine with readings by Catherine Barnett, Shane McCrae, and 2018 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize winner Craig Morgan Teicher. Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012, 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.

 

November 30: New York State Poet and Academy Chancellor Alicia Ostriker delivers this year’s Blaney Lecture with a talk on poetry and the city. She is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Waiting for the Light (University of PIttsburgh Press, 2017), which received the National Jewish Book Award. She is a professor emerita of English at Rutgers University. The Blaney Lecture is made possible by a generous gift from the Dr. Dorothy Gulbenkian Blaney estate. Co-hosted by the NYU Creative Writing Program. Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 W 10th St, New York, NY 10003, 7 p.m. Free with online registration; limited seats available.

December 10: Presidential Inaugural Poet and Academy of American Poets Education Ambassador Richard Blanco and contemporary landscape photographer Jacob Bond Hessler take part in a conversation about their collaborative book project, Boundaries (Two Ponds Press, 2017), which investigates the visible and invisible boundaries of race, gender, class, and ethnicity. This event is part of the Academy's Fall Conversation Series. Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012, 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.

 

January 23: Distinguished and award-winning poet Kimiko Hahn, author of Brain Fever and Toxic Flora, joins astrophysicist Janna Levin, author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, for a conversation exploring the intersections of science and poetry. This event is part of the Academy's Fall Conversation Series. Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012, 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.

 

Academy of American Poets events are made possible by support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. 

 

 

The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. The organization produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; originated and organizes National Poetry Month; publishes the popular Poem-a-Day series and American Poets magazine; creates and distributes Teach This Poem and other award-winning resources for K-12 educators; hosts an annual series of poetry readings and special events; and awards the American Poets Prizes. In addition, the Academy of American Poets coordinates a national Poetry Coalition working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.