On April 19, 2017, the Academy of American Poets presented its fifteenth annual Poetry & the Creative Mind reading at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, celebrating National Poetry Month.
The evening began with a reading from award-winning poet and memoirist Elizabeth Alexander, who served as the event’s master of ceremonies, and Joey Reisberg, a participant in the National Student Poets program.
Special guest readers included:
| Uzo Aduba | James Lapine |
| Wayne Brady | Amanda Palmer |
| Maurice Hines | Meg Ryan |
| Madhur Jaffrey | Cécile McLorin Salvant |
| Sebastian Junger | Meryl Streep |