New York, NY (April 1, 2024)—The Academy of American Poets, a leading champion of poets and poetry, celebrates the active role that poetry plays across communities during National Poetry Month, which it founded in 1996 and has since become the largest literary celebration in the world. In addition, the Academy and its website Poets.org continue to serve as the primary National Poetry Month information hub for readers, students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, poets, and literary organizations, reaching many millions.
Programs for National Poetry Month 2024 range from the NYC launch of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s anthology You Are Here with Academy Chancellors on April 1, for both in-person and live streaming viewers, to the Academy’s signature benefit reading supporting education offerings on April 30, featuring Meryl Streep and other legendary voices, bringing the power of poetry to audiences nationally and across the world.
Join the celebration:
April 1–30: Poem-a-Day, the only daily poetry series publishing new work by today’s poets, with hundreds of thousands of readers nationwide and beyond, features Texas Poet Laureate and 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, Cyrus Cassells, as Guest Editor. In addition, as part of a collaboration with the Library of Congress and Milkweed Editions, the series will include poems from Ada Limón’s anthology You Are Here (Milkweed Editions, 2024). April’s Poem-a-Day will also showcase the winning poems of the 2024 Treehouse Climate Action Prize. Sign up for Poem-a-Day and read along.
April 1–30: Poetry in the Schools. Thanks to Hawthornden Foundation, the Academy of American Poets is bringing experienced poets and teaching artists into New York City public high school classrooms across the boroughs for free poetry curricula and workshops. In honor of National Poetry Month, students also get to engage with Academy Chancellor Kimiko Hahn and NAACP Image Award nominee Yesenia Montilla during an in-class reading and discussion on what it means to live and work as a poet. Learn more.
April 1, 7 p.m. ET: You Are Here, the launch of a new anthology of nature poems edited by Ada Limón and her signature project as the nation’s poet laureate, which will bring site-specific poetry installations into seven national parks this year. The evening features readings and a conversation with Academy Chancellors Ilya Kaminsky, Patricia Smith, and Kevin Young. In person and live stream tickets available. Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, New York, NY. Buy tickets.
April 4, 6 p.m. ET: An inspiring night of poetry with Booker Prize-winning author Michael Ondaatje and Knopf editor-in-chief Jordan Pavlin to celebrate the publication of A Year of Last Things, Ondaatje’s latest collection. Rizzoli Bookstore, 1133 Broadway, New York, NY. Free to attend. Register.
April 16, 2:30 p.m. ET: The Academy’s first online literary seminar begins. Join a community of readers from around the world for an exclusive, three-part course on Gwendolyn Brooks, presented by Pulitzer winner and former Academy Chancellor Carl Phillips. Presented online via Zoom. Book a spot.
Through April 16: Every year the Academy distributes free copies of the official National Poetry Month poster to 85,000 classrooms, libraries, bookstores, and homes across the country in time for the April celebration. This year’s poster features artwork by award-winning children’s author and illustrator Jack Wong, and lines from “blessing the boats” by beloved poet and former Academy Chancellor Lucille Clifton. Teachers can also use the free Teach This Poem lesson plan, featuring both the poem and the poster. The poster request line closes on April 16; claim your copy while supplies last.
April 18, all day: Poem in Your Pocket Day. Celebrate wherever you are by selecting a favorite poem from Poets.org and carrying it with you throughout the day. Share it with others in person or on social media using the hashtag #PocketPoem. Learn more.
April 18, all day: Poem in Your Pocket Day at the Guggenheim. Stop by the museum for collectible poems by all three Guggenheim Poets-in-Residence—Taylor Johnson (2022), Ama Codjoe (2023), and Meg Day (2024). Visitors get 10% off all poetry titles at the museum store. 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. Learn more.
April 22, all day: As part of a collaboration with the Guggenheim Museum and in honor of Earth Day, the Academy of American Poets is publishing a new collaborative poem along with a video performance. The poem, “time bending / tongue / entwine / the betwixt,” which is in conversation with Cecilia Vicuña’s “Three Fragments of Instan,” will premiere on Poets.org.
April 30, 7:30 p.m. ET: Poetry & the Creative Mind, the Academy of American Poets’ closing celebration of National Poetry Month and signature benefit reading. Joining the Academy on the virtual stage this year are Meryl Streep, Courtney B. Vance, Tony Kushner, Pulitzer winner and Academy Chancellor Jericho Brown who will serve as emcee, and other cultural luminaries celebrating the power of poetry. The event raises critical funds for the organization’s award-winning K–12 Education Program. Free to attend. Register for “poetry’s biggest night in.”
Thanks in part to National Poetry Month partners and sponsors, each April the Academy is able to offer these activities, initiatives, and resources so that anyone can join the celebration. Learn about more ways to celebrate at home and in the classroom at Poets.org/npm.
About the Academy of American Poets
Celebrating its ninetieth anniversary in 2024, the Academy of American Poets is a leading publisher of contemporary poetry across the country. The organization annually awards $1.3+ million to more than two hundred poets at various stages of their careers through its prize program. It also produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded resource for poets and poetry; established and organizes National Poetry Month each April; publishes the Poem-a-Day series and American Poets magazine; provides free resources to educators; hosts an annual series of poetry readings and special events; and coordinates a national Poetry Coalition that promotes the value poets bring to our culture. To learn more about the Academy of American Poets, including its staff, its Board of Directors, and its Board of Chancellors, visit https://poets.org/.