Gather in Poems

The Academy of American Poets was honored to present Gather in Poems: A Virtual Reading on Tuesday, November 24, at 7:30 pm EST, which reflected on how sharing poems can create a sense of community, especially at a time when so many must be apart. This reading was free and open to the public, with presentations by award-winning poets, including U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, National Book Award-winner Arthur Sze, and Kingsley Tufts Poetry-winner Patricia Smith.

Joy Harjo reads “More Than Something Else” by Rainy Dawn Ortiz
Aimee Nezhukumatathil reads "Darling Coffee" by Meena Alexander
Rafael Campo reads “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton.
Aracelis Girmay reads “If They Come For Us” by Fatimah Asghar.
Arthur Sze reads "Streets" by Naomi Shihab Nye.
Patricia Smith reads "To Prisoners" by Gwendolyn Brooks.
National Student Ethan Wang reads "So They Say— They Finally Nailed— the Proton’s Size— & Hope— Dies—" by Rosebud Ben-Oni.
Jessica Jacobs reads"Astronomers Locate a New Planet" by Matthew Olzmann.
Nickole Brown reads "Rooms Remembered" by Laure-Anne Bosselaar.
Airea D. Matthews reads "For My People" by Margaret Walker.
Toi Derricotte reads "My People" by Langston Hughes.
Robert Hass reads “Sarah in Her Father’s Arms” by George Oppen.
Seema Yasmin reads from “The Voice of Sheila Chandra” by Kazim Ali.
Francisco Aragon reads "The Hug" by Thom Gunn.
Geffrey Davis reads "Wade in the Water" by Tracy K. Smith.
Ladan Osman reads "Dusting" by Marilyn Nelson.
Yesenia Montilla reads "On Gathering Artists" by Alberto Ríos.
Participants ended the program with a choral reading of “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo.
 

Share the full anthology of poems featured in the reading.

The Academy of American Poets was honored to present Gather in Poems: A Virtual Reading on Thursday, November 18, 2021, with the esteemed poets who serve on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets. Chancellors read from their work and reflected on how sharing poems can create a sense of community.

Here are the poems that were shared:

"Island" by Langston Hughes, read by Ellen Bass 
"If You Knew" by Ellen Bass
"How to Apologize" by Ellen Bass 
"Quotidian" by Natasha Trethewey
"Beeches" by David St. John 
"The Park" by David St. John 
"Hotbed 66" by Nikky Finney 
"Muscular Fantasy" by Terrance Hayes 
"From LOCK DOWN IMPROMPTKU" by Marilyn Chin 
"What the Silence Said" by Marie Howe 
"Unto Ourselves III: To See What's There" by Forrest Gander 
"If I Should Come Upon Your House Lonely in the West Texas Desert" by Natalie Diaz 
"& After the Power Came Back" by Brenda Hillman 
"Autumn Ritual with Hate Turned Sideways" by Brenda Hillman 
"Some Kinds of Forever Visit You" by Brenda Hillman
"Halter" by Kevin Young 
"Dog Star" by Kevin Young 
"Russet" by Kevin Young 
"Emily Said" by Dorianne Laux 
"I heard a Fly buzz (465)" by Emily Dickinson, read by Dorianne Laux 
"Last Days" by Kwame Dawes
"Eat" by Kwame Dawes 
"Mothership" by Tracy K. Smith 
"We Feel Now A Largeness Coming On" by Tracy K. Smith 
"Without" by Joy Harjo