Events include a star-studded virtual benefit with Stephen King, Fran Lebowitz, Tony Kushner, Morgan Spector, and other celebrity readers; a month of daily poems; an online literary seminar; and free poetry in classrooms, libraries, bookstores, museums, online, and more.

New York, NY (March 21, 2025)—Poetry belongs to all of us, and in April, during National Poetry Month, the Academy of American Poets, a leading champion of poets and poetry in the United States, celebrates the transformative power the art form brings to our daily lives. 

National Poetry Month, which was originated by the Academy in 1996, has since become the largest literary celebration in the world. Whether you are a high school teacher who wants to bring poetry to life for students in your classroom, a reader of classics, or a budding poet wanting to read new poems being written today, the Academy offers an exciting season of poetry readings, seminars, and community initiatives to engage with creativity and meaning in profound ways at schools, libraries, and workplaces—on the page, in person, and online. 

CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH THROUGH THE ACADEMY’S PROGRAMS

Poets.org
Discover a new poem by your favorite living poet. Find poetry lesson plans, poems for kids and teens, essays about teaching, a glossary of poetry terms, and more. The Academy’s digital platform, Poets.org, continues to serve as the primary National Poetry Month information hub for readers, students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, poets, and literary organizations, reaching more than 18 million visitors annually. 

American Poets Magazine
The April 2025 issue of the Academy’s member magazine features essays on Joseph Beam’s seminal anthology In the Life, contributions by Aracelis Girmay and Chicago Poet Laureate Avery R. Young, as well as interviews and poems by the Academy’s newly elected Chancellors Ada Limón and Eleanor Wilner. Become a member. 

Poem-a-Day, the only daily poetry series publishing new work by today’s poets, with hundreds of thousands of readers nationwide and beyond. In April, former New York State Poet and 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, Willie Perdomo, will share a wide range of young and established voices, including poets who are long-standing members of New York’s spoken word community. April’s Poem-a-Day will also showcase the winning poems of the 2025 Treehouse Climate Action Prize. Read Poem-a-Day. 

April 1–30: Poets-in-the-Schools. Thanks to Hawthornden Foundation and the Eve and Simon Colin 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 celebrated poets Tyehimba Jess and José Olivarez during an in-class reading and discussion on what it means to live and work as a poet.

Starting April 9, 2:30 p.m. ET: The Academy presents the April edition of its popular online  Literary Seminar series, with celebrated scholar Lila Azam Zanganeh. Join a community of readers from around the world for an exclusive, three-part course on Charles Baudelaire, whose genre-defying poems have inspired Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Jean-Paul Sartre, T. S. Eliot, Robert Lowell, and Seamus Heaney, among many others. Presented online via Zoom. Academy members get a discount on registration. Book your spot. 

April 10: 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. Pick a poem to share. 

Through April 16: Every year the Academy distributes free copies of the official National Poetry Month poster to 80,000 classrooms, libraries, bookstores, and homes across the country. This year’s poster features artwork by award-winning children’s author and illustrator Christy Mandin and a powerful excerpt from former Young People’s Poet Laureate and former Academy Chancellor Naomi Shihab Nye’s beloved poem “Gate A-4”: “This is the world I want to live in. The shared world.” Get your poster while supplies last

Through April 24: Dear Poet, an interactive multimedia project that invites students in grades five through twelve to write letters responding to poems written and read by award-winning poets, including Academy Chancellors Jericho Brown, Natalie Diaz, Kimiko Hahn, and Afaa Michael Weaver, as well as former Academy Chancellor Anne Waldman and award-winning poets Nickole Brown, Denice Frohman, Joy Ladin, and Meg Day, whose poem is interpreted in American Sign Language. Encourage students to write to living poets.

April 24, 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 Christine Baranski, Danielle Deadwyler, Stephen King, Tony Kushner, Fran Lebowitz, and other cultural luminaries celebrating the power of poetry. The event raises critical funds for the organization’s award-winning K–12 educational programs. Free to attend; donations encouraged. Register for “poetry’s biggest night in.”

PARTNER PROGRAMS

March 31, 7 p.m. ET at Symphony Space: Dear Writer

An evening of lively readings and conversation celebrating the release of Maggie Smith’s latest work, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, a guide to igniting your creativity, with musical guest Josh Radnor, poet Mahogany L. Browne, and journalist Faith Salie. Academy members get a discount on tickets. Purchase tickets. 

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. 

About the Academy of American Poets

The Academy of American Poets is a leading champion of poets and poetry in the United States. Through its robust prize program, the organization awards over $1.3 million annually to poets across the country. The Academy also operates Poets.org, the world’s most popular publicly funded poetry website; organizes National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; publishes Poem-a-Day and American Poets magazine; provides educational resources for K–12 teachers and adult learners; and leads the Poetry Coalition, a network of organizations dedicated to promoting the vital role of poetry in our culture.