New York, NY (December 1, 2020)— Today, the Academy of American Poets has surpassed 250,000 subscribers to Poem-a-Day, its digital series that features new work by contemporary poets on the weekdays and classic work from the public domain on the weekends. Poem-a-Day, which has had a 20% increase in sign-ups over the last nine months, is sent to subscribers via email and is also published on Poets.org, one of the most visited sites for poetry in the world, and on social media, where it reaches an additional audience of 500,000+ individuals. Because of its reach, Poem-a-Day is one of the largest platforms for poets to share new work and promote their books. The series has also made the Academy one of the most prolific publishers of poetry in the U.S.
“Since the news of COVID-19 emerged, we’ve seen more and more people turning to poems. We’re honored and humbled to be of service at this challenging and uncertain moment,” said Jennifer Benka, Executive Director.
Every year, Poem-a-Day is curated by twelve new guest editors who each curate a month of poems. This summer, the Academy of American Poets worked with six additional guest editors and dedicated twelve weeks to poems that centered Black voices. The 2020 guest editors are Meg Day, Roger Reeves, Dana Levin, Joy Harjo, Monica Youn, Major Jackson, January Gill O’Neil, Mahogany L. Browne, Marilyn Nelson, A. H. Jerriod Avant, Nicole Sealey, David Tomas Martinez, Ari Banias, Heid E. Erdrich, and Brian Blanchfield.
“We’re grateful to these guest editors whose meaningful participation and leadership in our editorial efforts ensures that Poem-a-Day features work by both established and emerging poets who represent wide-ranging perspectives and many different geographical regions,” said Jeffery Gleaves, Director of Digital Engagement and Content.
To sign up for Poem-a-Day, which is free, please visit: https://poets.org/poem-a-day
About the Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry with supporters in all fifty states. Founded in 1934, the organization annually awards more funds to individual poets than any other organization through its prize program, giving a total of $1,250,000 to more than 200 poets at various stages of their careers. The Academy also 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; provides award-winning resources to K–12 educators, including the Teach This Poem series; hosts an annual series of poetry readings and special events; and coordinates a national Poetry Coalition working together to promote the value poets bring to the country’s culture. This year, in response to the global health crisis, the organization joined six other national organizations to launch Artist Relief, a multidisciplinary coalition of arts grantmakers and a consortium of foundations working to provide resources and funding to the country’s individual poets, writers, and artists who are impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.