New York, NY (April 1, 2026)—This April, the Academy of American Poets brings back Poetry & the Creative Mind, its annual National Poetry Month benefit and virtual celebration of poetry’s impact on culture and education, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of National Poetry Month. The event will take place on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. ET and is free with registration.
The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce readers for this year’s Poetry & the Creative Mind, an exceptional group of celebrities and cultural leaders from across literature, film, music, and the arts. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Tracy K. Smith, the event will feature Academy Award–winning director Chloé Zhao; journalist, author, and former First Lady of California Maria Shriver; Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Louise Erdrich; stage and screen actor John Rothman; actor and author Nick Offerman; National Youth Poet Laureate Evan Wang; and interdisciplinary artist Coco Fusco. Additional readers will be announced.
“As we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of National Poetry Month, we are thrilled to honor the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation and U.S. Poet Laureate and Chancellor Emeritus Arthur Sze with Leadership Awards in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to American poetry,” said Tess O’Dwyer, Chair of the Board of Directors.
The Academy’s Leadership Award, instituted in 2021, is bestowed to members of the literary community for their service to poets and their support of poetry. The 2026 recipients include the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation and U.S. Poet Laureate and Chancellor Emeritus Arthur Sze.
“Poetry offers us a way to engage with the world, word by word and breath by breath,” said President and Executive Director Robert Casper. “At a moment when connection can feel fragile, poetry reminds us of our shared humanity. We are honored to welcome audiences from around the world to this evening of readings that invite reflection, discovery, and delight.”
Since becoming a virtual event, Poetry & the Creative Mind has welcomed tens of thousands of viewers from around the world. The benefit raises funds for the Academy’s educational programs, which serve more than 250,000 K–12 students each year and provide free poetry resources to teachers through Poets.org.
Registration is free and open to all but is required to access the virtual program; visit Poets.org/pcm to register. The program will stream live on YouTube, and registered attendees will receive a viewing link by email 24 hours before the event. A recording will not be available after the broadcast. Captioning will be available during the live stream.
National Poetry Month 2026 is made possible in part by Penguin Random House, the Poetry Foundation, and W. W. Norton & Company.
Poetry & the Creative Mind 2026 Readers
Louise Erdrich
Coco Fusco
Nick Offerman
John Rothman
Maria Shriver
Tracy K. Smith (host)
Evan Wang
Chloé Zhao
Additional readers to be announced
Leadership Award 2026 Honorees
The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation
Arthur Sze
About the Academy of American Poets
Founded in 1934, the Academy of American Poets is a leading publisher of contemporary poetry in the United States. The organization annually awards more than $1.3 million to poets at various stages of their careers through its prize program. It also produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; organizes National Poetry Month each April; publishes the Poem-a-Day series and American Poets magazine; provides free resources to educators; hosts public poetry programs 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 Poets.org.
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Photos of 2026 Poetry and the Creative Mind readers can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hL9INELst_Zw2GO368zdC1l3o-gyqLD9?usp=sharing