New York, NY (May 7, 2021)— Sharing poems on Mother's Day is a special way to honor the mothers and mother figures we know, whether or not it’s possible to visit with loved ones in person. For the upcoming occasion, the Academy of American Poets and Poets.org recommends 21 popular poems from its collection to help celebrate and remember these individuals:
Classic:
Elizabeth Akers Allen, “Rock Me to Sleep”
Edna St. Vincent Millay, “The courage that my mother had”
Edgar Allen Poe, “To My Mother”
Alexander Posey, “Mother and Baby”
Lola Ridge, “Mother”
Christina Rossetti, “To my Mother”
Robert Louis Stevenson, “To My Mother”
Contemporary:
Ellen Bass, “Indigo”
Erin Belieu, “Another Poem for Mothers”
Wanda Coleman, “Dear Mama (4)”
Katie Condon, “Big with Dawn”
Angelo Geter, “Wonder Woman”
Lupe Mendez, “La suavecita”
Li-Young Lee, “I Ask My Mother to Sing”
Poems of Remembrance:
Dorianne Laux, “My Mother’s Colander”
Lisel Mueller, “When I Am Asked”
Kiki Petrosino, “Ghosts”
Stanley Plumly, ”At Night“
Luther Hughes , “My Mother, My Mother”
Paul Celan, “Aspen Tree”
David Young, “Mother’s Day”
Visit Poets.org for a curated collection of more than 100 additional poems for Mother’s Day or a selection of meaningful lines to share in your own personalized, poetic greeting.
About the Academy of American Poets
Founded in 1934, the Academy of American Poets is the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry with supporters in all fifty states. The Academy annually awards more funds to individual poets than any other organization through its prize program, giving a total of $1.25 million 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.