The Academy of American Poets, the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry, has selected three students’ poems to share for the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration on January 20. The three poems were chosen from nearly one thousand poems submitted by students by Presidential Inaugural Poet and the Academy’s Education Ambassador Richard Blanco as winners of the 2021 Inaugural Poem Contest. The three poems, which reflect on the country’s challenges, strengths, and hope for its future, will be featured on Poets.org, Poem-a-Day, and in American Poets magazine, reaching more than 500,000 readers. Thanks to an anonymous donor, the first place-winning student will receive $1,000; second place, $600; and third place, $300.
