U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith Selects 22 Poems for Poem-a-Day Series in Honor of National Poetry Month in April 2019

New York, NY (March 12, 2019)—The poet laureate of the United States, Tracy K. Smith, has selected twenty-two poems by contemporary poets to be featured in the Academy of American Poets’ popular Poem-a-Day series in April, which is National Poetry Month. 

 

"I’m honored and excited to curate the month of April for Poem-a-Day, a series that shares the good news of poetry every single day, even covering the spaces, like small towns or rural communities, that poetry festivals and reading series sometimes fail to reach," said Smith.

 

Among the poets selected by the poet laureate to be featured in April are National Book Award winners Nikky Finney, Terrance Hayes, and Robin Coste Lewis, and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa. 

 

"Readers can expect a month of poems by some of the most acclaimed poets writing today," said Jennifer Benka, executive director of the Academy of American Poets. 

 

To receive Poem-a-Day, which is free and distributed daily to 450,000+ readers via email, social media, web, and syndication, readers can sign up here: www.poets.org/poem-day  

 

Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for her book Life on Mars (Graywolf Press, 2011), Smith is the twenty-second poet to serve as poet laureate. She was appointed by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in June 2017. Her most recent book, Wade in the Water, was published by Graywolf Press last April.

 

 

Founded in 1934, the Academy of American Poets is the nation's leading champion of poets, poetry, and the work of poetry organizations. In addition to Poem-a-Day, the organization produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; originated and continues to organize National Poetry Month; offers Teach This Poem and other award-winning resources for K-12 educators; and presents an annual series of poetry readings and special events. The organization also coordinates the work of a national poetry coalition working to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.