National Poetry Month was founded by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, and since then it has become the single largest literary celebration in the world. As this April’s festivities evolve and adapt to the strange world we find ourselves in, we are proud to share the many (virtual) ways CLMP members are bringing readers and writers together around poems.
BOA Editions
BOA Editions is partnering with their local NPR affiliate (WXXI-Rochester, NY) to run a series called Poetry Moments, where the press’s board members read poems on the air. (This year’s Poetry Moments will be a “best of” collection from past years, since the studio is currently closed to the public.) These poems will be available on wxxi.org after their airdates in April. Later in April, BOA Editions will also share a virtual poetry salon video on social media and YouTube; the salon will feature BOA poets with recent books who were scheduled to appear at AWP earlier this month.
Evergreen Review
To celebrate National Poetry Month, Evergreen Review’s poetry editor, Jee Leong Koh, has selected multiple works by four poets: Gary J. Shipley, Andrew Shields, James Reidel, and Lune Loh. The review is also instituting an annual grant for a poet, consisting of $500 and publication of a poem or poems in Evergreen.
Green Writers Press
For National Poetry Month, Green Writers Press and their literary magazine, The Hopper, are featuring a poem a day on social media from their anthology Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection, edited by James Crews with a foreword by Ted Kooser.
Hanging Loose Press
To celebrate National Poetry Month, Hanging Loose Press has kicked off a virtual, shelter-in-place-friendly reading series featuring poets reading poems they wrote or ones written by other Hanging Loose authors. The series is airing on the press’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter channels.
The Iowa Review
Throughout April, The Iowa Review will publish one or two new poems online in a special series curated by poetry editor Abby Petersen. The poems will also be featured on TikTok @theiowareview and on Instagram.
Lucky Jefferson
Lucky Jefferson is collecting quotes, stories, and recordings for their “Empower A Poet” campaign during National Poetry Month—a way for writers to share advice and encouraging words to other writers and poets during this time.
The Paris Review
To celebrate National Poetry Month, The Paris Review continues a new series of videograms called Poets on Couches, in which poets read and discuss the poems they’re turning toward in these strange times.
Poetry
The April issue of Poetry is available to download for free via the Poetry app, Google Play, and Amazon. The Poetry Foundation is also offering a $20 subscription to receive eleven book-length issues and free digital access as a National Poetry Month special.
Poetry Society of America
This April, the Poetry Society of America continues its work bringing poetry to readers, including through Reading in the Dark, a new series in which poets reflect on the poems they return to in difficult times.
The Rumpus
Every day in April, The Rumpus will publish work from a different poet as part of an annual National Poetry Month poetry series.
