{{Short description|Annual observance each April}} '''National Poetry Month''', a celebration of poetry which takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. The Academy of American Poets' website Poets.org serves as a hub for information about local poetry events during the month. The organization also provides free educational resources to teachers for classroom celebrations and activities, and commissions an annual festival poster.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/home|title = National Poetry Month | Academy of American Poets}}</ref> Since 1998, National Poetry Month has also been celebrated each April in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://poets.ca/programs-2/reading-programs/national-poetry-month/|title=National Poetry Month 2016 – League of Canadian Poets|access-date=2015-01-04|archive-date=2015-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105012528/http://poets.ca/programs-2/reading-programs/national-poetry-month/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==History== <!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|200px|right|2006 National Poetry Month poster, designed by Number Seventeen, NYC -->
National Poetry Month was inspired by the success of Black History Month, held each February, and Women's History Month, held in March. In 1995, the Academy of American Poets convened a group of publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary organizations, poets, and teachers to discuss the need and usefulness of a similar monthlong holiday to celebrate poetry.<ref name="NPMCSM">Lund, Elizabeth [http://blogs.csmonitor.com/the_poetic_life/2005/06/index.html#a0005092821 "Poetry's Underpraised Promoters"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211233005/http://blogs.csmonitor.com/the_poetic_life/2005/06/index.html#a0005092821 |date=2007-02-11 }} Christian Science Monitor (June 13, 2005). Accessed 2007-02-12.</ref> The first National Poetry Month was held in 1996.
In 1998, the Academy of American Poets joined the American Poetry & Literacy Project to distribute 100,000 free books of poetry from New York to California during National Poetry Month. On April 22, President Clinton and the First Lady hosted a gala at the White House that featured Poets Laureate Robert Pinsky, Robert Hass, and Rita Dove.<ref name="NPMhistory">[http://poets.org/page.php/prmID/100 National Poetry Month History & Highlights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218215529/http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/100 |date=2007-02-18 }} Poets.org. Accessed 2007-02-12.</ref>
For National Poetry Month in 2001, the Academy of American Poets invited people to "vote" for poets they most wanted to have a postage stamp. More than 10,000 people cast ballots, with Langston Hughes receiving the most votes. The vote tally was sent to the United States Postal Service, which issued a Langston Hughes stamp in January 2002.<ref name="NPMhistory"/>
On April 5, 2005 the Empire State Building was illuminated with blue lights to mark the 10th anniversary of National Poetry Month.<ref name="NPMhistory"/>
In 2006, the Academy of American Poets launched Poem-a-Day, publishing one new poem on its website Poets.org each day during the month-long celebration. Poem-a-Day is now a daily, year-long series, which has been syndicated by King Features.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/poem-a-day/ |title=Poem-a-Day : King Features Syndicate |access-date=2015-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315134135/http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/poem-a-day/ |archive-date=2015-03-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2012, the Academy of American Poets launched the Dear Poet project, which invites students to read and write poems during National Poetry Month, some of which are published on Poets.org. The project is accompanied by a lesson plan offered to K-12 teachers for free.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.writersforum.org/news_and_reviews/newsroom.html/article/2013/03/22/academy-of-american-poets-launches-dear-poet-student-letter-writing-project-|title = Alabama Writers' Forum : News & Reviews : Newsroom}}</ref>
Each year, a special poster is commissioned by the Academy of American Poets for National Poetry Month, with almost 150,000 copies distributed to schools, libraries, and community centers for free. In the past, posters have been designed by noted graphic designers such as Chip Kidd and Milton Glaser. The 2015 National Poetry Month poster was designed by ''New Yorker'' illustrator Roz Chast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bookweb.org/news/btw-news-briefs-515|title = BTW News Briefs|date = 6 November 2014}}</ref>
Numerous books and poetry compilations have been published acknowledging National Poetry Month, such as ''The Knopf National Poetry Month Collection'' by Random House and ''Celebrating National Poetry Month'' by children's book author and poet Bruce Larkin.
In 2021, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Academy of American Poets commemorated the 25th anniversary of National Poetry Month.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mellon.org/twenty-ten-25/|title=Twenty Ten Twenty-Five}}</ref>
==Purpose== Like Black History Month, the celebration of poetry each April has grown and established itself organically, in both official and unofficial ways. Each year, publishers, booksellers, educators and literary organizations use April to promote poetry: publishers often release and publicize their poetry titles in April, teachers and librarians focus on poetry units during the month; and bookstores and reading series frequently hold special readings. National Poetry Writing Month encourages writing a poem a day in celebration.
==Proclamations== In a proclamation issued on April 1, 1996, President Bill Clinton declared: "National Poetry Month offers us a welcome opportunity to celebrate not only the unsurpassed body of literature produced by our poets in the past, but also the vitality and diversity of voices reflected in the works of today's American poetry….Their creativity and wealth of language enrich our culture and inspire a new generation of Americans to learn the power of reading and writing at its best."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/national-poetry-month-proclamations/|title = National Poetry Month Proclamations | Academy of American Poets}}</ref> In addition, similar official National Poetry Month proclamation have been issued by mayors from towns and cities across the country, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tucson, and Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/national-poetry-month-proclamations|title=National Poetry Month Proclamations | Academy of American Poets}}</ref>
==Poetry & the Creative Mind==
In 2002, the Academy organized the first Poetry & the Creative Mind gala to raise funds in support of National Poetry Month, and it has become an annual event. Each year the Academy invites some of America’s leading artists, scholars, and public figures to read their favorite poems. Hosted each year by the three-time Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, the event has featured readings by Liam Neeson, Tony Kushner, Maya Lin, Sam Waterston, Suzan-Lori Parks, Minnie Driver, Dan Rather, Agnes Gund, Frank Rich, Diane von Fürstenberg, Wynton Marsalis, Alan Alda, Wendy Whelan, Mike Wallace, Dianne Wiest, Oliver Sacks, Gloria Vanderbilt, William Wegman, and Christopher Durang, among others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poets.org/academy-american-poets/programs/poetry-creative-mind|title = Poetry & the Creative Mind | Academy of American Poets}}</ref>
==Debate== National Poetry Month has also sparked some debate among writers, most notably in 1999 from poet and academic Charles Bernstein.<ref>Bernstein, Charles [https://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/044106.html "Against National Poetry Month As Such"] University of Chicago Press (April 1999). Accessed 2007-02-12.</ref> Critics suggest that National Poetry Month trivializes the art form and floods the market with books in a matter of just a few weeks, overwhelming readers.
==International recurring celebrations==
===United Kingdom===
National Poetry Day,<ref>National Poetry Day</ref> founded in 1995 by William Sieghart, is celebrated on the first or second Thursday of October in the United Kingdom; this has become an established fixture in the cultural calendar. Events take place in schools, pubs, arts centres, bookshops, libraries, buses, trains and Women’s Institutes, and the day is the focus for media attention for poetry. National Poetry Day is co-ordinated by the Forward Arts Foundation (a registered charity), which also runs the Forward Prizes for Poetry. A theme is chosen in consultation with the National Poetry Day partners: in 2015, National Poetry Day falls on October 8 and the theme is Light.
Since 1999, National Poetry Month has been celebrated each April in Canada, where it is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets and organized around a different annual theme.<ref>[http://poets.ca/wordpress/programs-2/national-poetry-month Canadian National Poetry Month] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327110259/http://poets.ca/wordpress/programs-2/national-poetry-month |date=2012-03-27 }} The League of Canadian Poets. Accessed 2012-04-08.</ref>
In 1999, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared March 21 to be World Poetry Day. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements."
In the United Kingdom the festival “October is National Poetry Month” was founded in 2000 by Celtic bard Jim MacCool<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.schoolsmailserver.co.uk/this_year/Performance%20Poetry%20Society%20-%20Performance%20Poetry%20May%2008.htm |title=Untitled Document |access-date=2008-08-25 |archive-date=2011-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004230643/http://www.schoolsmailserver.co.uk/this_year/Performance%20Poetry%20Society%20-%20Performance%20Poetry%20May%2008.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was adopted by the Birmingham-based Performance Poetry Society that same year. From makeshift beginnings, National Poetry Month has been exploited by primary and secondary schools, colleges of further education, public library services, the prison estate, and to a lesser extent, more localised festivals. Professional poets appear in all corners of the United Kingdom under the aegis of the Performance Poetry Society, which co-ordinates a proportion of their efforts and ensures that they are paid a normal rate for their appearances.
On October 8, 2009, the BBC announced on [https://www.nationalpoetryday.co.uk National Poetry Day] the results of its poll to find the nation's favourite poet. The winner was T. S. Eliot, followed by John Donne, Benjamin Zephaniah, Wilfred Owen and Philip Larkin (in that order).
===United States=== In 1937 Tessa Sweesy Webb celebrated the first Poetry Day in Ohio on the 3rd Friday of October by proclamation of the Ohio legislature.<ref name="TPD3"/> In 1947 Ralph Cheyney's wife, Lucia Trent, standardized the date of Poetry Day to honor Cheyney on the yearly anniversary of his death.<ref name="austin">{{cite news |title=Poetry day founder is paid honor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-austin-american-poetry-day-founder-i/193943994/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=The Austin American |date=3 October 1965}}</ref><ref name="TPD3" /> The holiday was first celebrated on October 15th, 1947 as Texas Poets Day by proclamation of Governor Beauford H. Jester.<ref name="TPD3">{{cite news |last1=Brewer |first1=Anita |title=That's Lucia Trent, Poetry Advocate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman-lucia-trent-t/193943582/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=Austin American Statesman |date=1 October 1963}}</ref><ref name="TPD2">{{cite news |title=Poets Day Named |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-houston-chronicle-poets-day-named/193946019/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=Houston Chronicle |date=5 October 1947}}</ref><ref name="TPD">{{cite news |title=Poetry awards of month for Texas are awarded |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-texas-poetry-da/193944394/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=Fort Worth Star Telegram |date=19 February 1950}}</ref>
In 1950 Lucia Trent was a member of the National Poetry Day committee lead by Dr. Etta Josephean Murfey<ref name="NPDCI" /> which sought out an official recognition of the holiday by the president.<ref name="TPD3" /> It expanded first to New York, Idaho,<ref name="IPD">{{cite news |title=Idaho Poetry Day celebrates work |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-coeur-dalene-press-idaho-poetry-day/193949467/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=Coeur d'Alene Press |date=15 October 2000}}</ref> and Pennsylvania in 1948 and by 1955, the National Poetry Day celebration grew to include 42 states.<ref name="WPD1" /> The organization had regional and state representatives.<ref name="Letter">{{cite web |title=Letter from National Poetry Day Committee in 1955 |url=https://www.bibliotecanacionaldigital.gob.cl/colecciones/BND/00/AE/AE0005387.pdf |website=Chilean National Library |access-date=23 March 2026}}</ref>
In 1955 through the advocacy of Philadelphia poet Mary O'Connor, the holiday became World Poetry Day, with Cyprus and the Philippines being first to observe the holiday outside of the United States.<ref name="WPD1">{{cite news |title=World Poetry Day to be observed on October 15 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-journal-world-poetry-day-to-b/193947041/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=Herald Journal |date=12 October 1959}}</ref><ref name="WPD2"/> By 1960 World Poetry Day was celebrated in 32 countries.<ref name="WPD2">{{cite news |last1=Atkinson |first1=Mabel Law |title=32 nations celebrate World Poetry Day |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-journal-32-nations-celebrate/193948158/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=Herald Journal |date=16 October 1960}}</ref> O'Connor died in 1960.
In 1966 Dr. Frances Clark Handler of Florida incorporated the World Poetry Day Committee, Inc. as a non-profit to continue to promote the official adoption of the holiday by governments around the world.<ref name="97thcongress">{{cite book |title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and debates of the 97th Congress |date=August 1982 |publisher=U.S. Printing Office |pages=20638 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Congressional_Record/nrUFoL5-MU4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Frances%20Clark%20handler&pg=PA20638&printsec=frontcover}}</ref><ref name="NPDCI">{{cite news |title=National Poetry Day Committee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-national-poetry-day-com/193981430/ |access-date=23 March 2026 |agency=The Miami Herald |date=1 September 1974}}</ref> By the time of Trent's death in 1977, Poetry Day was celebrated in all 50 states and 41 countries.<ref name="Trentobit">{{cite news |title=Lucia Trent dies Poetry founder |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-port-richey-press-lucia-trent-dies-p/193952632/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |agency=New Port Richey Press |date=2 March 1977}}</ref> Dr. Handler continued to advocate for presidential recognition of the holiday throughout the 1980s. In 1982 and 1983 Florida Congressman Claude Pepper advocated for Poetry Day on the House floor.<ref name="USCongress1983">{{cite news |title=Extensions of Remarks |url=https://www.congress.gov/98/crecb/1983/10/04/GPO-CRECB-1983-pt19-7-3.pdf |access-date=23 March 2026 |agency=U.S. Congress |date=1983}}</ref> She died in 1993.
Due to the advocacy of the Poetry Day Committee, National Poetry Month was widely celebrated across the United States in October beginning in the 1950s.<ref name="NPM1">{{cite news |last1=Doane |first1=Myrtle |title=National Poetry Day celebrated October 15 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-journal-national-poetry-day-celebrat/194018185/ |access-date=23 March 2026 |agency=Sun Journal |date=13 October 1984}}</ref> Prior to 1996 October was celebrated as national poetry month by the Academy of American Poets,<ref name="AAP2">{{cite news |title=Poetry Theme |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/syracuse-herald-journal-poetry-theme-o/194230999/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Syracuse Herald Journal |date=16 October 1959}}</ref><ref name="AAP1">{{cite news |title=From chapel hill |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-and-record-according-to-the-academy/194231685/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=News and Record |date=18 October 1959}}</ref> National League of American Pen Women,<ref name="PW2">{{cite news |title=Local pen women note poetry month |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/jg-tc-journal-gazette-and-times-courier/194231226/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Journal Gazette and Times Courier |date=19 October 1978}}</ref><ref name="PW1">{{cite news |title=Poetry month to be observed by pen women on Wednesday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/connecticut-post-poetry-month-to-be-obse/194231162/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Connecticut Post |date=17 October 1964}}</ref> National Federation of State Poetry Societies,<ref name="NFSPS1">{{cite news |title=Kentwood residents attend poetry day observance |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-star-october-poetry-month/194234499/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=The Daily Star |date=9 November 1995}}</ref> and the California Federation of Chaparral Poets.<ref name="CFCP2">{{cite news |title=Multi media poetry festival scheduled |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-multi-media/194231303/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Peninsula Times Tribune |date=20 October 1973}}</ref><ref name="CFCP1">{{cite news |title=East Bay Poet's work to be shown in LA |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-poetry-month-los-angeles/194026641/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Oakland Tribune |date=20 September 1956}}</ref> In 1959 Academy of American Poets noted that over 100 poetry societies and 200 bookstores across the nation celebrated October as poetry month.<ref name="AAP1" /><ref name="Richmond">{{cite news |title=Oct Poetry Month |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-richmond-news-leader-oct-poetry-mont/194023588/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Richmond News Leader |date=7 October 1959}}</ref> Some celebrations in the 1980s and 1990s referred to October as World Poetry Month.<ref name="WPM">{{cite news |title=Odessa Chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-odessa-american-world-poetry-month/194234120/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Odessa American |date=28 October 1990}}</ref><ref name="WPM2">{{cite news |last1=Mathews |first1=Shirley |title=Fairfield gallery marks World Poetry Month |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/stamford-advocate-world-poetry-month/194233990/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Stamford Advocate |date=29 October 1982}}</ref><ref name="WPM3">{{cite news |title=New Smyrna Beach |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daytona-beach-morning-journal-world-poet/194234179/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |agency=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |date=19 October 1984}}</ref>
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://rainydaypoems.com Rainy Day Poems] A collection of classic poems and modern poetry books *[http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/home National Poetry Month] at the Academy of American Poets website *[https://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/044106.html Against National Poetry Month As Such], essay by Charles Bernstein *[https://www.loc.gov/poetry/ Library of Congress - National Poetry Month] *[http://pastthepages.ca/080402/arts2.html Article about Canada's National Poetry Month] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411130417/http://pastthepages.ca/080402/arts2.html |date=2008-04-11 }}, April 2, 2008. *[https://chicagopoetry.com National Poetry Month Events in Chicago] *[http://ric.libguides.com/Poetry Rhode Island College LibGuide - National Poetry Month] *[https://www.nga.gov/feature/jakuchu/haiku/index.shtm Haiku inspired by Ito Jakuchu's Colorful Realm of Living Beings, April 2012] *[https://mellon.org/twenty-ten-25/ Twenty, Ten, Twenty-Five: 20 poets, 10 poems, 25 years of National Poetry Month], April 2021
Category:American poetry Category:April observances Category:1996 introductions Category:Poetry organizations Category:Commemorative months Category:Commemorative months in the United States