"By all accounts, National Poetry Month has been part of a nationwide revival of interest in poetry over the last decade or so."
—Publishers Weekly

"[National Poetry Month] is a marketing tool that works. Thousands of bookstores and cultural institutions line up poetry readings and workshops, hanging posters to bring beleaguered and oft ignored poets necessary attention. It shouldn’t be confined to a month"
—The Village Voice

"When I was in college, poetry was radical; there were giant readings. It was just so exciting; we had books of poetry everywhere. It a part of the culture. I want to bring that back. I want to give people a feeling of excitement. I want to give people a sense of confidence. I want to encourage people to go to the library and browse. Go to a bookstore and browse. Now, who goes to the poetry section of a bookstore? That’s why it’s so good to have National Poetry Month in April, because nobody goes to the poetry section, unless you know what you’re looking for."
—Camille Paglia, interview in the Boston Phoenix

"It isn’t just the content that draws people [to Poets.org]; it’s the attitude as well. The site, like NPM events, has a 'you are welcome here' feel. The academy seems to be sharing what it loves, not handing down decrees from on high."
—Christian Science Monitor

Do yourself a favor and peruse the revamped web site from the Academy of American Poets... You'll need to set aside some quality time. It's like a literary Disneyland."
—Yahoo!

"Poetry, if we may take a moment to explain to the young people, is an art form somewhat like rap, only it does not sell, and since the death of Lord Byron there has been a paucity of bling-bling. Seeking to remedy this, The Academy of American Poets pulled in quite the dazzling lineup of celebrities to read at the Juilliard Theater at Lincoln Center on Tuesday."
—The New York Times

"The broad range of creative work of the evening's featured presenters should stand as testimony to poetry's power."
—The Village Voice

News from the Academy of American Poets:

2008 Releases

Clayton Eshleman receives the 2008 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award (April 9) More>

Academy of American Poets Launches Poem In Your Pocket Day Celebration (March 12) More>

Academy of American Poets Launches First Mobile Poetry Site (March 10) More>

National Poetry Month 2008 Poster by SpotCo Unveile (January 16) More>

2007 Releases

Alice Notley Wins $25,000 for the Year's Best Book of Poetry (October 3) More>

James McMichael Receives $25K Fellowship (September 18) More >

Brenda Shaughnessy Receives the 2007 James Laughlin Award for an Outstanding Second Book (September 10) More >

Newly Appointed Poet Laureate Charles Simic Wins $100K Wallace Stevens Award (August 2) More >

Sally Van Doren Receives the 2007 Walt Whitman Award (April 4) More >

Academy of American Poets Announces Plans for National Poetry Month 2007 (March 19) More >

Lauren Bacall, Glenn Close, Ethan Hawke, Alfre Woodard, and Others to Read at Benefit for Academy of American Poets (March 11) More >

2007 National Poetry Month Poster Unveiled (January 25) More >

2006 Releases

Lyn Hejinian, Sharon Olds, and Carl Phillips elected to the Board of Chancellors (December 14) More >

Eleanor Lerman and Tracy K. Smith Receive Awards for Best Books of the Year (October 17) More >

Carl Phillips Receives $25K Fellowship (September 26) More >

Michael Palmer Wins $100K Wallace Stevens Award (September 5) More >

Academy of American Poets Announces Finalists for 2006 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (August 29) More >

Anne Pierson Wiese Receives the 2006 Walt Whitman Award (May 15) More >

Academy of American Poets Presents the Second Annual “Word for Word” Series (April 19) More >

John DuVal Receives the Raiziss/de Palchi Prize $5,000 for the Translation of Modern Italian Poetry (April 17) More >

Academy of American Poets Leads Book Giveaway for National Poetry Month (April 11) More >

Richard Zenith Wins Landon Translation Award (March 13) More >

Rita Dove, Gerald Stern, Kay Ryan Elected to Academy of American Poets’ Board of Chancellors. (January 31) More >

National Poetry Read-a-Thon launches on Poets.org. (January 19) More >

2005 Releases

Anne Winters Receives the $25,000 Lenore Marshall Prize. (November 1) More >

The Lenore Marshall Book-of-the-Year Shortlist (September 28) More >

Academy of American Poets Announces $130,000 in Prizes to Poets (September 20) More >

Mary Rose O’Reilley Receives the 2005 Walt Whitman Award (May 24) More >

Poets.org, the Most Popular Nonprofit Poetry Website, Re-Launched by Academy of American Poets (May 23) More >

Daryl Hine Receives the 2005 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award (May 3) More >

Academy of American Poets Gives Away 1,200 Books in Bryant Park (April 22) More >

Academy of American Poets to Sponsor Free Book Give-away (April 13) More >

Empire State Building Honors the Academy with a Special Lighting (April 1) More >

Poet Robert Creeley Dies at 78 (March 30) More >

Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Diane von Furstenberg, Maya Lin, Dan Rather, Minnie Driver, & Others To Read at Benefit for Academy of American Poets. (March 3) More >

Robert Pinsky, Susan Stewart, and C. K. Williams Elected to Academy's Board of Chancellors (Feb. 24) More >

The Academy of American Poets Plans Largest Ever Celebration For 10th National Poetry Month (Feb. 14) More >

Ann Snodgrass Receives the 2004 Raiziss/de Palchi Fellowship (Feb. 2) More >

2004 Releases

Jackson Mac Low Dies at 82 (Dec. 9) More >

Mona Van Duyn Dies at 83 (Dec. 2) More >

Jane Hirshfield Receives 70th Academy Fellowship (Nov. 16) More >

Historic Reading of Sylvia Plath's Ariel (Oct. 27) More >

Anthony Hecht Dies at 81 (Oct. 21) More >

Donald Revell receives 2004 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (Oct. 19) More >

Mark Strand is the recipient of the 2004 Wallace Stevens Award (Oct. 8) More >

Academy Announces Finalists for 2004 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (Sep. 22) More >

Jeff Clark is the recipient of the 2004 James Laughlin Award (Sep. 8) More >

Academy of American Poets Selects 31 National Poetry Landmarks (Aug. 5) More >

Anselm Hollo and Charles Martin Receive the 2004 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award (June 5) More >

Geri Doran Receives the 2004 Walt Whitman Award (May 5) More >

Cynthia Rowley Designs "Cause" T-Shirt for the Academy of American Poets (April 20) More >

Empire State Building Honors Academy of American Poets With a Special Lighting on April 1 (March 24) More >

Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Diane Sawyer, Wynton Marsalis, Cynthia Rowley to Read at Benefit for the Academy (March 1) More >

The Academy Launches National Poetry Almanac for National Poetry Month 2004 (Feb. 26) More >

Poets.org Launches Mobile Site, March 2008

Humanities: The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, May/June 2004

Publishers Weekly, April 5, 2005

Scholastic News, April 4, 2005

The Patriot News, April 21, 2005