National Poetry Month Proclamation
Governor Jodi Rell, 2007

Anyone can ask his or her mayor or governor for a proclamation in support of National Poetry Month. Learn more >

John Hollander
A former Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, John Hollander is the author of more than a dozen volumes of poetry, most recently Picture Window.

More information on this state's laureateship

Connecticut Center for the Book
Celebrates books, writers and readers who engender and sustain the life of the imagination. Highlights authors, illustrators, printers and the literary heritage of the State of Connecticut. Offers concerts and publishes a quarterly journal, Readings.

Connecticut Commission on the Arts
Connecticut Commission on the Arts is the state agency responsible for developing and strengthening cultural resources, and increasing public participation in and support for the arts.

Connecticut Poetry Society
The Connecticut Poetry Society has several chapters throughout the state, but one need not be a state resident, nor a poet for that matter, to join. The Society sponsors various readings and contests throughout the year, and most chapters usually meet monthly to workshop original poetry and discuss upcoming events.

Hartford Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens
The organization encourages awareness of Wallace Stevens in his hometown of Hartford through poetry readings, a birthday bash, a two-mile walk along a route that Stevens took daily, and the Wallace Stevens Scholarship, given annually to a high school student.

Laszlo's Arts Cafe
A weekly poetry reading series in Monroe. On Tuesday nights the series begins at 7:30 p.m. and lasts until the cafe closes. The evening starts with a workshop, followed by a featured poet, and finishes with an open mic.

Sunken Garden Poetry Festival
A summer-long poetry festival. Also sponsors a young poets competition and poetry writing workshops.

Wesleyan Writers Conference
A week-long program in fiction, poetry, film, nonfiction, and literary journalism, is held annually the last week in June.

Southern Connecticut State University
Offers an MA in English with a concentration in creative writing (poetry, fiction). The University is home to the Connecticut Review and a Visiting Writers Reading Series.

I-Park Residency
Set in an 1850's farmhouse on 450 acres of an East Haddam woodland retreat, the I-Park Artists' Enclave, now in its eighth season, offers residencies from May through November to writers and artists who are working on a self-directed project. Most sessions are four weeks in duration. Work samples are evaluated through a competitive, juried process.

University of Connecticut
Offers an MA in English with a concentration in creative writing. The University of Connecticut also hosts a reading series; Poetic Journeys, a program inspired by Poetry in Motion that features poems written by UCONN's students, faculty, and staff on placards designed by students; and Long River Review, a literary journal for undergraduates.

West Connecticut State University
A low-residency M.F.A. program that describes itself as “the first MFA program in writing that offers the aspiring writer training in both creative and practical writing: food for the soul and food for the table.” Students choose a primary and secondary genre, either of which are chosen from areas of creative writing and professional writing.

The Literary History of Connecticut
by Marilyn Nelson
Connecticut's proximity to New York City has brought many highly respected writers to the state, many of them to quiet hide-outs in pastoral areas like the Litchfield hills. Read more >

Wallace Stevens's Hometown: Hartford, CT
Stevens walked the two-mile route every day from his West End home to his office in Asylum Hill. He composed poems in his head while walking, and explained that he enjoyed matching the words in his head to the rhythm of his steps. Read more >

The Graves of Poets
Stephen Vincent Benét and James Merrill are both buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Stonington, Connecticut.

1. Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night...

2. We Real Cool
by Gwendolyn Brooks
We real cool. We...

3. The Negro Speaks of Rivers
by Langston Hughes
I've known rivers...

4. One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn't hard to master...

5. The Writer
by Richard Wilbur
In her room at the prow of the house...

6. The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...

7. This Is Just To Say
by William Carlos Williams
I have eaten / the plums...

8. As I Walked Out One Evening
by W. H. Auden
As I walked out one evening...

9. The Pleasures of Fear
by Judith Ortiz Cofer
We played a hiding game...

10. Mending Wall
by Robert Frost
Something there is that doesn't love a wall...

(Popularity based on Poets.org traffic data.)

The Hills of Little Cornwall
by Mark Van Doren
The hills of little Cornwall...

A Winter Without Snow
by J. D. McClatchy
Even the sky here in Connecticut has it...

Chicory Blue Press
CT literary press that focuses on the strong voices of women past sixty.

Connecticut Review
A semi-annual journal published since 1967 by Connecticut State University. It presents a wide range of cultural interests that cross-disciplinary lines: academic articles of general interest, thesis-oriented essays, translations, short stories, plays, poems, interviews, black and white photography and art work.

Curbstone Press
Curbstone publishes 8 to 10 books a year, brings authors into Connecticut high schools in year-round programs, and has formed community partnerships to stimulate reading and creative writing with many community and service organizations in the Windham/Willimantic area. It is this dual focus on publishing and educational programming that makes Curbstone unique among non-profit presses.

Fairfield Review
A biannual, online literary magazine featuring local poets and fiction writers.

Grayson Books
This small press based in West Hartford publishes poetry anthologies, collections, and chapbooks.

Miranda Magazine
Based out of New London, Miranda Magazine is an online publication developed by a group of creative artists and writers who aim “to promote and focus on the best writing, art, and ideas of our time.”

Sentences
A literary magazine of prose poetry. Edited by Brian Clements.

SNReview
The SNReview is an online quarterly created for writers of non-genre fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

Wesleyan University Press
Founded in 1957, the Wesleyan Poetry Series has distinguished itself through its success in bringing to the fore authors whose work has profoundly influenced the development of American poetry.

Yale Review
Published quarterly by Yale University. Poet and critic J. D. McClatchy has edited the journal since 1991.

Yale University Press
Publishes the distinguished Yale Series of Younger Poets, among other poetry titles.