A Special Issue of Poem-a-Day Addressing Poetry & Democracy Beginning March 2, 2019

New York, NY (February 27, 2019)—The Academy of American Poets in New York City will dedicate five Saturdays in March in its Poem-a-Day series to the theme "What Is It, Then, Between Us?: Poetry & Democracy." This special issue of Poem-a-Day is part of the Poetry Coalition’s third annual programming initiative on a theme of social importance. For this collaborative effort occurring throughout March, each organization in the Poetry Coalition will bring its unique mission to the task of presenting programs and projects on the theme of the body. Any and all are invited to program on this theme in March and share their efforts using the hashtags #PoetryandDemocracy and #PoetryCoalition. 

 

Poem-a-Day is the original and only daily digital poetry series featuring over 200 new, previously unpublished poems by today’s talented poets each year. Launched in 2006, Poem-a-Day is now distributed via email, web, and social media to 450,000 readers free of charge and is available for syndication. Readers may subscribe here: www.poets.org/poem-day

 

For the special issue of Poem-a-Day, the Academy selected five poets and invited them to share an original poem that explores the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the freedoms of religion, speech, and the press, and the rights to peaceably assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The poets also curated a selection of poems by other poets that speak to these issues. And, the poets were invited to share non-literary organizations devoted to educating the public about these issues, some of which will provide informational resources to Poem-a-Day readers.

 

The five poets selected are: 

 

Pádraig Ó Tuama, author of Sorry for Your Troubles (Canterbury Press, 2013), and leader of the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland.

 

Richard Blanco, author of How To Love a Country (Beacon Press, forthcoming 2019), and the fifth poet to read at a United States presidential inauguration.

 

Tom Sleigh, author of House of Fact, House of Ruin (Graywolf Press, 2018), and journalist.

 

Brenda Hillman, author of Extra Hidden Life, among the Days (Wesleyan University Press, 2018), a finalist for the 2019 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award.

 

Solmaz Sharif, author of LOOK (Graywolf Press, 2016), a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award.

 

Each Poem-a-Day will link to the National Constitution Center, the first and only institution in America established by Congress to “disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people” so that readers might learn more about the First Amendment. 

 

 

The Academy of American Poets is the nation’s leading champion of poets, poetry, and the work of poetry organizations nationwide. Founded in 1934, the organization produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; National Poetry Month; the popular Poem-a-Day series; American Poets magazine; Teach This Poem and other award-winning resources for K-12 educators; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. In addition, the Academy of American Poets coordinates a national poetry coalition working together 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.