Poetry & the Creative Mind 2012

On April 5, 2012, the Academy of American Poets held its 10th annual benefit, Poetry & The Creative Mind, at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. Noted actors, musicians, writers, and visual artists participated in this extraordinary evening celebrating the role of contemporary poetry in American culture. Poetry & the Creative Mind celebrates National Poetry Month, established by the Academy in 1996 and now the largest literary celebration in the world.

Our special guest readers were Tom Brokaw, Claire Danes, John Wesley Harding, Terrence Howard, Bill Keller, Colum McCann, Dianne Reeves, Brooke Shields, and Meryl Streep. Chip Kidd served as master of ceremonies. They read work by poets including E. E. CummingsNikky FinneyMuriel Rukeyser, and Walt Whitman, among others.