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April and Poetry

© American Academy of Poets

In T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land "April is the cruellest month." Since 1996 the Academy of American Poets has been seeking to remedy that cruelty by creating a wide audience for poetry. The following is the unveiling of a new plan for Poetry Month 2004: (from the official site of The Academy of American Poets)

The Academy of American Poets Launches National Poetry Almanac for National Poetry Month 2004 February 26, 2004--On April 1, 2004, the Academy of American Poets will launch a web-based National Poetry Almanac that will provide 365 days' worth of poetry highlights, activities, ideas, and history for individual exploration and classroom use. "The National Poetry Almanac will help extend the celebration of poetry from April to all year round," observes Executive Director Tree Swenson. The Academy of American Poets established April as National Poetry Month in 1996.

National Poetry Almanac
The National Poetry Almanac will be a year-long promotion (and ultimately, a permanent resource) available exclusively online at the Academy's award-winning website, www.poets.org.

Readers of the Alamanac in April will discover 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month. During the month on Poetic Schools & Movements, visitors can find out more about the Beats, the New York School, Black Mountain poets, among others. Poetic forms & techniques such as the sonnet, the sestina, and the ghazal will be explained and illustrated during the year, while poems for all occasions, including weddings and funerals, will be recommended. Visitors to poets.org during April will be invited to nominate their favorite poetry landmarks, like the birthplaces of Langston Hughes and Robert Frost. • April: 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month • May: Poetic Schools & Movements • June: Beach Reading: Great Poetry Anthologies • July: Summer Blockbusters: Poetry on the Radio & at the Movies • August: Road Trip! Poetry Landmarks across the U.S.A. • September: Poetic Forms & Techniques • October: Great Poetry Debates, Manifestos, & Criticism • November: I Hear America Singing: Poetry & Music • December: Poetry Says It Best: Poems for All Occasions • January: Cabin Fever: Indispensable Poetry Online Resources • February: Cross-Pollination: Poetry & Art • March: American Masterpieces:

Groundbreaking Books of Poetry PLEASE NOTE: Sample Almanac pages for the media will be available in mid-March. Contact Charles Flowers at cflowers@poets.org for more information.

Free Poster Designed by Milton Glaser Milton Glaser, the renowned graphic artist who created the iconic "I Love New York" campaign in the 1970s has contributed a design for the National Poetry Month 2004 poster. Each April, the Academy creates and distributes--for free--almost 200,000 official National Poetry Month posters to U.S. schools, libraries, bookstores, and community centers to help promote the month-long celebration and to increase poetry awareness. Posters can be requested at www.poets.org/npm.