My whole life I’ve felt like I was trying to get others to look at something only I could see. Looking out the window for that bird was different. In that room, in the prison libraries, chapels, classrooms and cafeterias where I have led Lifelines workshops, I don’t need to point.
Poetry is the one thing you own; it is the bird in your hand
—Alison Pelegrin, Poet Laureate of Louisiana
Poems
One does such work as one will not,
And well each knows the right;
And well each knows the right;
James D. Corrothers
1922
O, rich young lord, thou ridest by
With looks of high disdain;
it chafe mr not thy title high
Charles G. Eastman
1848
Poems
Features
Listen to a short Q&A where Kim Addonizio discusses her curatorial process for Poem-a-Day.
Listen to a short Q&A where Kim Addonizio discusses her curatorial process for Poem-a-Day.
“Slapped in the Face by Walls”
I’ve been writing poetry for over fifty years and have been inspired by many different styles and movements along the way.
Announcements
March 4, 2025
New York, NY (March 4, 2025)—The Academy of American Poets announces the elections of publisher Ellen Adler and editor Gabriella Page-Fort
February 11, 2025
New York, NY (February 11, 2025)—The Academy of American Poets, the founder of National Poetry Month and the publisher of Teach This Poem, a series of free poetry lesson plans serving 40,000 teachers nation
January 9, 2025
New York, NY (January 9, 2025)—The Academy of American Poets, a leading supporter of poets and poetry for over ninety years, announces the election of Ada Limón and Eleanor Wilner
Awards
American Poets Magazine
Produced exclusively for our members, the Fall–Winter issue features cover art by Childe Hassam; essays by B. K. Fischer, Eunsong Kim, and Rena Priest. Become a member to receive your digital and physical copy of the most recent issue of American Poets.
- Unbinding Poetic Lives by Eunsong Kim
- River as a Verb: Reading Ecopoetry with High School Students by B. K. Fischer
- “The poetry of earth is ceasing never…”: Reflections on Ecopoetry by Rena Priest
to receive your copy of American Poets twice a year.
