"Arabic / the medium through which his body can return home"

April 10, 2024

Arab American Heritage Month

keep this circle moving, forth
& back, forth & back—

stamping ourselves
into a land so far from homeland.

Read a selection of poems from Fugitive/Refuge by Philip Metres, published this week by Copper Canyon Press:

“At the Arab American Wedding”
“The Arab Crosses into Los Estados Unidos”
“You Have Come Upon People Who Are like Family and This Open Space”

more at poets.org

A selection of poems in honor of Arab American Heritage Month:

“name/s” by Andrea Abi-Karam
“Displaced” by Mosab Abu Toha
“Heritage Emissary” by Threa Almontasar
“Object Permanence” by Hala Alyan
“Letter to al-Mutanabbi” by Sinan Antoon
“Nine Spice Mix” by Zeina Azzam
“Ode on an Abandoned House” by Hayan Charara
“I Belong There” by Mahmoud Darwish
“Ode to Sudanese-Americans” by Safia Elhillo
“Migrant Earth” by Deema K. Shehabi

poet laureate fellows

“What we all want from writing is to be heard, to be seen as more than our jobs or our labor and as the human beings that poetry makes us.”

Read an essay by 2023 Poet Laureate Fellow Erin Elizabeth Smith on inspiring her community to return to poetry.

read the essay

poetry & the creative mind

Join us for a global online celebration of the power of poetry featuring Meryl Streep, Merve Emre, Tony Kushner, J Wortham, Paul Giamatti, Phillipa Soo, Sterlin Harjo, and more. Poetry & the Creative Mind, our annual #NationalPoetryMonth fundraiser supporting K-12 education, is poetry’s biggest night in. Free and open to all.

Tuesday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. ET

Register

poem-a-day guest editor

“And when the day comes,
my rescuing flower’s name

will become my daughter’s;
a freeborn woman,

I swear,
she will never be shoeless”

—“The White Iris Beautifies Me” by Cyrus Cassells, our Poem-a-Day Guest Editor for April. Read or listen to an interview with Cassells.

read the interview

In celebration of the Academy’s ninetieth anniversary and National Poetry Month, we share this archival photo of Bill Zavatsky, Kathleen Norris, Erica Jong, and Gregory Orr reading in New York City.

literary seminars

Carl Phillips on Gwendolyn Brooks
Class starts on Tuesday, April 16
3 online sessions (2:30–3:45 p.m. ET)

Sign up for a one-of-a-kind seminar on Brooks’s evolution as a writer, mastery of English form, and stylistic virtuosity.

book your spot now

#poetrynearyou pick of the week

The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation’s 13th Annual Poetry and Barbeque on April 13, 2024. The headline event, “Fathered/Father,” features American poets John Balaban and George Bilgere. 6155 College Lane, Vero Beach, Florida, 32966. Learn more. (Sponsored)

more at poets.org

upcoming deadlines

The 2024 James Laughlin Award recognizes a poet’s second book forthcoming in 2025. Publishers can learn more here and apply by May 15.
The 2024 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize recognizes the most outstanding book of poetry published in 2023. Publishers can learn more here and apply by May 15.
The 2024 Poetry Fund is open through April 15. Poetry organizations and presses can learn more and apply here.
Get the 2024 National Poetry Month poster in celebration of the active role poetry plays in young people’s education.

jobs for poets

The Yale Review in New Haven, Connecticut, is seeking a full-time editorial assistant.
Transit Books in Berkeley, California, is seeking a part-time publishing assistant. To apply, send a cover letter and resume to Adam Levy at hiring@transitbooks.org with the subject “Publishing Assistant.”
University of South Florida in Tampa is seeking a full-time assistant professor of English.
O, Miami in Florida is seeking an executive director.

last week’s poem-a-day

Revisit last week’s Poem-a-Day selections with us on Poets.org:

March 31: “My Easter Dove’” by Henrietta Cordelia Ray
April 1: “Pinocchia, you must not stop for a friend” by Lo Kwa Mei-en
April 2: “[…]” by Fady Joudah
April 3: “Make/Do” by Divya Victor
April 4: “Prayer for 2018” by Cecilia Woloch
April 5: “[The lamp is like a capsized ship]: Two Voices Muse over the Speaker” by Alessandra Lynch
April 6: “When the Fact of Your Gaze Means Nothing, Then You Are Truly Alongside” by Donika Kelly

National Poetry Month 2024 is made possible in part by:

Columbia University School of the Arts MFA Writing Program, Community of Literary Magazines & Presses, Copper Canyon Press, Ecco, Expedition Press, Fortier PR, Four Way Books, Glen Hollow, Graywolf Press, Hudson Valley Writers Center & Slapering Hol Press, Jackson Center for Creative Writing at Hollins University, Kenyon Review Writers Workshops, Library of America, and Library of Congress.

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The Academy of American Poets

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New York, NY 10038

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"Arabic / the medium through which his body can return home"

Older messages

"Lost Letter" by Tory Adkisson

From “Dark Joys” by Stephen Kuusisto

One week left to register: Carl Phillips on Gwendolyn Brooks

"The Centaur" by Miller Oberman

Happy National Poetry Month!

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