Poem-a-Day - "The grieving have only the unknown"

April 17, 2024

Arab American Heritage Month

“An illuminating beauty informs his work; to him the idea becomes beautiful if it is true; the emotion becomes truth if it is real. He possesses a singular power of dividing what is essential from what is extraneous in the presentation of beauty and truth.”

—Alice Raphael in Twenty Drawings (Knopf, 1919), artwork by Kahlil Gibran. View a selection of his drawings.

more at poets.org

“Translation is to live in the mind of another person and to intersect with his experience and thoughts about poetry and language.”

Revisit an interview with Maya Abu Al-Hayyat and enjoy a selection of her poems, translated from the Arabic by Fady Joudah:

“You Can’t”
“I Suffer a Phobia Called Hope”
“Mothers Arrange Their Aches at Night”

more at poets.org

poetry & the creative mind

Celebrate the power of poetry at Poetry & the Creative Mind, the Academy’s virtual benefit reading featuring Meryl Streep, Sterlin Harjo, Phillipa Soo, Paul Giamatti, and other cultural legends, sharing favorite poems in honor of #NationalPoetryMonth. Donations support our K–12 educational programs. Free and open to all.

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

Register

A selection of poems by poets born in April:

“Alone” by Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928)
“The Sun Has Long Been Set” by William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770)
“Scaffolding” by Seamus Heaney (April 13, 1939)
“To Dinah Washington” by Etheridge Knight (April 19, 1931)
“The Past” by Louise Glück (April 22, 1943)
“A Happy Birthday” by Ted Kooser (April 25, 1939)
“What Comes” by Carolyn Forché (April 28, 1950)
“The Body Remembers” by Yusef Komunyakaa (April 29, 1947)

poet laureate fellows

Floating like a feather
like a single grain in the sea
grateful despite being alive

Read a selection of poems from Blue on a Blue Palette (BOA Editions, 2024) by Lynne Thompson, 2022 Poet Laureate Fellow and former poet laureate of Los Angeles.

“Frankly, When Asked About the Autonomy of My Body, I Consider My Inner Assassin,”
“Canticle at Twilight”
“Separate/Separate”

In honor of Octavio Paz, who passed away on April 19, 1998, we share this archival document signed by Rita Dove, John Ashbery, Joseph Brodsky, W. S. Merwin, and others.

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“Our citizenship, our sense of the world, is amplified by poetry. My lived experience is that poetry can be something like secular faith in what we have to offer one another. I’d like this to be corroborated by institutions and community centers all over the U.S. and all over the world.”

Read a new Poets & Writers interview with Ricardo Alberto Maldonado, who joined the Academy of American Poets last July as its President & Executive Director.

literary seminars

Carl Phillips on Gwendolyn Brooks
3 online sessions (2:30–3:45 p.m. ET)

Missed a session? You can still 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

In honor of Earth Day and in partnership with the Guggenheim Museum, we’ll debut a new collaborative poem, “time bending / tongue / entwine / the betwixt,” by Nickole Brown, Ariel Francisco, J. P. Grasser, and John James, along with a video performance of the choral piece on Poets.org. Follow us @POETSorg for the premiere on April 22 at 1 p.m. ET.

poem in your pocket day

Tomorrow, April 18, is Poem in Your Pocket Day! Join readers everywhere for the celebration by selecting a poem to share with others in person or on social media using the hashtag #PocketPoem. Follow us @POETSorg for poems that we’ll be featuring throughout the day in honor of the occasion.

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.

jobs for poets

St. Mary’s College of Maryland is seeking a visiting assistant professor of Latinx literature in English, beginning in August 2024.
University of Pittsburgh Press is seeking a full-time managing editor.
Abrams Books in New York, New York, is seeking a full-time assistant managing editor.
O, Miami in Florida is seeking an executive director.
Words Without Borders is seeking an executive director.

last week’s poem-a-day

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

April 7: “[O Málik! I pray thee go for the wine full early]” by Abu Nuwas
April 8: “A Welcome” by Joanna Klink
April 9: “The Centaur” by Miller Oberman
April 10: “Mala 50 / He broke his sling that killed birds” by Suzanne Gardinier
April 11: “Lost Letter” by Tory Adkisson
April 12: From “Dark Joys” by Stephen Kuusisto
April 13: “Parkside & Ocean” by b ferguson