Poem-a-Day - Your 2021 Dear Poet letters are here!

Every National Poetry Month we present Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades five through twelve to write letters in response to poems written and read by award-winning poets, including poets who serve on the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors and who have received our Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships.

We’re pleased to share that in 2021, we received over 3,600 letters. These students hail from rural, suburban, and urban areas in thirty-five states, U.S. territories, and countries.

We shared these letters with our chancellors and poets laureate fellows, who replied to many of them individually. Several poets also wrote a letter addressed to the hundreds of students who wrote in.

Thank you to all who participated! 
 

In December, the Academy of American Poets announced the thirteen finalists of the 2022 National Poetry Month Poster Contest for Students. One hundred and seventy high school students from across the country responded to an open call for submissions, and thirteen students from seven different states were named finalists.

The winning student will have their artwork featured on 100,000 posters that will be distributed for free to schools, libraries, bookstores, and families nationwide for the April 2022 celebration of National Poetry Month.