Poems for Graduations & Weddings, Sharon Olds on Adrienne Rich, and More

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend May 21, 2015 Hold Fast to Dreams   To help celebrate the many graduations and weddings taking place this time of year, we offer a roundup of favorites.   “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” by E. E. Cummings “Beyond the Years” by Paul Laurence Dunbar “To Sylvia, To Wed” by Robert Herrick “Dreams” by Langston Hughes “If—“ by Rudyard Kipling “Love’s Philosophy” by Percy Bysshe Shelley “Theories of Time and Space” by Natasha Trethewey

Franz Wright, 1953-2015   We were saddened by the news that Franz Wright died on May 14, 2015, at his home in Waltham, Massachusetts. Take a moment to read a handwritten copy of Wright’s poem “The Brother” that he originally enclosed in a letter sent to former Academy of American Poets executive director Betty Kray in April of 1980. Dear Poet Letters   We received over 1,500 letters from across the country, and around the world, in response to Dear Poet, our National Poetry Month education project that invited young people to respond to poems written and read by some of the award-winning poets who serve on our Board of Chancellors. Take a look at what these young people were most curious about, and how our Chancellors responded.  Browse the latest releases from our video series. Craig Morgan Teicher reads at the American Poets release party. Browse more poems about weddings and marriage. Join or Upgrade Your Membership   Members at the Associate level and above will receive our 2014 prize-winning poetry collections starting in June. Join today or upgrade your membership to receive Hannah Sangee Park’s Whitman Award-winning The Same-Different or become a Sustainer to receive Brian Blanchfield’s Laughlin Award-winning A Several World. Sharon Olds on the Legacy of Adrienne Rich   “The newness of what she was singing, what had been so long unsaid,” Olds says, “could feel so enormous, as if her words were written in stone.” Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038

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