Poems for Pride Month, Archival Video of Allen Ginsberg & More

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend June 6, 2017 Poems for Pride   This month, celebrate the history of LGBTQ advocacy and the diversity of the LGBTQ community by reading and sharing this selection of poems. For further reading—plus videos and audio of LGBTQ poets performing their work—visit Poets.org.   "Lullaby" by W. H. Auden "Wedding" by Ari Banias "Love Poem" by Sophie Cabot Black "stonewall to standing rock" by Julian Talamantez Brolaski "A Queerification" by Regie Cabico "Book of Statues" by Richie Hofmann "Senior Discount" by Ali Liebegott "A Lover" by Amy Lowell "A Song for Many Movements" by Audre Lorde "Dear Melissa—" by TC Tolbert

Poetry Breaks: Allen Ginsberg   Watch this week's new Poetry Breaks video, featuring Allen Ginsberg reading his classic poem "A Supermarket in California," in which he strolls with Walt Whitman among the fruit and frozen goods of a grocery store. Read poems for Father's Day on June 18. Looking for a poem to share at a wedding this season? Find the perfect poem for graduation. Dear Poet Project 2017   "If the house of your life is walled off against wind and storms and cold, it will also be walled off against beauty, against the kinds of light that become visible only in darkness," writes Jane Hirshfield in her letter to a Texas student who participated, along with 2,000 others, in this year's Dear Poet project. Happy Birthday, Gwendolyn   Tomorrow marks Gwendolyn Brooks's centennial, and to celebrate, we've created a new collection of essays, archival audio, and poems by and about Brooks. Find out more about Brooks and her literary legacy. In Case You Missed It   Juan Felipe Herrera in Chicago PBS Newshour talks to former Chancellor and U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera about his new education project.   Donte Collins, First St. Paul Youth Poet Laureate 2016 Most Promising Young Poet Award winner Donte Collins is named youth poet laureate of St. Paul, Minnesota.   What Abolishing the NEA Will Mean for Women Artists LitHub talks to poet Nickole Brown and others about what the NEA has meant to them and the effects its elimination will have on women artists.   The Universe in Verse Watch the entirety of The Universe in Verse, an evening of science and poetry we cohosted with Brain Pickings.   Claudia Rankine's 2017 Wesleyan Commencement Address Chancellor Claudia Rankine delivers a speech about failure, success, and our current political climate at Wesleyan University.   Mai Der Vang in Conversation The Brooklyn Rail talks to 2016 Walt Whitman winner Mai Der Vang about her collection Afterland.   Two Newly Discovered Sylvia Plath Poems Scholars find "To a Refractory Santa Claus" and "Megrims" on a sheet of carbon paper.   Polish Poetry in a Time of American Resistance The Millions discusses Poets for Science and the prevalence of Polish poetry in discussions of U.S. politics.   RIP Chana Bloch (1940–2017), Kathryn Stripling Byer (1944–2017), Larry Fagin (1937–2017), and Denis Johnson (1949–2017) Read about Bloch, Byer, Fagin, and Johnson on Poets.org.   The Academy of American Poets is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. 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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