Help poets play their vital role

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Thank you for helping us share poetry year-round. Dear Reader,   In the past few weeks, we've seen an unprecedented number of people sharing poems from Poets.org—and not just any poems, but poems that speak to our potential as a nation and a people. As our Education Ambassador Richard Blanco said, a poem "offers a kind of consolation because it speaks truth and it speaks hope."   It's been powerful to witness so many people turning to poetry—it's clear we need it more than ever. And the Academy of American Poets and Poets.org need you. Only with your contributions are we able to publish and distribute poems and educational resources, as well as to spotlight poets.    As we move forward, poets will have a vital role to play. "If communication has broken down," Muriel Rukeyser wrote, "then it is time to tap the roots of communication. Poetry is written from these depths; in great poetry you feel a source speaking to another source."   On this Giving Tuesday, I ask you to donate today so that we can continue to support poets—makers who sculpt sound and syntax, often in solitude, to sing to the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free."   We need your help to support poets working today who challenge and inspire us, and those in history who continue to shape our national identity, including Langston Hughes, who asked that America "be the dream the dreamers dreamed," and Maya Angelou who rises still.   Please help us bring more poems to readers and to champion poets, whose lines light the way. Gratefully,     Jennifer Benka, Executive Director     P.S. Your support of poetry this season, and throughout the year, is invaluable. In thanks for your gift of $50 or more, we're excited to send our exclusive Gwendolyn Brooks journal, featuring the poet's signature. View our donation page for more info on available thank-you gifts!

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