Previous FrontPage Themes-Page 3

2001-Present Front Page Themes

.

National Poetry Month-2001-The Academy invited the public to visit Poets.org and “vote” for the poets they would most like to see on a postage stamp. In all, more than 10,000 people cast their ballots, nominating a total of 205 poets for future stamps. Langston Hughes was by far the most popular poet, collecting over 2,500 votes. In June, the Academy sent our completed petition to the United States Postal Service, which issued a Langston Hughes stamp in January 2002.

National Poetry Month-2002-National Poetry Month was inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month (NPM) brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.

This year, NPM has brought special attention to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Langston Hughes. In honor of this milestone, and to celebrate a brilliant artist's contribution to American poetry, NPM has made Langston Hughes the sole focus of the NPM 2002 poster and national advertising campaign.

 

 

 

Alt-A or Enter- Top of Page.

National Poetry Month 2003-This year, NPM will focus on "poetry in your community," and on April 1, the Academy will debut a National Poetry Map of America, with state-by-state listings of poets, poetry journals, poetry organizations, literary presses, poet laureates, conferences and writing programs, and much more. Join us today in building the most comprehensive and largest poetry resource on the Internet!  Quoted from web site.

In addition, the Academy will partner with Andy Carroll and the American Poetry and Literacy Project to promote and distribute free copies of his new anthology, Across State Lines: America's 50 States as Represented in Poetry (Dover Publications).

Alt-A or Enter- Top of Page.

National Poetry Month 2004-On April 1, 2004, the Academy of American Poets will launch a web-based National Poetry Almanac that will provide 365 days' worth of poetry highlights, activities, ideas, and history for individual exploration and classroom use. "The National Poetry Almanac will help extend the celebration of poetry from April to all year round," observes Executive Director Tree Swenson. The Academy of American Poets established April as National Poetry Month in 1996.

The National Poetry Almanac will be a year-long promotion (and ultimately, a permanent resource) available exclusively online at the Academy's award-winning website.

Readers of the Alamanac in April will discover 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month. During the month on Poetic Schools and Movements, visitors can find out more about the Beats, the New York School, Black Mountain poets, among others. Poetic forms and techniques such as the sonnet, the sestina, and the ghazal will be explained and illustrated during the year, while poems for all occasions, including weddings and funerals, will be recommended. Visitors to poets.org during April will be invited to nominate their favorite poetry landmarks, like the birthplaces of Langston Hughes and Robert Frost.

Alt-A or Enter- Top of Page.

National Poetry Month 2005-Inaugurated by the Academy in April 1996, National Poetry Month (NPM) brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events. April 2005 marks the 10th celebration of National Poetry Month. We have created a special reading series—10 Years/10 Cities—to honor the occasion. Since its inception, the goal of National Poetry Month has been to increase the visibility, presence, and accessibility of poetry in our culture.

Each of us may participate in these activities and many who are contained within our web pages aspire to be poets. More mysteries await your venture into Lancasters Laughing Place.

 

 

Alt-A or Enter- Top of Page.

National Poetry Month 2006-Call it the power of a good idea, or proof that poetry matters. Either way, National Poetry Month marks its 10th anniversary this year.

The idea for NPM came from a marketer at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux who urged the Academy of American Poets to adopt the program. They did, and the event debuted in 1996 with readings in New York and nine other cities. Word of mouth and media attention helped spread its popularity after that.

The biggest hit so far, though, has been the National Poetry Month poster. This year the poster is comprised of lines from 18 famous poems. (The poster helped inspire Life Lines.)

 

Alt-A or Enter- Top of Page.

National Poetry Month 2007-This year's poster was created by illustrator and graphic designer Christoph Niemann. The 2007 poster features a line from Walt Whitman's poem "As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days": And our visions, the visions of poets, the most solid announcements of any.

In 2007 Poetfans will celebrate National Poetry Month by discovering the winners of the NPM search for poetry's biggest fans. On April 11, 2007, the Academy of American Poets presented a star-studded celebration of American poetry.

 

 

 

The theme for the 2008 National Poetry month features a line from Jay Wright's poem "The Healing Improvisation of Hair": I carried my life, like a stone, / in a ragged pocket, but I / had a true weaving song, a sly / way with rhythm, a healing tone. This year's poster was created by SpotCo, a New York City agency responsible for the lion’s share of poster and advertising designs for Broadway’s most popular shows.

 

 

 

 

 

Visit the Poets Org website for a poetry celebration map. Surely you will find your state and celebration events.

The 2009 poster features the lines "Do I dare disturb the universe?" from T. S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) originally entitled this poem "Prufrock Among the Women." He changed the title to "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" before publishing the poem in Poetry magazine in 1915.

 

 

 

Alt-A or Enter- Top of Page.

Return To Themes Index.