April is the month to celebrate and explore poetry!

National Poetry Month

April is the month to celebrate and explore poetry! Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives.

In celebration of the month, check out our resources on poetry and read a poem!

North Carolina Poet Laureate

Did you know that North Carolina has a Poet Laureate? The 1935 General Assembly created the office of state poet laureate with its passage of H.R. 909, Resolution No. 60, Session Laws. This joint resolution empowers the Governor “to name and appoint some outstanding and distinguished person of letters as poet-laureate for North Carolina.”

The North Carolina Poet Laureate advocates for the power of poetry and the written word to illuminate, educate, entertain, and transform the minds and hearts of people of all ages and from all walks of life. The laureate acts as an ambassador for North Carolina literature and literacy, using the office as a platform to highlight not only his or her work but also the work of other writers in our state. The standard appointment is for a two-year term, but this can be extended at the discretion of the Governor.

Jaki Shelton Green is currently North Carolina’s poet laureate. Jaki Shelton Green is the first African American and third woman to be appointed as the North Carolina Poet Laureate.