Celebrate National Poetry Month with Free Poetry

CHICAGO —Poetry magazine, published by the Poetry Foundation, is pleased to announce a giveaway of Poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month (April) and the magazine’s centennial. An unlimited number of free copies of the April 2012 issue of Poetry magazine will be available to book clubs and reading groups that request them by March 23.

As it turns 100, Poetry holds fast to the principles that guided it from the beginning: to discover new voices, present new work by internationally recognized poets, and enliven discussion about and readership for contemporary poetry. The April 2012 issue of Poetry will feature new poems by well-known poets Yusef Komunyakaa and David Lehman; prose by Sven Birkerts; first appearances by Patricia Kirkpatrick, Sean Hill, and Kathy Nilsson; and the return of an occasional feature in which poets remember other poets: Patricia Smith celebrates Gwendolyn Brooks, Maxine Kumin recalls Howard Nemerov, and Gerald Stern reflects on Muriel Rukeyser, among others.

The April issue will ship in late March so that reading groups will receive their copies for consideration during National Poetry Month. Reading communities may discuss thought-provoking Poetry content—both commentary and poems—or simply read the issue aloud.

Requests, including only one mailing address per reading group, will be accepted online only through www.poetryfoundation.org/npm.

 

***

About Poetry Magazine
Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, Poetry is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Monroe’s “Open Door” policy, set forth in Volume 1 of the magazine, remains the most succinct statement of Poetry’s mission: to print the best poetry written today, in whatever style, genre, or approach. The magazine established its reputation early by publishing the first important poems of T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, H.D., William Carlos Williams, Carl Sandburg, and other now-classic authors. In succeeding decades it has presented—often for the first time—works by virtually every major contemporary poet. In 2011, the magazine was honored with two National Magazine Awards. It celebrates its centennial in 2012.

About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative partnerships, prizes, and programs. Opened to the public in June 2011, the Poetry Foundation building in Chicago provides new space for the Foundation’s extensive roster of public programs and events. It also houses a public garden, a library, and an exhibition gallery, as well as the offices of the Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine. For more information, please visit www.poetryfoundation.org.

Follow the Poetry Foundation and Poetry on Facebook at www.facebook.com/poetryfoundation or on Twitter @PoetryFound.