April marks the 18th annual National Poetry Month, a 30-day celebration of poets and poetry established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. Every year, schools, organizations and individuals take advantage of this time to create a dialogue around poetry's cultural importance.
To get you geared up for a month of verse appreciation, we've rounded up a list of poets you should follow on Twitter. Poets use the social platform in a variety of exciting ways, whether it's to promote poems, disperse literary news or just as extensions of their personalities.
While this is yet another list of poets, keep in mind it's largely unfinished. Our only criteria for inclusion were that each poet is published in some capacity, living (sorry, Sylvia Plath) and active on Twitter (tweeting several times per month). And then we narrowed it down -- a lot -- so it's easier for newfound poetry lovers to digest.
Since that leaves room for countless additions, post your must-follow poets in the comments, so our readers can get the best suggestions all in one place.
Just noticed my sweater sleeve is torn. Am now officially a sad-ass tattered traveling poet.— Sherman Alexie (@Sherman_Alexie) February 3, 2014
Alexie is a poet, fiction writer and filmmaker who has received the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He's also pretty hilarious on Twitter.
Read "The Lost Colony of Roanoke‚ 1587" in Guernica.
I told my wife the water is too shallow. She said, wait ’til you get to know it better.— Charles Bernstein (@ChrlesBernstein) January 31, 2014
Poet and essayist Charles Bernstein is a founding member of the avant-garde Language poets. Read "Gertrude and Ludwig's Bogus Adventure" in Poetry.
On the anniversary of the inauguration, I felt inspired to write a bit about how transformational that experience... http://t.co/LW3KUMVw9g— Richard Blanco (@rblancopoet) January 21, 2014
Blanco is perhaps best known for serving as the fifth inaugural poet of the United States. Read "One Today," Blanco's poem from President Barack Obama's second inauguration, on ABCNews.com.
Walking the lower east side I run into Nuyorican Poets Cafe founder Miguel Algarin. We exchange a drink for his book pic.twitter.com/qcjQth7YVy— roger bonair-agard (@rogerbonair) March 24, 2014
Bonair-Agard is a talented spoken-word poet and National Poetry Slam champion. Watch him perform "The All Black Penguin Speaks" at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City.
I don't care what you poem about today; just poem. (Btw, here's a prompt.) http://t.co/HttC4RkNaa #amwriting— robertleebrewer (@robertleebrewer) March 12, 2014
Robert Lee Brewer is the senior content editor at Writer's Digest, where he posts writing prompts every Wednesday and often interviews other poets. Read four poems in
review of leaving the womb: ★☆☆☆☆— Melissa Broder (@melissabroder) March 4, 2014
Broder's wild and relatable tweets might not be for everyone, but sometimes she just gets it right. She has a beautiful explanation for why she keeps her feed "pristine" of mentions, links and retweets.
Read two poems in PANK.
#dear twitter: i am ready for the goodest of great things. i am ready for the loveliest of loves.— Mahogany L. Browne (@mobrowne) March 28, 2014
Browne is the curator of Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, as well as a fellow at Cave Canem and Poets House. She uses Twitter "to write letters" -- almost every tweet begins with "#dear" and addresses someone or something (usually the Twitter community itself).
Watch her perform "Things You Will Never Understand" at the Bowery Poetry Club.
8. CAConrad
ANT CARTOGRAPHY--I followed an ant and drew its map: (Soma)tic Poetry Ritual #98: http://t.co/wAR42fSzBe— CAConrad (@CAConrad88) February 28, 2014
The author of six books of poetry, CAConrad often tweets his "(Soma)tic poetry rituals," which are creative processes and unconventional steps toward creating art.
Read "Reading Starlight With One Eye Like Creeley" in Poetry.
I'm in heaven. Why? I received another box of Pushcart-nominated poems today! Let the reading begin. pic.twitter.com/d0fUlp7bPK— Eduardo C. Corral (@EduardoCCorral) March 21, 2014
Winner of the 2012 Yale Younger Poets Prize, Corral tweets about poetry, art and snippets from his life. Read "In Colorado My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes" in Poetry.
10. Oliver de la Paz
Just graded a “Chuck Norris” sestina. I love my job.— Oliver de la Paz (@Oliver_delaPaz) March 9, 2014
De la Paz is the author of four books of poetry, tweeting about poetry, education and hilarious moments from raising his kids. Read "Nocturne with the Mummified Remains of a Girl Pulled from a Bog" in Passages North.
11. Cornelius Eady
Have you heard ‘Seven Songs EP/Cornelius Eady & Rough Magic’ by Cornelius Eady on #SoundCloud? https://t.co/TX7NZorVvc— Cornelius Eady (@roughband) February 6, 2014
Eady is a legend in the poetry world. He's the cofounder of Cave Canem, an organization dedicated to African-American writers, and he often focuses on race and society in his work. He also has a band, Rough Magic, which is deep-rooted in poetry.
Read (and hear) "I'm a Fool to Love You" at Poets.org.
12. Alex Dimitrov
Chillin w Anne talking bout Burroughs lol pic.twitter.com/Ov5wNdwlCZ— Alex Dimitrov (@alexdimitrov) March 1, 2014
Come for the poetic tweets, stay for the selfies with Anne Waldman. Dimitrov is the content editor at the Academy of American Poets, and founded the now-ended poetry salon Wilde Boys. He recently finished a multimedia project called "Night Call," through which he read poems to strangers in bed and online.
Read "Always" at the PEN America website.
13. Jonterri Gadson
this is one of my favorite days in poetry workshop--writing poems of social consciousness. always some surprises beneath the surface.— Jonterri Gadson (@JaytotheTee) March 20, 2014
Gadson is a Cave Canem fellow and the assistant poetry editor at The Rumpus. Her tweets about her improv work are especially hilarious and entertaining.
Read "Cousins" at The Rumpus.
14. Bob Holman
Editing: it's necessary to take that poem from this originating explosion into the crafted art that's going to allow it to live alone.— Bob Holman (@BobHolmanPoet) February 22, 2014
Holman is a poet and activist who created the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City. Read his poems published in BOMB on his website.
15. Major Jackson
The insatiable thirst for everything which lies beyond, & which life reveals is the most living proof of our immortality. Charles Baudelaire— Major Jackson (@Poet_Major) March 17, 2014
Jackson is the award-winning author of three collections, a professor at the University of Vermont and the current poetry editor of the Harvard Review.
Read "Letter to Brooks: Spring Garden" in Poetry.
16. Kima Jones
Kima. Baba. pic.twitter.com/1g7ViPWwSM— Kima Jones (@kima_jones) March 28, 2014
Jones is a PEN Center USA Emerging Voices poetry fellow working on her first collection. She tweets about poetry and her personality shines through each post. Also, who wouldn't want to see this pic of Jones and Yusef Komunyakaa in their stream? Seriously, who?
Read "how to write the black cowgirl" in Sundog Lit.
17. Sarah Kay
I started tweeting a week ago. It's a little scary. So far I just observe @coaptowicz & @Lin_Manuel for guidance. You 2 are my twitter gurus— Sarah Kay (@kaysarahsera) March 26, 2014
Kay is best known for her incredible spoken-word performances at TED. She joined Twitter in May 2011, but only just started tweeting in March.
Read and listen to "Shosholoza" in CURA.
18. Amy King
POETS ARE REALLY GOOD AT THE INTERNET— Amy King (@amyhappens) March 14, 2014
King is the co-editor of esque magazine, serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, and teaches English and creative writing at Nassau Community College in New York. Read "One Bird Behind One Bird" in Boston Review.
19. Dorothea Lasky
Here's my Valentine to H.D.: http://t.co/5LctVMDmuk …. Thank you @alexdimitrov and @POETSorg— Dorothea Lasky (@DorotheaLasky) February 5, 2014
An assistant professor of poetry at Columbia University, Lasky is the author of three collections. Read three poems in BOMB.
*puts a cheeto in my cleavage like molly ringwald in the breakfast club* *bends over and eats the cheeto with enormous female delicacy*— Patricia Lockwood (@TriciaLockwood) February 14, 2014
Lockwood may be one of the funniest people on Twitter. Her poem "Rape Joke" went viral last year, and her second book, Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, is due out in May 2014.
Read "Rape Joke" on The Awl.
21. Eileen Myles
i'm doing poetry month in March in protest.— Eileen Myles (@EileenMyles) March 8, 2014
Myles is the author and editor of 14 books, and is generally a total rockstar. Read "Dream" in Poetry.
22. Cathy Park Hong
Always thought the male-saturated art world badly needs #VIDA action. And Jill Steinhauer is doing just that-- http://t.co/uVPDBwTlZi— cathy park hong (@cathyparkhong) March 28, 2014
An associate professor at Sarah Lawrence College, Cathy Park Hong is the author of three poetry collections. Read and hear "Ballad in A" at PBS.org.
23. Willie Perdomo
"I tried to put a spell on him/but his spirit was illiterate." Some verses just have a way of setting up shop in your soul. RIP Baraka.— Willie Perdomo (@WilliePerdomo) January 18, 2014
Perdomo has written three books of poetry, the most recent being The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon. He often tweets inspiring messages, and you quickly appreciate his love of New York and East Harlem.
Watch him perform "How Beautiful We Really Are" at Def Poety.
24. D. A. Powell
My mind isn't dirty. It's organic.— D. A. Powell (@Powell_DA) March 22, 2014
Powell, whose first three books of poetry exceptionally tackle the topic of the AIDS epidemic, tweets about everything from literature to Pretty Little Liars.
Read "republic" in Poetry.
A poem is an object. Poetry is an idea. A poem, like any object, can be broken. Poetry cannot be broken. It's not infallible, but capacious.— RowanRicardoPhillips (@RowanRicardo) February 19, 2014
In addition to being a poet, Phillips is also a translator and art critic, occasionally contributing to Artforum. He tweets about literary events, the classes he teaches and a bevy of interesting links.
Read "Boys" in The New Republic.
26. Robert Pinksy
Preparing my Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), for September. In the spirit, I hope, of the Poetry Forum and the... http://t.co/am7HXRhQGk— Robert Pinsky (@RobertPinsky) March 17, 2014
A former poet laureate of the United States (1997-2000), Pinsky is a well-known voice in poetry. He's written 19 books and currently teaches English and creative writing at Boston University.
Read "Creole" in Poetry.
27. Sina Queyras
Woolf is the past, Stein the present , Beckett a movement between the two.— Lemon Hound (@lemonhound) March 18, 2014
Queyras' blog Lemon Hound has turned into a multi-authored site on poetry and criticism, but the Canadian poet still tweets herself about a broad range of topics.
Read "Sylvia Plath's Elegy for Sylvia Plath" in Poetry.
28. Don Share
Happy 95th birthday, Lawrence Ferlinghetti! http://t.co/5bueAmmBKj— Don Share (@Don_Share) March 24, 2014
Share is editor of Poetry magazine, but he doesn't just promote his own publication. He somehow finds and tweets every interesting piece of poetry-related news on the web.
Read two poems in The Paris Review.
29. Warsan Shire
'love takes off masks we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within' - james baldwin— warsan shire (@warsan_shire) January 11, 2014
In October 2013, Shire was named the first ever young poet laureate of London, promoting British art and culture. She's also the poetry editor of Spook magazine.
Listen to her digital album of spoken word, warsan vs. melancholy, on Bandcamp.
30. Ron Silliman
160+ links for poets & poetry: http://t.co/DIS6KMhDPN— Ron Silliman (@ronsilliman) February 3, 2014
As his Twitter bio states, Silliman has written and edited more than 30 books, and his poetry has been translated into a dozen languages. He tweets and blogs about a range of poetic topics, culling great content across the web.
Read an excerpt from "Zyxt" (The Alphabet) in Shampoo.
31. Patricia Smith
Fighting the good fight. #gwensgirls pic.twitter.com/XXQV5Swebm— Patricia Smith (@pswordwoman) February 24, 2014
Smith is perhaps best known for her expert spoken word and her book about Hurricane Katrina, Blood Dazzler, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Watch Smith perform "Skinhead" on Def Poetry.
32. Brian Spears
Overheard at @The_Rumpus table: "you can't go wrong with cursing chinaware." @Ferenteeny pic.twitter.com/BVwG8AVV8B— Brian Spears (@briankspears) February 28, 2014
Spears is the poetry editor at The Rumpus and teaches poetry at Drake University. Read "Mesa" in storySouth.
Looking forward to reading at @berlspoetry Friday. Brooklyn's poetry scene is open and embracing. Let's home for WARM.— Patricia S.Jones (@pksjones1) March 23, 2014
Spears Jones only started tweeting in November 2013, but she's been steadily active since then. She's the author of seven poetry collections and has received a National Endowment for the Arts.
Read four poems in BOMB.
34. Bianca Stone
Interview with new paintings in it! http://t.co/4rbn62mWHz— Bianca Stone (@biancastone) March 10, 2014
Stone is an editor for Monk Books and the chair of the Ruth Stone Foundation, a non-profit literary organization honoring the memory of her grandmother, the poet Ruth Stone. She's also a wickedly talented artist, regularly sharing her paintings and sketches.
Read "Making Apple Sauce With My Dead Grandmother" at Poets.org.
35. R.A. Villanueva
On the death poem of Shisui: pic.twitter.com/J43fNzdK1g— R.A. Villanueva (@caesura) March 27, 2014
Villanueva is a founding editor of the literary journal Tongue, and received the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry for his collection Reliquaria. Also, his Twitter handle is caesura, which is just plain awesome.
Read "You Will Drown for Poems" in Lantern Review.
36. Kevin Young
Wonderful getting to read at @HarvardBooks last night. And BOOK OF HOURS is #11 on their hardcover bestseller list! pic.twitter.com/p4doYX7Dyx— Kevin Young (@Deardarkness) March 11, 2014
Young has written eight books of poetry and has edited eight others, and he's currently a professor of English and creative writing at Emory University. Most recently, he's been tweeting about his latest book, Book of Hours, which released to critical acclaim in March 2014.
Read an excerpt from the title poem in Poetry.
37. Matthew Zapruder
understandably my five year old nephew did not agree to name his new stuffed killer whale Federico Garcia Orca— Matthew Zapruder (@matthewzapruder) March 9, 2014
Zapruder is an editor at Wave Books and teaches in the MFA program at Saint Mary's College of California. His 2010 collection Come On All You Ghosts was named one of the top five poetry books of the year by Publisher's Weekly.
Read "The Prelude" in Poetry.
38. Rachel Zucker
My next book will be titled "If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say..." and obviously the pages will be blank.— Rachel Zucker (@rachzuck) March 9, 2014
Zucker is the author of nine books, with her latest collection, The Pedestrians, due out in April 2014. She currently teaches in the creative writing program at New York University, and she's a fellow for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Read three poems in B O D Y.
BONUS: Kim Addonizio
Follow me on twitter! @kim_addonizio tweeting an original micropoem a day for National Poetry Month in April. #TMMPoetry @TellMeMoreNPR— Kim Addonizio (@kim_addonizio) March 20, 2014
Addonizio has only tweeted three times at the time of this writing, but she's promised to post an original "micropoem" every day for National Poetry Month as part of NPR's #TMMPoetry. Now that's worth a follow.
She's the author and editor of 10 books -- poetry, essays and a novel in verse -- and her collection Tell Me was a National Book Award finalist. Read and hear "What Do Women Want?" at Poets.org.