Dear Poet

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The Academy of American Poets for National Poetry Month 2016, presents Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades 5-12 to write letters in response to poems written and read by seven of the award-winning poets who serve on the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors: Linda Gregerson, Juan Felipe Herrera, Jane Hirshfield, Marilyn Nelson, Alicia Ostriker, Alberto Ríos, and Anne Waldman.

Students—to participate in this year’s Dear Poet project, watch the videos here (scroll down) of Chancellors reading and discussing one of their poems. Then, write them a letter in response and send it by post or email to the Academy of American Poets, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038 or dearpoet@poets.org by April 30, 2016. Please include your name and the name of the poet to whom you’ve written. We will consider all letters for publication on Poets.org in May 2016. And our Chancellors will reply to select letters of their choosing.