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Poem-a-day

Moncho Alvarado

Poems

4 poems

Karl Lagerfeld’s line of beauty

is up The Met’s stone steps,
so many that I have trouble collecting
my girthy tourist’s breaths

and my palms, all sweaty,
smeared with ink
from his crinkled face,

wrinkled in the brochure, and
to think I’m too underdressed
for a pocket square,

Tommye Blount

2025

I Decide to Tell Ghost Cowboy My Intentions

I’m writing
a love poem
even with
an American
boot to
my throat.

I lick the croony
sole and picture
you in a fresh white
wife pleaser.

C. Russell Price

2025

Trim

At the end

of the story,

we exchanged

hair. Two tiny

Ziploc bags,

little plastic

windows.

I sheared off

the tip

of my braid,

candlewick

Yalie Saweda Kamara

2025

Night was done. We rose and after
Washing, dressing,—kissed with laughter,—
After all, the sweet night knows.
Lilac breakfast cups were clinking
While we sat like brothers drinking
Tea,—and kept our dominoes.

Mikhail Kuzmin

1921

Poets

5 poets

Langston Hughes

A poet, novelist, fiction writer, and playwright, Langston Hughes is known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties and was important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance.

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Terrance Hayes

The 2010 winner of the National Book Award in poetry, Terrance Hayes is the author of seven poetry collections. He currently serves on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets.

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Danez Smith

Danez Smith is the author of Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press, 2017) and [insert] boy (YesYes Books, 2014).

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Jackie Wang

Jackie Wang is the author of the poetry collection The Sunflower Cast a Spell to Save Us from the Void (Nightboat, 2021), which was longlisted for the National Book Award.

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Janice Mirikitani

Janice Mirikitani was born on February 4, 1941, in Stockton, California.

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Features

Jubilee in the Jukebox

Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, I found poetry in the slums of the city. Many nights I awoke listening to the blues playing in the den.

June 2026 Poem-a-Day Guest Editor Sam Sax

Listen to a short Q&A where Sam Sax discusses their curatorial process for Poem-a-Day.

Poem-a-Day Guest Editors in 2026

The 2026 cohort of Guest Editors are all award-winning poets who represent wide-ranging expertise and editorial perspectives. Learn more about them below.

Poetry & the Creative Mind 2026 | Archived Event

Celebrate with Us

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 7:30 p.m. ET | Virtual Free and open to all. Registration required for virtual program access.

Announcements

April 28, 2026

Academy of American Poets announces a legacy gift from the Louise Bogan Charitable Trust to establish an endowed award that recognizes and supports outstanding poet-critics and their contributions to American poetry.

April 21, 2026

The Academy of American Poets Announces the Winners of the 2026 Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize. Winning poems by Malia Maxwell, W.J. Herbert, Ronald Carson, and Deahna Fumarol to appear in Poem-a-Day.

April 16, 2026

Newly announced readers include acclaimed soprano Julia Bullock, writer and book critic Dwight Garner, jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning composer Christian McBride, and singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers…

Poem-a-day

An Erasure of Senate Bill 111

Moncho Alvarado

Poems

Karl Lagerfeld’s line of beauty

I Decide to Tell Ghost Cowboy My Intentions

Trim

Night Was Done