A "Poem-A-Day" from the Academy of American Poets

April is right around the corner, and that can only mean one thing:

National. Poetry. Month.

Yep, that's right. We actually have a month in this country dedicated entirely to poetry, which is yet another testament to the awesomeness of this great nation. (America! Yesssss!)

National Poetry Month was started back in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, and this year their promotional poster is pretty sweet. The question in it, "Do I dare disturb the universe?" is from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot, an obscure and challenging poem which I did NOT link to because I do NOT recommend reading it if you're hoping to enjoy poetry anytime soon.

Even so, it's a great quote for a poster, and what the Academy of American Poets is trying to accomplish with National Poetry Month is pretty cool. Here's what their website says about it:

"National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets. The concept is to widen the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern. We hope to increase the visibility and availability of poetry in popular culture while acknowledging and celebrating poetry’s ability to sustain itself in the many places where it is practiced and appreciated."

So right about now the questions you're probably asking yourself are these: "How, oh how, can I celebrate National Poetry Month, and what mere human event would be worthy of such a lofty occasion?"

The answer, of course, is that you should celebrate National Poetry Month by signing up for an email newsletter. (Seems kind of obvious now that I've mentioned it, right?)

If you go here and enter your email address, the Academy of American Poets will deliver a poem to your inbox everyday through the month of April. What's even better is that all the poems they send you will be from books coming out this spring.

Finally, to kick off National Poetry Month, here's a short quiz for those who'd like to expand their knowledge of contemporary poets.

• Who's the current Poet Laureate of the United States?
• Which poet most recently won the National Book Award?
• Who were the last two poets to win Pulitzer Prizes?