39. American Life in Poetry Celebrates Sixth Anniversary

Free Column Restores Tradition of Poetry in Newspapers

CHICAGO — The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce the sixth anniversary of American Life in Poetry, a project that brings free poetry content to newspapers around the country. Founded by former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, who selects and introduces the poems featured in the column, American Life in Poetry regularly runs in newspapers across the country, from the Times Union (Albany, NY) to the Lincoln Journal Star(Lincoln, NE), and is published in a range of Internet outlets, reaching more than three million readers each year.

Over the last six years the column has featured more than 300 poets, including National Book Critics Circle Award winner Edward Hirsch, National Book Award finalist Alicia Ostriker, various poets representing large and small regions of the country, and a number of young poets from public school writing programs. The column not only brings contemporary poetry to a wider audience but also restores poetry’s place in newspapers, where the column is well received by regular readers.

“One of the great pleasures is receiving notes from readers who have been following the column in newspapers, and who have been especially touched by a poem they’ve seen. These letters mean so much to us. Touching another person’s heart is what poetry is all about,” said Kooser.

American Life in Poetry is available to newspaper editors, free of charge, for inclusion in either print or online editions.

Register to receive American Life in Poetry, and explore the column archive, at www.americanlifeinpoetry.org.