Revolutionary Voices: National Poetry Month at The 92nd Street Y

From Auden to Akbar, National Poetry Month at the Unterberg Poetry Center is a celebration of a living, breathing literary tradition that never ceases to astonish.

“Poetry is in a constant state of evolution — it’s the engine that pushes not only literature, but language itself forward,” says Unterberg Poetry Center’s Associate Director Ricardo Maldonado. “The poets coming to read with us this month reflect that boundary-pushing spirit.”

This year, National Poetry Month at the Poetry Center features readings with a new generation of groundbreaking poets — writers whose vital work expands the definitions of American literature. On April 11, Kaveh Akbar reads from Pilgrim Bell, and John Murillo reads from Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry — two riveting, dynamic readers whose work ingenuously blurs the line between protest and prayer. On April 25, Alice Oswald reads from her new anthology, Gigantic Cinema, a fascinating exploration of poetry about weather, from Homer to the present. And on May 2, bestselling author Ocean Vuong — already one of the most influential voices of his generation — reads from his eagerly-awaited new poetry collection Time is a Mother with acclaimed poet-novelist Quan Barry.

Literary seminars this month include explorations of classic, beloved poetry by W.H. Auden with Edward Mendelson and Wallace Stevens with Lisa Goldfarb; and Emily Skillings (author of Fort Not and editor of John Ashbery’s Parallel Movement of the Hands) leads participants through an innovative, intensive, generative poetry workshop on environment and place. And of course, there’s no better time to explore our archive of over 80 years of poetry readings, featuring everyone from Maya Angelou to T.S. Eliot.

But contrary to Eliot, April doesn’t have to be the cruelest month. Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in this dynamic celebration of poetic voices across the century.