National Poetry Month Turns 30

Explore free programs and resources from the Academy of American Poets designed to bring poetry into classrooms, communities, and everyday life, including Poem-a-Day, Poetry Near You, Dear Poet, and more.

Memory, Resilience, and Hope

In moments of political crisis, writers and artists are vital participants in shaping public memory, resilience, and hope.

"In the face of the extraordinary pressures over the last few months and the profound public response that they have elicited, Minnesotan writers and artists and the creative community have shouldered the work of witness, documentation, reflection, and solidarity through their craft," said Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center. "Their voices have helped a community grieve and mobilize, and they have reminded us, and maybe especially the lawyers amongst us, that storytelling is not incidental to justice. It is central to it." —

Nationwide

Rebecca Solnit writes: "It wasn't just bigger than the previous #nokings. It was different. Here's how USA Today unpacks that: 'The organizers' crowd count, not verified by independent analysts, put the total at 8 million people, topping the 7 million estimated at the previous No Kings day, in October. This time, there were more events scheduled − 3,300 versus 2,700 − and larger crowds were reported in some places, boosted in part by opposition to the war in Iran. In a nation with a population approaching 349 million, the participation of 8 million people means that more than 1 of every 50 U.S. residents joined a No Kings rally. Organizers said two-thirds of participants who signed up live in suburban, small town or rural areas. That's a 40% increase over last time in protesters from outside big cities. The left-leaning protests with the Revolutionary-era call against President Donald Trump as a would-be monarch and authoritarian had the broadest geographic reach of any single-day protest in the United States in more than a half-century [that's an indirect reference to Earth Day 1970]. They included not only familiar precincts in New York and Los Angeles and Austin but also communities in all 50 states and every congressional district, including rural and Republican areas.'"

In Minnesota

Minnesota held over 100 No Kings events from small, rural towns to the large national flagship event that happened in St. Paul. Organizers put the St. Paul crowd at around 200,000.

Saint Paul Almanac's The Magazine

Call for Submissions

Deadline:

April 3, 11:59pm

"How are you being resilient and helping your neighbors be resilient during this time? How are you and your communities unifying to stay creative and strong in the face of danger, disruption, and hardship? What are you learning from challenges that can equip you to move forward with others in cooperation and peace? Given the incalculable impact of the recent upheaval in our Twin Cities, our collective work must persist. To recover and rebuild, we must continue to love our neighbors with fearlessness, intentionality, and generosity. This unprecedented time must be documented.

"This call is an invitation for you to offer your poems and stories in helping to build community. Let’s gather our collective voice so we can connect and sustain our unique, diverse, and vibrant communities. We want to see work from YOU, from those living in the Twin Cities and around Minnesota, who are experiencing and want to respond to the current historical, social, and political circumstances regarding the recent federal occupation of the Twin Cities."

Celebrate National Poetry Month

hosted by the Minnesota Humanities Center in partnership with the East Side Arts Council

When:

April 4, 2:00–4:00pm

Where:

Minnesota Humanities Center
987 Ivy Ave E., St. Paul

This free community gathering brings together a vibrant lineup of local poets sharing original works.

Poets reading include: Joe Alfano, Jan Borofka, Colleen Callahan, Diane Jarvenpa Marla Kennedy, Diane Brady Leighton, Mem Lloyd, Sheila OKeefe, Romi Slowiak, Leslie Thomas, Roslye Ultan and Carol Wichers.

Light refreshments will be available.

This event is held in partnership with East Side Arts Council (ESAC), a community arts organization offering accessible, low-cost, or free arts programs. ESAC celebrates the diversity of its neighborhood and builds appreciation of the arts.

This event is free, however registration is required.

Poetry Reading

hosted by Big Hill Books

When:

April 11, 2:00pm

Where:

Big Hill Books
405 Penn Ave S, Minneapolis

Featuring Stan Kusunoki with Sharon Chmielarz, Marg Walker and Sagirah Shahid.

Thawlight

League of Minnesota Poets Spring Conference

When:

April 10–12

Where:

Grand Ely Lodge
Ely, MN

Highlights of the conference will include workshops from Sheila Packa from Duluth, Ryan Leng from Grand Marais, and Donna Isaac from Inver Grove Heights.

Come enjoy the Northwoods with your fellow poets. Bring lots of poetry for the open mics. Enjoy a reading from our most recent John C. Rezmerski Award winner, Annette Gagliardi, at the launch of the award-winning book. Tour the Bear Center and/or Listening Point.

Our Stories

When:

April 11, 4:30pm

Where:

St. Mark AME Church
530 N 5th Ave E, Duluth, MN

We are excited to present Our Stories: an educational series hosted by St. Mark AME Church. Join us for three evenings of cultural storytelling and learning from some phenomenal presenters, and a meal connected to the culture being celebrated. Tickets are $30 per person per session, or register for all three sessions for $75. Space is limited so register early!

All events:

April 11 - Hispanic American

Featuring Susana Pelayo-Woodward, Director of the University of Minnesota Duluth Office of Equity and Inclusion

April 18 - African American

Featuring Reverend Anthony Galloway, senior partner at Dendros Group and Pastor of Wayman AME Church (and former pastor of St. Mark!)

May 2 - Native American

Featuring Linda LeGarde Grover, professor emeritus of Native American Studies at University of Minnesota Duluth and multi-award winning Anishinaabe author and poet

Poetry at the Art Crawl

When:

April 18, 1:00pm

Where:

Lower Town Lofts Artist Collective
St. Paul

Greg Watson, Clarence White, and Carla J. Hagen will read from their work as part of the St. Paul Art Crawl. Come celebrate the arts community of our wonderful capital city. The event is FREE, and books will be available for sale.

Writers Speak Out: People Have the Power

Featured readers followed by open mic

When:

April 21, 6:00pm

Where:

Wussow's Concert Cafe
Duluth, MN

Come and join us! We support civl rights and democracy. Our featured writers are Ellie Schoenfeld, Eris Vafias, Jade Marielan, Nathan Larson, Eric Chandler, Mickey McGilligan, and Angie Mason. For the open mic, we invite you to bring a short piece of writing or poem of witness, a personal testimony, a call to action, a vision for a better future, a balm for hard times, a manifesto or a mantra or a blessing! Hosted by Sheila Packa, Liz Minette and Zomi Bloom.

Poetry and Printmaking with Shelley Getten

When:

April 30, 3:30pm

Where:

Duluth Public Library Mount Royal Branch

May Day!

from May Day Strong

When:

May 1, 2026

Where:

Nationwide

"We are building a day of power. Because when the billionaires break every rule, it’s going to take more than a rally to stop them...

"On May 1, 2026, workers, students, and families rally, march, and take action across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping."

Start planning!

Write Circles

Margaret Hasse offers a guide to start your own Write Circle

According to the ACLU: "Letters and emails are an extremely effective way of communicating with your elected officials. Many legislators believe a letter represents not only the position of the writer but also many other constituents who did not take the time to write."

What / Why

A Write Action Circle is a group of people committed to conveying their opinions about current events to leaders in order to influence decisions, and to meet together periodically to exchange ideas and rally commitment.

The main task of each person in a Circle is to take action: write, email, or call leaders such as Congresspersons, members of the MN Statehouse, top officials in government, etc. and express their opinion on specific issues that the group takes on.

The group may also play a role in encouraging more people to stay abreast of issues and opportunities in order to shape the direction of political events by writing newspaper editorials, posting on social media sites, starting new Write Action Circles, writing friends to get them involved, and more.

Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference

When:

June 23–26

Where:

Bemidji State University

"We’re excited to announce, after having to cancel our 2025 conference due to a powerful storm hitting Bemidji on the eve of the event, the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference will return to Bemidji State University this summer, with six intensive writing workshops beside beautiful Lake Bemidji. Our faculty so far includes four members of the MNWC25 faculty: Jennifer Foerster (poetry), Toni Jensen (creative nonfiction), Douglas Kearney (poetry), and Joni Tevis (creative nonfiction). The award-winning novelist Debra Magpie Earling (fiction) and the acclaimed poet Layli Long Soldier (poetry) will be joining the faculty this year. Please check our website periodically for updates. We will open registration in March."

Book the Vote

from National WDA

A national drive bringing together readers, writers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians to register voters

"Democracies die by foreign invasion, but they also die by homegrown authoritarian malignancies. That is happening now in the United States, and Writers for Democratic Action calls on YOU to stop it! Join us in protecting representative government with the most powerful weapon we still have: the Vote in 2026.

"WDA is launching BOOK THE VOTE, a drive to bring together readers, writers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians to register voters before the next elections. Books themselves are threatened now, which is no surprise since books have always been essential to democracy. The Bookstore and the Library can be the frontline of the campaign to rescue it."

Data Center Information Webinars

from CURE MN

Learn more about Data Centers & how they impact our communities.

Loosen Your Ties to Google

Switching to non-surveilling alternatives is fast and easy

Freedoms Under Assault

Documentary

Freedoms Under Assault is a powerful full-length documentary that chronicles the systematic destruction of a world-class university and the politically motivated culture war against its faculty over a two-year period. A perfect storm of an autocratic university president collaborating with a supermajority reactionary state legislature following the cultural wars agenda of the White House has effectively curtailed the institutional autonomy of Indiana University as well as shared governance structures, academic freedom, free speech and assembly rights, tenure, and the viability of arts and humanities programs.

Book Release & Interviews Full of Hope

Rebecca Solnit

"It’s easy to focus on authoritarians and their petty victories. But zoom out and the picture is more encouraging, says the woman who popularised the term ‘mansplaining’, whether it’s in feminism, or the environment, or civil rights.

"When I speak to Rebecca Solnit, she is beaming, and I can’t immediately figure out why. Her new book, The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change, blasts in with a pragmatic positivity"

The Tide is Turning

from Robert Hubbell

"Can you feel it? Like an undertow in the shallows, the currents beneath the surface are reversing direction. The upstart waves divert our attention with spray and noise. But the undertow exerts a silent force, restoring equilibrium, settling nature’s accounts by subsuming the momentary turbulence of breakers into the stillness of deep oceans."

Beyond the Gatekeepers

Fascism, the Fight for Democracy, and the Frontline Reality of Black Queer & Trans Life in the South

This conversation with guest Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson hosted and moderated by Bishop Vanessa M. Brown with Bishop Yvette A. Flunder is an inspiring example of the potency of the language of faith and radical belief in community possibility. Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson is a deep thinker & powerful organizer who meets the urgency of the moment with clarity, impactful strategy and loving commitment. She is a frequent collaborator with Indivisible and many other social change organizations.

How a High School Librarian in Abilene Fought Back Against Moms for Liberty

by Kalyn Gensic

"I entered this profession just as the storm clouds of the current book-banning push were starting to gather; now I’m in the middle of it."

The New Antifascist Consensus

How organizers and everyday residents are stopping ICE around the country

"The broad coalition of labor, community, faith and hundreds of other groups — along with more than 700 businesses — that drove the ​“Day of Truth and Freedom,” along with the networks of grassroots resistance, like the volunteer patrols, are examples of what is now a new antifascist consensus spreading like wildfire across the country."

Why Minnesota Matters More Than Iran for America’s Future

by Thomas L. Friedman

"Virtually every person I spoke with had at least one remarkable story. In fact, I have not heard so many stories of either incredible cruelty by men and women with guns or incredible kindness by neighbors and strangers for one another since I covered the Lebanese civil war in the late 1970s."

How to Fight Fascism

from Assembly Required

Stacey Abrams & Rachel Maddow are a pleasure to hear in conversation. We are in this struggle together & we have some brilliant thinkers on our side.