Celebrating National Poetry Month
In 1996, the Academy of American Poets established April as National Poetry Month to increase awareness develop a widespread appreciation of the art of poetry. Since then, the month has gained popularity and has been embraced by teachers, publishers, libraries, nonprofit and government organizations, and celebrities.
Today Sampsonia Way joins the celebration of National Poetry Month by recognizing ten poets who have contributed to our pages. Watch and read their voices here.
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Terrance Hayes
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In 2010, Pittsburgh-based poet Terrance Hayes was awarded the National Book Award for his collection Lighthead. Watch Terrance read from his collection at the 2010 City of Asylum/Pittsburgh Jazz/Poetry concert.
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Cornelius Eady
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Cornelius Eady is a poet and a co-founder of Cave Canam. Watch Eady read at the 2011 Cave Canam reading with City of Asylum/Pittsburgh. Read three of Eady's unpublished poems and listen to his song "Coltrane's House."
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Toi Derricotte
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Sharon Olds described Toi Derricotte as “One of the most beautiful and necessary voices in American poetry today.” Watch Derricotte read several of her poems at a 2011 Cave Canem reading, presented in partnership with City of Asylum/Pittsburgh.
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Amiri Baraka
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Poet and activist Amiri Baraka is known for founding Black Arts Movement, which advocated independent black writing, publishing, and artistic institutions. Watch Baraka read his poem "Something in the way of things (In Town)" at Cave Canam in 2011.
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Khet Mar
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On March 3, 2011, City of Asylum/Pittsburgh's Burmese writer-in-residence Khet Mar joined translators and poets Michelle Gil-Montero and Román Antopolsky for a reading of her work in Burmese, English and Spanish. Watch a reading of Khet Mar's poem "Melancholy" in the three languages.
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Hind Shoufani
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Palestinian poet Hind Shoufani came to Pittsburgh to read at City of Asylum/Pittsburgh's 2011 Jazz/Poetry Concert. Read several of her unpublished poems exclusively at Sampsonia Way.
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Meena Kandasamy
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Meena Kandasamy’s poetry reinforces her self-description as an “angry young woman.” In three poems from her collection Ms. Militancy Kandasamy retells Hindu and Tamil mythology through a feminist perspective. Read "Princess-in-exile," "Random Access Man," and "Traitress" from her collection.
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Khin Aung Aye
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Sampsonia Way presents two poems from the upcoming Burmese poetry anthology Bones Will Crow: 16 Contemporary Burmese Poets by Arc Publications. Read "Achilles’ Heel" by Khin Aung Aye and "The Sniper" by Pandora , both translated by Ko Ko Thett.
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Irakli Kakabadze
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Georgian-born poet Irakli Kakabadze read at the 2009 City of Asylum/Pittsburgh Jazz Poetry Concert. Read four of his unpublished poems presented exclusively by Sampsonia Way : “Penicillin Mini Opera,” “Information Highway Song,” “Condominium of Free Will,” and “Generation of Faithless Monks.”
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Soheil Najm
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Sampsonia Way presents three unpublished pieces by Iraqi poet Soheli Najam. Read “Adam the Neglected,” “Black Paradise,” and “The Bird of Possibility,” which Najm says are “part of a large project, telling aspects of the life we have lived in our region during the last decades.”
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