National Poetry Month: Modern Poets You Should Know

Welcome to April! It is officially spring, and National Poetry Month. So enjoy the warmer weather, and read some poetry by these modern poets you should know. 

Jason Reynolds is a well known author at thirty-nine, mainly for his young adult books. Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author and won many awards for various books. Some of his most popular books are Long Way Down, All American Boys, Look Both Ways, When I Was the Greatest, and Ghost, the bestselling book in his track series. What many don’t know is that Jason Reynolds also writes poetry. He was first inspired to write poetry at nine years old, specifically by rapper Queen Latifah’s ability to capture the experience of growing up as a black child. Reynolds continued writing poems throughout his school years and began performing spoken word poetry as an undergraduate. In fact, the first book Reynolds published was a poetry collection titled Let Me Speak. Reynolds’ poetry focuses on

Twenty-five year old Amanda Gorman was the first ever Youth Poet Laureate, known for reading her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration ceremony. She was also the first poet to perform at the Super Bowl, the first to open the Library of Congress’s literary season, the first poet to be featured by Vogue magazine, etc. Gorman has an auditory processing disorder and hypersensitivity to sound, and she had a speech impediment as a child. But, this is what encouraged her to read and write. Gorman graduated from Harvard College and was a member of the oldest most prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa. Gorman writes about feminism, race, and oppression, and was inspired by the activist Malala Yousafzai.

Alyssa Gaines is our 6th and current Youth Poet Laureate. In addition to being a poet, Gaines is also a multimedia artist, photographer, playwright, and actress. She shared that her first time writing poetry was an assignment in third grade, when a teacher decided to invite her to read the poem in a slam. Ever since then, Gaines fell in love with poetry. She continued writing and competing in slams and open mics, and felt that poetry just “clicked” for her. Gaines is now a student at Harvard University. When writing, Gaines writes for a specific purpose, not a specific audience. Many find her poems to be wide ranging, fierce, hopeful, and even humorous. Gaines’ writing emphasizes “the balance between hardship and triumph” (Gaines Weebly), and representation of her religion and communities.

Spend your time on something educational by reading some poems by these amazing poets, and impress your ELA teachers!