Elizabeth and Wynn Kearney International Center

In 1996, the American Academy of Poets designated April as National Poetry Month. Since its inception, events that celebrate and promote poetry have been held throughout the country. Now one of the largest literary celebrations in the world, this year marks the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month, and the third year that the English Department at Minnesota State University, Mankato has joined in the celebration with the National Poetry Month Video Project.
Our project consists of thirty short videos, professionally filmed, produced, and edited by Maverick Visual Productions (Minnesota State University’s in-house studio). Each features a poetry reading. The poets showcased in this year’s project include Wordsworth, Lowell, and Shakespeare, as well as contemporary poets ranging from previous and current Poet Laureates of three states, a National Book Award Finalist, poets included in Best New Poets and The Best American Poetry anthologies, and an Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship recipient. Some of this year's readers are Minnesota State Mankato students from a range of majors including English, Biomedical Sciences, Communications, Engineering, Mass Media, Social Work and Spanish; other readers are members of the Greater Mankato community.
We'll release one video each day in April. We hope to continue to increase the appreciation of poetry and to highlight our students’ and community members’ talent for, and dedication to, this form of art. We also hope that you enjoy watching these videos as much as we enjoyed making them.

Best,
Taylor Tolchin, Project Coordinator
Professor Diana Joseph, Project Advisor
Professor Matthew Sewell, Department Chair