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Kentucky Writers: Authors of the Bluegrass State

"Authors of the Bluegrass State" is a guide by Kentucky Collects. This guide provides information about authors and writers from Kentucky and their work.

About National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. The creation of a National Poetry Month was inspired by the success of Black History Month (February) and Women's History Month (March). In 1995, the Academy of American Poets assembled a group of literary organizations, poets, teachers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians to explore the importance of establishing a month dedicated to the celebration and cultivation of poetry and literacy.

The first National Poetry Month took place in April, 1995 and since then it has been celebrated annually. 

Explore Kentucky Poetry

Resources

Publications about Kentucky Poets

Each year, the Academy of American Poets releases an official National Poetry Month poster. The April 2021 poster features artwork by Bao Lu from Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, New York. Their design includes a line from current United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's poem "For Keeps": "There is nowhere else I want to be but here. I lean into the rhythm of your heart to see where it will take us."

Download or Request a free poster provided by the Academy of American Poets.

Poets

Adams, Morgan

Alexander, Constance

Allen, Elisabeth Offutt

Alvarez, Steven

Andry, Tina

Austin, Lana K.W.

Baker, Bobby Steve

Ballestero, Eduardo

Bargo, Bianca

Barth, Robert L.

Beck, B. Elizabeth

Berry, Wendell

Bingham, Sallie

Boone, Joy Bale

Bowling, Joyce

Chaffin, Lillie D.

Clark, Billy Curtis

Clay, Bernard

Clay, Soc

Cope, Steven R.

Corbin, Sean L.

Cotter, Joseph S., Sr.

Crunk, Tony

Davenport, Guy

Davis, Ronald W.

De Vries, Sonja

Dickey, Fannie Porter

Drake, Leah Bodine

Driskell, Kathleen

Edwards, Lynnell

Eklund, Laura

Eudy, Mary Cummings

Farris, Nettie

Faughn, Dale

Finney, Nikky

Gentry, Jane

Gorham, Sarah

Hagen, Sarah Cornett

Hall, James Baker

Hall, Wade

Hansel, Pauletta

Harrison-Pace, Yolantha

Haughton, Matthew

Hill, DaMaris B.

Hill, Edward G.

hooks, bell

House, Silas

Howell, Rebecca Gayle

Hunley, Tom C.

Irwin, Anthony Lee

Jeffrey, Rosa Vertner

Jones, Gayl

Kendrick, Leatha

Kingsolver, Barbara

Knight, Etheridge

Lacy, Elsie Halsey

Laine, Henry Allen

Lally, Jude

Lampton, Nana

Limón, Ada

Litsey, Edwin Carlile

Lockington, Mariama

Lyon, George Ella

Manning, Maurice

McCoy, Jay

McCurry, Christopher

McMeekin, Isabel McLennan

Merton, Thomas

Miller, Jim Wayne

Miranda-Straub, Marta

Mobley, Tom

Morehead, Maureen

Morris, Ellen Birkett

Naslund, Sena Jeter

Nazario y Colón, Richard

Niles, John Jacob

Noe, J. T. Cotton

Norman, Gurney

Oakes, Elizabeth

O'Rear, Agnes S.

Owen, Pat Williams

Paden, Jeremy

Patton, James H., Jr.

Pegram, Amelia Blossom

Pennington, Lee

Phillips, Louise Scott

Pilkenton, Henry E.

Quenon, Paul

Reed, Rufus Mitchell

Riley, James Alan

Roberts, Elizabeth Madox

Rooney, Audrey

Salyers, Paul

Semones, Charles

Shaffer, Andrew

Silbernagel, Adrian

Sipple, Savanna

Skaggs, Misty

Skinner, Jeffrey

Smith, Effie Waller

Smock, Frederick

Spriggs, Bianca Lynne

Steele, Frank

Stewart, Albert

Still, James

Stoykova-Klemer, Katerina

Stuart, Jesse

Summers, Hollis

Survant, Joe

Sutherland, Eric Scott

Tate, Allen

Taylor, Richard

Taylor-Hall, Mary Ann

Teegarden, Troy

Thompson, Paul Douglas

Thorpe, Allison

upfromsumdirt

Waldrop, Jayne Moore

Walker, Frank X.

Warfield, Catherine Ann

Warren, Robert Penn

Williams, Lowell Allen

Worley, Jeff

Worthington, Marianne

Zemsky, Thomas

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