Idea Box: National Poetry Month

National Poetry Month was debuted in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. This commemorates poets' pivotal contributions to literature and the arts. The National Poetry Month display in the windows of the Main Library Idea Box highlights four Oak Parkers who have made their mark on poetry both locally and nationally.

Kara Jackson became the National Youth Poet Laureate, and was awarded the honor at the Library of Congress (she's only the third in our nation’s history). She performed at the Louder Than a Bomb 2018 finals and was selected by Patricia Smith for the Literary Award. (OPRF Graduate 2018)

Dan “Sully” Sullivan holds an MFA and MA from Indiana University. His poems and performances have been featured on HBO Def Poetry Jam, WGN Morning News, and National Public Radio. Sully is a three-time Chicago Poetry Slam Champion, a recipient of the Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Poetry Award, the Earl S Ho Award for Excellence in Teaching Creative Writing, and an Indiana University Writer in South Asia Recipient. (OPRF Graduate 1999)

Peter Kahn was an English teacher from 1994 and a Spoken Word Educator from 2003 until 2022 at Oak Park and River Forest High School. A founding member of the London poetry collective Malika’s Kitchen, he co-founded the London Teenage Poetry Slam and, as a Visiting Fellow at Goldsmiths-University of London, created the Spoken Word Education Training Programme.

Charles Simic is widely recognized as one of the most visceral and unique poets writing today. His work has won numerous awards, among them the 1990 Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant,” the Griffin International Poetry Prize, the Wallace Stevens Award, and the appointment as US poet laureate. (OPRF Graduate 1956)

Come check out some these amazing poets and more in the third floor poetry collection at the Main Library or online with our ebooks catalog!

The display will be featured April 12-30 in the windows of the Main Library Idea Box.