A Playlist of Poets for National Poetry Month

Enjoy a selection of films and interviews featuring poets. Maybe you'll be inspired to write a soothing couplet or haiku, and call yourself a poet, too.

Published on April 02, 2020 | Last updated on April 14, 2023 by Beatrice Alvarez

April is National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. Says who? you ask. Well, it is organized by the Academy of American Poets and we are here for it. Poetry can soothe the soul and frankly, we could use some of that right now. So, in honor of National Poetry Month we've selected a playlist of films and interviews featuring poets. Yes, the ones we call bards, rhymesters, lyricists, wordsmiths, and versifiers. Maybe you'll be inspired to write a soothing couplet or haiku, and call yourself a poet, too. See what I did there?

Alejandro Jimenez: The Ground I Stand On

From American Masters' In The Making: The Ground I Stand On is a lyrical and meditative documentary short that explores the work and creative process of Alejandro Jimenez, Mexico’s 2021 Slam Poetry champion. See how his life experience as a U.S. immigrant farm worker shapes his unique vision of the power of poetry and its connection to a collective past.

U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón

Ada Limón was named the nation's new poet laureate in 2022. PBS Newshour's Jeffrey Brown met with Limón to learn more about her life’s path, one that includes backyard groundhogs, Kentucky bluegrass, pokeweed and plenty of poetry. It's part of the arts and culture series, "CANVAS."

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Poet and mental health activist AKeem

From the series Out of the Dark: At age fourteen, AKeem was kicked out of his home for coming out as gay, and as a result, faced bullying, homelessness, and depression. After receiving emergency mental health care, he finished writing “Suicide Note” and has since become a vocal mental health activist.

Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks was the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950, for her collection of poems titled "Annie Allen."

If you're interested in going into the archives, WTTW produced a 30-minute program about Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks. In the special from Chicago Tonight, you can hear Brooks read her poem "We Real Cool."

In the first season of Poetry in America, host Elisa May explores Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "To Prisoners." May interviews interpreters of Brooks' prose, including formerly incarcerated people and other poets, and engages in a discussion of poetry's unique impact on imprisoned individuals. It is a powerful episode that you can watch with Passport.

Mahogany Browne | Tell Me More

Kelly Corrigan speaks with poet and educator Mahogany L. Browne to learn more about the power of poetry and the importance of listening to younger generations. Mahogany speaks to the various ways in which her work aims to address both personal and broader societal issues of race, sexism and systemic oppression.

A Brief But Spectacular take on the power of poetry

Kimiko Hahn, a professor at Queens College, City University of New York, is the author of 10 books of poetry and the winner of numerous awards. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on the power of poetry.

Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio: This Is the Way We Rise

Filmmaker Ciara Lacy documents Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, a Kanaka Maoli wahine poet, activist and academic, and her continued work towards justice for Hawaii’s native population.

Jericho Brown

From Traverse with Sueann Ramella: Poet Jericho Brown shares how growing up in a Black church exposed him to the art of performative poetry at a young age and how that propelled him to dedicate his life to poetry starting in his early twenties. Ramella and Brown talk about everything from the importance of a name, speaking the truth, finding happiness in the imperfect and realizing that poetry doesn't always have a second message.

You can stream the conversation below. And if you can't get enough of Jericho Brown (hi, same!) you can also hear him talk more about the process behind his writing on the American Masters podcast Creative Spark.

Write Around the Corner - Nikki Giovanni

Enjoy this conversation with one of the greatest living poets. Write Around The Corner from Blue Ridge PBS visited Nikki Giovanni at Virginia Tech, where she teaches, and we are lucky enough to listen in. Giovanni tells stories of her youth and her storied career, including the time she hosted Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou for a night of poetry at Virginia Tech. You know, this weekend is the perfect weekend to pull that copy of "Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day" off your shelf and read it again.

Loretta Diane Walker

West Texas-based poet Loretta Diane Walker talks about what inspires her in her daily life. She says that in the month of April she commits to writing a poem every day. Basin PBS in Midland, Texas has an entire series featuring writers in the area so make sure you explore more episodes of In Search Of The West Texas Wordsmith after you get to know Walker.

Bukowski Reads Bukowski

Charles Bukowski wrote poems that could knock the wind out of you. Station KCET in Los Angeles made a retro episode of Artbound with archival footage of Bukowski reading his work in front of a live audience. In candid conversations, hear him talk about having the stink of Los Angeles on his bones. That's poetry right there, and it's just his small talk.