7-Year-Old Dresses as Amanda Gorman for His School’s Spirit Day
Seven-year-old Jeremy Rowan was asked to dress as his idol for his school’s spirit day, and he chose to dress as the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate, Amanda Gorman. In a Tweet, Amanda Gorman expressed her appreciation for Jeremy’s costume, writing, “When I dress up as my idol I have to dress up as him!” Jeremy’s mother Kimberly Rowan said Gorman reached out to her to make sure it was okay to share the photo of Jeremy’s costume. Then Gorman sent a video to Jeremy expressing how great she thought the costume was. Rowan said, “It is really such a special moment for him and I know it will shape who he becomes.”
Richard Wright’s Never-Before-Seen Novel to be Published in April
On April 20, the Library of America will be releasing a never-before-published novel from Native Son author Richard Wright. Wright’s The Man Who Lived Underground is a novel about race and police violence written nearly 80 years ago. The novel is being published for the first time ever after Julia Wright—Wright’s daughter and literary executor—reached out to the Library of America about the significance of the novel’s perspective on police brutality. The novel is also available in eBook from Harper Perennial and as an audiobook from Caedmon, an imprint of HarperAudio.
The Academy of American Poets to Present This Year’s Leadership Award to Jonathan Galassi
On the 25th anniversary of National Poetry Month, the Academy of American Poets will present its Leadership Award to Jonathan Galassi. As former Academy Board Chairman and current President of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Galassi has published many influential American and international poets, including Louise Glück, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature. Galassi is also responsible for helping to launch National Poetry Month, which is now the largest literary celebration in the world. Galassi will be honored at the first-ever virtual Poetry & the Creative Mind gala on April 29.
Quiz: Is It Censorship?
It seems like every week, there’s a news story in the book world about censorship. But what really counts as censorship? Take this quiz to find out.