April marks the 20-year anniversary of National Poetry Month which was organized and founded in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets.

National Poetry Month aims to bring attention to, raise awareness, and share the love and appreciation of the many variations of poets and poetry — classical, modern and everything in-between.

Robert “Bob” Stanley, lecturer of English composition, co-director of the Writing Center at Sacramento State and president of the Sacramento Poetry Center, shares his views on National Poetry Month and is enthusiastic about connecting poets with other poets and keeping the art form alive.

“It’s an old art form,” Stanley said. “It’s not a glamorous art form, but it’s still a powerful one.”

Joshua McKinney, a poetry professor at Sac State, said he is most interested in eco-poetics, an art form traced back to “nature poetry” or the traditions of the pastoral.

“Given our ecological crisis, a lot of people are thinking about ecological issues deeply these days,” McKinney said. “It’s working its way into poetry probably more than it has in the past.”