About Poetry Forward

The best way to raise kids’ interest in poetry is to have a poet with decades of experience in addressing audiences, publishing, performing and teaching come to them and show them how poetry is an art form which is both entertaining and meaningful to their lives. Poetry Forward shows students how to add to the rich tapestry of diverse voices and experiences which make up American poetry and in doing so foster a love of poetry as a relevant and accessible art form which all participants can both create and enjoy.

We send poets with world class experience in writing, publishing and performing as teaching artists to schools and communities who can benefit the most. Our teaching artists have provided programs in every county in Nebraska as well as in the surrounding states, even for the U.S. State Department in Belarus, Botswana, Nepal and Romania.

Poetry Forward is based out of Omaha, Nebraska and features former Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason as its primary teaching artist.

Poetry Forward aims to retain literary artists in their communities by paying an experienced poet a professional wage for their work, bringing them into schools and communities, libraries, senior centers and more.