Holiday Gift Idea

Need an idea for a great holiday gift for someone who appreciates poetry? This calendar can sit on a desk or a table, at home or at work. It offers an ideal way to begin the day or end it. No need to check a website or inbox for your daily poem. 

Alhambra’s stand-up desk calendar for 2011 contains 365 classical and contemporary poems by more than 300 poets. Poetry from different eras and poetry movements is included, with a particular emphasis on contemporary poetry. The calendars are bound in a spiral, so there is no need to tear off pages and they can be used later as a reference book.

The calendar comes in English, French, and Deutsch. It's priced at $29.95. That might seem expensive, but calculate how much that comes to per poem and you'll see that it's a major bargain. You can order the calendar from Alhambra or from the Academy of American Poets.

When you're deciding who should receive this lovely gift, don't forget to ask for one for yourself!

I've been in this calendar all but one of the years since it first appeared. Two years ago I read with a group of calendar poets at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC and had the pleasure of meeting Shafiq Naz, the creator of the calendar. My poem this year is "Weather Report," from my book, Temptation by Water. As always, I'm delighted to be part of this beautiful project. Here's the list of all the poets included in the 2011 calendar:

DANNIE ABSE · JOSEPH ADDISON · KIM ADDONIZIO · SANDRA ALCOSSER · MONIZA ALVI · NIN ANDREWS · ANTONELLA ANEDDA · RAE ARMANTROUT · MATTHEW ARNOLD · ROSE AUSLÄNDER · ROBERT BAGG · DAVID BAKER · CHRISTIANNE BALK · MARY JO BANG · ANNA LAETITIA BARBAULD · DAVID BARBER · ELLEN BASS · THOMAS BASTARD · DEREK BEAULIEU · FRANCIS BEAUMONT · THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES · JACK B. BEDELL · APHRA BEHN · LINDA BIERDS · DAVID BIESPIEL · KATE BINGHAM · WILLIAM BLAKE · ADRIAN BLEVINS · ROBERT BLY · EAVAN BOLAND · STEPHANIE BOLSTER · TODD BOSS · ANNE BRADSTREET · GEOFFREY BROCK · PATRICIA BRODY · EMILY BRONTË · RUPERT BROOKE · JOEL BROUWER · ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING · ROBERT BROWNING · ALAN BROWNJOHN · COLETTE BRYCE · ROBERT BURNS · SAMUEL BUTLER · KATHRYN STRIPLING BYER · THOMAS CAMPION · THOMAS CAREW · CATHERINE CARTER · CAROLINE CARVER · CHRISTINE CASSON · MARGARET CAVENDISH · ANN CEFOLA · LYNN CHANDHOK · GEORGE CHAPMAN · GEOFFREY CHAUCER · JOHN CLARE · GEORGE ELLIOTT CLARKE · SUZANNE CLEARY · ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH · SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE · BILLY COLLINS · DAVID CONSTANTINE · TRISTAN CORBIÈRE · CHARLES COTTON · WILLIAM COWPER · HART CRANE · BARBARA CROOKER · SAMUEL DANIEL · JOHN DAVIES · JON DAVIS · GREG DELANTY · EMILY DICKINSON · FRED DINGS · GREGORY DJANIKIAN · JOHN DONNE · ERNEST DOWSON · WILLIAM DRUMMOND · SASHA DUGDALE · DENISE DUHAMEL · IAN DUHIG · PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR · LADY CATHERINE DYER · ELIZABETH I · ALISTAIR ELLIOT · CLAUDIA EMERSON · RALPH WALDO EMERSON · FAIZ AHMAD FAIZ · EDWARD FIELD · MARTIN FIGURA · ROY FISHER · EDWARD FITZGERALD · JAMES ELROY FLECKER · JOHN FULLER · GEORGE GASCOIGNE · JOHN GAY · DOREEN GILDROY · MARIA MAZZIOTTI GILLAN · DANA GIOIA · OLIVER GOLDSMITH · GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON · THOMAS GRAY · JAMES GREENE · DORA GREENWELL · LINDA GREGERSON · EAMON GRENNAN · FULKE GREVILLE, LORD BROOKE · JANE GRIFFITHS · KELLE GROOM · IVOR GURNEY · JENNIFER HABEL · MARILYN HACKER · RACHEL HADAS · MARIAN HADDAD · HAFIZ · KIMIKO HAHN · DANIEL HALL · JOSEPH HALL · SOPHIE HANNAH · THOMAS HARDY · JOY HARJO · JAMES HARMS · JEFFREY HARRISON · DAVID HARSENT · DOLORES HAYDEN · FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS · WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY · JOHN HENNESSY · JAMES HENRY · GEORGE HERBERT · DAVID HERNANDEZ · ROBERT HERRICK · BOB HICOK · BRENDA HILLMAN · EDWARD HIRSCH · JANE HIRSHFIELD · H. L. HIX · TONY HOAGLAND · OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES · THOMAS HOOD · PAUL HOOVER · GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS · JOHN HOPPENTHALER · JOHN HOSKINS · A. E. HOUSMAN · HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY · ANDREW HUDGINS · GLYN HUGHES · LEIGH HUNT · MARK IRWIN · HELEN IVORY · MAJOR JACKSON · AMANDA JERNIGAN · LIONEL JOHNSON · SAMUEL JOHNSON · DEVIN JOHNSTON · LIBBY FALK JONES · BEN JONSON · MARILYN KALLET · ALICE KAVOUNA · JOHN KEATS · BRIGIT PEGEEN KELLY · X. J. KENNEDY · HENRY KING · SUSAN KINSOLVING · DEBORAH LANDAU · WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR · D. H. LAWRENCE · EMMA LAZARUS · SYDNEY LEA · EDWARD LEAR · ELEANOR LERMAN · PHILLIS LEVIN · TIM LIARDET · SARAH LINDSAY · TOMOTHY LIU · DIANE LOCKWARD · WILLIAM LOGAN · HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW · RICHARD LOVELACE · AMY LOWELL · JOHN LYLY · KATHLEEN LYNCH · MARWAN MAKHOUL · RANDALL MANN · CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE · RICHARD MARTIN · ANDREW MARVELL · DAVID MASON · HAROLD MASSINGHAM · JOHN MCCREA · GARDNER MCFALL · JAMIE MCKENDRICK · JOSHUA MEHIGAN · ERIKA MEITNER · HERMAN MELVILLE · RICHARD MICHELSON · JOHN MILTON · ROBERT MINHINNICK · CAROL MOLDAW · LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU · ESTHER MORGAN · SIMONE MUENCH · PAUL MULDOON · RICHARD NEWMAN · AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL · BARBARA NICKEL · EDWARD NOBLES · JEAN NORDHAUS · CHRISTOPHER NORTH · KATHERINE NORTHROP · D. NURKSE · NAOMI SHIHAB NYE · KEVIN O’CONNOR · JOHN O’KEEFE · WILFRED OWEN · ERIC PANKEY · JAY PARINI · ELISE PARTRIDGE · LINDA PASTAN · COVENTRY PATMORE · MOLLY PEACOCK · PASCALE PETIT · KATHERINE PHILIPS · CHRISTOPHER PILLING · ROBERT PINSKY · DONALD O. PLATT · STANLEY PLUMLY · EDGAR ALLAN POE · ALEXANDER POPE · JACQUELYN POPE · PETER PORTER · D. A. POWELL · NEIL POWELL · MATTHEW PRIOR · SIMON RAE · SIR WALTER RALEGH · JACQUES RÉDA · JAMES RICHARDSON · ATSURO RILEY · ROBIN ROBERTSON · PETER ROBINSON · DAVID RODERICK · PADRAIG ROONEY · ISAAC ROSENBERG · J. ALLYN ROSSER · CHRISTINA ROSSETTI · DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI · MICHAEL RYAN · LAWRENCE SAIL · FIONA SAMPSON · REG SANER · ROBERT SAXTON · GRACE SCHULMAN · SIR WALTER SCOTT · CHARLES SEDLEY · WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE · RAVI SHANKAR · DON SHARE · PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY · RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN · ANDREW SHIELDS · VIVIAN SHIPLEY · JAMES SHIRLEY · PEGGY SHUMAKER · PENELOPE SHUTTLE · SIR PHILIP SIDNEY · JOHN SKELTON · ED SKOOG · R. T. SMITH · THOMAS R. SMITH · EDMUND SPENSER · ELIZABETH SPIRES · A. E. STALLINGS · PAGE HILL STARZINGER · DABNEY STUART · MATTHEW SWEENEY · JONATHAN SWIFT · ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE · ARTHUR SZE · GEORGE SZIRTES · EDWARD TAYLOR · MARILYN L. TAYLOR · SARA TEASDALE · ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON · EDWARD THOMAS · JEFFREY THOMSON · HENRY DAVID THOREAU · ADAM THORPE · RICHARD TILLINGHAST · DANIEL TOBIN · RHETT ISEMAN TRULL · GEORGE TUBERVILLE · BRIAN TURNER · THOMAS TUSSER · CODY WALKER · SUE WALKER · ROSANNA WARREN · MICHAEL WATERS · ELLEN DORÉ WATSON · JOHN WEBSTER · WALT WHITMAN · SUSAN WICKS · ELLA WHEELER WILCOX · C. K. WILLIAMS · HUGO WILLIAMS · WENDY WILLIS · JOHN WILMOT, EARL OF ROCHESTER · ELEANOR WILNER · CHRISTIAN WIMAN · TERRI WITEK · ANNE FINCH, COUNTESS OF WINCHILSEA · CECILIA WOLOCH · WILLIAM WORDSWORTH · BARON WORMSER · SIR HENRY WOTTON · MARY WROTH · SIR THOMAS WYATT · ELINOR WYLIE · WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS · STEPHEN YENSER · GARY YOUNG · ISABEL ZUBER