Mary Gannon has taken the newly established position of Associate Director/Director of Content at the Academy of American Poets. In this new role, Gannon will head plans to further develop all programs for poets, poetry readers, and educators. She will also be leading efforts to improve Poets.org, the organization’s popular website. Jennifer Benka, Academy Executive Director, welcomed Gannon to the Academy staff saying, “I know we will benefit greatly from her expertise and passion for poetry.” Benka and Gannon had worked closely together at Poets & Writers, a sister organization.

Mary Gannon is a Boston area native and served as Editorial Director for Poets & Writers, Inc. She oversaw the production of pw.org and the publication of Poets & Writers magazine, working as its editor from 2004 to 2009. Gannon was a founding member of the Brooklyn Literary council, and she presently serves on its poetry programming committee.

Founded in 1934, The Academy of American Poets aims to support American poets and foster appreciation of contemporary poetry. They do this through programs such as National Poetry Month in April which has been said to be the largest literary celebration in the world; providing teachers with free poetry lesson plans for high school teachers via online educational resources; maintaining a Poetry Audio Archive with over 700 recordings dating back to the 1960s; and Poets.org the award-winning website with over a million users per month.

Source: The Academy of American Poets, http://www.poets.org