Vanity Fair has published a long excerpt from David Maraniss‘ upcoming biography, Barack Obama: The Story. The article features excerpts from letters Barack Obama wrote to an old girlfriend and passages from another girlfriend’s diary.

UPDATE: The essay caused a minor controversy this week as reporters debated character compression in Obama’s memoir. Former Kodansha America editorial executive Philip Turner cleared up all the controversy at Talking Points Memo.

In one letter from 1982, the future President shared a long analysis of T. S. Eliot‘s epic poem, “The Waste Land.” You can test your own analysis skills against the President by reading this free digital book copy of Eliot’s most famous poem. Check it out below…

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Happy National Poetry Month! To end the month, we found an audio recording of Allen Ginsberg reading his poem, “What would you do if you lost it?”

This performance took place in February 1973 at New York City’s 92Y.

At the six-minute mark in the recording, fellow beat poet Gregory Corso began to heckle the poet on stage and Ginsberg responded with more poetry. Ginsberg’s dad, Louis, joined the poet on stage.

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Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we interviewed poets about working in the digital age. To end the month, we spoke with brother-sister writing team Kathryn & Ross Petras.

Many have come to know the Petras siblings for the The Stupidest Things website and companion books. They recently edited a collection of modern poetry culled from politicians, reality TV stars and music recording artists.

Workman Publishing released The Anthology of Really Important Modern Poetry: Timeless ‘Poems’ By Snooki, John Boehner, Kanye West and Other Well-Versed Celebrities earlier this month. Follow this link to access their blog and read pieces from Twilight Saga actor Robert Pattinson, former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and pop star Ke$ha.

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In honor of National Poetry Month, we dug up an animated video of children’s author Shel Silverstein performing his poem, “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too.”

The poem was included in Silverstein’s celebrated collection, Where the Sidewalk Ends. It was originally published in 1974 and dedicated to children’s books editor Ursula Nordstrom.

Since the poet died in 1999, HarperCollins has published two volumes of Silverstein poetry. What’s your favorite Silverstein poem?

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Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we interviewed poets about working in the digital age. Recently we spoke with National Book Award finalist David St. John.

St. John has written and edited several volumes of poetry. He serves as a creative writing professor at the University of Southern California. In March 2012 he released a new poetry collection entitled The Auroras.

In this book, the poet divided up his poems into three separate parts. The first explores sensuality, the second deals with the past and the third talks about mortality. Check out the highlights from our interview below…

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Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day, a time for readers to carry a copy of their favorite poem and share it with the world.

What poem will you carry in your pocket? As a younger man, GalleyCat editor used to carry around a beat-up pocket edition of Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg. However, today we are sharing a digital copy of “Dirge” by the great Kenneth Fearing (more background on the poem here).

Check it out: “The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you on Poem In Your Pocket Day, sharing it with co-workers, family, and friends … Poem In Your Pocket Day has been celebrated each April in New York City since 2002, and nationwide since 2008. Each year, parks, bookstores, workplaces, and other venues burst with open readings of poems from pockets.”

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The Poetry Society of New York hopes to raise $5,000 to fund the 2nd Annual NYC Poetry Festival. Above, we’ve embedded a video about the project–what do you think?

Last year’s festival took place over the course of two days on Governor’s Island. More than 150 poets appeared to give poetry readings and performances. This year, the organization has conceived some highly ambitious plans to elevate the event.

Here’s more about the project: “Poetry does not exist in a vacuum and does itself no favors when its only audience is other poets…this year’s festival will include an Merchants Village, where local artists, sculptors, and artisans will work on live pieces inspired by the festival’s poetry while displaying and selling their wares, and a Songwriter’s Circle, where acoustic musicians working with poetic mediums can perform. By reaching outside the established poetry communities, The Poetry Society of New York hopes to create new audiences for poetry and facilitate collaborations between poets and other artists.”

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In honor of National Poetry Month, we’ve dug up a video featuring UK actor Billy Connolly reading Robert Louis Stevenson‘s “My Shadow.” The video features scenes from Disney’s 1953 animation film, Peter Pan.

Connolly is currently acting in Peter Jackson‘s two-part Hobbit movies; he plays a dwarf named Dáin II Ironfoot. In the past, he has starred in many literary adaptations including Gulliver’s Travels (2010) and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004).

Stevenson wrote Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. He also published poetry, short stories and travel writing. “My Shadow” comes from a collection of children’s poetry entitled A Child’s Garden of Verses. Internet users can download that book for free on Project Gutenberg.

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Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we have interviewed poets about working in the digital age. Recently we spoke with award-winning poet Lucia Perillo.

To date, Perillo has published six volumes of poetry. In May 2012, Copper Canyon Press will release her seventh poetry book, On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths and W.W. Norton will release her first collection of short stories, Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain.

Next week, Perillo will have a conversation with fellow poet Heather McHugh at the 92Y Uptown. Check out the highlights from our interview below…

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“Nice Fish,” written by Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins, whose poems he has recited at the Tony Awards in lieu of more traditional acceptance speeches, will make its debut at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis next year.