Most of us think more about taxes than about poetry when it comes to our government, but both the federal and the state governments support poets and poetry. April is National Poetry Month, and many states, including Georgia, have a state poet laureate—currently, Judson Mitcham for Georgia.
Much information about poets and poetry from Georgia appears in the New Georgia Encyclopedia. There you can find biographies of poets with Georgia connections such as Coleman Barks, Sidney Lanier, Conrad Aiken, David Bottoms, Alice Walker, and Natasha Trethewey (poet laureate of the U.S. 2012-2014).
The Library of Congress’s Poetry and Literature Center keeps an archive of recorded poetry and literature. The Poetry of America Initiative includes two special programs, the Poetry of American History and the Poetry of American Identity. Current poet laureate of the U.S. is Juan Felipe Herrera. Additional poetry resources are also available from the Library of Congress.
On a more prosaic topic, the 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ U.S. tax forms and instructions are available in the kiosk by the Reference Desk, on the second floor of Odum Library. Complete tax forms are available at irs.gov. The library doesn’t have printed state tax forms, but popular state of Georgia tax forms are available online. Tax forms from other states are available through the Federation of Tax Administrators. Remember that tax returns are due April 15, but you can enjoy National Poetry Month all month long.