August 18, 2026 – Poetry and baseball cards may not seem like an obvious pairing, but Justin Hamm is bringing the two together for classrooms across the state. 

Eugene Field Elementary librarian and Missouri Poet Laureate, Hamm has been selected as a 2026 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, a national honor that includes a $50,000 award and will help bring the work of Missouri poets into high school classrooms across the state.

The Academy of American Poets selected 22 poets laureate serving cities, counties, states and Tribal communities across the United States for its 2026 fellowships. The program recognizes poets laureate for literary excellence while supporting projects designed to bring poetry into communities in meaningful and engaging ways.

Hamm will receive $50,000 through the fellowship, including $15,000 to support his Missouri Poet Laureate project, Poet Baseball Cards. The remaining $35,000 is an individual artist award recognizing Hamm’s work as a poet.

For more than two decades, Justin has served students in Missouri public schools, and this project is such a natural connection between his work as an educator and his work as a poet; this opportunity creates something that will benefit teachers and students across Missouri.

Hamm shared, "There is something empowering and naturally engaging for students to discover there is real literature that you can study in class being written in and about the towns they live in and travel through, local triumphs and struggles that aren't a product of imagination to you because they live them. Suddenly students feel very comfortable having ideas and opinions about the work."  

The project will feature poets connected to Missouri on collectible baseball-style cards that include biographical and literary “stats.” The cards will be paired with a high school curriculum styled around fantasy baseball, using the featured poets as an entry point for students to read, write, discuss and discover poetry.

Most importantly for Missouri educators, the fellowship funding will allow Hamm to provide the Poet Baseball Cards and accompanying curriculum to high school teachers free of charge.

The goal is simple: get more Missouri students reading and learning about Missouri poets.

He was appointed Missouri Poet Laureate by Gov. Mike Kehoe in 2025 and will serve through September 2027. As Poet Laureate, Hamm serves as an ambassador for poetry throughout Missouri through readings, workshops, community engagement and other initiatives.

Hamm is the author of five books of poetry. For Mexico Public Schools, Hamm's latest honor is especially meaningful because the national recognition will ultimately find its way back to the classroom, connecting Missouri writers, teachers, and students through poetry.

The Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships support poet laureates across the country in creating meaningful projects that enrich their communities, including projects that engage children and young people through poetry.

Read more about the national honor.