On August 22, 1970, the US Post Office issued the first stamp in the American Poet Series.

Prior to this series, there had been a relatively small number of stamps honoring American poets.  Most notably, five poets were honored in 1940 as part of the Famous Americans Series – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, Walt Whitman, and James Whitcomb Riley.  Other poets previously honored on stamps included Edgar Allan Poe and Francis Scott Key.

The 1970 series was the result of a campaign launched by the Academy of American Poets.  In announcing the new series, the postmaster general stated that “President Nixon has shown considerable interest in our stamp program, and I agree with him that there is a place on our stamps also for those quiet men and women of genius whose endeavors have preserved our heritage and contributed to our cultural stimulation.”