It’s almost that time of year! No silly, not Spring! It’s almost time for poetry month! April is National Poetry Month, and as a huge poetry dork, I could not be more excited! If you’re interested in learning more about poetry before I start clogging my blog with poetry books, I have a great place for you. It’s Poets.org, a great site for readers just getting interested in poetry, or for long time fans who want more works to look at. It also gives more information on National Poetry Month, and ways to get ready for it. Created by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, NPM is dedicated to celebrating poetry and its place in American society. Publishers, writers, schools, librarians, and fans all come together to spread their love of poetry with the world, and not just through pickup lines and Facebook statuses. Sounds cool right? Just click on the National Poetry Month link and it will show you the history of the event, frequently asked questions, and 30 ways to celebrate throughout April. You might read a poem while eating, put poetry in random places around your house to read, slip a poem in a letter or card to a friend, sidewalk chalk a poem, or attend a poetry reading. And those are just a few of them!
If you want to find some good poetry, this website can help too- there are galleries and lists of poems to read, and authors to look at. Offerings range from classic pieces and authors, to more contemporary works. It also has specialties, like poems for teens, most popular poems, and poems for puppy dogs (alright, not really… but that would be cool). Even better, you can sign up for a “poem a day” email. Just put in your email address, and every day you get a new poem, some new, and some old, and some in between. Maybe even use one for the Poem in Your Pocket project, where poetry lovers carry around a favorite poem to share with friends and family, or post on Facebook. You can also share your poem selection on Twitter by using the hashtag #pocketpoem. Any of this sound good? Stop by the website, and see what you can find. Even if you don’t consider yourself a poetry fan, I can guarantee you will find something you like, or at least get pointed in the right direction. And be prepared, because this is just the start of the poetic fun! And if you ask real nicely, I might actually attempt to write my own blog poem! Now, what rhymes with “grammar errors”…?CP
