Doing Poetry Month Up Right

National Poetry Month

We’re zooming towards National Poetry Month, which runs all of April and gives us yet another reason to celebrate poetry and the people who make them. Even if it isn’t officially poetry month in your country, it seems a terrific time to reintroduce yourself to this beautiful and significant art form and there are a lot of tools out there to help you do it.

1. You can sign up for Poem-A-Day. It’s free. Launched in 2006, Poem-A-Day delivers previously unpublished poems directly to your inbox. Curated by guest editors and a dozen poets under the direction of the Academy of American Poets via Poetry.Org.

2. Get a free poster. If American readers request the poster at right before mid-April, they’ll send it to your free. After that it’s $5. Even if you’re in the free zone, consider a donation. It’s a terrific cause. Or, better yet, download the poster yourself here, and send the donation anyway.

3. Do a poetry brush up. Can you tell your Pantoum from your Ode? Your Epic Poem from your Bop? No? There’s a page for you. It’s here.

4. Memorize a poem. “We speak of memorizing as getting something ‘by heart,’ which really means ‘by head.’ But getting a poem or prose passage truly ‘by heart’ implies getting it by mind and memory and understanding and delight.” — John Hollander

All of these ideas and a bunch more are from Poetry.Org’s 30 ways to celebrate national poetry month where, obviously, you’ll find many more tips. That’s here.

 

About Linda L. Richards 72 Articles
Linda L. Richards is the editor of January Magazine and the author of several books.

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