Yes, you know what April is. It’s National Poetry Month! I meant to post tonight about the book for discussion but I was sidetracked by bookbinding today so I didn’t finish the book but I promise I’ll finish it tonight and post soon.
So back to National Poetry Month. You know what makes me so excited about this? It’s a chance to get everyone talking about poetry, maybe finding some local poetry slams and hopefully discovering more new poets.
There are tons of resources on the Poets.org site where you can even sign up to have a poem delivered to your inbox daily. You can also check out Poetry Daily to read a poem a day. And for those of you who enjoy children’s poetry, thanks to Gentle Reader, I found out about 30 Poets/30 Days. It looks like a wonderful project so be sure to check it out along with the others.
So do you have plans to celebrate? I am planning to read The Captain’s Verses by Pablo Neruda. I’ve read a poem here and there from this book but this month I plan to read the whole book. Plus, it’s also one of my challenge reads. And, I’m sure to read more poems by some of my favorite poets like Billy Collins, Sandra Cisneros, Linda Pastan, Mary Oliver and many more. Who are some of your favorites? Tell me, I want to add more names to my list.
Tony Hoagland, Naomi Shihab Nye, Billy Collins, Pablo Neruda, Rumi, Barbara Kingsolver, those rock my world. Have you read Bill Moyer’s: “Language of Life”. It was originaly a PBS presentation of a festival of poetry. Seeing it is a treat as you hear first hand poets reciting their poems. The book is just a good way to remember their voices afterwards. Thank you for the Links. It is going to be a fun month.
I love Billy Collins. I’m currently reading a collection by Donald Miller that is very good. Luci Shaw, Wendell Berry, and Madeleine L’Engle are favorites, too.
I signed up for the poem-a-day from Poets.org a couple years ago – and just last week I found Borzoi Reader, where you can also sign up for poems in your inbox.
I am planning to post about poetry at least twice a week during April. I also need to figure out which poetry book I’m reading to the kids this month.
Oops – I meant to leave you the link to Borzoi Reader:
http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/poetry/index.pperl
Thanks for the reminder! I don’t really have a favorite, but I do like Wordworth and Auden.
I’m going to sign up for a poem-a-day, too. And, quite coincidentally, I just posted a friend’s poem on my blog.Take a peek when you get a chance.
You’re always a great poetry inspiration! I think I’ll be reading some Dorothy Parker. 🙂
How cool. I didn’t know about all those great poem resources. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the link! And I just wanted to note that Naomi Shihab Nye just won a Cybil award for her poetry book for teens (and certainly adults), Honeybee. There are amazing poets writing for pretty much every age group, infant and up….
Iliana: I am so stoked to have National Poetry Month coming up! I have a whole bunch of reviews planned and other stuff…so I hope you’ll pop over and see some of the latest contemporary poets I’ve found.
Oooh…this should give me the motivation I need to finish Atlas by Katrina Vandenberg and then actually post about it. I tend to shy away from posting about poetry, but I’ll make an effort.
Favourites of mine: e.e. cummings, Sharon Olds, Robert Browning, Anne Sexton.
I’m so glad you’re celebrating, too, Iliana! I’m posting a poem every Mon, Wed, and Fri during April — including some by your favorite poets, which happen to be mine, too! — and hoping to stir up a bit of discussion about them. To get the ball rolling, I put up a favorite Billy Collins piece today. And I’m planning to finally finish several poetry anthologies I’ve been picking through over recent months, including Franz Wright’s God’s Silence. Happy celebrating!
Emily Bronte wrote some beautiful poems. I remember finding them at the back of an old copy of Wuthering Heights at the library once….I’m yet to actually find that version of the book ANYWHERE!!
I love this post! I plan on celebrating National Poetry Month with several poems and reviews in April. Some of the poets I plan on reading are Richard Wright, Pablo Neruda, Audre Lorde, Raymond Carver, Alice Walker, Basho, and Langston Hughes. Have you ever read Good Poems by Garrison Keillor? It’s a anthology of poetry that is close to perfect.
If you have a chance to borrow or buy Shaun Tan’s latest book, Tales From Outer Suburbia, there is a wonderful picture story about poetry in there, I think you would enjoy it.
Roxane – Oh we share some favorite poets! And, no I never did see that PBS special. I wonder if I could get a copy from the library. I’m going to look for that. I love to listen to poetry and have a great book of spoken poems, some by their authors. I’m going to do a list of my favorite poetry books sometime and you’ll see 🙂
Carrie K. – Isn’t Billy Collins wonderful? I got the chance to hear him at an event last year and I swear I was acting all like a fan girl 🙂 And, thank you for reminding me about Borzoi! Every year I get their poems too – I already got a poem today. It’s a wonderful source especially for modern poets. Can’t wait to see which book you end up reading!
Les in NE – I haven’t read enough of those two. Just like classics I feel like my education sort of missed out all the poetry part! But, the good thing of course is it’s all there waiting to be discovered. I’ll definitely check out your friend’s poem. How cool!
Tiffany – Ah, thank you! I just love it and I feel like it’s the last thing people ever talk about. Isn’t Dorothy Parker fabulous? I’ve only read a few of her poems but wow, they are good!
aka Nik – Have fun checking them out! I know I’ll be visiting all of those sites throughout the month.
Gregory K. – Thank you for stopping by and for hosting such a fantastic project! I’ll definitely be over to read poems 🙂
Serena – I can only imagine what a bunch of fun stuff you have in store for us! I can’t wait 🙂
Nymeth – You’ve also listed some favorites of mine..e.e.cummings, how can you not love his word play! I’ve not heard of the poet you are currently reading so I do hope you’ll post your review!
Mindy Withrow – Yay! I’m so glad you are also celebrating and I’ll be stopping in to read. Of course now I can’t wait to see which Collins’ poem you posted 🙂 I’m looking forward to hearing about the anthologies – that’s always such a great way to find new poets/poems isn’t it.
Claire – I don’t think I’ve ever read any of her poems! Hmm, I must investigate now 🙂
Vasilly – Oh yay you are also celebrating! I have a copy of the Keillor book and turn to it all the time. One of my favorite poems in it is by Charles Bukowski – Poetry Readings. So freakin’ good 🙂 Looking forward to your reviews!
Carl V. – I’m making a note of that right now! Thank you so much for that tip 🙂
I’m not as into modern poetry, but I do love some early-twentieth-century poets like Dorothy Parker, W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden…Mark Strand is a more “modern” poet that I enjoy. Oh, I forgot Amy Lowell…
I haven’t read much poetry since college, but I think you’ve inspired me to dig out some poetry books for the month of April!
Lexi – Go get those books out of their boxes and enjoy! 🙂 Thank you for reminding me of Amy Lowell and Mark Strand… So good too!
So that’s it lol. I’ve seen quite a few things about poetry today on blogs but I had forgotten all about this. Thanks for the reminder!
Ladytink_534 – You bet! Happy Poetry Month 🙂