Hello and welcome to another Sunday Salon post and this time it’s going to be an all poetry edition. Thank you to Deb at Readerbuzz for hosting the chat!

We’re welcoming a new month and I especially love April because it’s National Poetry Month and I love a month dedicated to celebrating poetry. I have always loved poetry but tend to stick tried and true poets/poems but over the past several years I’ve really tried to look for new poets and it’s been a great learning experience.

One thing I’ve been doing on a daily basis (almost!) is reading at least one poem. I think that really helps you discover new poets and styles of poetry. If you don’t know where to start, it’s super easy to do this, you can sign up for a daily poem from Poets.org or Knopf Poetry Daily for example.

If you prefer to get a book I highly recommend A Nature Poem for Every Night of the Year. This year I’m reading A Happy Poem to End Every Day. I’ve found some delightful poems.

This month I’d like to challenge myself to read two additional poetry collections. Bonus points if I manage to read collections from new to me poets. I’d love to also finally go to a poetry reading. I used to go to slam and local poetry readings and even read some of my own poems! I hope I can find a bit of time to do this.

I hope you have a wonderful April whether you’re reading poetry or some other good books. I look forward to hearing about your reading plans.

Oh and thank you so much for all the get well wishes for my father-in-law! He’s still in the hospital but things are looking better so we’re very thankful for that.

For now, I leave you with a little poem to brighten your day:

The Rainbow by Christina Rossetti

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier than these.

There are bridges on the rivers,
As pretty as you please;
But the bow that bridges heaven,
And overtops the trees,
And builds a road from earth to sky,
Is prettier far than these.

Time to take a look at the month and I’m very happy to say I read more books in March than I expected and better yet, some excellent reads.

I carried over from February The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward which was my read for Black History month. It was such a powerful book of essays and poems that really made you think about how we talk about race and confronting the past. I especially found the essay by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers to be so thought-provoking.

I also read two thrillers The Half Sister by Sandie Jones and Walk the Wire by David Baldacci. I had some quibbles with each one (more in a review later) but still enjoyable, especially Walk the Wire.

Then I read several books I really enjoyed The Switch by Beth O’Leary and Love & Saffron by Kim Fay (add this to your list now!). I also finished Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light by Joy Harjo. This is such a fantastic poetry collection.

One disappointing read was Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn. I kept thinking what am I missing here. It’s got an interesting premise, nice characters but it just did not work for me at all.

Sadly I did not get to read something nonfiction for Women’s History month which was sort of my goal but who says you only have to stick to one month right? And, I’m still reading my one book for Read Ireland Month.

Now super excited about April as it’s the start of National Poetry Month and of course a new month to discover great new books. As usual, I’m carrying over some books into next month so I’ll tell you about those soon. Tell me how your month was and did you have any five-star reads?