National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month!  It was started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets to celebrate the place of poetry in our society.  Their website has some great (and free) ideas on how to incorporate poetry into your life every day this month.  I think my favorite one is to subscribe to a literary journal…hint hint.  

Trellis has put together a list of websites you can visit to get more information and resources on National Poetry month:

Academy of American Poets (who originated national poetry month) http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41
Calendar of some poetry month events http://www.poets.org/calendar.php/varClear/1
Poem in Your Pocket Day http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406
Infoplease’s poetry month suggestions and fun quizzes http://www.infoplease.com/spot/pmonth1.html
Library of Congress poetry site http://www.loc.gov/poetry/
Education World - how to compile a book of your own poems, and invent a new poetic form http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr079.shtml
Scholastic’s poetry month resources for teachers http://teacher.scholastic.com/poetry/index.htm?os_id=os4-google-April-NationalPoetryMonth-National_Poetry_Month
Meadowbrook Press’s poetry teachers site http://www.poetryteachers.com/
National Poet Laureates http://www.world-class-poetry.com/poet_laureate.html
State Poet Laureates http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/poets/current.html
How to become a poet laureate http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/poets/faq.html

In addition, I thought it would be fun to start sharing instances of poetry in everyday life.  I just got back from a trip to Boston where I visited Mt. Auburn cemetery.  Not only is the cemetary one of the impetuses for creating America’s public parks, it is the final resting place for some of the nation’s famous poets including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Amy Lowell and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  I recommend visiting there if you are ever near Boston but I would wait until the summer if I were you.  This poem by John Greenleaf Whittier was on the side of the chapel.  He actually wrote this as an inscription for a sundial:

If you have any pictures you want to share, feel free to email them to me and I’ll post them on the blog.