Tag Archives: Effingham

April is National Poetry Month and the WME Community Library is celebrating our love for all things verse.

This April marks the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month and is the world’s largest literary celebration. To find out more about this national event, please visit http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/home for more information.

Here are five ways you can add a little poetry to your life:

1. Read poetry. This goes without saying, but there are so many poets to read, from the classics such as Shakespeare and Whitman, to more modern poets such as Maya Angelou and Alice Jones. Add a twist to story time with your children and read them Shel Silverstein for lots of giggles and fun language.
   Our recommendations (and available for checkout): Good Poems, Selected and Introduced by Garrison Keillor. Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.
2. Attend a poetry slam/reading. Slams and readings introduce you to local creatives and broaden your poetry horizons. Poetry often flourishes in these environments, wherein you discover new, fresh voices.
3. Create and share your own poetry. Poetry doesn’t have to rhyme, or be pages long, to express something important. Try your hand at it- write about anything you please and share it with friends and family. Read it aloud to your family, or share with your friends on social media.
4. Read a memoir or biography on a favorite poet. Recommended reading (and available for checkout): I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. We lost this great legend, but her powerful and evocative poetry, as well as her personal story, continues to inspire dreamers and survivors today.
5. Watch a poetry or poet inspired movie. There are brilliant movies and documentaries out there about poets such as Sylvia Plath (Sylvia) or Dylan Thomas (Set Fire to the Stars). Then there is the penultimate ode to verse, Dead Poet’s Society, starring the late, great Robin Williams. Set Fire to the Stars is available on Netflix, and Dead Poet’s Society is running on Hulu.

Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.
~Carl Sandburg