National Poetry Month

At the Daily Post, we’re all familiar with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), but did you know that April is National Poetry Month? First established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month is a month-long celebration of the art of poetry and American poets. Anyone can participate, either through events organized by local bookshops and libraries or on their own, with personal writing challenges and celebrations. Coincidentally, April is also National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) and just like NaNoWriMo, the idea of National Poetry Writing Month is to write a poem a day for the month of April.

It seems that we’ve been subconsciously channelling National Poetry Month. In case last week’s post about using social networks to inspire poetry or Daryl’s post on the Jabberwocky haven’t yet convinced you, National Poetry Month is a great time to try your hand at some poetry-writin’. You can connect with other NaPoWriMo writers to get inspiration via the Topics page or check out this map from the American Academy of Poets to check out some local events.

If writing poetry isn’t your thing, you can also celebrate with any number of the Academy of American Poets’ “30 Ways to Celebrate,” including memorizing a poem, leaving poetry in unexpected places, or simply making a note to read a poem during your lunch break. Others have found more creative ways to celebrate, including Brain Pickings’ “Book Spine Poetry.”

How will you celebrate National Poetry Month?