During the month of April and beyond, the Academy of American Poets brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. This year marks the 17th celebration of National Poetry Month, spotlighting the power of poetry to inspire and delight.
Poets.org offers “a poem a day” as a way to celebrate, along with “Poem in Your Pocket Day” on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
Individuals are encouraged to select a poem they love during National Poetry Month then carry it with them to share with co-workers, family, and friends. Poems from pockets will be unfolded throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores.
Local organizations and events celebrating National Poetry Month:
Ohioana
Ohioana, a resource that collects, promotes, and preserves the work of Ohio writers, musicians and other artists, provides the following:
“Essays and sketches on noted Ohio poets, many from the Ohio Legacy Series, a series of essays featuring various contemporary Ohio authors and artists writing about how being from Ohio or how the work of other Ohio writers has influenced their own work.”
Ohio Resource Center
Ohio Resource Center provides ORC·On National Poetry Month, an e-pub that spotlights excellent poetry resources--such as 30 Poets/30 Days!--and ideas that teachers can use in their classrooms.
Writer’s Block
Writer’s Block—Columbus’ premier poetic venue--offers poetry open mic with featured poets, slams and other assorted poetic devices.
Open mic @ 8:00 p.m. every Wednesday, poetry slam every last Wednesday
Kafe Kerouac 2250 N. High Street Columbus, OH 43201 (614) 299-2672
Admission: $5 at the door
The Road Taken The Mile Long Poetry Book
Scott Woods, celebrated local poet, has issued a call for submissions during National Poetry Month 2013 (April) for a very special art project.
From April 1-30, 2013 he will be accepting poetry written during National Poetry Month. This work will be printed out and organized into a single scroll with the intent to generate a collection of poetry that captures the moment, manic energy and community of poetry during a National Poetry Month, a collection measuring 5,280 feet in length…a mile of never-before seen end-to-end poetry.
There is no plan to publish the work per se. There will be no attempt to seek money from participants in this experiment. There will be at least two records of the feat: the scroll itself (which will be displayed at a post-NPM event to celebrate, then remain secured with an occasional display by arrangement) and a publicly accessible website featuring a scanned image of every page of the collection. It will, at whatever length is achieved, be a free and virtual anthology for public consumption.
For more information, access The Road Taken: The Mile Long Poetry Book
A spiritual connection with poetry:
As born-again believers, Christians are said to be new creations in Christ, and they praise God for having given them all things richly to enjoy. Indeed, Ephesians 2:10 declares that “. . . we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The word “workmanship” is translated from the Greek word poiema, which means masterpiece, a glorious creation, a centerpiece of attention, as the French would say, le piece de resistance, or showpiece. Of course, the Greek word poiema is transliterated into the English word poem, which in the minds of many people is always a “masterpiece” or glorious creation. So that the people of God represent the real poetry of life, for which they praise God. Accordingly, they should not just wait until April to extol the beauty of poetry, but every day they should recognize and celebrate this cherished literary form.
Scott Woods describes the diverse Poetry Scene in Columbus in the accompanying video: A Great Day in Columbus/
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