April is National Poetry Month. Poetry should be celebrated. Poetry is a form of writing that spans generations and closes the gap on some critical issues. Reading and writing poetry can be a revolution. For poets, National Poetry Month is a great time of year because poetry is celebrated all month long.
Here are some things you can do to celebrate April's National Poetry Month:
- Take part in NaPoWriMo. NaPoWriMo is a month long event where people write a poem every day. Other than NaPoWriMo it is called the 30/30. A lot of poet friends on Facebook write using the note function then they tag each other for fun and feedback.
- Write a new type of poem. If you are a poet already then it is always good to try learning a new type of poem. Try learning pantoums or haikus.
- If you are a closet poet celebrate National Poetry Month by sharing a poem with a friend or even on a poetry or writing forum.
- Check out a poetry slam. There are open mics and poetry slams all over the world. Some people don't like poetry slams because they feel they are being yelled at by the poet. If this is your experience of a poetry slam then please go again.
- Take part in the Writer's Digest Poem A Day Challenge. There are really good writers forums on the site. The best five poems each day will be selected and reviewed by guest judges resulting in an ebook of poetry published by Writer's Digest.
- Find out if your children are learning poetry in school. A lot of people have an idea that poetry is only a string of words that are supposed to have deep meaning but take effort to understand. While some people appreciate that about poetry other people hate it. What cannot be denied is that poetry is an amazing outlet for youth. At some high schools they have programs that take professional poets into the classrooms. They help mentor the students with poetry. A lot of times writing something down changes it so poetry can also be therapeutic.
- Surf the internet for spoken word poetry. There are several sites that have spoken word poetry like YouTube, podslam.org, or type in poetry slam venues and they will link up to their local poets.
- And, of course, you can always celebrate National Poetry Month by supporting a local poet or artist. Poetry is saving lives around the world...and, as ironically poetic as that is it is true.