National Poetry Month Challenge

April is National Poetry Month – don’t be afraid, it’s really a good thing.  While the thought of rereading Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf may have you trembling and a volume of William Butler Yeats may put you off, We dare you to find a nice quiet chair where the sun will warm you, with your favorite beverage within reach and allow yourself to dig into someone else’s view of the world and the human condition.

We have added an excellent selection of contemporary collections that we’re sure will break your poetry phobia.  And to make it easy, they are waiting for you on the display as you enter the library.

Take up this challenge and see what you’ve been missing.  Who knows, you might just find a new passion.

Here are our newest titles:

• The BreakBeat Poets edited by Kevin Coval and others
• Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay
• Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
• Dear Corporation by Adam Fell (English Professor at Edgewood College)
• Rapture by Sjohnna McCray
• Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East edited by Reza Aslan
• The Walmart Republic by Quraysh Ali Lansana & Christopher Stewart

Or

Since April is National Poetry Month there’s no better time to try your hand at writing some of your own.  If you need some inspiration, try 30 Writing Prompts for National Poetry Month (PDF) from author Kelli Russell Agodon. There is a prompt for each day of the month to nudge you on your way to experiencing the fun of creating some awesome poems.