National Poetry Month
If you hang around Forrest for very long
You probably know that the full month of each April
in the U.S. is declared as National Poetry Month--
Thirty days to enjoy your own poems,
poems by others, or just celebrate the craft.
This was declared by The Academy of American Poets in 1996,
You’ve had twenty-nine years to get this right,
Write a poem, if you might,
Read a poem a day. Out of sight!
If this seems too much for you to do
Give it a chance, from the below list, just a few.
Celebrate poets and their craft,
Soon you’ll be writing your own draft.
© Forrest W. Heaton January 2025
How To Celebrate Poets and their craft--perhaps choose one or just a few—
Write a new poem
Write a poem every day (or every week?)
Read a poem every day (or every week?)
Read a poem out loud to your spouse, a child, a friend.
Read poems written by poets you are unfamiliar with.
Meet with a friend who is a poet and learn about her or his craft.
Consider subscribing to the publication published by organizations promoting poetry.
Display a poster at work or in school. Get the poster free from one of the organizations listed. Or perhaps, create your own.
Learn about our country’s Poet Laureate, Ada Limon, and her current project involving poetry for the people in national parks. (Her contact information is: via Mr. Brett Zongker, Library of Congress, Office of Communications, (202) 707-1639.)
Get to know the works of Mary Oliver (1935-2019), Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), Walt Whitman (1819-1892), Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), Robert Frost (1874-1963), E. E. Cummings (1894-1962), Billy Collins (1941-), Maya Angelou (1928-2014).
Organizations.
Poetry Foundation. (312) 787-7070. Publishes Poetry Magazine. When you call the foundation you may be advised the annual subscription cost is $35.00. When you examine their website there are subscription “giveaways.” We encourage your reading of the magazine but cannot advise the cost.
The Academy of American Poets. (212) 274-0343.
Sixty-Minute Poet. You do not need to write poetry in order to appreciate poetry. Many of us were taught that writing or reading poetry was difficult or required study. This is unfortunate. It is not the case. As you will see from reading the poems from the above listed poets there is much joy here available to you for the asking or doing. Some is astonishing. You will experience a moment when you thank goodness you’ve read this or that poem! If these experiences inspire you to try your hand at writing a poem I encourage you to read my book, The Sixty-Minute Poet, published 2013. I wrote the following up in our 30Mar24 blog post and copy it here:
Are there some fundamentals to learn that would make poetry-writing easier? Yes. My book, The Sixty-Minute Poet, Kindle edition, available from Amazon for U.S. $9.95, spells out the fundamentals clearly. Practice makes the fundamentals even easier. Promise: In sixty-minutes, one-short-hour, you’ll be writing poetry!
Impressionist Writer. We realize some of you already write poetry; however, most will read this but hang on to their habit of not writing poetry. That’s OK. We all have much to do and one more thing might get in the way. But we encourage you to think about it. Perhaps even give it a try. I’m not sure who wrote this but, although not me, I wish it were: “Is it a talent to write poetry? Poetry is not only a talent, it is very much an Art form. Think of the Poet who's writing in one of the more unconventional forms as an Impressionist Painter.” This post is inviting you to add “impressionist writing” to your talents.
Topic? The more poetry you write the more you will “feel a poem coming on.” The better you understand the reason for the poem, the easier it will be to write it. If it is a major consideration in your mind at that moment . . . it may be a topic for a poem.
Is there another book that would help? Yes, it’s the Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary. It’s not necessary to rhyme when writing a poem, but this book makes it easier when you want to.
Will reading the poetry of others help? Yes. And you’ll find it much more rewarding than watching the news.
What if I write a bad poem? In our minds, there are few to none “bad poems.” And, it doesn’t matter. Just throw it away. And, when you feel like it, try again.
Is it OK to revise? It is always OK to revise.
How might I benefit? In our minds, one almost always benefits from either trying to write a poem, or writing a poem. There is something cathartic about it. Making something out of nothing is almost always a cathartic experience. Poetry writing strengthens your writing skills. It also strengthens your language skills. Poetry writing can be therapeutic. Poetry writing improves emotional and intellectual growth. Topic is key. Word selection is key. Writing it out gets it out of your head. Then you can decide on whether or not you wish to share it with someone else.