5 Ways To Celebrate National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month! This month-long celebration highlights the role that poets and poetry play in shaping and enriching our national arts and popular culture. The Academy of American Poets shares: "Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters."
"Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and, of course, poets, marking poetry's important place in our lives. In 2024, the Academy of American Poets looks forward to celebrating the twenty-eighth anniversary of this annual celebration!"
Poetry is an important part of the writing spectrum, and a valuable way to get young kids writing their own ideas, thoughts and feelings down for the first time.
Here are five ways you can celebrate poets and poetry this month, and all year long:
1. Watch the current National Youth Poet Laureate Salome Agbaroji, read her poem "Oasis," and discuss what you think the poem means, and what emotions it brings about for you, here.
2. Learn the ingredients of a poem and write your own poem with Kwame Alexander:
3. Pick a new poem everday to kick off your morning. Read it aloud, together: https://poets.org/poems-kids
4. Pick one of the poems from the poets.org resource above, and write on your driveway, sidewalk or street in chalk. (Ask a grownup for help with this.)
5. Host your own poetry open mic outside! Make invitations, write poems and even record the event to share online: http://ow.ly/yO1k50Erztc
We'd love to see how you choose to celebrate National Poetry Month! Tag us in photos or posts about you and your family are incorporating poetry into your everyday experiences.
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