April is National Poetry Month, a celebration meant to mark the importance of poetry in our everyday lives and in society.
National Poetry Month was created in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets with the goal of highlighting American poets, encouraging the reading of poems and supporting poetry and poets on a national scale. The Academy of American Poets decided to host this celebration in April because it seemed like the best time to encourage readers to read poetry and gain year-round readership.
Since it is National Poetry Month, all around the country, we have seen the emergence of new poets and poems, virtual poetry readings and events and poetry challenges. While we are almost halfway through April, it is never too late to get into poetry. Here are some ways you can participate in National Poetry Month at home and online.
Read poetry
One of the best ways to celebrate National Poetry Month is by reading poetry and supporting poets. There are tons of Instagram accounts that highlight different poets, and most bookstores have poetry sections if you’re interested in purchasing some poetry books to read in your spare time. Some notable mentions by known poets are “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman, “Maps for the Modern World” by Valerie June Hockett and “Home Body” by Rupi Kaur. Some poetry books that came out this year by lesser-known poets include my own “Perspective (and other poems), “Fortunate” by Kim Rashidi and “morning air, morning light” by Regan Smith.
Participate in poetry challenges and prompts
With National Poetry Month comes tons of poetry challenges and prompts to get the creative juices flowing. Award-winning poet Jane Hirshfield has a Poem-a-Day challenge happening, where she reads a submitted poem each day, and poet Savannah Brown is hosting Escapril, where she released prompts at the beginning of April for each day of the month and highlights different poets and poems that caught her eye. There are tons of other challenges out there, too. A simple Instagram or Google search for them will leave you with a plethora of prompts and challenges to choose from.
Attend virtual poetry events
While we can’t attend in-person poetry events and readings this year, luckily, they’re still happening online. Throughout April, there are virtual poetry events happening nationwide. Some upcoming events to consider checking out include #WeAllGrow Amigas’s free The Divine Feminine Poetry Writing Workshop on April 13 at 6 p.m. and Poetry & the Creative Mind’s Virtual Gala Supporting National Poetry Month on April 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Rupi Kaur’s virtual poetry performance on April 30 with $15 admission.
Whether you’re a poet or just enjoy reading poetry, be sure to take advantage of all National Poetry Month has to offer.
