Celebrate National Poetry Month with Monthlong Activities in April

WSU Libraries is sponsoring three weeklong activities in April to celebrate all forms of poetry, as part of National Poetry Month.

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Spine poem by Lorena O’English, WSU Libraries social sciences librarian.

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets celebrating poetry’s vital place in our culture, according to the Poets.org website.

“We want to celebrate poetry as literature and art, and also inspire students to interact with poetry and our libraries in a fun, creative way,” said Lorena O’English, WSU Libraries social sciences librarian.

Activities, to be set up in Terrell Library’s New Books Room, include the following:

  • April 10-15 – “Spine Poetry.” Spine poems are photographs of poems created from book titles on the spines of a small stack of books. O’English encourages visitors to hunt for titles in the library book stacks or their own bookshelves, build their poem, take a picture and send it to her by email (wsulibrariespullman@gmail.com) or Twitter (@WSULibraries).
  • April 17-21 – “Dada Poetry.” The Dada or Dadaist poem sprang from the European avant-garde art movement of the early 20th century, embracing all things nonsensical, experimental and surreal. Kits will be available for people to create their own Dada poems and post them on a display board. Email or tweet Dada poems to O’English, and she will print and display them.
  • April 24-28 – “Poem in Your Pocket.” Visitors can pick up poems to take home or share them with others. O’English suggests taking two poems for your pocket and that of a friend; posting a poem on Twitter (#pocketpoem); writing or photocopying a poem and leaving copies anonymously all over campus; and leaving a copy of your favorite poem in the dullest book you can find as a treat for the next reader.

Displays of all poems will stay up in Terrell throughout April. For more ways to celebrate National Poetry Month, visit http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/30-ways-celebrate-national-poetry-month.