MAPoet: Johnson County Library

Showing posts with label Johnson County Library. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Get Ready for Poem in Your Pocket Day

This Thursday, April 24, is Poem in your Pocket Day. This day began in New York City in 2002 as part of the city's celebration of National Poetry Month. The Academy of American Poets turned the day into a national initiative in 2008. Schools, libraries, bookstores and parks are some of the venues where poetry is shared on this day.

Here are some ways that you can participate:

Carry a favorite poem with you and share it. It may be in a book, on a card, bookmark or electronic device.
Surprise people with poetry. Hand it out, post it on a bulletin board, or leave it on a table in a waiting room or restaurant.
Share a poem on social media. If you tweet one, use the hashtag #pocketpoem.
Write a poem on your driveway in chalk.
Put a poem in the window.
Include a poem in your email.

You may search for poems at the Academy's website, or download a pocket-sized PDF.

In the Kansas City Metro area, the Johnson County (KS) Library posts a Poem a Day in April. These poems are printed on bookmarks for Poem in Your Pocket Day. You may pick one up at the Central Resource Library or The Writers Place. Maybe, if you are lucky, a friend will give you one on Thursday!

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I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Explore Poetry

Today is the first day of April and that means it's the first day of National Poetry Month. The Academy of American Poets started National Poetry Month in 1996 as a vehicle to spotlight the art, poets past and present, and poetry publications.

This year, I'd like you to think about exploring poetry this month. How? Here are a few ideas:

1. Search for poetry about subjects that interest you. I think you will be surprised to see what turns up. In February, I was asked to read a classic love poem at an event. I did a search for jazz love poems and found my way to this beautiful piece by Langston Hughes:

Juke Box Love Song

2. Look into the history of poetry in your community. Perhaps you will find a connection to a well-known poet or simply a local poet whose work you enjoy. I found out that Lucille Clifton was born in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y., as was I. There is about a 14-year span during which we lived there at the same time.

3. Check out your current local poetry scene. What are the literary organizations in your area? What venues hold poetry readings? Do bookstores or libraries carry books by local poets?

4. Is National Poetry Month celebrated in your community? In the metropolitan Kansas City (Mo) area, the Johnson County (KS) Library and The Writers Place partner to present a Poem-A-Day on the library's website in April. Here is the link to the program:

Johnson County (KS) Library Poem-A-Day Program

This is just one of the ways National Poetry Month is celebrated in my area. Find out if there are any activities in your area, then join in!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Celebrating Poetry

It's here! April is National Poetry Month and The Academy of American Poets has put together a list of ways to celebrate.

I have picked out five items to discuss. I think they are both a little different and fairly easy to do.

1. Revisit a poem-Whether you consume poetry on a regular basis or not, you have probably been touched by it at sometime. Even if you couldn't wait for the poetry unit in English class to be over with, you still may have had strong feelings about something you read. Go back and read that poem again. Do you still feel the same way about it? What memories does it bring back?

2. Put poetry in an unexpected place-Take your favorite poem and leave a copy in a waiting area at a hair salon, doctor's office or auto repair shop. Maybe you could leave it on a table in a restaurant or put it up on a community bulletin board. You never know who may read it and how it may affect them.

3. Play Exquisite Corpse-This is a collaborative game in which a group creates a poem. Each person contributes to the piece without knowing what the others have written. I played this game at a workshop. It only takes a few minutes, and it is surprising how the piece comes together.

4. Listen on your commute-I'm going to expand this one to say simply listen to poetry. You may find audio or video of poets reading/performing their works. You get a different feel for a piece when you hear it rather than read it, especially if it is delivered by the author.

5. Integrate poetry and technology-Whether it is an all out blog post, a status update or a tweet, share poetry on social media. How about adding a quote from a favorite poem to your email signature or sending the whole poem to friends or family members. Search youtube and you can hear poets reading their works or talking about writing poetry.

How are you celebrating National Poetry Month? Is there an item on the list that you would like to try?

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