It seems appropriate for the title of this post to introduce National Poetry Month by paraphrasing the opening line of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot:
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Maybe because it is the cruelest month, the Academy of American Poets (poets.org) picked April as National Poetry Month. Whatever the reason, the party starts today and continues all month.
Share in the celebration by visiting poets.org to participate in:
- 30 Poets, 30 Days: A poetic tweet-a-thon, where selected poets have 24 hours to tweet daily insights.
- Poem-A-Day: Sign up to get a poem from a new poetry book emailed to you each day.
- Poem In Your Pocket Day: On April 14, join thousands of people across the country by carrying a poem in your pocket.
- Poem Flow for iPhones: This app features daily poems beautifully presented as fixed and animated text. Even if you don’t have an iPhone, you can enjoy.
Whether you want to celebrate online or in person at book stores, poetry readings, libraries, or slams, there are hundreds of events planned across the country. To find out what’s going on near you, visit the National Poetry Map.
Poets.org has more planned. Visit the National Poetry Month page for all the details.
Resources: poets.org, The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot, The Daily Post
Away with Words 
Wow, I knew it was Poetry Month, but I didn’t know about all these events. Thanks so much for sharing this Olivia!
Thanks Olivia for all the cool links. I love getting a poem-a-day delivered to my email — like pastry with coffee every morning.
I write a poem a day in April — it’s a wonderful way to wallow in words (poetry celebrates language, it is so freeing to be extravagant, especially while revising novular stuff that screams for economy). Peace…
… You woulda thought I woulda remembered it was National Poetry Month… Thanks for reminding me, Olivia! And thanks for the links!