Celebrate Poetry! National Poetry Month

April 2016 is the twentieth annual National Poetry Month. Established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets to promote poetry and poets, it has grown to become the worlds largest literary celebration. Teachers, students, librarians, booksellers, publishers, and of course poets all take part each year in the festivities. We invite members of the Riverscape apartment community to get involved, and we have provided some fun ideas about how to do just that. But first, a poem because a post about poetry would be incomplete without one. This particular poem was written by famed American poet, Emily Dickinson, and is from her Complete Poems (1924). Part Two: Nature XVIII TWO butterflies went out at noon And waltzed above a stream, Then stepped straight through the firmament And rested on a beam; And then together bore away Upon a shining sea, Though never yet, in any port, Their coming mentioned be. If spoken by the distant bird, If met in ether sea By frigate or by merchantman, Report was not to me. Dickinson wrote voluminous amounts of poetry, which has endured through the centuries and yet can still delight the reader. And now, on to some ways to celebrate National Poetry Month: Write your own poem. Share it with family and friends, and perhaps on your Facebook wall. Buy a book of poetry from your local bookstore. Get a second book as a gift for a friend. Participate in A Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 21st carry and share a poem throughout the day. Watch a movie about a poet or poetry. We suggest Shadowlands about C.S. Lewis or Dead Poets Society. Another idea is to have a Chalk-a-Bration. Use colored chalk and have participants share their favorite lines of poetry in a sidewalk-chalk-art format. So break out the colored chalk and Commit a Poem to Pavement. What is your favorite poem? Who is your favorite poet? How are you going to celebrate? Let us know in the comments!