more poetry books

It’s still National Poetry Month and that means more book recommendations.

• Chicago Review of Books – Twelve Poetry Collections to Read in 2021
• Dandelion Chandelier – 13 New Books Perfect to Read During National Poetry Month 2021
• MS. Magazine – 2021 Poetry for the Rest of Us
• New York Public Library – It’s Poetry Month: Here Are NYPL’s Best Poetry Books of 2020
• The New York Times – 5 Poets to Help You Love Poetry
• Oprah Daily – 29 of the Best Poetry Books, As Recommended by Acclaimed Writers
• Pan Macmillan – The best poetry books of all time
• Paperback Paris – 15 New Poetry Collections To Pick Up During National Poetry Month

Maybe you’ll find some inspiration here as you’re finishing up your NaPoWriMo poems.

are you ready?

Poets, sharpen your quills. It’s almost National Poetry Month and that means it’s almost National/Global Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo or GloPoWriMo). Again this year, Maureen Thorson invites you to register (it’s free) for prompts and encouragement and to post your poems.

If you don’t want to follow those prompts, there are plenty of other ways to get your poems going. Some people start or join 30/30 duos or groups. Some poets commit to a theme for the month’s poems. You could sneak over to the internet and grab this list of 30 prompts by Kelli Russell Agodon. Robert Lee Brewer has again posted the annual April Poem-A-Day Challenge on Poetic Asides at Writer’s Digest. Daily prompts will begin on March 30 at Poetry Super Highway. And while National Novel Writing Month doesn’t officially begin until November, the NaNoWriMo folks are concerned about your well-being, so they have started a new initiative that includes daily prompts: #StayHomeWriMo.

However you choose to meet the challenge, get ready: 30 poems in 30 days. You can do it.

April

It’s April, and that means it’s National Poetry Month, and, of course, that means it’s National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), and yes, that means: get busy!

The 2019 poster (above) features artwork by tenth grader Julia Wang from San Jose, California, who has won the inaugural National Poetry Month Poster Contest. Wang’s artwork was selected by contest judges Naomi Shihab Nye and Debbie Millman from among twelve finalists and more than 450 student submissions. It incorporates lines from the poem “An Old Story” by current U. S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith.

around the corner

National Poetry Month and National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) begin on Saturday, April 1, 2017. You can anticipate an extra serving of readings, book signings and other poetic events. Here are a few other items of interest:

• Get daily prompts at NaPoWriMo.
• Two Sylvias Press invites you to celebrate National Poetry month with 30 prompts delivered directly to your inbox each day, PLUS you can also have one of your 30 poems critiqued by the editors of Two Sylvias Press, Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy.
• April is also National Letterwriting Month. Check out the event lineup at Write_On.
• At Writers Digest, Robert Lee Brewer once again offers up the Poem-A-Day Challenge.
• Thirty Thirty Poetry posts a prompt a day for the month of April.
• The Academy of American Poets has a nice list of 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month.

In addition to the usual weekly events… poetrynight, Poetry Laboratory, Easy Speak Seattle (2nd and 4th Monday), Vancouver Poetry Slam, Seattle Poetry Slam, Write Time Poetry, Rain City Slam, Broken Mic, Watermark Writers’ Workshop, Everett Poetry Night, Olympia People’s Mic, The Salem Poetry Project, Planet Earth Poetry, Portland Poetry Slam (every other Sunday)

…and the many scheduled appearances of Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall and Oregon Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody

…here are a few of the National Poetry Month events that are showing up on Cascadia calendars (Washington state unless otherwise indicated):

1 and 2 – Manzanita, OR – PoetryFest 2017 – at the Hoffman Center for the Arts

1 – Port Townsend – Poetry reading with Gary Lilley and Matthew Nienow – 7pm – at Writers’ Workshoppe and Imprint Books

1 – Seattle – Reading with Tom Aslin and Michael Spence – 7:00pm – at Open Books

3 – Auburn – Striped Water Poets presents featured poet plus open mic the first Monday of the month – 7:00pm – at the Rainbow Café

3 – Portland, OR – Free Range Poetry presents open mic plus featured readers – 6:30pm – at Multnomah County Library, Northwest Reading Room

4 – Seattle – Reading with Jenny Johnson and JM Miller – 7:00pm – at Open Books

4 – Springfield, OR – Springfield Library Foundation presents a reading by poets Elizabeth Woody, Joe Wilkins, and A. Molotkov – 7:00pm – at Springfield Public Library

5 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group II, 10:15am – at Village Books

5 – Bellingham – Mary Pneuman reads from her collection of poems, Nature of Things – 7:00pm – at Village Books

5 – Duvall – Duvall Poetry presents Jenessa Hope, Ginna Luck, and Kara Simon – 7:00pm – at Duvall Library

5 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series presents Alice Notley – 7:30pm – at McCaw Hall

6 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group, 5:30pm – at Village Books

7 – Corvallis, OR – A reading by poet and nonfiction writer Ellen Bass – 7:30pm – at Oregon State University, Valley Library Rotunda

7 – Seattle – Literary Series: Anis Mojgani, Kaitlyn Greenidge, and Rick Barot – 7:30pm – at Fred Wildlife Refuge

8 – Bellingham – SpeakEasy 19: Poems of Darkness, Poems of Light – 7:00pm – Mount Baker Theatre, Encore Room

8 – Ellensburg – Inland Poetry presents “Edna’s Second April,” a poetry prowl – all day – in downtown Ellensburg

8 – Lynden – VB Writes…Nooksack River Writing Group – 10:00am – in the lobby of the Inn at Lynden

9 – Edison – National Poetry Month Group Reading with Georgia Johnson and Jessico Gigot – 5:00pm – at i.e.gallery

9 – Portland, OR – The Studio Series: Poetry Reading and Open Mic – 7:00pm – at Stonehenge Studios

10 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Prompts – 4:00pm – at Village Books

10 – Seattle – Hugo House Ask the Oracle with Jordan Scott, Doug Nufer, & Megan Snyder-Camp – 7:30pm – at Hotel Sorrento in the Fireside Room

10 – Seattle – Easy Speak Wedgwood presents featured poet Erin Fristad plus open mic – open mic at 8 (signup prior), featured performer around 8:40 – at Wedgwood Ale House

11 – Redmond – Joannie Stangeland facilitates this month’s Poetry and Prose Circle – 6:30pm – at Redmond Regional Library

12 – Bellingham – Chuckanut Sandstone Writers Theater second-Wednesday open mic – 6:30pm – at the Colophon Cafe

12 – Milwaukie, OR – The Milwaukie Poetry Series, held second Wednesdays Sept-June, features Lois Rosen – 7:00pm – at the Pond House

12 – Tacoma – Poetry Book Club – 7:00pm – at King’s Books

13 – Bellingham – Poet Rick Hermann reads from his new collection, Nooksack: Poems and Prose – 7:00pm – at Village Books

13 – Olympia – Celebrate a New Washington Poetry Anthology: Washington 129 – 5:00pm – Washington State Capitol

13 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents An Evening with TWO SYLVIAS PRESS: Natasha Moni and Molly Tenenbaum – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

13 – Seattle – It’s About Time Writers Reading Series (every second Thursday) with featured readers and open mic – 6:00pm – at the Ballard Branch Seattle Public Library

13 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic featuring April Bullard and Ian Frederick Caton – 7:00pm – at Angst Gallery

14 – Portland, OR – John Beer and Gabe Urza: Faculty Reading – 6:30pm – Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 294

14 – Seattle – Book Launch: Molly Tenenbaum’s Mytheria – 7:00pm – at Open Books

14 – Tacoma – Distinguished Writer Series with featured poet Rick Barot and open mic – 7:00pm – at King’s Books

15 – Kirkland – Robert Lashley – 3rd Saturday Workshop & Reading – workshop 4:30pm, reading/open mic 6:15pm – at BookTree

15 – Manzanita, OR – The Manzanita Writers’ Series presents a workshop taught by John Sibley Williams – Publishing Your Chapbook: for poetry chapbooks, books of short stories/essays – 10:00am – at the Hoffman Center for the Arts

15 – Port Townsend – Priscilla Long leads a one-day workshop, Becoming a More Effective Creator – 10:00am-4:00pm – at The Writers’ Workshoppe

15 – Seattle – Book launch for Vancouver poet, composer, musician Leanne Dunic’s new book of short prose pieces, To Love the Coming End – 3:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company

15 – Seattle – Reading by poet Gabriel Jesiolowski and C. Davida Ingram – 7:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company

16 – Bellingham – Daniel Edward Moore reads poems from Confessions of a Pentcostal Buddhist – 4:00pm – at Village Books

17-23 – Spokane – Get Lit! Festival

18 – Eugene, OR – Poets Deborah Akers and Darlene Pagán read – 6:00pm – at Eugene Public Library

18 – Seattle – Word Works: Terrance Hayes – 7:00pm – at Washington Hall

18 – Tacoma – Commencement Bay Haiku meeting – 6:00pm – at King’s Books

19 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group II, 10:15am – at Village Books

19 – Olympia – Olympia Poetry Network third-Wednesday reading with featured poet and open mic – 6:30pm – at Traditions Fair Trade

19 – West Seattle – WordsWest Literary Series, featuring Terrance Hayes and Jane Wong – 7:00pm – at C & P Coffee Company

19 – Woodinville – PoetsWest at the Creekside, every 3rd Wednesday – 7:00pm – at The Creekside

20 – Anchorage, AK – Reading & Craft Talk Series presents Julie LeMay, An Alchemy of Words: Mystery and Clarity in a Poem – 7:00pm – at Indigo Tea Lounge

20 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group, 5:30pm – at Village Books

20 – Portland, OR – Third-Thursday Comma series presents Melissa Madenski and Christine Colasurdo – 7:00pm – at Broadway Books

20 – Redmond – SoulFood Poetry Night presents readers from Two Sylvias Press: Jeannine Hall Gailey, Natasha Kochicheril Moni, Michael Schmeltzer, and Molly Tenenbaum – 7:00pm – at SoulFood Coffee House

21 – Seattle – Book Launch: Jason Whitmarsh’s The Histories – 7:00pm – at Open Books

22 – Everywhere – Earth Day

22 – Bellingham – Susan J. Erickson reads poems from Lauren Bacall Shares a Limousine – 7:00pm – at Village Books

22 – Lynden – VB Writes…Nooksack River Writing Group – 10:00am – in the lobby of the Inn at Lynden

22 – Seattle – Lena Khalaf Tuffaha celebrates publication of her first full-length collection, Water & Salt – 7:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company

23 – Bellingham – Sandra Noel reads poems from Into the Green – 4:00pm – at Village Books

23 – Langley – Poetry Month Celebration with Matt Gano: TWO events: Poetry workshop 1:00-3:00pm, Special reading and interview 7:30pm – at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts

23 – Seattle – Reading & Conversation with Katie Ford – 6:00pm – at Open Books

24 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Prompts – 4:00pm – at Village Books

24 – Bellingham – Open Mic with Laurel Leigh, 7:00pm – at Village Books

24 – Seattle – Poetry on Buses Launch Party – 6:30pm – at Moore Theatre

27 – Everywhere – Poem in Your Pocket Day

27 – Anchorage, AK – Savor the Rising Words broadside invitational reading – 7:00pm – at Great Harvest Bread Co.

27 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Sibyl James and Judith Roche – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

27 – Portland, OR – Verselandia! the annual citywide youth poetry slam – 7:00pm – at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

28 – Redmond – RASP: Redmond Association of Spokenword featured poet plus open mic – 7:00pm – at at VALA Eastside in Redmond Town Center

28 – Seattle – Reading with Kristiana Kahakauwila, Lauren K. Alleyne & Jamaica Baldwin – 7:00pm – at Hugo House

29 – Nationwide – Independent Bookstore Day (check your local indie store for scheduled events and author appearances)

29 – Seattle – A reading by poets Gary Lemons and Felicia Gonzalez – 7:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company

30 – Seattle – African-American Writers’ Alliance Reading – 4:30pm – at Open Books

Check the lineup for the rest of the year on the CALENDAR page. Updated (almost) daily!

If you’d care to share your Cascadia-region National Poetry Month event (open to the public and not on this list), leave a Comment.

. . . . .
Poster artwork by Maira Kalman

will you NaPoWriMo this year?

April is National Poetry Month and it’s also National Poetry Writing Month — NaPoWriMo (or for international participants, Global Poetry Writing Month — GloPoWriMo). Once again, poet Maureen Thorson is leading the charge and challenging poets to write 30 poems in 30 days. You can participate on your own or with a local or online group, and, if you want, you can submit your website for inclusion in the NaPoWriMo online roster of participants. Maureen provides daily prompts (as do other sites), features, links to poet interviews, and “general cheerleading.” Registration is now open. Just think: you could write a chapbook in a month!

Signups are open!

National Poetry Month, April, is also National Poetry Writing Month — NaPoWriMo. As you probably know by now, the idea of NaPoWriMo is to write a poem every day of the month. That’s a whole chapbook’s worth of poems. Impressive.

If you choose to participate in NaPoWriMo, you can do so in the privacy of your own garret, or make an agreement with a poetry pal, or sign up and post your poems on your own site linked to the NaPoWriMo site. It’s all free and there are daily prompts, should you be in need of one. Signups consist of submitting the name and URL of your site. Then, come April 1, all you have to do is write poems and post them. Easy.

NaPoWriMo and its website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Visit the NaPoWriMo site. Visit Maureen Thorson’s site.

today

This is it. Last chance. Panic time. No, too late for that. If you haven’t studied the guidelines, it’s almost too late for that, too. But look anyway.

And of course there’s always tomorrow, the first day of National Poetry Month, and the prompts shall flow. In fact, Christopher Jarmick and NaPoWriMo have both posted early prompts to get you warmed up. We have loads of posts on prompts, too. Get busy, poets!

counting down and gearing up

First, a nudge: If you live in Whatcom County, Washington, you have ten days (including today) to submit your poem for the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest. Poems must be received by Tuesday, March 31, 2015. If you plan to mail your poem, allow plenty of time as mail is slower these days; if you plan to drop it off at Mindport, note that Mindport is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Contest guidelines here.

Second, a suggestion: National Poetry Month begins April 1 and the Academy of American Poets wants you to be ready, so they’ve put together a list of 30 Ways to Celebrate. And of course National Poetry Month is also National Poetry Writing Month and one of the best ways to celebrate both is to take the NaPoWriMo pledge to write a poem a day. Learn more and get on board at NaPoWriMo.
. . . . .
National Poetry Month poster designed by Roz Chast and inspired by Mark Strand

what have you found?

How’s your daily poetry output for National Poetry Month? There’s no shortage of prompts (for this month and any month), but one of our favorite offerings comes from The Found Poetry Review. Each day’s blog post is a mind-bending prompt from the OuLiPo writing movement. For example, here’s today’s prompt (day 16):

“The chimera of Homeric legend — lion’s head, goat’s body, treacherous serpent’s tail — has a less forbidding Oulipian counterpart. It is engendered as follows. Having chosen a newspaper article or other text for treatment, remove its nouns, verbs and adjectives. Replace the nouns with those taken in order from a different work, the verbs with those from a second work, the adjectives with those from a third.”

Give it a try! Or…if OuLiPo doesn’t inspire you, have a look at NaPoWriMo, The Music In It: Adele Kenny’s Poetry Blog (where she has pre-posted a month’s worth of prompts), Christopher Jarmick’s Poetry is Everything or some of our previous posts on poetry prompts.

Happy writing!

Maureen Thorson: On NaPoWriMo

This is a guest post by the founder of NaPoWriMo, Maureen Thorson.

Back in 2003, I decided that I would write a poem every day in April. I called the project NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) and I posted the poems I wrote to my blog. The next year, I did it again — and some of my friends joined in. Things snowballed from there. Last year, more than 2000 poets participated, via www.napowrimo.net.

One of my greatest pleasures is seeing how many people end up writing great poems, or even whole books, based on ideas they started to play with in their NaPoWriMo poems. In fact, my new book, My Resignation, grew out of the poems I wrote during the 2008 NaPoWriMo.

Originally, I used the NaPoWriMo website just to link to the blogs of poets who were participating. Over the past few years, I’ve added more resources for participants, including optional daily prompts.

Many poets are intimidated by sitting down to write; they feel an expectation that they produce only serious, finished work. The prompts give poets something to focus on other than these self-cancelling feelings — a new form, or a specific group of words, perhaps a goofy title. Maybe the prompts result in finished poems, maybe the poet just has fun experimenting. The point is, at least something gets written!

Interested? It’s easy to participate! If you want to follow the prompts, great. If not, that’s fine too. If you want to post poems to your blog, and/or have your blog linked to on www.napowrimo.net, we’d love to see them. But there’s no pressure. The only thing you need to do is try to write a poem a day in April.
. . . . .
Maureen Thorson is the author of two books of poetry, My Resignation (Shearsman Books 2014) and Applies to Oranges (Ugly Duckling Presse 2011). She coordinates the NaPoWriMo website, where you’ll find poetry prompts, links to featured poets, and other writing resources each day during the month of April.