National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. First celebrated in 1995, National Poetry Month is the Academy of American Poets’ annual celebration of poetry.

I wondered why they picked April. I had some guesses, but thanks to the Academy of American Poets’ web site, I now know for certain:

With input from booksellers, librarians, poets, and teachers, the Academy chose a month during the school year so that schools and students could participate fully. February is Black History Month and March is Women’s History Month, so April seemed a logical choice. Also, there are many wonderful poetic references to April:

T. S. Eliot wrote, “April is the cruelest month.” It is our hope that National Poetry Month lessens that effect.

On a lighter note, Chaucer wrote:

Whan that April with his showres soote
The droughte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veine in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flowr

Finally, Edna St. Vincent Millay asked, “To what purpose, April, do you return again?” For National Poetry Month, of course!

I recently discovered a short poem I like by a former American poet laureate, Ted Kooser. Since the Northwestern community has spent time recently analyzing our place here on the prairie, Kooser’s A Birthday Poem resonated with me. Using a cow as the comparison, he describes both the sun and himself. A fellow Midwesterner (born in Iowa, even), Kooser uses what he encounters everyday to describe more than what is there. You can read the entire text of the poem on the Library of Congress web site.

Ramaker Library holds most of Kooser’s books in its collection, if you’re interested in reading more.