april is icumen in

~ jama

 
"Let them eat cake." ~ Marie Antoinette

      

Hello, brand new month!

We like to say, "April showers bring May flowers," but we won’t have to wait until May to enjoy a blossoming of beautiful words. That’s because the kidlit blogosphere is going to celebrate National Poetry Month in a big way, with a virtual bouquet of fabulous poems, interviews, reviews, and other special events:

 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect is presenting "Poetry Makers," a series of interviews every day with 36 different poets! So many of my favorites will be featured, like Jane Yolen, Joyce Sidman, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Douglas Florian, Calef Brown, and Adam Rex. The complete schedule is here. Tricia is kicking things off today with Kenn Nesbitt.

 Sylvia Vardell at Poetry for Children will be reviewing a new poetry book every day of the month.

 Gregory K. at GottaBook is doing "30 Poets/30 Days," posting a previously unpublished poem each day by a different poet. Do names like Julie Larios, Nikki Giovanni, Linda Sue Park, and Mary Ann Hoberman ring a bell? They’ll be on tap with so many more. Jack Prelutsky will lead off today.

 At the Pencil Talk blog, Anastasia Suen will be collecting school poems from kids in K-12, and posting one each day.

 Jone at Check it Out is doing a "Poetry Postcard Project." She’ll be having her students write lots of poems, and if you’d like one of these original gems sent to you, just contact Jone!

 For a wealth of resources, and I mean a comprehensive treasure trove of poetry-related goodies including poetry websites, children’s activities, videos, articles, reviews and interviews, be sure to check out Elaine’s list at Wild Rose Reader!  Also, she’s giving away children’s poetry books every week at Wild Rose Reader, as well as books of light verse at Political Verses — all you have to do is comment to be eligible.

 Kristy Dempsey is doing something a little different — sending out poems and having "Poem Conversations"with people who don’t think they like poetry. Promises to be interesting!

      
        "My kingdom for a piece of cake!"
         photo from elefanterosado’s photostream

 And what about alphabet soup?

Well, no celebration would be complete without cake — delicious, ravishing, beautiful cake! So along with reviewing poetry-themed books, interviewing a very special guest (hint: William Carlos Williams), featuring some cool poems and alphabetica, we’re going to sweeten the month with tender morsels, especially around the 23rd, when we’ll celebrate the birthday of the greatest dramatist and poet the English-speaking world has ever known, William Shakespeare.


"I’m in the mood for a piece of Rimbaud."
photo from merlina’s photostream

Here’s a poem to start you off:

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
by Elaine Equi

When a poem
speaks by itself,
it has a spark

and can be considered
part of a divine
conversation.

Sometimes the poem weaves
like a basket around
two loaves of yellow bread.

"Break off a piece
of this April with its
raisin nipples," it says.

"And chew them slowly
under your pillow.
You belong in bed with me."

On the other hand,
when a poem speaks
in the voice of a celebrity

it is called television
or a movie.
"There is nothing to see,"

says Robert De Niro,
though his poem bleeds
all along the edges

like a puddle
crudely outlined
with yellow tape

at the crime scene
of spring.

"It is an old poem," he adds.

"And besides,
I was very young
when I made it."

~ from The Cloud of Knowable Things (House Press, 2003).

*Speaking of birthdays, someone very special is celebrating one today. She’s a brilliant poet herself who enlightens, entertains, inspires, and informs via her fabulous blog, Writing and Ruminating — you guessed it, Live Journal’s resident expert on all things Jane Austen, Kelly R. Fineman!

A little someone pattered onto my blog and wanted me to share this cupcake with you in honor of Kelly.

Gnome is where the heart is. Happy Birthday, Kelly!

photo by MamaDoodle

For more information about National Poetry Month, visit the Academy of American Poets website. Be sure to check out the list of "30 Ways to Celebrate NPM." 

*Poetry Month image posted by permission, copyright © 2009 Julie Paschkis. All rights reserved.
 

23 thoughts on “april is icumen in”

  7. Poetry links and cake too? I think I’m in heaven.

    I love Julie’s Poetry Month image too. Beautiful.

    On my LJ, I’m sharing conversations I’m having with people about specific poems — people I wouldn’t normally chat with about poetry. I might not make it EVERY day, but hopefully on the weekdays, I’ll have something to share.

    I love this month!

    Like

  10. What a cool idea. I think so many people (without poetry in their lives), have a mistaken concept about it being too erudite, inacessible or high brow. It’ll be interesting to see how the people you talk with this month react to your chosen poems.

    AND, yesterday I received the ARC of Me with You! It’s so heartfelt and timeless, and Christopher Denise did an amazing job with the illos. LOVE IT! You must be over the moon with how it turned out!

    Like

  11. Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes (the gnome with the cupcake is particularly adorable – I have one of that little guy, as you know!)

    That Equi poem was made of awesome. Although the idea of raisin nipples gives me pause.

    Like

  12. The raisin nipples made me laugh. My aunt used to call my girl cousins and I, “raisins on a cookie sheet,” when we were kids without bosoms. 🙂

    Love your userpic!!

    Like

  14. April

    Elaine M.

    Jama,

    I like the National Poetry Month poem!

    Thanks for helping to spread the word about all of us who are helping to celebrate poetry during the month of April at our blogs.

    BTW, I have some great poetry books to give away as prizes for people leaving comments at my posts at my blogs Wild Rose Reader and Political Verses–books by Joyce Sidman, J. Patrick Lewis, Ogden Nash, Kristine O’Connell George, Alice Schertle, Douglas Florian, and others.

    Happy National Poetry Month!!!

    Like

  17. Re: April

    I added the info about your great giveaways after my post got picked up by the blog aggregators. But I’ll try to remind people as the month goes on . . . :).

    Like

  20. Whoa. That poem made me stop and think.

    And thank for letting us know about Kristy Dempsey’s Poem Conversations. I am now heading over to her blog!

    Tarie :o)
    Into the Wardrobe

    Like

  23. Mrs. BlueTeaBerrry forever…wait…did I get it right?

    Jules, er, I mean: Mrs. Bottlecap

    Like

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