Community Librarian Reader Services, Paige Bentley-Flannery

Do you remember the first poem you memorized? Maybe it was by Nikki Giovanni, E.E. Cummings, or Langston Hughes. Discover a new poem and write a few poems during National Poetry Month this April. I have a variety of favorites swirling around in my head, especially when I’m outside and looking up at the sky. Three are nature-themed poems by William Carlos Williams “An old willow with hollow branches,” “Spring and All,” and “Winter Trees.” I also have “Fragmentary Blue” by Robert Frost memorized and enjoy whispering the words outside. I’ve been reading and re-reading Joy Harjo’s poems including her biography “Poet Warrior” and her new book, “Weaving Sundown in A Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years.” Both are filled with beautiful poems and generations of stories that are wonderful to read aloud with family and friends.

Do you feel poems when you read them? Explore a selection of new poetry books including, Musical Tables by Billy Collins, No Sweet Without Brine by Cynthia Manick, Short Film Starring My Beloved’s Red Bronco by K. Iver, and The Wife of Willesden by Zadie Smith. A few favorites from last year: The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi, and Dearly: New Poems by Margaret Atwood. If you enjoy reading love poems explore Couplets: A Love Story by Maggie Millner, or Wild by Ben Okri. For a poetry collection inspired by a story try The Tiny Journalist by Naomi Shihab Nye. I’m looking forward to reading Clint Smith’s new poetry collection, Above Ground, filled with the early years of his children’s lives, fatherhood, historical moments and “the ever changing world we are all a part of.” For more new poetry books, explore the poetry book list online at Deschutes Public Library. (Children’s poems, Teen and Novels in Verse are included.)

Listen to poems online at poetryfoundation.org and poetshouse.org. Both are amazing resources filled with videos, educational resources, biographies, and hundreds of poems. It’s the perfect place to discover a new poet or find a favorite poem from the past.

During April, celebrate National Poetry Month by discovering a new poetry form and writing a few poems. Dive into a pile of photos, select your favorite, and write a couplet poem describing the experience. A couplet is a pair of successive rhyming lines, usually of the same length. Or write an acrostic poem with the word Poetry. Acrostic means a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a word, name, or phrase when read vertically. Or you can create a silly shape poem with pizza! Draw a huge circle and write a family poem about your favorite type of pizza or pizza experience. For more poetry terms, explore the glossary of Poetic Terms at the Poetry Foundation. Email me at paigeb@deschuteslibrary.org for more poetry ideas, books and resources.

April is National Poetry Month! What poems are you writing, reading, and discovering?