Let the poemapalooza begin!

April 1, 2013 in poetry

April is National Poetry Month.

I know, I know.

You don’t do poetry. You lost the urge for it when your English teacher made you beat it senseless.

Come back to the word that captures a world.

Each April I feature a poem every day on 37days. It is my way of reentering the rhythm of life through words that slow me down, make me see things I miss, help me understand what is beneath the surface of a thing. Words buoy us and thrill us; they express things we didn’t know could be expressed. They are magical.

We need not understand poems to appreciate the words that form them. We can recognize ourselves in them instead. I suggest every poem be read aloud, repeatedly, and copied by hand onto notebook paper, as I have done daily for many years. The act of that transcription slows us down again, enables us to form the words in our own hand, puts the point of creation closer to us.

Come, let’s make our lives a poem. And if you are interested, here are 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month. And a piece of advice from a poet will be published each day here.

One of my favorite poets is Erin Coughlin Hollowell who has her first book of poetry (Pause, Traveler) coming out soon. Let’s start with a poem of hers.

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

3 comments to " Let the poemapalooza begin! "


Jana

April 2, 2013 AT 8:01AM

I love poetry, and I was an English teacher! I hope that I helped inspire my students by sharing my love of poetry with them. And each April, it brings me back to blogging, because the sun and the chirping birds and the warmer air are the perfect accompaniment to a great poem. Thanks for sharing this!

Esther Louie

April 2, 2013 AT 2:01PM

It’s always amazing to me how words can evoke so much – I know the strike of “metal against stone beneath soil” and the reverberation through my hands and arms. To connect through your poetic expression, to share this knowing and more, is what I love about how we can tie in with each other across unknowns. Thank you Erin, thank you Patti

Erin Coughlin Hollowell

April 3, 2013 AT 12:58AM

Thank you Patti, and Esther and Jana…. This is such an honor to be the kick-off poet, and even more to think that my work might inspire someone else. This is why we write, to connect with one another across time and distance, to assure each other that we are not alone with our hearts and thoughts.