Public Art: Blooming Poetry. What are you doing this month to celebrate?

National Poetry month celebrates a milestone this year: 20 years. If you haven’t heard of this commemorative theme, a generation of children has grown up with this awareness from a parent, teacher, librarian or friend. Please let us know of local events and programs honoring poetry this April so we can collect them in one spot (write in comments below and add to James Eves calendar). I am toying with ‘Terse Verse Thursdays’ as a possible theme for a series, because I’d love to share your poems on GMG. They don’t have to be strictly ‘terse verse’ where a two word rhyme response solves a question or statement.

In the meantime, you have two weeks till National Poem in Your Pocket Day. Although the date skips around annually, this year it falls on April 21 as it did in 2002 the year it was established. PIYP Day (not sure this acronym will ever have legs) was inspired by the Favorite Poem Project founded by Robert Pinsky, former Poet Laureate of the United States in 1997. Write your own or carry a favorite to share with others throughout the day. What will you choose?

Gloucester children can submit their original poems to Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library’s Poetry without Paper competition thanks to Christy Russo, John Ronan and volunteers who step up to serve on that jury panel.  Gloucester students can send their original poems to the Office of the Mayor, 9 Dale Avenue, Gloucester, MA, any month. Mayor Theken promises to read them! Students should include their name, which Gloucester school, and their grade. Mention a teacher if they’ve helped.