30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. Here at poetryNprogress, I’ll be celebrating all month long with more practical advice and in-depth articles on poetry and spoken word performance. To kick things off, I’ve compiled a list of some great ways to celebrate poetry:

Photo courtesy of Katmere

1. Attend an open mic, slam, or poetry reading. Libraries, cafes, bars, museums, theatres, and art centers—lots of venues offer poetry readings, open mics, and slams during the month of April. Check your local listings for a poetry event near you.
2. Perform or read at an open mic. Share your poetry in a live setting with other poets and poetry lovers.
3. Compete in a slam. Most weekly poetry slams are open to anyone who has the courage to share their poetry and be judged by five random audience members. If you’ve never slammed before, then screw up a bit of courage and see if you’ve got what it takes to compete—a competitive spirit and the ability to not take it too seriously.
4. Judge a slam. Don’t want put your poetry on the chopping block? Then, volunteer to be a judge for a slam and relish the power.
5. Buy or borrow a book of poetry. Try reading poets you’ve never read before or dust off those classics.
6. Read one new poem a day. Since you’re checking out new poetry, go ahead and commit to reading one new poem a day throughout the month. You can find some real gems this way. Subscribe to Poets.org Poem-A-Day emails. Or check out Poetry Daily.
7. Listen to spoken word. Put some spoken word on your ipod playlist and set it to shuffle.
8. Call or email a poet. If you’re like me, then you have lots of friends who are poets. Send an email or make a phone call, and tell a poet you appreciate them and their poetry.
9. Collect cool words. Words are everywhere in our culture. Keep a small notebook, and jot down the most interesting words you come across each day.
10. Read a poetry blog and leave a nice comment. There are tons of blogs by poets who are sharing their works with others. Drop by one and leave a supportive comment. One of my faves is Ron Silliman’s blog.
11. Celebrate a poet’s life. Many of the poets we admire most are no longer living. Who’s your favorite poet from the past? Take a moment to remember them, read their work, and celebrate their life.
12. Share poetry with others. Mail or email one of your favorite poems to the special people in your life. Or even send some old-fashioned postcards to friends.
13. Have conversations about poetry. Go ahead and talk about poetry with your friends, family, and colleagues.
14. Memorize and recite one of your poems. If you don’t already memorize your poetry, then take some time to learn one and recite it for someone else—your best friend, your partner, or even your mother. For help with memorization, check out this article.
15. Memorize and recite someone else’s poem. While you’re memorizing your own poetry, then why not memorize someone else’s?
16. Burst into poetry at random intervals throughout your day. Now that you’re talking about poetry and you know a few poems by heart, then feel free to recite some lines to others. Pepper them into conversations or spout them at random intervals just to shake things up.
17. Read poetry to children. Kids love poetry. Set aside a few minutes to share some poetry with the special children in your life.
18. Lead a free poetry workshop. Community centers and non-profit organizations tend to welcome free programming. Volunteer to lead a free workshop and share your knowledge with others.
19. Collect quotations about poetry. I love collecting quotations and my favorites are by poets or about poetry. Collect quotes in a small notebook, and when you need some inspiration, you’ll have them.
20. Buy a nice journal and some new pens. Most poets love journals and pens. Go ahead and reward your inner poet and buy some nice writing tools for yourself.
21. Pamper yourself. Hell, don’t just stop at writing tools. Do something really nice for yourself. Go to dinner with friends or family, get a massage, buy a nice reward, or if you’re strapped for cash, then take yourself to a free art event. Go ahead and celebrate your fabulous poet-self.
22. Download Verse Perfect. This software is cool, plus it’s free. As you type, it gives you a list of words that rhyme as well as synonyms. If you can stand to navigate its spammy site, then it’ll be worth your effort. Download the software here.
23. Watch spoken word performances. Buy or borrow a spoken word DVD or simply check out all the spoken word performances on Youtube. You might just learn some new tricks from other performers.
24. Listen to poetry podcasts. Check out Sonibyte’s Poem of the Day podcast or the audio offerings at PoetryFoundation.org. You can also check out Moe Green’s Poetry Hour.
25. Donate money. Give a small donation to a good cause in the name of your favorite poet. If your favorite poet is you, then give a little extra for good karma.
26. Organize a poetry salon. Sure you can try to find a public venue, but you can also simply hold a salon in your own home or a friend’s place. Invite others to share their poetry and be sure to share your own.
27. Make a poetry collage. You can buy those nifty poetry magnets, but it’s more fun to play with paper and glue and make a collage from random words, lines from your favorite poems, and colorful pictures.
28. Make a chapbook of your poetry. It’s simple enough to make a small chapbook of your poetry. Choose a few of your best poems, make some copies, staple them together, and voila: you have your very own chapbook. Make several and give them away to your friends as celebratory gifts.
29. Write a poem. The best way to celebrate National Poetry Month is to create some poetry.
30. Write 30 poems in 30 days. And if you really want a challenge, then write a poem a day for the entire month. In 2003, Maureen Thorsen created NaPoWriMo, or the National Poetry Writing Month challenge. In order to participate, you write a new poem daily throughout the month of April. If you need a little inspiration, then check out this article on writing daily or this article on staying inspired. For some poetry exercises, check out The Poetry Resource Page. Also, you’ll find daily prompts at Poetic Asides with Robert Lee Brewer. Or check out Art Amok’s blog for prompts and poems.

I invite you to regularly visit poetryNprogress throughout this month. As always, I’ll be bringing you lots of articles on creating poetry and creating a life in poetry.

What are you doing to celebrate National Poetry Month?