April is National Poetry Month.  From Poets.org :

“National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets. The concept is to widen the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern. We hope to increase the visibility and availability of poetry in popular culture while acknowledging and celebrating poetry’s ability to sustain itself in the many places where it is practiced and appreciated.”

Poets.org has a searchable database of poetry, a list of poetry/reading related activities for the month, a free verse photo competition and many other activities and resources.  I signed up for the email poem-of-the-day and the ‘Bit and I are doing a ‘commonplace book’, both online and a hardcopy in a notebook.  Our first entry in the hard copy journal is Gwendolyn Brooks’  first published poem “Eventide“.  

“When the sun sinks behind the mountains, and the sky is besprinkled with color…”

Eventide is the ‘Bit’s favorite poem.  Poets.org doesn’t list it so we are using “We Real Cool” by the same author for our online notebook. Brooks is a wonderful poet for kids to grow with.  Her early work is appropriate for pre-teens and young teens while her later work is more suited to older teens and adults.

So what is your favorite poem?

- Kit