It’s April which means National Poetry Month. Now I think it a shame that recognition of poetry is generally crowded into one month, but if that is what it takes to get people’s attention, then I am all for it. In honor of the month, I’ve created a book title poem for you made exclusively out of poetry books (I got the idea from 100 Scope Notes):
In case you have trouble seeing the spines:
The Art of Blessing the Day
Why I Wake Early
Yellow Light
The Marvelous Arithmetic of Distance
Mountains and Rivers Without End
View With a Grain of Sand
The Sea and the Bells
Let Evening Come
The authors:
Marge Piercy
Mary Oliver
Garrett Kaoru Hongo
Audre Lorde
Gary Snyder
Wiskawa Szymborska
Pablo Neruda
Jane Kenyon
C’mon and play along. Your poem doesn’t need to be made up entirely of poetry books, use whatever you want. Have fun and let me know if you post a poem
Happy National Poetry Month!
This turned out to be quite a good poem! What a neat exercise, I’m going to try it.
(ps – some pretty wonderful poets in your stack)
Cool poem.
But do we really need a poetry month
Good one. I’m awaiting some poetry books from the library right now, in fact!
I don’t often comment on your blog, yet I do like it and this challenge I cannot resist.
The Boat of Quiet Hours
Crossing the water
Chorussus from ‘The Rock’
From Room to Room
Birthday Letters
Later Than Laugharne
Poets:
Jane Kenyon
Sylvia Plath
T.S. Eliot
Jane Kenyon
Ted Hughes
Aeronwy Thomas Ellis
I love it! I’m not near my poetry books now but I will try this later.
All my books are in storage boxes right now, so I had to cop out and settle for poems about poetry instead.
I want to like poetry more than I do. I feel that people who like poetry are better people than I. It gives me a minor inferiority complex. It keeps me up at night. I may have some gray hairs over it.
However – I am undertaking some formidable poetry this month for a book group I’ve dropped into: Paradise Lost! I think that should give me some sort of points with the poetry gods.
It’s spring and derby home season is just about over (*whew*) – high time for a meet up with a couple of my favorite folks (that’s you and James!)
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That’s a really neat idea, but I am a terrible poet and would get stumped after the first line (even when the words are provided for me). I love yours, though. And, “I need to get some poetry books for April” sounds like a great excuse to go to the library, even though I’ve already got 9 unread/partly-read library books in my house right now (as if I need any excuse to do that).
Ooh, fun! Your poem is great. I’ll have to look around at what I have, but I’m afraid “The Collected Poems of …..” isn’t terribly poetic, and that’s largely what I have
Melwyk, why thank you on all counts! Looking forward to seeing your poem.
kseverny, thanks. I wish there wasn’t a National Poetry Month, that poetry was read and enjoyed and got attention year-round but sadly, that is rarely the case. So until that happens, yeah, we do need it.
Daphne, thanks! I am looking forward to seeing what poetry books you got from the library and hearing what you think about them
Catharina, oh I love your poem! Well done! I had to look up who Ellis is and now I am going to have to see if I can get her work from my library
Iliana, do try it, I bet you come up with something good!
Cameron, I don’t think you copped out at all
Tara, enjoying poetry does not make a person better than another! I must say undertaking Paradise Lost is jumping in with both feet. I am betting there will be some parts you really like and some that are meh but that you will like it over all very much. You’ll have to let me know. And yeah, it is getting to be about time we meet up!
Emily B, unread/ partly read library books don’t count against you. Go to the library and get a heap of poetry books and I bet you will be able to compose a fine poem from their titles! I should have called this a meme and that would have compelled you to do it
Dorothy, thanks! I’m sure amongst all the collected poems you will be able to find enough titles to come up with at least a haiku
Ok, I spent ages this weekend going through my poetry books…and this poem is what I came up with. Thanks for the obsessive weekend hobby
I missed poetry month last year (I know! How was that possible?) and am determined to do something for it this time around. Ideally, I’d like to sit down now with your pile of lovely poetry volumes and work my way through them, but I guess I’ll have to think of something else!
What a great tribute to poetry month! I love the idea of doing that. Most of my poetry books are collections of poets or the title is their name. So it wouldn’t work well. But maybe I’ll make a poem out of other books.
I’m hosting a bookworms carnival at the end of the month about poetry. I hope you and your readers will submit a post of some kind!
Melwyk, glad you enjoyed going through your poetry books! And an excellent poem you put together!
Litlove, you must have done a Rip Van Winkle in April last year
You can come over anytime and make your way through my poetry books. Barring that, I look forward to seeing what else you might think of.
Rebecca, thanks! You could make a poem out of other books or choose poems of titles to compose a new poem. I will try to have a post for your bookworms carnival. Thanks for the heads-up!
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