National Poetry Month
April is here and it’s National Poetry Month. Poetry is near and dear to my heart because poetry is what I started out writing. According to poets.org:
National Poetry Month was established by the Academy of American Poets as a month-long, national celebration of poetry. The concept was to increase the attention paid – by individuals and the media – to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our poetic heritage, and to poetry books and magazines.
Writing Forward will be participating in National Poetry Month this month by celebrating and promoting poetry writing and reading. Each week, there will be a post that focuses on poetry writing including a new set of poetry prompts and a special poetry writing exercise.
About National Poetry Month
National poetry month has been a tradition every April since 1996. Here are some interesting facts about this month-long, literary celebration:
- National Poetry Month was inspired by the success of both Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March).
- It was started by the Academy of American Poets as a way to promote poetry in the U.S. It’s also recognized in Canada. Britain honors poetry in October.
- To celebrate the tenth anniversary of National Poetry Month, in April, 2005, the Empire State Building was illuminated with blue lighting.
- Poetry books are often published in April. Teachers use April as an opportunity to focus on poetry in the classroom. Bookstores have special poetry readings this month.
- Even though we focus on poetry throughout April, we should enjoy, celebrate, embrace, promote, read, and write poetry all year long!
To learn more, visit the official National Poetry Month FAQ.
Celebrate Poetry!
There are lots of ways that you can participate in National Poetry Month.
- Read a book of poetry or listen to some poetry.
- Write some poetry.
- Add a quote from a poem to your email signature.
There are plenty more ways that you can honor poetry this month. The Academy of American Poets has a list of 30 ways to celebrate – that’s one activity for each day of the month!
National Poetry WRITING Month
I’ve heard some buzz in the last couple of years about a little thing called NaPoWriMo – National Poetry Writing Month. This was inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which participants write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days during November. For NaPoWriMo, you write a poem a day for 30 days in April. There doesn’t appear to be an offical, active website, so maybe it’s an underground thing.
Read, Read, Read More Poetry
Maybe we should also have NaPoReMo or National Poetry Reading Month, because while I’m all for promoting poetry writing, I think that poetry reading is sorely lacking in the world today. I encourage everyone to try to either write or read a poem each day this month, and then try to keep it going throughout the rest of the year. It only takes a few minutes out of your day and it will have a hugely positive impact on your writing.
How are you going to celebrate National Poetry Month? Do you need more ideas? Need recommendations for books of poetry or poetry writing tips? Want more poetry prompts and poetry writing exercises? Share your thoughts, questions, and suggestions in the comments.
Keep on writing that poetry!
Two Excellent Poetry Resources
You all know by now what a huge advocate I am for collecting writing resources. When it comes to poetry resources, there are some special books out there that will help make you both a better reader and a more well-rounded writer.
Keep in mind that reading and writing poetry require two similar but different skill sets. Some academics argue that poetry is an intellectual pursuit, but that’s only partially true. Poetry is an aesthetic art that uses emotion as a canvas and paints upon it with language. Anyone can enjoy poetry, but studying it at higher levels can help you better appreciate its nuances.
The same is true with poetry writing. Nobody can stop you from sitting down and writing a poem. It will be just as meaningful if it comes straight from your heart as if it comes from years of study. However, learning various techniques can bring your poetry to heightened levels. Such study is also helpful if your objective is to get your poetry published.
Poetry Resources
I was resistant to reading and studying poetry in school because I wrote it so frequently on my own. But once I gave in and signed up for the courses, my poetry started to blossom in ways I never could have foreseen. Classes, however, aren’t necessary (though they are definitely beneficial if you get a good instructor). A few poetry resources can whittle your skills considerably.
Here are a couple of my favorite books on poetry.
The Practice of Poetry
Perhaps my all time favorite and definitely my most referenced poetry book is Perrine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry
Anthologies
Speaking of anthologies, I would be remiss if I didn’t close this post by mentioning that anthologies, along with literary journals, are the best way to start discovering poets and poems that you’ll love.
Anthologies give you a taste for many different styles and genres within the poetry sphere. My own favorite is Norton Anthology of Literature by Women
Enjoy, and keep on writing!
Got any poetry resources that you’d like to recommend? Do you have any of the poetry resources listed here? If so, how have they benefitted your poetry writing and reading? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Condensed Poetry Writing Exercises
Many modern poets argue that poetry is most effective when the language is condensed. That means eliminating extraneous or unnecessary words.
It sounds a lot easier than it is. We writers tend to rely heavily on verbiage, especially modifiers (adjective and adverbs) and articles (a, an, the) to add balance and rhythm to our writing, or to simply make it sound smarter, more descriptive, or flowery.
These poetry writing exercises help you look at your writing from a minimalist perspective. Simpify, and remember that less is more.
Poetry Writing Exercises
Language is the heart and soul of poetry. Writing exercises like these help you think beyond your subject matter and pay due diligence to language and word choice. You are encouraged to search for better words and to find the perfect words or phrases for the making of a poem.
Exercise 1: No Modifiers Allowed
Write a short poem (10-15 lines) in which there are no modifiers. You can start by simply writing a poem without worrying about these restrictions, or you can choose a poem that you’ve already writte. Go through your poem and cross out all adjectives and adverbs. Take note of how many strikethroughs there are. Next, revisit your verbs and nouns and see if you can’t replace them with alternative verbs and nouns that better reflect the image you were trying to convey when the modifiers were still in place.
Example: “The drooping tree” becomes “The willow”
Exercise 2: Eliminating Articles
Again, write a short poem or use a poem you’ve already written. This time, go through and cross out all articles (a, an, the, etc.) Notice how many times these parts of speech appear in your piece. Now read it back without the articles. Does it sound better? Do you think you need to put some of the articles back in place for it to make sense?
Example: “The old dresser sits in the corner” becomes “Old dresser sits in corner”
Exercise 3: No Excess
Now try the exercises again – either write a poem or use an existing one – and this time cross out both the modifiers and the articles. Again, make note of how many strikethroughs you have. Then, read the poem aloud and see how it sounds. Better? Worse? Try replacing adjective-noun and adver-verb combinations with nouns and verbs that are more descriptive (for example “runs quickly” becomes “sprinted”). Do you need to put some of your modifers and articles back into the piece? Were you able to find suitable and better replacements for the words you eliminated?
Example: “A bad dream haunts the young man” becomes “Nightmare haunts lad”
Afterwards
In working through these exercises, you will probably find that some modifiers and articles simply cannot be replaced. A chocolate chip cookie is not just a cookie and there is really no other way to say what it is clearly and effectively.
However, these poetry writing exercises will help you discover new ways to spice up your language by choosing words and phrases more carefully and putting more thought into how you use (or abuse) verbiage.
When you work on your next writing project, take the lessons you’ve learned with you and be more selective, more simple.
Do you find poetry writing exercises useful? If you give any of these a try, come back and share what you discovered by leaving a comment.
How to Memorize Poems
Two things impress me beyond measure: people who can point out every constellation in a clear night sky, and people who have memorized poems and can recite them.
To truly appreciate a poem, you have to read it more than once. In fact, any poem should be read twice before you judge it or try to determine whether you like it or not.
With each reading, the poem will reveal additional nuances, sub-text, and deeper meaning. Once you find a poem you like (not always an easy task), it will give you new and greater pleasure each time you read it. Eventually, phrases and perhaps entire lines will stick and the poem will become increasingly familiar.
Read enough of them enough times and pretty soon you’ll find that you memorize poems with great ease.
Memorize Poems
Think about music. If you listen to a song over and over, you’ll soon be singing along like a rock star. Now, try that with a poem.
To get started, pick up a book of poetry and find a poem that resonates with you. Avoid anything too lengthy. You don’t want to tackle a three-page epic poem your first time around. But don’t take the easy route either. Memorize poems that are short, but not too short.
For example, don’t choose a nine word poem by Dorothy Parker:
News Item
men seldom make passes
at girls who wear glasses.-Dorothy Parker
Choose a poem you’ll have to read a few times and study it for a bit.
Tips for Memorizing Poetry
Here are some tips that will help you memorize poems:
- Find poems that are less than one page long
- Look for poems that rhyme, since they are easier to remember
- Memorize poems that you love
- Read the poems out loud, over and over
- Write down the poems or type them out
- Make a copy or print the poem and hang it near your desk or on the bathroom mirror so you can read it frequently
- Recite the poem you’re memorizing throughout the day — a great way to take breaks from the computer
If you find it difficult to memorize poems that you love, then try looking through some children’s poetry, which is much easier to memorize (Mother Goose nursery rhymes, for example).
I usually memorize poems by sheer repetition – reading them over and over. I memorized several of Shel Silverstein’s poems back when I was a kid, and I know most of “The Night Before Christmas” by heart. There are also quite a few of those Mother Goose nursery rhymes that I can still recite from memory.
But that’s all kid stuff. I’m going to memorize the following poem this weekend:
Her Kind
I have gone out, a possessed witch,
haunting the black air, braver at night;
dreaming evil, I have done my hitch
over the plain houses, light by light:
lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.
A woman like that is not a woman, quite.
I have been her kind.I have found the warm caves in the woods,
filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,
closets, silks, innumerable goods;
fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:
whining, rearranging the disaligned.
A woman like that is misunderstood.
I have been her kind.I have ridden in your cart, driver,
waved my nude arms at villages going by,
learning the last bright routes, survivor
where your flames still bite my thigh
and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.
A woman like that is not ashamed to die.
I have been her kind.-Anne Sexton
I think it’s a little long but it’s one of my favorites. Do you ever memorize poems? Which ones do you know by heart? Do you have any favorite poems, even if you haven’t memorized them yet?
If you have any additional tips for how to memorize poems, please share your insights in the comments.
