It's National Poetry Month!

By Paul Roberts

Let’s hear it for National Poetry Month!

I love giving credit where credit is due, so let me begin by stating that I had no idea that April was National Poetry Month until my sister-in-law, Christy Woolum, mentioned it to me last Friday. Christy is a retired teacher. But it is pretty clear that her years of teaching, and the experiences she shared with her students, have created some indelible habits and memories that will stick with her forever. One of those habits is taking the time to very purposefully, intentionally, continue to participate with the community of people that love language and poetry.

The Wikipedia entry about this special time begins this way: National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry which takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. The Academy of American Poets' website Poets.org serves as a hub for information about local poetry events during the month.

I’ve briefly mentioned in a previous blogpost that one of my earliest memories of elementary school is of writing poetry. How I wish I still had a copy of that first poem. The topic of that poem has disappeared from my memory, somehow I think it was a simple narrative poem, four lines per stanza, and, in comparison to the writing of some of my peers, it had rhythm and rhyme. My training as a critical English teacher probably began right then, asking myself the question “Why didn’t they make it rhyme?” 

I also have some vague memories of the confusion in my mind when I learned that poetry didn’t have to follow a specific rhyme or rhythm pattern. “Then what makes it poetry?”, I wondered. The answer: images. Poets paint pictures with words.

At this point in my life, writing poetry can feel very serious and from the heart, like a Georgia O’Keefe flower or landscape painting; but there are also times when it reminds me of the finger painting we all did as children, and I just enjoying playing with all the word colors, painting whatever images I find at the tips of my fingers. It’s child-like, it’s fun, and it makes me laugh.

So, throughout the month I’ll be sharing some of my own poetry, but I’ll also be sharing some works from the poets that have helped shape my story. Enjoy the finger-painting poetry below, written by none other than my oldest brother Kent on the occasion of my graduation from the University of Idaho. It helps if you actually sing it to the tune of Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans”, like he did. Thanks, Bro.

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Help us all celebrate National Poetry Month by sharing a poem or a poet that means something special to you.

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