Celebrate National Poetry Month: Play with Poetry by Rochelle Melander

If I read a book [and] it makes my body so cold no fire ever can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the tip of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. —Emily Dickinson

Poetry heals the wounded soul. Poetry strengthens the weakened heart. Poetry offers hope for better days. The regular consumption of poetry inspires us. Writing poetry prevents and combats disease. Poetry can calm, inspire, encourage, soothe, inform, humor, comfort, entertain, challenge, delight, prod, and so much more.

Here are activities you can do alone or with others to celebrate National Poetry Month:

Write a poem a day. It does not have to be long or good—just write. Use your poems to chronicle the arrival of spring, shifts in your emotional life, or anything else that stirs your creativity. Check out my resources list below for helpful poetry-writing books.

Play with words! Using a magnetic poetry set or Haikubes, play with words to create short poems.

Chalk a sidewalk. Find a short poem and use colorful chalk to copy it onto the sidewalk.

Sign your poem. New York City made headlines when they added haiku poems to street signs. In Atlanta, a poet created his own Haiku signs and plastered them on lamp posts and walls. How can you turn your poetry into signage?

Find poetry. Listen to the poetry in the world around you: the rhythm of a dog barking, the melody of a bird chirping, or the sounds of the words people speak. Look for poem phrases on street signs, bumper stickers, and billboards. Collect sounds and phrases and create your own “found poetry” poem.

Copy a poem. In the early 1990s, I started a commonplace book—a journal that I filled with quotes from books and poems I loved. Start your own commonplace book by copying down one or more of the poems you love.

Read a poem to yourself. Pick up a book of poems and skim until you find one that speaks to your life experience. Make a copy and post it where you can read it daily.

Read to others. Read a poem aloud to a friend or a group of children.

Watch a poem. Stop by the Poetry Everywhere site to watch and listen to a poem.

Learn more. Go to the Academy of American Poets site for more ideas on how to celebrate National Poetry Month.

Your turn: How will you celebrate National Poetry Month?

Resources

Check out one of my favorite books on reading and writing poetry:

The Art and Craft of Poetry: What works, what doesn’t and why, with methods to generate poems, and examples from Shakespeare to Olds by Michael J. Bugeja

The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets who Teach edited by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell

Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out by Ralph Fletcher

Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making by John Fox

Writing Poetry from the Inside Out: Finding Your Voice through the Craft of Poetry by Sanford Lyne

The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to the Reading and Writing of Poetry by Frances Mayes