Poetry Month

April may bring May flowers and allergies, but best of all it brings an emphasis on poetry. For some ideas check out: (All ideas —thanks to Penny Plavala, Instructional Specialist, Multnomah Educational District, Portland, OR.)

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

This is the Poets.org web site which boasts these resources:
- 30 ways to celebrate national poetry month
- a poem a day
- new books of poetry
- a link to poetry events happening around Oregon

Under "For Educators" at the top of the page you will find:
- curriculum and lesson plans
- great poems to teach
- tips for teaching poetry

"Poem in Your Pocket Day" is April 30. The idea is simple: select a poem you love and
carry it with you to share with friends, family and co-workers.

Check out the poems ready to print in a pocket-size format:

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/409

In this age of mechanical and digital reproduction, it's easy to carry a poem, share a
poem, or start your own Poem in Your Pocket day event. Here are some ideas of how you
might get involved:
# Start a "poems for pockets" give-a-way in your school or workplace
# Post pocket-sized verses in public places
# Handwrite some lines on the back of your business cards
# Start a street team to pass out poems in your community
# Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines
# Add a poem to your email footer
# Post a poem on your blog or social networking page
# Project a poem on a wall, inside or out
# Text a poem to friends

What is one of your favorite poems:
I have several but one I have on my wall and look at frequently is one by Yeats, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree."

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a puple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.