National Poetry Month

Well, here we are in April again and ready to celebrate National Poetry Month. What does this do for us? What does this do for poetry?

With the loss of attention and reputation that poetry has suffered over the years, National Poetry Month permits us to bring poetry back to the limelight for a whole month. There will probably be more works of poetry and poets showing up in the news during this month than in any other. For the past 10 years, April is the month that attempts to reverse the damage done to poetry by showcasing the art and its artists.

Many organizations, especially on the internet, are hosting special events all month long to explore, exploit and celebrate all that poetry is and should be. Will National Poetry Month do its part to put poetry back in its place? I don’t think anyone really knows the answer to that question. As long as leisure time continues to diminish in our society where one is forced to maximize the quality of that leisure time, poetry may have a long hard road ahead.

The decline of poetry and whether a decline has actually happened will have to remain for another day. Research offers varying opinions on this and I have not done any real work on the subject in some time. In the meantime, use this month to learn more about poetry. Some links have been provided to get you started:

National Poetry Month
Info Please - National Poetry Month
Against National Poetry Month
Ten National Poetry Month Activities
League of Canadian Poets - National Poetry Month