National Poetry Month

Apparently, T.S. Elliot was not very fond of April:

“April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain…”

Yeah yeah.  Well, the poem was called ‘The Wasteland’. What do you expect?  But despite, or perhaps because of this — April is National Poetry Month,  a great time of inspiration and creativity.  It is a chance to flex our Bardic muscles. This month, try reading and/ or  writing a poem a day.  Take a stab at haiku, quatrain  or free verse.  Consider sonnet, sestina, rondeau, ballad, or ghazal.   Support your local poets and poetry blogs. Honor your own personal favorites, dead or alive.   Revisit those dusty  old volumes, or better yet, look them up online.   Hundreds of poets are available to browse at http://www.poemhunter.com/

If you’ve never been to a poetry slam, attend one! They are great fun, a chance to meet, mingle and appreciate the spoken word. Plus they might choose you as a judge. And even if they don’t, you  still get to snap fingers and yell out random things like “As It Should Be!”

In your own writing, you can emulate the masters or go indy.  Be expressive.  Let the imagination soar. It doesn’t even have to make sense!  (Not really.)

Opens all Doors.  See what he did there?

Poetry  is very flexible. It has the ability to tap into  the subconscious and collective consciousness simultaneously, in a way that no other art form can. Poetry can blend style, substance and individuality with psychic connection and dream states   Every time we put pen to paper, there is the potential to learn something new about ourselves, our past, our loves, our truths and our humanity.

Happy April and Happy Writing 🙂