Thorn: April is Poetry Month, for better or verse

By Patti Thorn, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 28, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size

More Books

I don't know about you, but I tend to feel a little skeptical when these designated "months" come up. Black History Month, Women's History Month - they always seem a desperate ploy for attention that has scant chance of panning out.

Hey, when was the last time you got excited about women because someone said "Celebrate Women!"

Exactly.

But for some reason, my heart lifts ever so slightly when National Poetry Month rolls around. With the promise of renewal and beauty that spring brings, it seems the perfect melding of season and sensibility.

So I was curious: Is that the reason April was chosen as National Poetry Month?

Stupid Google. It dashed that romantic notion with a couple clicks of a mouse.

According to Poets.org, an official site of the Academy of American Poets, April wasn't chosen because it's a poetic month, but because it's a practical one.

The site notes that the Academy wanted to involve students, so it chose a month that hits during the school year. " February is Black History Month and March is Women's History Month, so April seemed a logical choice."

The site then throws a meager bone to those who prefer to think poetry drove the pick, noting that "there are many wonderful poetic references to April." For example, T. S. Eliot wrote that "April is the cruelest month." And Edna St. Vincent Millay asked, "To what purpose, April, do you return again?"

To which the Academy web site responds, all-too-perkily: "For National Poetry Month, of course!"

Sigh.

What did I tell you? Desperate measures.

Oh well. As we women might say: Celebrate Poetry! Or at least give it a fighting chance by checking out some of the intriguing events listed below . . .

If April is the cruelest month, it's also the coolest

Need proof? Consider these coming events in honor of National Poetry Month:

* Mobs and poetry is an oxymoron these days. So who could resist attending Poetry Flash Mob, an event in which the public is invited to join poets for the reading of poems in unison down the 16th Street Mall. Head over there between noon and 1 p.m. Tuesday. (The walk begins at Glenarm St.) "Despite the date," quips one of its organizers, Jake Adam York, about the April Fools' Day event, "it's no joke."

* If you prefer your poetry with a mellow beer, rather than a roving pack on the mall, don't miss the launch of Liquid Poetry, a special beer designed in conjunction with the Wynkoop Brewery. Hoist a pint of this lyrical libation and read your own poem of any style "celebrating this most ancient and much-loved beverage."

And if beer isn't your muse, you can also write about the "ideal of good food, the company of friends, and all nature of related pleasures."

The free event is at 7 p.m. April 11 at the Wynkoop. Those interested in sharing a poem can submit it to poetry@wynkoop.com by April 4.

* No one ever described a poetry slam as mellow - which makes for yet another option. Every Sunday, the Mercury Cafe holds these edgy competitions in which poets read their work and are judged by selected members of the audience. The event is at 8 p.m. Cost is $5.

* Finally, if you can make the trek to Colorado Springs, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins is sure to inspire. Here's some added motivation: It's free. Collins lectures at Colorado College at 7 p.m. Thursday.

There are too many other events to list here, including a student literary festival; open mic nights; writing workshops and bookstore readings by local poets.

For a comprehensive calender, go to denvergov.org/poetry. Also check out coloradocollege.edu/news_ events/; boulderbookstore.com; tatteredcover.com; bookbuffsltd.com.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News