National Poetry Month Preview

Digital art © 2018 by Miranda Barnes, based on a line from "Ghazal" by Tracy K. Smith.

According to the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month is "the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets marking poetry’s important place in our culture and our lives." Find out more about how the celebration got started and how you can participate HERE.

2019 marks the first year that the official National Poetry Month poster was designed by a high school student. It was selected through a national contest with more than 450 submissions, my daughter's submission among them. Each design was required to incorporate one of five excerpts from poems by U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. Miranda chose "History is a ship forever setting sail" from "Ghazal" (1972). Although she was not a finalist, she is, of course, a winner in my book! That's why I've chosen her work as the "official" National Poetry Month poster on Today's Little Ditty. For someone who doesn't typically use a digital medium (or have access to fancy shmancy software), I thought she did a fabulous job. Besides, I'm her mom—I have bragging rights. You can see the official official 2019 National Poetry Month poster HERE and view the designs of the twelve finalists HERE.

I've been talking about my National Poetry Month series for a couple weeks now. Classroom Connections will showcase recent poetry books—eclectic collections, lyrical picture books, and engaging verse novels—and how they can be used as mentor texts in the classroom. With posts each weekday in April, you will find 22 author/editor interviews, exercises for teachers to use with elementary, middle, and high school students, and LOTS of giveaways!

Today's the day I finally get to reveal the roster of participants. So without further ado . . .

To follow the series: 

The best way to keep up with the Classroom Connections series is by subscribing to Today's Little Ditty via email, which you can do in the sidebar. I will also be announcing the posts on social media. Like me on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter (also in the sidebar) to stay informed that way. Catch up with Classroom Connections posts you may have missed by clicking on the "It's time to INSPIRE" icon in the sidebar, or by visiting my "Poetry in the Classroom" board on Pinterest.


But where is . . . ?

Not every author and editor I contacted got back to me or was able to participate next month. I would have liked to feature Margarita Engle's companion memoir to Enchanted Air—Soaring Earth, for example, or Laurie Halse Anderson's searing poetic memoir SHOUT, which is collecting starred reviews like they're going out of style. Also, Eileen Spinelli's novel in verse, Birdie—perhaps I can snag her for a Spotlight ON interview at some point. An anthology I would have liked to showcase is Parkland Speaks: Survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas Share Their Stories (Crown Books for Young Readers, 2019), edited by MSD teeacher Sarah Lerner. A hard-hitting collection—heart-crushing at times—it is also a testament to the healing power of poetry and writing in general. That said, given the news this week of two MSD student suicides, clearly there's much more healing to be done.

Perhaps the most conspicuous omission from our National Poetry Month roster is Laura Purdie Salas, who is touring with not one, not two, but three books this season! I would be remiss not to mention these books since Laura is a champion when it comes to bringing poetry into the classroom. If you click on the links for each of her books below, you'll find student-friendly activity sheets available for download, as well as a platform to post student poetry.

Snowman - Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations (Charlesbridge, 2019)
Click here for teacher resources.

In the Middle of the Night: Poems from a Wide-Awake House
(Wordsong, 2019)   Click here for teacher resources.

Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons (Millbrook Press, 2019)
Click here for teacher resources.

Once again, Jama Rattigan has graciously volunteered to round up all of the National Poetry Month kidlit events this year at Jama's Alphabet Soup. There are some wonderful ones! I do hope you'll check them out next month.

And special thanks to Tabatha Yeatts for including my poem "Planning Your Treehouse" in her NPM project—Poetry in the Halls! Tabatha is providing free poetry printables—ledger-sized poems to print for school hallways, library walls, or any other poetry-inviting place. Read more about the project at The Opposite of Indifference.

See you on Monday!

Join Carol at Carol's Corner for a celebration of spring and this week's Poetry Friday roundup.