National Poetry Month was initially celebrated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. Since that time it has become the largest literary celebration in the world! There are so many good places out there in cyberspace to find children’s poems, interviews with children’s poets, videos of poetry readings, poetry-writing help, poetry celebrations, poetry book lists and more. Here are some places to look.
During Poetry Month, ALA sponsors the Dear Poet project, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades five through twelve to write letters in response to poems written and read by award-winning poets.
ALA also sponsors Poem in Your Pocket Day, which will be on April 30th this year. Participants carry a favorite poem with them and share it with others throughout the day. You can share your poem on twitter, or other social media places, too.
Find more poetry month celebrations on twitter at Poets.org, and National Poetry Month.
Poetry Friday is a special tradition in the Kidlitosphere. It's a weekly gathering and sharing of favorite poetry thoughts and poems and books, hosted by a different blogger each week. And you can continue to be part of Poetry Friday throughout the year!
On her blogsite, The Poem Farm, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is featuring a special project for poetry month this year called Sing That Poem! You won’t want to miss a visit to her site this month.
At The Miss Rumphius Effect blogsite you’ll find links to poetry resources and so much more on this teacher’s blog. A special feature for poetry month this year are her daily links to different poetry forms.
Find more poetry tips and terms on the website of Sharon Creech.
Reading Rockets celebrates children’s books and authors, and of course, National Poetry Month. Watch videos of poets reading poetry, interviews with children’s poets, and much more
Visit the Poetry Foundation: Poetry Picks for Children where you’ll find favorite poetry books for children selected by Children’s Poet Laureates.
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) established its Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 1977 to honor a living American poet for his or her aggregate work for children ages 3–13. This award is currently awarded every two years. The winner of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children for 2015 is Marilyn Singer. She has published over one hundred books for children and young adults in a wide variety of genres, and many of her books have won prestigious awards.
Find a list of Ten Popular Poets for Kids here on the pbs parents website. Some of my favorites are:
Shel Silverstein
Jack Prelutsky
Kenn Nesbitt
So many links, so little time! All of this is enough to make my head spin! Children’s poets like Marilyn Singer and so many others are a great inspiration to those of us struggling to write not just good poetry, but really great poetry—advice from poet laureate, J Patrick Lewis on Day 8 of RhyPiBoMo. So enjoy, learn, and be inspired! Read More
