Celebrate Poetry This April!

Sunday marked the beginning of National Poetry Month, and what better way to celebrate than with a look ahead to the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, scheduled for April 20-22 in Salem? The full schedule of readings, workshops, and events for families and children is now available online--take a look, pre-register for sessions, and get your festival button now!

And, if you'd like to celebrate National Poetry Month all April long, check out Mass Poetry's 2012 Common Threads group reading and discussion program. You can download everything you need to facilitate or participate in a poetry discussion group here. Why not put novels on hold for a month and have your book group read and discuss poetry instead? You can even organize a trip to Salem on April 21 to meet the living poets whose work is included in the Common Threads program!

On a more somber note, last week the poetry world lost one of its treasures, Adrienne Rich. Take some time this April to get to know this talented poet, essayist, activist, and former Massachusetts resident, if you don't already. Her poem "What Kind of Times Are These" is a good place to start.