Poetry Month

 

National Poetry Month Series in April - Submitted by Joan Dudzinski

 Join us this April as we celebrate National Poetry Month with a series of programs and activities. We are kicking off our series with the An Evening with Chelsea Rathburn: Georgia’s Poet Laureate, courtesy of the Georgia Council for the Arts. She will be doing a reading and discussing her role as a female poet and Poet Laureate. All branches have a copy of her latest book, Still Life with a Mother and Knife. This program will transition us from Celebrating Women’s History Month to National Poetry Month. The rest of the series will be presented by UNG professors on a variety of poetry topics and readings from their own works.

An Evening with Chelsea Rathburn: Georgia Poet Laureate

Wednesday, March 31 @ 7:00 p.m.

Join us for An Evening with Chelsea Rathburn, the Georgia Poet Laureate. This special evening will include readings and discussion.

A Taste of Poetry with Lyn Froelich

Monday, April 5 @ 7:00 p.m.

Feast on a fare of food-themed poetry. Lyn Froehlich will share a collection of original, famous, and not-as-famous food-themed poetry. She will focus on the sensuousness of food and how the sensory aspects of imagery, smell, sight, and touch appeal to us. The Covid-19 pandemic called Froehlich to her kitchen perfecting sourdough bread and cooking classics while often listening to and writing poetry. Her appreciation for the written word and the smell of fresh-baked bread will linger with you also.

How to Read a Poem with Jeremiah Johnson

Monday, April 19 @ 7:00 p.m.

Many of us would like to read more poetry but struggle with the ambiguities and difficult grammatical structure we often find in it. Others of us want or would like to write poetry but wonder how to develop our skills. In this talk, Jeremiah Johnson will look at how the circumstances relate and give some helpful pointers.

From Page to Personal: How Poetry Became More Elastic with Samuel Prestridge

Thursday, April 29 @ 7:00 p.m.

Samuel Prestridge will consider the mid-twentieth century shift in poetry in this From Page to Personal program.  The more strict attention to form of earlier poets was in many cases rejected in favor of structures that emphasized the poet’s own body and breath.  Additionally, in keeping with America’s changing cultural makeup, poetry became more diverse.  Subject matter, with the Confessional and the Deep Image poets, became more personal, sometimes shockingly so.  The aims of poetry often became more political with the advent of identity politics, such as the Black Lives Matter, feminism, and the LGBTQ movement.  The lecture will consider the beginnings of these changes and how they might have shaped current considerations of what constitutes a poem. His lecture will include readings of his own poetry.

 

Poetry activity grab bags for adults and families will be available in limited supplies at the Cumming, Hampton Park, and Post Road libraries. These were designed for adults or families who wish to work together creating poetry. Supplies are limited and contents may vary between branches. Patrons will be encouraged to share their work on the library social media or bring in to display at the branches.

Here are some CU Poetry packs in the making; including Blackout Poetry, Haiku, Name Acrostics and Poetry in Pieces.