In Appreciation of Poetry (Part 1)

We are celebrating poetry and poets in Burien this month!

by Ruth Storkel.The very first "National Poetry Month" was celebrated in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. They wanted to draw public attention to the art form of poetry. Each year since then, it has been an April tradition.

Getting to Know and Experience Poetry

To get more involved in the appreciation of poetry, the Academy suggests writing down a piece of poetry each day of the month. (Put down your thoughts and feelings in a rhythmic manner, and you have a poem.) Also, one could plan a poetry event, a poem-writing competition, a stage play based on a story-telling poem, etc. Spend time reading poetry to your children (parents) or your class (if you are a teacher).[caption id="attachment_15944" align="aligncenter" width="473"]

Writing poetry (123rf.com)[/caption]It is a great time to re-discover forgotten poets; read and decipher the meanings of their poems. Choose a new poet for each day, and read several of their poems (often you can find their poems online). The shortest poem form is a "Haiku," with only 17 syllables. The longest-known poem is the Mahabharata, from India, with 1.8 million words.I have always enjoyed poetry, very likely because my Father appreciated the great poets and enthusiastically read poems aloud to us quite often.One of my favorites has always been: [caption id="attachment_15937" align="aligncenter" width="481"]

Lovely tree (123rf.com)[/caption]Trees I think that I shall never seeA poem as lovely as a tree.A tree whose hungry mouth is prestAgainst the earth's sweet flowing breast;A tree that looks at God all day,And lifts her leafy arms to pray;A tree that may in summer wearA nest of robins in her hair;Upon whose bosom snow has lain;Who intimately lives with rain.Poems are made by fools like me,But only God can make a tree.- (Joyce Kilmer, 1913)[caption id="attachment_15943" align="aligncenter" width="528"]

Writing Poetry (123rf.com)[/caption]

Please Share Your Original Poem With Us!

We plan to present a variety of poems this month from numerous sources.If you would like to share an original poem with our readers, please send it to us, and we may select it to post it for all our readers to enjoy. We would love to meet and promote people in our community who are gifted in the arts and literature![Please note, all rights to published poetry will remain with, and be credited to, the original author. Please let us know how you would like to be credited if we choose to publish your work.]

Submit Your Poem to Burien-News Here:

[contact-form to="katie@burien-news.com" subject="Original Poetry Submissions:"][contact-field label="Name" type="name" required="1"][contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="1"][contact-field label="Original Poem" type="textarea" required="1"][contact-field label="Additional comments" type="textarea"][/contact-form]