April is National Poetry Month. This celebration of poetry began in 1996 and has become one of the biggest literary celebrations in the world. Each April, we celebrate the importance of poets to our culture. There are lots of ways to celebrate National Poetry Month including checking out a poetry book from the library. Below you will find a sampling of the poetry we have here in the Union Library.
*Book descriptions provided by the publishers, c/o the library catalog.
Children’s Poetry
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleishman
From the Publisher: Written to be read aloud by two voices – sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous – here is a collection of irresistible poems that celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the book louse. Funny, sad, loud, and quiet, each of these poems resounds with a booming, boisterous, joyful noise.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
A young boy grows to manhood and old age experiencing the love and generosity of a tree which gives to him without thought of return.
Verse Novels:
Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and weaves them into one funny, poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life. This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy: Talking about boogers. Stealing pocket change. Skateboarding. Wiping out. Braving up. Executing complicated handshakes. Planning an escape. Cracking jokes. Getting greasy. Braving up some more. But mostly, too busy walking home.
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
Epic Poems
The Odyssey by Homer
The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses) and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors who compete for Penelope’s hand in marriage.
The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs
It recounts the deeds of a hero-king of ancient Mesopotamia, following him through adventures and encounters with men and gods alike. Yet the central concerns of the Epic lie deeper than the lively and exotic story line: they revolve around man’s eternal struggle with the limitations of human nature,
and encompass the basic human feelings of loneliness, friendship, love, loss, revenge, and the fear of the oblivion of death.
Anthologies
African American Poetry: 250 years of Struggle and Song edited by Kevin Young
Across a turbulent history, black poets created a rich and multifaceted tradition that has been both a reckoning with American realities and an imaginative response to them. One of the great American art forms, African American poetry encompasses many kinds of verse: formal, experimental, vernacular, lyric, and protest. The anthology opens with moving testaments to the power of poetry as a means of self-assertion, as enslaved people voice their passionate resistance to slavery.
Our Holidays in Poetry compiled by Mildred P. Harrington
Poems which commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s and George Washington’s birthday, Easter, Arbor Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Includes indexes of authors, titles, and first lines.
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth
Ninety-nine short poems for you to enjoy from the original collection, plus an additional fourteen.
*All these books can be found in the Union Library.
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