April is National Poetry Month, a celebration of the written word organized by the Academy of American Poets. National Poetry Month “reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives.”
Additionally, in honor of #NationalPoetryMonth NEHS encourages you to celebrate with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). As NEHS has witnessed this year with the Poetry Contest, poetry is a powerful force that speaks volumes to readers. Once again, NCTE will be celebrating poetry throughout the month of April with their NCTE Verse program. From NCTE:
Join NCTE members from across the country in NCTE Verse, a member-exclusive FREE professional learning opportunity aimed at providing ideas and inspiration around poets and poetry!
Each weekday from Wednesday, April 1, to Friday, May 1, members who sign up for NCTE Verse will receive a daily email that:
- Focuses on a different poet each day as identified by NCTE members
- Provides resources related to that poet
- Responds to the prompt, “This poet belongs in our classrooms because . . .”
See also NCTE’s Poetry Resources, including interviews with famous poets, poetry books and giveaways, and lesson plans.
