San Rafael Public Library Honors National Poetry Month
This April marks the 30th anniversary of National Poetry Month, which was founded by the Academy of American Poets in April of 1996 as a way to celebrate the importance of this historic and universal literary form in our culture and everyday lives.
In the past, the poetry taught in schools, often with lofty rhyming language and focusing on romance and nature was sometimes viewed by readers as inaccessible. But in the mid-20th century, the counterculture Beat Poets broadened the definition of poetry to include popular and political themes, jazz rhythms and Japanese haikus, which in turn expanded the poetry-reading audience. In the 1980s, the poetry slam movement, an open-mic competition often held in bars and popular gathering spots and touching upon contemporary social themes, further democratized poetry. In the 1990s, UC Berkeley professor June Jordan’s art and activism program, Poetry for the People, continued this trend.
In the 21st century, poetry has continued to experience a resurgence in readers and writers with the publication, for all ages, of anthologies of immigrant poetry such as Ink Knows No Borders; hip-hop poetry such as The BreakBeat Poets, and the emergence of the novel-in-verse genre, exemplified by Elizabeth Acevedo’s National Book award-winning The Poet X.
The San Rafael Public Library has traditionally celebrated National Poetry Month with writing and publishing workshops, poetry readings, handouts with poem prompts, and book lists and displays. Please stop by this month to check out our latest display in our remodeled library’s cozy Carnegie reading room where you can peruse a diverse collection of poetry books nestled atop our fireplace mantel, sit back in a comfy seat, and let the words take you where they will.