A Less Intense Approach to National Poetry Month

Some people will be writing a poem a day for National Poetry Month, and I've known people who read a volume of poems for each day of April--and wrote a blog post about each one.

But what if you need something a bit less intense, a bit more doable?  Here are some suggestions:

--Read one volume of poems for each week of poetry month. 

--Most volumes of poetry are 75 pages on average.  If that's even too much to consider, think about chapbooks, which are usually 12-22 pages.  Read a chapbook for each week in April.

--As you do Internet wandering during the month of April, resolve to visit a site that has a poem a day.  Here are some suggestions:  Poetry Daily, The Writer's Almanac, and Verse Daily.

--Instead of writing a poem a day, write a poem a week.

--Try writing in a poem form that you haven't tried before.  This site will give you examples.

--If the thought of writing a poem seems intimidating, just write a line as you notice something.  For example, two weeks ago, I wrote this line:  Last night I dreamed disasters.  If I wrote a line each morning for a week, I might have an interesting poem at the end of a week.

--Buy a book of poems to support your favorite poet.  May I suggest my own chapbook?  We are drawing close to the end of the ordering period for my chapbook; you have until April 22 to order during this very important time.  Go here to order your copy.  It will ship in June, and you'll have a lovely summer treat.