How to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day & upcoming readings
The Mid-Atlantic Review is hosting a community reading and fundraiser this Sunday, April 19, from 2-4 p.m. at the Arts Club of Washington. Featured readers include Regie Cabico, Kimberly Collins, Teri Cross Davis, Susan Mockler, and Ori Z. Soltes.
I’ll be co-hosting the event, along with Robert Bettmann, the founder of Day Eight (which publishes The Mid-Atlantic Review), Anne Becker, Holly Karapetkova, and Gregory Luce.
While you’re celebrating the lit mag, now’s a perfect time to reread or explore for the first time The Mid-Atlantic Review’s Amplifying Disabled Voices special section, which I was honored to serve as a guest editor for, along with Christopher Heuer and Gregory Luce. There are some incredible, powerful poems about the diverse experiences of disability, chronic pain, mental illness, and more.
And next Sunday, April 26, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., I’m so excited to be a featured reader along with Sunu Chandy at Reston Readings, hosted by Northern Virginia Community College professor Nathan Leslie. Come on out to Reston Used Book Shop in Reston, Va. to hear Sunu and me, and the courageous open mic-ers! (Maybe that includes you?)
Is that a poem in your pocket or are you just ekphrastic to see me? Sorry … couldn’t resist a terrible poetry pun for Poem in Your Pocket Day.
Poem in Your Pocket Day, coming up on April 30, is celebrated during National Poetry Month. Participants are encouraged to carry around their favorite poem and share it with others. New York City’s Office of the Mayor started Poem in Your Pocket Day in April 2002. In 2008, the Academy of American Poets expanded the initiative to all 50 states. And in 2016, the League of Canadian Poets extended it to Canada.
There are many ways to participate. Here are a few ideas from the Academy of American Poets:
- Check out 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month.
- Select a poem and share it on social media using the hashtag #PocketPoem.
- Print a poem from the Poem in Your Pocket Day PDF and draw an image from the poem in the white space.
- Record a video of yourself reading a poem, then share it on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, or another social media platform you use.
- Email a poem to your friends, family, neighbors, or local government leaders.
- Add a poem to your email footer.
- Read a poem out loud from your porch, window, backyard, or outdoor space.
Do you have any poems memorized? I can still recite the beginning of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, and maybe a line or two of Shakespeare’s “All the world’s a stage” monologue from As You Like It — but I much prefer reading poetry in my head or aloud to myself. I envy the memorizing ability of spoken word poets.
What’s a poem you like that would fit nicely in your pocket? Looking for more ways to add poetry to your life? Subscribe to Poem-a-Day to receive daily poetry directly in your inbox and listen to The Slowdown podcast.
