When Edna St. Vincent Millay asked, "To what purpose, April, do you return again?" she clearly did not know that April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, Boulder Book Store has lined up a slew of great poetry readings, discussions and other opportunites during the month of April. We will kick off the month with three back-to-back poetry events, then continue to celebrate "Poetry Thursdays" throughout the rest of April.
Starting things off on Tuesday, April 1, at 7:30pm is
GERDA ROVETCH & LISSA ROVETCH, who will speak and sign their new book,
There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat & Other Vile Little Poems. This collection of absurd verse by Gerda Rovetch, a Boulder local for 50 years, and quirky line illustrations by her daughter, Lissa Rovetch, will charm children and adults alike.
On Wednesday, April 2, at 7:30pm we will host an evening of poetry readings by poets included in
IMPROV: An Anthology of Colorado Poets. Colorado is rich in poetry, and
IMPROV from
Green Fuse Press reflects that wealth.
Poetry Thursdays
Our first Poetry Thursday (Thursday, April 3, at 7:30pm) will feature
MARILYN KRYSL (
Warscape With Lovers) &
JAKE ADAM YORK (
A Murmuration of Starlings) in a reading and discussion entitled, "Getting Published." As established poets and key members of literary magazines, these two poets will read from their recent collections, then lead a brief discussion about publishing work in literary magazines.
A night of "Writing the West" on Thursday, April 10 at 7:30pm will feature poets
ERIKA WURTH (
Indian Trains),
GABRIEL GOMEZ (
The Outer Bands) &
SHERYL LUNA (
Pity the Drowned Horses) reading from their recent work.
Thursday, April 17, at 7:30pm, we will celebrate
National Poem In Your Pocket Day with an evening of shared poetry. The night will feature Open Mic Poetry Readings (bring your own or someone else's), networking with the local poetry community, and great Poetry Month giveaways. Event co-sponsors
Haystack Mountain and
Belvedere Chocolates will provide cheese and chocolates for the evening. (Pick up your Poem-In-Your-Pocket at Boulder Book Store anytime in April.)
Wrapping up the month are two poets whose poetry careers are just unfolding.
MATT NIENOW (
Two Sides of the Same Thing) and
ERIN LEWENAUER (
Keeping Dead Things Around) will participate in readings and discussion entitled "Getting Started: Up-and-Coming Poets" on Thursday, April 24, at 7:30pm. After reading from their new collections, the poets will lead a brief discussion about publishing your first book.
All events will be held in the upstairs Ballroom of
Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO. Poems-In-Your-Pocket will be available at the Book Store throughout April.
T.S. Eliot said that "April is the cruelest month"—lessen that effect through poetry!National Poetry Month Resources:
http://www.poets.org/npm
Fire to Fire by Mark Doty
If you're new to reading poetry and want to learn more about the structure, sound and imagery of the genre, Christine, a bookseller at Boulder Book Store, recommends Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook: "My professor had us purchase this book for a poetry class I took in college. Mary Oliver is not only a wonderful poet, but she is also good about explaining the method behind the language. What I liked especially about this particular book are the many examples pulled from familiar poetry to give each chapter more substance." This book teaches all aspects of the craft of poetry for readers and writers alike.
In Breaking the Alabaster Jar, a collection of interviews with poet Li-Young Lee, Lee elaborates on the craft of poetry with a stunning metaphor comparing poetry to architecture. Just like in architecture, he said, poetry is not so much about the materials you use (bricks/mortar, or words), but about space. You can use the same physical materials to create a number of different structures, but it's the use of space and silence that make the creations unique. In many ways, space and silence are what distinguish poetry from prose. Poetry is an excellent and meditative way to experience the lovely silences in life, to slow down and explore the spaces in language.
Attend a reading: Amy Catanzano will read from her new poetry collection entitled Multiversal on Tuesday, April 14th at 7:30pm. Multiversal proposes a theory of quantum poetics, and invites readers to explore the intersections between language, nature, science, and consciousness. Multiversal takes its name from the multiverse, a science fiction concept that has become an accepted theory in physics. It suggests that reality comprises multiple dimensions in space and time. In form and content, this collection takes novel approaches to the materiality of language itself, to the spacetime of poems.
Celebrate National Poem-In-Your-Pocket Day (April 30th) by taking a pocket-sized poem (available in the store), sharing it with your friends, passing it along, or memorizing it. You can also pick up a copy of the book Poem In Your Pocket by the Academy of American Poets (Abrams, $14.95), and share the poems with everyone you know!
Posts
For Book store