April is National Poetry Month

National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets. The concept is to widen the attention of individuals and the media--to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our poetic heritage and to poetry books and journals. It is celebrated every year in April since its inception in 1996. The goals are to highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing contributions of American poets and introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry.

The best point of entry to the world of poetry is, of course, the poem. Anthologies can be great starting points for browsing and sampling diverse styles and time periods. A great classic anthology is the group of Norton anthologies which comprises a huge resource for and guidebook to the history of poetry in English. Another classic is Poems for the Millennium. This collection includes poetry from post-World War II through the Cold War and its aftermath. For a contemporary anthology, try the Harvard Book of Contemporary American Poetry, for readers who value fresh and original poetry. A bestselling anthology is Into the Garden: A Wedding Anthology: Poetry and Prose on Love and Marriage edited by Robert Hass. You will also find a brand new book in our new non-fiction collection entitled 7 Poets, 4 Days, 1 Book/Marvin Bell. This collaborative book collects 80 poems by seven poets, written over a period of four days. A couple of notable, visual collections are Eat, Drink, and Be Merry from the acclaimed Everyman's Library Series. This is a beautiful, hardbacked anthology featuring some of the best poems of all time celebrating gathering together to eat, drink, and be merry. Then, there is also Essential Pleasures: a New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud by Robert Pinsky. This is a vibrant anthology and accompanying CD that revive a great American tradition: the joy of reciting poetry aloud. Additionally, check out A Book of Love Poetry by John Stallworthy. From the civilization of the Lower Nile to that of the Lower Hudson, more poets have written more convincingly, more poignantly about love than about any other subject.

Perhaps, after perusing anthologies, you may discover an intriguing poet and find that a single volume written by just one author may be more welcoming. Consider and select any of the following: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes which showcases 860 poems from one of the most beloved American poets of the 20th century, The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath which is a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection gathered, annotated, and edited by Ted Hughes, Joseph Brodsky: Collected Poems in English by Joseph Brodsky which is the definitive collection of poetry in English by Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky, Opened Ground: Selected Poems by Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize-winning poet, Poe: Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, one of America's most influential poets, known for his poetic tales of mystery and the macabre, and lastly Frost: Poems by Robert Frost which is a generous selection of poetic lyrics from one of the most brilliant and widely read of all American poets.

Poet Wallace Stevens said that poetry is "a response to the daily necessity of getting the world right." Make it one of your own daily necessities beginning this April during National Poetry Month 2010.