Create, Or, How to Make a Poet Happy

Focus on light, by Drew Myron

Cue the dancing poets. In April, month of spring showers, the sky breaks opens and rains with poems.

It's National Poetry Month and people are feverishly penning a poem-a-day, carrying poems in their pockets, and chalking poems on sidewalks.

Here's how I'm celebrating:

I'm making poemish things.
Poems, orphan lines, and erasures like the one above, and mailing them in the old-fashioned sealed-and-stamped method. Every day a fresh recipient. Want to get good mail? Send your mailing address to dcm@drewmyron.com. (Don't worry, I won't spam, stalk or creep you out).

I'm giving away poetry books.
To enter the Big Poetry Giveaway, go here.

I'm buying books.
My funds aren't flush, but hey, poets deserve some financial love. Diane Lockward sums it best: "Keep in mind as you juggle pennies that a poetry book is one of the best bargains around. Let's say a book has 40 poems in it and sells for $16. That means you're getting each of those poems for a mere forty cents! The poet labored over each one of those poems, probably spending days, weeks, months on each one. Each one of those poems can be read and enjoyed over and over. So this month treat yourself to some wonderful books and, at the same time, make a poet happy."

This month, as you're pelted with poems, remember that no one dies from alliteration. Life can deliver worse injuries. We're armed but harmless.