On April 1st, I attended a National Poetry Month Celebration, #HFGather (that "HF" stands for Highlights Foundation, btw), with a delightful group of poets on a Zoom call, The evening was hosted by Irene Latham and Charles Waters. Irene mentioned the gathering on her blog last week with this shout-out:
"I LOVED hanging out with Poetry Peeps
during #HFGather earlier this week. What a great way to get the month of
poetry-lovin' started!"
The event showcased a new poetry collection for children, If I Could Choose a Best Day: Poems of Possibility, selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters. Three poets who contributed to the collection were invited guests of Irene and Charles on the Zoom call: Lacresha Berry, JaNay Brown, and Jolene Gutiérrez. Each of them read their poem from the collection, followed by poetry tips for the listeners.
Here are some tips I gleaned from the poets:
"My heart beats in poetry."
"I put myself in places with an open heart."
"Get kids out in nature."
"Poetry levels the playing field."
"Grant Snider's Poetry Comics is a fun way to share poems with students."
"Poems are word paintings."
I'm not sure who said what because I was scrawling on my March desk calendar page, unable to find my writer's notebook or a blank sheet of paper.
"Something poetic" every day is my commitment for National Poetry Month this year. I may spotlight a favorite
poem or book or poet or share a quote I love about poetry. Maybe I'll
even stretch myself and occasionally write an original poem.
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