Poetry Month!

Sorry I have been MIA for awhile! I took a little break and went on vacation - it was a much needed recharging time. Are any of you doing anything fun or taking a vacation for spring break? I'd love to hear about it!

This month (April) we are celebrating National Poetry Month. In honor of this, I am asking anyone and everyone to submit a poem for publication on my blog*! Please send me an email at jcaniglia@groton-ct.gov with your name (first name is all that will be posted on the blog) along with one of your poems! As soon as I get submissions, I will create a post that will share these. So send those poems in!!  You can also come visit me at the circulation desk and drop off a paper copy if you want.

The Groton Public Library is also holding a Teen Open Mic Night this Thursday night (April 17th) at 6:30PM. This is also Teen Literature Day! Please come and share your work with us - both written and musical. We are asking that you keep it G-rated and you don't need to register, just show up prepared to perform! We would love to hear what you have come up with. If you have any questions, give us a call at 860-441-6750 or shoot me an email :)

In the meantime, if you are looking to read some good poetry, here are some recommendations to check out! (I have included both works of  fiction and non-fiction books.)

1.             Technically, it's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems by John Grandits

2.             The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle

3.             Blue Lipstick : Concrete Poems by John Grandits

4.             TheWatch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

5.             Poetry Speaks Who I Am: Poems of Discovery, Inspiration, Independence, and Everything Else (A Poetry Speaks Experience) by Elise Paschen

6.             Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

7.             Honeybee: Poems & Short Prose by Naomi Shihab Nye

8.             Morningin the Burned House by Margaret Eleanor Atwood

9.             You Don't Even Know Me: Stories and Poems About Boys by Sharon Flake

10.          Emily's Dress and Other Missing Things by Kathryn Burak

11.          Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love by Pat Mora

12.          Karma by Cathy Ostlere

13.          Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing by Gary Soto

14.          Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams

15.          The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur

16.          The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

17.          Wildly Romantic: the English Romantic Poets -- the Mad, the Bad, and the Dangerous by Catherine M. Andronik

18.          Poems From Homeroom: a Writer's Place to Start by Kathi Appelt

19.          The Pain Tree and Other Teenage Angst-Ridden Poetry by Esther Watson

20.          Running Back to Ludie by Angela Johnson

21.          Seeing the Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets by Paul B. Janeczko

22.          After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields

23.          I Am Wings: Poems About Love by Ralph J. Fletcher

Is one of your favorite poetry books not on this list? Let me know in the comments section what you think should be added to this list!


If you are interested in exploring the great World Wide Web for poetry, here are some sites to check out:

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/001.html  - Read a poem a day!

These sites allow you to read other teens' poetry and then submit your own:

http://www.bestteenpoems.com/

http://www.teenink.com/poetry/

http://www.wattpad.com/stories/teen-fiction/poetry 

*By submitting your poem, you grant the Groton Public Library & Jessica permission to post your poem and we reserve the right to choose which poems will be posted.