• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 6 other novels

  • Meg
    • Bio
    • Short Works
    • Meg’s Writing Process
    • Favorite Bookstores
  • Books
    • The Postmistress of Paris
    • The Last Train to London
    • Beautiful Exiles
    • The Race for Paris
    • The Wednesday Sisters
    • The Four Ms. Bradwells
    • The Language of Light
    • The Wednesday Daughters
    • International Editions
  • Events
  • News
  • Videos
  • Bookgroups
    • The Postmistress of Paris
    • The Last Train to London
    • The Race For Paris
    • The Wednesday Sisters
    • The Four Ms. Bradwells
    • The Language of Light
    • The Wednesday Daughters
    • My Bookclubs
  • Writing Tips
    • Tips for Writers
    • How Writers Get Started
    • On Agent Queries
    • Publishing Tips
  • Contact

April 1, 2015 By Meg Waite Clayton

6 sexy ways to celebrate National Poetry Month

Did you know April is National Poetry Month?

The Academy of American Poets inaugurated National Poetry Month in 1996, which makes this its 20 year. I love the excuse to raise awareness about poetry. So here are six sexy ways to celebrate this month.
1. Read poetry! I know. That’s pretty obvious, right?
The sexy part: Read with someone you love. If you’re not sure where to start, maybe Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Candlelight is nice. A glass of wine, perhaps. I leave the rest to you.
2. Subscribe to Poem-a-Day. Poem-a-Day will make poetry reading an easy part of your life. It’s a daily poem emailed from the Academy. I don’t read the poem every day, but I do read it most days. Sometimes I’m moved to tears, or to laughter. Sometimes I’m left shaking my head, trying to imagine what a particular poem was about. But I’m always left thinking about word choice and rhythm and emotion. In a small moment, I’m left steeped in some feeling that I don’t always want to experience directly, but which leaves me a better person for having been exposed to it. I am certainly a better writer for the poetry I read. And they have a huge selection of poems available online.
They don’t have a “sexy category,” but “romance” should do the trick.
3. Put up a Poster. One really special thing they’ve done this year is commission Roz Chaz to do a poster Eating-Poetry-Poster-Roz-Chastusing Mark Strand’s fabulous poem, “Eating Poetry,” and giving it away for free. I’m sharing a digital copy here and on social media.
Okay, this isn’t exactly sexy. There may be sexy things to do with this poster, but if I know them I am not admitting it.
4. Go forth and meet a poet. They are real people, believe it or not. Many local independent bookstores (some of which are listed in the sidebar to the right here) are hosting poets for readings. You can follow @POETSorg or the hashtag #npm15 to find out what’s going on near you.
This can be a seriously sexy evening. If they aren’t serving wine at the reading, go out with your sweetheart for a glass afterwards.
5. Poem in Your Pocket Day. I love this event, which this year is April 30 this year. Details here, but it’s pretty simple. Carry a poem in your pocket. Share it with friends. And you can also share your poem selection on Twitter by using the hashtag #pocketpoem. My poem this year, by the way, will be the one that was given the Page Davidson Clayton Poetry Prize for Emerging Poets this year. It’s called “The Astronaut 512 Miles from Earth,” and it’s by Rachel Morgenstern-Clarren. You can read it on her tumblr — or look for me. I mean to have it in my pocket all month.
The sexy part.  Let someone special take the poem out at the end of the day. 😉
6. Write a Poem Yourself! I know, I’m intimidated, too. But there are a few terrific books to get you started, including Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook  and The Making of a Poem by Eavan Boland and Mark Strand.
Seriously, poetry is sexy.
Happy National Poetry Month! And of course this is no April Fool. – Meg

Share:

Filed Under: Meg's Posts, Poetry Tuesdays

Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eight novels, including the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Book Marketing Tips (23)
  • Bookstores worth Browsing (33)
  • Guest Authors (66)
  • How a Book Gets Published (32)
  • Literary Travel (4)
  • Meg's Posts (376)
  • Poetry Tuesdays (15)
  • Publishing Tips (19)
  • Top Writing Tips (10)
  • Uncategorized (4)
  • Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun (115)
  • Writing Tips (62)

Archives

Footer

Post Archives

Follow Meg on Goodreads

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2023 Meg Waite Clayton · Site design: Ilsa Brink