Poetry Month: Acting the Fool

It makes sense for April Fool's Day to kick off National Poetry Month. Poets are truth-seekers and truth-speakers, and as such, face criticism from a world content to ignore uncomfortable truths. Even simpler, one would have to be a fool to attempt writing a poem a day for 30 days.

Luckily, there is strength in numbers. I started following a number of poets on Twitter who will be taking part in the madness, plus there's the community at NaPoWriMo (a thing which I only discovered this year, even though I've technically been participating since 2011 and it's been around since 2003). I'm also following Harriet, the blog over at the Poetry Foundation (where I will also seek out poems by published poets).

The various writing challenges and prompts that I've done before will, for this month, be poetry prompts. My remaining simple living/Lent observances will become opportunity for reflection poems. Easter, Earth Day, Arbor Day, Tax Day: poem fodder. In the past I've let the poems come to me (which more often meant they didn't come to me, and I was left to throw something together at the end of the day). This year, I'm chasing the poems, grabbing them by their slippery tails, and throwing them onto the page. Or screen, as it were.

I'll be acting the fool for poetry for all of cruel, cruel April. Please, join me. Read some poetry, listen to some poetry, dare I say write some poetry? You'll be in good company.