Programs for Teens
Poetry Month!
April is National Poetry Month so the Library is having a Poetry Competition. The best thing about it is that the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner in each age group will get an Amazon Gift Card! Learn more at the Poetry Competition page.
Okay so maybe you love poetry! That’s great!
Or, maybe you hate it when your teacher says that your class is going to study poetry.
The fact is, people have mixed feelings about poetry. That’s okay. Poetry can be hard to write and hard to understand. Here is a tip - read poetry out loud or listen to someone else read it. Poetry is made beautiful in the rhythm it produces and you can’t hear that rhythm if you read silently to yourself.
If you haven’t yet, you will at some point read Edgar Allen Poe’s poem "The Raven." This is a spooky poem about a guy who sits all alone (or is he alone?) in his house a dark and stormy night (cliche right?). He is longing for his lost love named Lenore (she must have been gorgeous). Then he hears a sound at his door, but when he opens it - no one is there. Then he hears something at his window and opens is to find a raven. When he asks the Raven its name all it says is "Nevermore." He asks the Raven other questions, including about when the narrator will see his beloved Lenore again, but all the Raven says is "Nevermore." Creepy!
To listen to James Earl Jones (voice of Mufasa in Disney’s "The Lion King" and Darth Vader in "Star Wars"!) read "The Raven" click here.
You will probably learn about some other poets in school. Here are some fun videos by Crash Course to help you understand just a few of them.
Figuring out how to write poetry is hard. Lots of poets write about things that mean something to them. These can be anything. Your favorite food. Your pet dog. Something sad that happened. Something that makes you scared. Something that makes you excited. Something that you love. You can write about your thoughts, feelings, or ideas about anything.
Here are some fun ideas to get you started:
- Burritos
- PB&J
- Rainbows
- Pets
- Grilled Cheese
- Taxes
- Friends
- Earth Day
- Stress
- Laundry
Give it try!