Rita Aiken Mortiz shares some of her favorite poetry books for National Poetry Month. Photo by Rita Moritz

Since I am Alabama’s 2017 Poet of the Year, I hate to admit that I hated studying poetry in high school! It was dry, outdated, and…well, it was just boring. (Did I just hear a crash of thunder?) Although I wrote poetry myself, it wasn’t anything like high school or college poetry. No “thees” or “thous” and not one verb that ended in “eth.”

No wonder poetry fell out of favor for a long time. Who wanted to read that stuff? Well, the Academy of American Poets wanted to change that perception, and they set out to do it. That group of poets wanted to see poetry recognized, appreciated and read. And they succeeded. That’s what led them to advocate for National Poetry Month.

April is National Poetry Month, and it’s been celebrated every April for more than 20 years. It started when The Academy of American Poets brought together a group of booksellers, librarians and other literary groups to discuss the need for a month each year to celebrate poetry, according to “Poetry’s Underpraised Promoters” written by Elizabeth Lund and published in the Christian Science Monitor.

This group of literary leaders gave birth to National Poetry Month, with the first National Poetry Month being celebrated in 1996.

National Poetry Month has been celebrated over the years in almost every way you could think of from The Academy of American Poets distributing hundreds of poetry books to schools to having an April gala at the White House 1998 with three Poets Laureate in attendance. In 2005, the Empire State Building was even lit up in honor of the tenth year of National Poetry Month.

Poetry has changed and evolved over the years into something rich, vibrant and alive. That evolution included exchanging the stilted, awkward word usage that made us dread English Lit 201 for today’s language. If you haven’t read any poetry lately, pick up a book or visit poets.org or Google “poetry” to find some modern poems and poets.

After seeing poetry’s decline in popularity until it was almost in obscurity, I’m delighted to see such a rise in popularity. Poetry groups are popping up everywhere, there are scores of legitimate contests, and young people are showing interest in everything from rhyming poetry to performance poetry. And it’s a change for the better.

If you’d like to celebrate National Poetry Month, there are several ways you can do that. The Birmingham Library sponsors the Gifts of a Wordsmith group, which meets twice monthly. One is on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m., and the other is the third Saturday of each month at 3:30 p.m. You could visit Pell City’s Writers Anonymous, which meets the first Thursday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Pell City Recreation Hall (411 19th Street South). Even if you don’t write poetry yourself, you’ll enjoy hearing the poets read their creations.  

You might want to go by the Pell City Library and look through the large collection of poetry books, which were originally the private collection of Ralph Hammond, one of Alabama’s Poets Laureate and the author of 37 books. They were donated to the Pell City Library by Joe Whitten, acting on behalf of the Alabama State Poetry Society.

If you’re wondering about which poets to read, my own local favorites include: Sue Brannan Walker, who is one of our own Alabama Poets Laureate, Urainah Glidewell, Joe Whitten, Barry Marks, and Robert Bly. My hands down favorite poet is Billy Collins. How can you not love his simple words about life and living it to the fullest?

So, find a way to celebrate National Poetry Month this April. You don’t really need to “hug a poet,” but there are plenty of ways for you to get connected with poetry and the people who write it. I’m pretty sure you’ll be glad you did.

Why Poetry?

Rita Aiken Moritz

To touch some hearts with magic and a smile

so they forget their troubles for a while.

To laugh, to be a child again, to play.

To weave, with words, a rug to fly away.

To say some words that set a spirit free.

That’s what writing poetry means to me.

To touch a memory that brings a tear

and let the hurting one feel someone near.

To speak of pain and loss and great despair

and let the reader know there’s one to care.

To speak out for what’s right, though none agree.

That’s what writing poetry means to me.

It matters not at all what style I choose,

of rhyme or free verse, if the words I use

can touch a troubled soul and bring some light,

some comfort or some laughter in the night.

The heart a padlocked door, my words the key.

That’s what writing poetry means to me.