National Poetry Writing Month at Ukiah Library

The Ukiah Library will be hosting events for Teens & Adults in April during National Poetry Month:
Poem Cut-Ups (teens), Wednesday, April 5th 2-5pm
Poetry Magnets (teens), Wednesday, April 12th 2-5 pm
Postcard Poems & Mail Art (teens), Wednesday, April 19th 2-5pm
LOBA Open Mic Poetry Series (teens and adults): Saturday, April 28th 3 pm
Into the Wild Poem (Adults & Teens): Saturday, April 29th 11-12 pm

National Poetry Month is the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets marking poetry’s important place in our culture and our lives.

The goals of National Poetry Month are to:

highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets
encourage the reading of poems
assist teachers in bringing poetry into their classrooms
increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media
encourage increased publication and distribution of poetry books, and
encourage support for poets and poetry.

Poem Cut-Ups – Teens will discover how to make poems from a variety of sources, including dictionaries, newspapers, rocks, the mind, & music. We’ll have fun exploring language & syntax through play, as well as cut & paste fragments from other poems.

Poetry Magnets – We’ll make our own magnetic poetry kits to take home.

Registration is required – please call 467-6434 or email carrm@co.mendocino.ca.us to sign up!

Postcard Poems & Mail Art – Teens will learn about the joys of giving & receiving mail art! Using the postcard as a format, teens will draw or paint a visual image on one-side of the pre-stamped postcard, then flip it over and use the reverse side as a form to compose a poem, & finally mail it to a friend or family member.

Into the Wild Poem – Open to both teens and adults, this will be a guided poetry walk through downtown Ukiah. Using various creative writing exercises and methods, we will make poems based on visual & aural observations of our surroundings, chance operations, & play with metrics, rhythm, & cadence to discover where the line breaks take us. Into the Wild Poem will be facilitated by Melissa Eleftherion Carr (MLIS, MFA), author of field guide to autobiography, huminsect, Pigtail Duty, and others.

All poetry events are free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Friends of the Ukiah Valley Library.

Melissa Eleftherion Carr
Teen & Adult Services Librarian/Interim Branch Manager

Ukiah Branch Library
105 N. Main Street, Ukiah CA 95482
carrm@mendocinocounty.org
(707) 467-6434
www.mendolibrary.org