3 ways to get creative during National Poetry Month
The Public Library of Youngstown wants the community to get more poetic this April for National Poetry Month.
On Tuesday, there was already a poetry writing workshop for kids and adults at the Boardman branch and a haiku-writing hangout at the Newport branch.
“The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County (PLYMC) celebrates National Poetry Month as a time to turn our attention toward the art of poetry,” said Maggie Henderson, PLYMC Strategic Communications Officer. “We encourage patrons to explore our collection to catch up with their favorite poets and to discover some new favorite artists, too.”
Blackout Poetry Contest
Every year, the library invites students in grades 7 through 12 to create prose using the blackout method.
Any page from a novel or magazine article can be transformed using this writing technique.
Students use a black marker to get rid of unwanted words in paragraphs, leaving only a handful uncovered. Then these words are read together as a new line of poetry.
Then students rewrite the words that are left and will be entered into a contest. The deadline to send in your poem is April 30.
Three will be chosen for a cash prize and get posted on the library’s website.
Here are more events to celebrate writing poetry this month:
Teen Poetry Night
6-7 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, at the main branch.
Teenagers in grades 7 through 12 will have time to write their poems in a relaxed environment while enjoying light refreshments. Sharing poems is optional; creativity is required!
Food for Thought Book Discussion
5-6 p.m. on Thursday, April 13, at the main branch.
Join Lit Youngstown readers in a discussion of a wide variety of genres--novel, memoir, essay, nonfiction, poetry, and biography on the second Thursday of each month. This month’s book All That She Carried, by Tiya Miles received the National Book Award.
Poet Support Group
4-5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, at the Newport Library.
Attention, poets! Relax, read poems, hang out, write, and brainstorm together! This National Poetry Month, poets are invited to Newport Library to share some of the poems they are working on that you would like feedback on.
Registration is required for all events.
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This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 5:00 AM.