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National Poetry Month, which takes place each April, is a celebration of poetry introduced in 1996 and organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. The Academy of American Poets' website Poets.org serves as a hub for information about local poetry events during the month. The organization also provides free educational resources to teachers for classroom celebrations and activities, and commissions an annual festival poster.[1] Since 1998, National Poetry Month has also been celebrated each April in Canada.[2]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents
History
National Poetry Month was inspired by the success of Black History Month, held each February, and Women's History Month, held in March. In 1995, the Academy of American Poets convened a group of publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary organizations, poets, and teachers to discuss the need and usefulness of a similar monthlong holiday to celebrate poetry.[3] The first National Poetry Month was held in 1996.
In 1998, the Academy of American Poets joined the American Poetry & Literacy Project to distribute 100,000 free books of poetry from New York to California during National Poetry Month. On April 22, President Clinton and the First Lady hosted a gala at the White House that featured Poets Laureate Robert Pinsky, Robert Hass, and Rita Dove.[4]
For National Poetry Month in 2001, the Academy of American Poets invited people to "vote" for poets they most wanted to have a postage stamp. More than 10,000 people cast ballots, with Langston Hughes receiving the most votes. The vote tally was sent to the United States Postal Service, which issued a Langston Hughes stamp in January 2002.[4]
On April 5, 2005 the Empire State Building was illuminated with blue lights to mark the 10th anniversary of National Poetry Month.[4]
In 2006, the Academy of American Poets launched Poem-a-Day, publishing one new poem on its website Poets.org each day during the month-long celebration. Poem-a-Day is now a daily, year-long series, which has been syndicated by King Features.[5]
In 2012, the Academy of American Poets launched the Dear Poet project, which invites students to read and write poems during National Poetry Month, some of which are published on Poets.org. The project is accompanied by a lesson plan offered to K-12 teachers for free.[6]
Each year, a special poster is commissioned by the Academy of American Poets for National Poetry Month, with almost 150,000 copies distributed to schools, libraries, and community centers for free. In the past, posters have been designed by noted graphic designers such as Chip Kidd and Milton Glaser. The 2015 National Poetry Month poster has been designed by New Yorker illustrator Roz Chast.[7]
Numerous books and poetry compilations have been published acknowledging National Poetry Month, such as The Knopf National Poetry Month Collection by Random House and Celebrating National Poetry Month by children's book author and poet Bruce Larkin.
Purpose
Like Black History Month, the celebration of poetry each April has grown and established itself organically, in both official and unofficial ways. Each year, publishers, booksellers, educators and literary organizations use April to promote poetry: publishers often release and publicize their poetry titles in April, teachers and librarians focus on poetry units during the month; and bookstores and reading series frequently hold special readings. National Poetry Writing Month encourages writing a poem a day in celebration.
Proclamations
In a proclamation issued on April 1, 1996, President Bill Clinton declared: "National Poetry Month offers us a welcome opportunity to celebrate not only the unsurpassed body of literature produced by our poets in the past, but also the vitality and diversity of voices reflected in the works of today's American poetry….Their creativity and wealth of language enrich our culture and inspire a new generation of Americans to learn the power of reading and writing at its best."[8] In addition, similar official National Poetry Month proclamation have been issued by mayors from towns and cities across the country, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tucson, and Washington, D.C.[9]
Poetry & the Creative Mind
In 2002, the Academy organized the first Poetry & the Creative Mind gala to raise funds in support of National Poetry Month, and it has become an annual event. Each year the Academy invites some of America’s leading artists, scholars, and public figures to read their favorite poems. Hosted each year by the two-time Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, the event has featured readings by Liam Neeson, Tony Kushner, Maya Lin, Sam Waterston, Suzan-Lori Parks, Minnie Driver, Dan Rather, Agnes Gund, Frank Rich, Diane von Fürstenberg, Wynton Marsalis, Alan Alda, Wendy Whelan, Mike Wallace, Dianne Wiest, Oliver Sacks, Gloria Vanderbilt, William Wegman, and Christopher Durang, among others.[10]
Debate
National Poetry Month has also sparked some debate among writers, most notably in 1999 from poet and academic Charles Bernstein.[11] Critics suggest that National Poetry Month trivializes the art form and floods the market with books in a matter of just a few weeks, overwhelming readers.
International recurring celebrations
National Poetry Day,[12] founded in 1994 by William Sieghart, is celebrated on the first or second Thursday of October in the United Kingdom; this has become an established fixture in the cultural calendar. Events take place in schools, pubs, arts centres, bookshops, libraries, buses, trains and Women’s Institutes, and the day is the focus for media attention for poetry. National Poetry Day is co-ordinated by the Forward Arts Foundation (a registered charity), which also runs the Forward Prizes for Poetry. A theme is chosen in consultation with the National Poetry Day partners: in 2015, National Poetry Day falls on October 8 and the theme is Light.
Since 1999, National Poetry Month has been celebrated each April in Canada, where it is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets and organized around a different annual theme.[13]
In 1999, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared March 21 to be World Poetry Day. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements."
In the United Kingdom the festival “October is National Poetry Month” was founded in 2000 by Celtic bard Jim MacCool[14] and was adopted by the Birmingham-based Performance Poetry Society that same year. From makeshift beginnings, National Poetry Month has been exploited by primary and secondary schools, colleges of further education, public library services, the prison estate, and to a lesser extent, more localised festivals. Professional poets appear in all corners of the United Kingdom under the aegis of the Performance Poetry Society, which co-ordinates a proportion of their efforts and ensures that they are paid a normal rate for their appearances.
On October 8, 2009, the BBC announced on National Poetry Day the results of its poll to find the nation's favourite poet. The winner was T. S. Eliot, followed by John Donne, Benjamin Zephaniah, Wilfred Owen and Philip Larkin (in that order).
Notes
- http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/home
- http://poets.ca/programs-2/reading-programs/national-poetry-month/
- Lund, Elizabeth "Poetry's Underpraised Promoters" Christian Science Monitor (June 13, 2005). Accessed 2007-02-12.
- National Poetry Month History & Highlights Poets.org. Accessed 2007-02-12.
- http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/poem-a-day/
- http://www.writersforum.org/news_and_reviews/newsroom.html/article/2013/03/22/academy-of-american-poets-launches-dear-poet-student-letter-writing-project-
- http://www.bookweb.org/news/btw-news-briefs-515
- http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/national-poetry-month-proclamations/
- http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/national-poetry-month-proclamations
- http://www.poets.org/academy-american-poets/programs/poetry-creative-mind
- Bernstein, Charles "Against National Poetry Month As Such" University of Chicago Press (April 1999). Accessed 2007-02-12.
- National Poetry Day
- Canadian National Poetry Month The League of Canadian Poets. Accessed 2012-04-08.
- Rainy Day Poems A collection of classic poems and modern poetry books
- National Poetry Month at the Academy of American Poets website
- Against National Poetry Month As Such, essay by Charles Bernstein
- Library of Congress - National Poetry Month
- Article about Canada's National Poetry Month, April 2, 2008.
- National Poetry Month Events in Chicago
- Rhode Island College LibGuide - National Poetry Month
- Haiku inspired by Ito Jakuchu's Colorful Realm of Living Beings, April 2012
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
National Poetry Month
Saturday, 4 March 2017
SUNSET & SILHOUETTE - WITH Victor Adewale
Victor Adéwálé : This
concert is so important to me. It will be a totally expressive one,
featuring everything that I have buried in my soul. The songs that I
have written, the poetry that is forming, and all of my silhouette
photos will be exhibited.
Live music featuring me with the best live band in Nigeria
The date will be announced once the number of audience I want is complete. The venue will be a small convenient hall that will be just large enough to contain 30 people who believe in my art.
For sponsorship/ support, or to reserve a seat, Check the flyer below.
.
P.S: We are looking for people to dash us money and people that can give us media support/hype. #SunsetAndSilhouette #Poetry #Music #Photography
R-O-W-E MARCH 2017 EDITION
ROWE.
Thursday. March 9.
Freedom Park.
7-10pm...
Edaoto and The Afrogenius
Band cordially invite you to an evening of scintillating music!
Your
seat is already reserved!!
Sunday, 26 February 2017
CALL FOR SUBMISSION OF POETICALLY WRITTEN PROSE WORKS
Writing poetry is naturally our first love but engaging same as a purveyor for the enhancement of creativity in diverse ways, is a passion that has necessitated the birth of Glass Door Concepts, an initiative of Eriata Oribhabor, Poet, Author of Crossroads & The Rubicon and President, Poets in Nigeria. This call is specifically to encourage writers from Nigeria who have what it takes to write enchanting prose works embellished with poetic devices in what is being tagged, 'POETICALLY WRITTEN PROSE'
Prizes:
1st Prize - N15,000
2nd Prize - N10,000
3rd Prize - N5,000
2nd Prize - N10,000
3rd Prize - N5,000
Guidelines to submission:
• No specific theme
• Word count (300-500words)
• Entries should be pasted in body of mail. (Attachments are not allowed)
•Submissions should be titled "POETICALLY WRITTEN PROSE"
•One entry per participant
• Submissions should include brief bio (with photo and contact details/Tel phone)
•All entries must be original works of authors and not previously published. If found otherwise, it will be rendered as void.
Note: Submission of entry is an explicit approval for Glass Door Concepts to use work as may deem appropriate. Authors would be duly referenced.
• Word count (300-500words)
• Entries should be pasted in body of mail. (Attachments are not allowed)
•Submissions should be titled "POETICALLY WRITTEN PROSE"
•One entry per participant
• Submissions should include brief bio (with photo and contact details/Tel phone)
•All entries must be original works of authors and not previously published. If found otherwise, it will be rendered as void.
Note: Submission of entry is an explicit approval for Glass Door Concepts to use work as may deem appropriate. Authors would be duly referenced.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION
All entries should be forwarded to glassdoorconcepts@gmail.co
Moderator:
Bliss Akinyemi (MiCiBlissy)
For: Glass Door Concepts
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Thursday, 16 February 2017
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: NIGERIAN STUDENTS POETRY PRIZE 2017
Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP) is an initiative of Poets in
Nigeria (PIN) designed to stimulate creativity, promote literary
excellence and broaden the concept of intellectualism among Nigerian
undergraduates in Nigeria and the Diaspora. Unarguably the nation’s
foremost poetry platform for students, the maiden edition of the prize was inaugurated in 2016 and received 320 entries from 64 tertiary institutions.
The 2nd edition of the prize opens to submissions between 16th February, 2017 and 15th April, 2017. Winners will be announced exactly a month thereafter.
Aside rewarding top three entrants who also double as prize winners with a total cash prize of ₦200,000, the top 100 entrants will be published in a globally distributed eBook.
PRIZE
1st Prize Winner – ₦100,000
2nd Prize Winner – ₦60,000
3rd Prize Winner – ₦40,000
NSPP now rewards the top three entrants with a cash prize of ₦200,000 as against the initial ₦180,000 shared by Noah Oladele (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State), Chinelo Nwangwu (University of Ibadan, Oyo State) and Chisom Okafor (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State) – winners of the maiden edition.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
• Open to Nigerian undergraduates irrespective of location.
• Entries submitted must be previously unpublished. A submission discovered to have defaulted on this rule will be automatically voided (inclusive of winners).
• Poems must be original, intellectual property of the entrants.
• There are no fixed themes.
• An entrant is entitled to a single entry of limitless word count.
• Under no condition will the judges’ decision be challenged.
• Entering for the contest gives PIN automatic right to make use of entries as deemed appropriate.
• Entries must be written in English. Native terminologies must be translated in English as footnotes.
• Entrants should subscribe to www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng for regular updates.
Submit here ---> http://nspp2017.tk/apply
For enquiries, contact the moderator – 07034847164.
Submission Deadline: 15th April, 2017
Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom
Moderator, NSPP 2017
The 2nd edition of the prize opens to submissions between 16th February, 2017 and 15th April, 2017. Winners will be announced exactly a month thereafter.
Aside rewarding top three entrants who also double as prize winners with a total cash prize of ₦200,000, the top 100 entrants will be published in a globally distributed eBook.
PRIZE
1st Prize Winner – ₦100,000
2nd Prize Winner – ₦60,000
3rd Prize Winner – ₦40,000
NSPP now rewards the top three entrants with a cash prize of ₦200,000 as against the initial ₦180,000 shared by Noah Oladele (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State), Chinelo Nwangwu (University of Ibadan, Oyo State) and Chisom Okafor (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State) – winners of the maiden edition.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
• Open to Nigerian undergraduates irrespective of location.
• Entries submitted must be previously unpublished. A submission discovered to have defaulted on this rule will be automatically voided (inclusive of winners).
• Poems must be original, intellectual property of the entrants.
• There are no fixed themes.
• An entrant is entitled to a single entry of limitless word count.
• Under no condition will the judges’ decision be challenged.
• Entering for the contest gives PIN automatic right to make use of entries as deemed appropriate.
• Entries must be written in English. Native terminologies must be translated in English as footnotes.
• Entrants should subscribe to www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng for regular updates.
Submit here ---> http://nspp2017.tk/apply
For enquiries, contact the moderator – 07034847164.
Submission Deadline: 15th April, 2017
Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom
Moderator, NSPP 2017
Saturday, 11 February 2017
CALL FOR SUBMISSION: CHILD HERO STORY CONTEST & FILM PROJECT (II)
The CHILD HERO STORY COMPETITION & FILM PROJECT is a Peregrine Reads initiative under the auspices of the Child Hero Empowerment Campaign founded by Chinonye J. Chidolue, aimed at consciously spurring the minds of the public with the harsh socio-economic and psychological factors that affect the orphaned children in the society on a daily basis.
Following the thriving completion of its maiden edition, which had the winning story by Elemide Benjamin produced as a film and still sustains television showcase till date, the CHILD HERO dream has grown bigger, giving birth to more projects which fruitfully spanned across the year 2016, touching the lives of the orphaned children in the society, one orphanage/disabled home after another.
It’s here again. Bigger. And better!
The
CHILD HERO EMPOWERMENT CAMPAIGN is calling out to all heroes of
children to participate in the 2nd Edition of her Story contest &
Film Project, themed: ‘ORPHANS - QUEST FOR IDENTITY’
The 2nd edition of the CHILD HERO Film Project seeks to raise an increased awareness and visibility of the varying issues and challenges faced by the orphaned and vulnerable children in Nigeria through filmmaking. Hence, submitted stories should ideally meet all or some of the following criteria:
- Expose the societal disregard of the emotional trauma embedded in the heart of the orphaned child.
- Review orphanages in Nigeria (Investigating the wellbeing of the orphaned children through the caretakers of the home) and preferring solutions to the discovered issues.
- Address the need for empowerment and education of the orphaned & vulnerable children (OVC) beyond freewill gifts.
- Review orphanages in Nigeria (Investigating the wellbeing of the orphaned children through the caretakers of the home) and preferring solutions to the discovered issues.
- Address the need for empowerment and education of the orphaned & vulnerable children (OVC) beyond freewill gifts.
- Address the segregation issues and societal neglect of the dreams and hopes of the orphaned child through the misdirection of our individual responsibilities towards their core needs.
- Portray the orphaned and vulnerable children in a positive context by exposing a unique disability in them, their point of challenges and their dream fulfillment.
• Participant MUST be the certified owner of the submitted piece of work. Previously submitted works in the 1st edition will NOT be accepted.
• Submissions must be in E-mailed in Microsoft Word format.
• Submission should come with the subject– “CHILD HERO STORY CONTEST (2)” next to the title of your submission.
• Major characters in story should not exceed (5) and could be less.
• World limit of story should be between 2,500 to 6,000 words.
• The theme for the contest only serves as a guide. Writers can give their stories their own unique titles. Titles however MAY be changed during the film production for suitability.
• Submissions should be sent to peregrine.reads@gmail.com
• Participants should include the following in their submission: A photograph, Name, Location, Social Network Names (If Any) and Telephone number.
CONTEST/ FILM PROJECT CONDITIONS:
• Contest is open to ALL ages and nationality (especially Nigeria)
• Submitted stories are solely for the purposes of the Child Hero story contest & Film project
• Shortlisted winning story will be filmed by Peregrine production team and the 1st runner up will be rewarded the sum of N25,000.00 Cash Prize.
• All competing writers agree that if their stories win, it will be screenplayed and produced by the PEREGRINE PRODUCTION team and may therefore be revised and reworked on to better meet the necessities required for the film project.
• Copyright of the film when produced with the winning script belongs to PEREGRINE FILM HOUSE & the CHILD HERO EMPOWERMENT CAMPAIGN.
• The winner WILL be given due credit on the film when produced.
• Stories that either were not shortlisted for the contest or as the winning story will not be used by PEREGRINE FILM HOUSE for any other purpose whatsoever, without the agreement of the owner.
• By submitting your story to this competition, you agree that if your story is selected as the winning story, it proceeds automatically to the film production stage. This means that you CANNOT pull your story out after the contest.
• Contest is open to ALL ages and nationality (especially Nigeria)
• Submitted stories are solely for the purposes of the Child Hero story contest & Film project
• Shortlisted winning story will be filmed by Peregrine production team and the 1st runner up will be rewarded the sum of N25,000.00 Cash Prize.
• All competing writers agree that if their stories win, it will be screenplayed and produced by the PEREGRINE PRODUCTION team and may therefore be revised and reworked on to better meet the necessities required for the film project.
• Copyright of the film when produced with the winning script belongs to PEREGRINE FILM HOUSE & the CHILD HERO EMPOWERMENT CAMPAIGN.
• The winner WILL be given due credit on the film when produced.
• Stories that either were not shortlisted for the contest or as the winning story will not be used by PEREGRINE FILM HOUSE for any other purpose whatsoever, without the agreement of the owner.
• By submitting your story to this competition, you agree that if your story is selected as the winning story, it proceeds automatically to the film production stage. This means that you CANNOT pull your story out after the contest.
• Selected stories will be judged strictly by a four panel of judges who will critically access the works and select the winner based on the clearly defined criteria.
• The selected choice stories from the contest will consist of a winner and a 1st runner up
• The winner will be selected by the judges while the 1st runner up will be determined by the most appreciated work by the public on the comment section.
• ALL submitted stories for the contest WILL be given due credit for their works.
• Submissions begin today and ends on the 25th of February, 2017 and contest officially kicks off on the blog on the 1st of March, 2017.
Link to watch the 1st Child Hero Film Project ‘CHILDREN OF THE STREETS’ ( Produced by Chinonye J. Chidolue & Directed by Wole Ajetomobi) - https://youtu.be/9-onsXoRxTo
"Greatness isn't worldly fame and success. Laying humble service for humanity's best is true greatness.” ― Chinonye J. Chidolue
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