library to celebrate poetry month in April
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on March 12, 2006 2:02 AM
From staff reports
The Wayne County Public Library has scheduled several events in conjunction with National Poetry Month in April.
Most of the activities are geared toward young people, but library patrons of all ages are invited to participate.
Also included among the planned activities is a month-long filming of a poetry video. A traveling camera will film county citizens of various ages reading their favorite poems at home, at work or at school.
The official kick-off for Poetry Month will be Saturday, April 7, when local poets C. Rose Howard and Ayesha Atkinson will read from their works and host a poetry workshop, followed by an open mic session. The event starts at 2 p.m.
On April 8, a movie that either is explicitly about poetry or has poetic themes will be shown, with poem-related activities following until 5 p.m. These activities are designed with teens in mind.
On Saturday, April 22, from 2-5 p.m., the library will hold its second annual "Poetry Slam," during which middle- and high-school students will perform their poems in a competition led by local poet C. K. Goodman. On April 23, there will be an open mic session in Mount Olive at the Steele Memorial Branch of the library.
Some events will last all month long. The library will sponsor a poetry contest open to middle- and high-school students, with the winner earning the distinction of Wayne County's Poet Laureate.
Also during the month, poetry lovers should be on the look-out for "guerilla" poetry books. These are books of poems that will be left in key places around the county and are designed to be read and passed on to someone else.
For details or to volunteer take part in the poetry video, stop by the reference desk at the main branch and ask to speak to Sue Geiger or Brandon Robbins, or call 735-1824, Ext. 5116.