Origin of National Poetry Month
The Academy of American Poets started National Poetry Month in April of 1996. The website states “National Poetry Month reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters.”
Free poster, poem-a-day, and interactive opportunity for students
The Academy website is poets.org. One of the services they offer is a subscription to a Poem-a-Day which sends a new poem by a contemporary poet to your email box each day. Sign up on their website to take advantage of this opportunity. The Academy also offers free resources such as the National Poetry Month poster, student activities,
Another interesting opportunity from The Academy of American Poets is their project DEAR POET. This project is open to fifth to twelfth grade students. After watching videos of poets and reading poems written by the chosen authors, students write to the featured poets.
Resources from the Poetry Foundation
Established in 2003 by a gift from Ruth Lilly, this foundation publishes Poetry magazine. The website features a section for younger students (grades 0-12), teens ages 13-18, and educators. There is also an adult portion. There are many videos available. This includes a video on World War I Poems. Click here to visit the Poetry Foundation website.
The Foundation also features a well-developed glossary of poetic terms. 247 terms are defined. Click here to be directed to this comprehensive glossary. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms
Celebrities Reading Poems
A video of celebrities reading classic poems can be found here. Below you will find a list of poems and the celebrity who will be reading in the video.
00:09 Sean Connery – Ithaca – Cavafy 00:41 Morgan Freeman – Invictus – Henley 01:13 James Spader – Invictus – Henley 01:40 Jeremy Irons – Daffodils – Wordsworth 02:35 Dennis Hopper – If – Kipling 02:54 Pierce Brosnan – If – Kipling 03:29 Kevin Spacey – If – Kipling 04:04 Michael Caine – If – Kipling 04:35 Michael Caine – Do not got gentle into that good night – Thomas 05:02 Jonathan Pryce – Do not got gentle into that good night – Thomas 05:26 Mathew McConaughey – Do not got gentle into that good night – Thomas 05:40 Anthony Hopkins – Do not got gentle into that good night – Thomas 06:04 Anthony Hopkins – The cloths of heaven – Yeats 06:20 Sean Bean – The cloths of heaven – Yeats 06:35 Christopher Plummer – Brown Penny – Yeats 07:31 Colin Farrell – When you are old – Yeats 07:52 Cillian Murphy – When you are old – Yeats 08:29 Michael Gambon – The song of wandering Angus – Yeats 09:58 Sean Bean – Anthem for doomed youth – Owen 10:54 Brian Cox – Ae fond kiss – Burns 11:57 Alan Rickman – The long war – Lee 12:48 Alan Rickman – Sonnet 130 – Shakespeare 13:53 Emma Thompson – Sigh no more, ladies – Shakespeare 14:47 Al Pacino – Sonnet 18 – Shakespeare 15:22 Tom Hiddleston – Sonnet 18 – Shakespeare 15:49 Kelsey Grammer – St Crispin’s Day – Shakespeare 16:14 Kelsey Grammer – Ulysses – Tennyson 16:31 Judi Dench – Ulysses – Tennyson 16:50 Liam Neeson – Diggin – Heaney 17:11 Liam Neeson – The Follower – Heaney 17:36 Patrick Stewart – Autumn – Clare 18:29 Robin Williams – O me! O life! – Whitman 18:58 Robin Williams – One hundred love sonnets: XVII –Neruda 19:33 Ian McKellen – La vita Nuova xxvi – Alighieri 19:58 Ian McKellen – She walks in beauty – Byron 20:11 Rupert Everett – Love and death – Byron 21:05 Meryl Streep – In vain – Dickinson 22:01 Lawrence Fishburne – As freedom is a breakfastfood – Cummings 23:13 John Hurt – Jabberwocky – Carroll 24:25 Leonard Nimoy – Desiderata – Ehrmann 25:20 Benedict Cumberbatch – Ode to a nightingale – Keats 26:30 Stephen Fry – Ode to a nightingale – Keats 27:46 Whoopi Goldberg – If you have to dry the dishes – Silverstein 28:04 Robert Deniro – 1 Corinthians 13 – St Paul 28:57 Idris Elba – London – Blake 29:39 Gregory Peck – Unending love – Tagore 30:56 Bryan Cranston – Ozymandias – Shelley 31:56 James Earl Jones – The Raven – Poe 32:24 Christopher Walken – The Raven – Poe 32:52 Willem Dafoe – The Raven – Poe 33:13 Christopher Walken – The Raven – Poe 33:39 Christopher Lee – The Raven – Poe 34:38 William Shatner – The Raven – Poe 35:46 Vincent Price – The Raven – Poe 36:45 James Earl Jones – The Raven – Poe 37:08 Sean Connery – Ithaca – Cavafy
Digital Poetry Construction from Poetry Machine
There are MANY choices for writing poetry using Poetry Machine. Click here to be redirected to a great resource for students to write poetry on their devices. There are 48 choices for students which allows students to try a variety of forms and experience the motivation of self-selection.