Already the ides of April! And it’s National poetry month

See more blackout poetry here!

I love poetry, and this year I’ve started writing it again. Perhaps you’ll see some of it on this very blog one day. While I tinker around reacquainting myself with verse and rhyme, here are some poetry resources, because this month isn’t over yet!

READ

Of course you can read some actual books, 

like IRL. Here are the ones I’m working on.

• Sign up to get a poem a day in your email inbox at Poets.org
• Download The Poetry Foundation’s cool app for your phone or iPad.
• Check Twitter hashtags like #poemaday, #poetry, and #haiku
• Search “poetry” on Tumblr and Pinterest
• Check out Google’s always entertaining poetry search engine, Google Poetics

LISTEN

• There are dozens of poetry podcasts. I especially like these as they all offer a poem or two along with some brief commentary:
• The Poetry Foundation’s Poetry Off the Shelf
• New Yorker Poetry
• Indie Feed

WATCH: Pixels

• YouTube is a great place to see poetry, old and new.
• The Poetry Channel has an eclectic selection
• Button Poetry features a lot of new and exciting stuff
• Try Spoken Verse for more of the classics

WATCH: Live

To find poetry readings, see if there is a local or regional poetry organization where you live. Check out your local college English department, and of course, your local brick-and-mortar bookstores.

If you want to try something more casual, check out a poetry slam. These events often take place in bars. These are a friendly competition where poets read or recite their own original works and are judged by the audience. Energetic and emotional, these are often poems of protest, but anything goes. The form has its detractors (mostly among poets, natch), but I find them vital and fun and think it’s definitely a form worth checking out. Find a listing of poetry slam events here.

PLAY

If you’re feeling flush, check out the gorgeous Elegy for a Dead World game, available for both PC and Mac. I haven’t tried it yet, so here’s a review.

• Complete a poetry madlib over at Language is a Virus
• Or check out this often hilarious Haiku generator
• To play IRL, buy some actual fridge magnets for your actual fridge buy multiple sets. Leave poetic messages for spouses, children and siblings…
• Ohmygosh! There’s a SciFi magnet

WRITE

• Check out these poetry prompts on Tumblr.
• Every April, NaPoWriMo hosts a poetry writing challenge and celebration. Join with other intrepid poets to write a poem a day for a whole month.