Whether you're looking to celebrate National Poetry Month during April or throughout the year, we have plenty of resources to help you get started on your poetic journey.
Websites/Organizations
Poetry Foundation (poems, videos, audio recordings, info about poets, podcasts, lectures, events
O, Miami (super cool and creative example of how a city celebrates poetry in April)
Dodge Poetry Foundation (awesome New Jersey-based poetry festival that also has a lot of great online resources for teachers; focuses on BIPOC poets)
AWP (amazing organization that hosts an annual conference for poets & writers, hosts workshops, curates information about MFA programs)
Split This Rock (poetry organization that encourages social engagement; hosts festivals, workshops, programs; website includes a poetry database)
MFA programs (AWP's guide to writing programs; we could also do some wider content on MFA programs in general)
Cave Canem - "the major watering hole / and air pocket for black poetry"
Local Resources:
Midwest Poets Series (a poetry reading series, hosted by Rockhurst, that is currently being offered virtually)
The Writers Place (a local nonprofit resource for writers; they host readings and workshops)
UMKC Creative Writing Program (a world class graduate program for poetry, fiction, non-fiction, screenwriting, and playwriting)
Poetry Writing Prompts:
Write a piece based on/inspired by a particular letter of the alphabet. Is there a particular letter that you love, or is there one that haunts you?
Research a fairytale and write a new imagining of it.
Write a poem/piece from the voice of an ancestor, or as a dialogue with an ancestor. It could be a literal ancestor, or someone you aren't related to, but with whom you feel a connection.
Take a line from a song/poem/piece of fiction and make it your title. Write a new piece based on that title.
Choose a small town you’ve visited and loved, and write a piece inspired by it.
Research poetic forms (the sonnet, villanelle, haiku, ghazal) and write a poem inspired by a form you've never explored before.
Carry a notebook and pay attention to the words all around you (on commercials, cereal boxes, street signs, websites). Collect interesting words in your notebook, and use them to build a word bank. Create a new poem based on the words you find.
Write an ode to your favorite place in Kansas City. It could be a park, or your favorite neighborhood, restaurant, cafe, popcorn stand, stadium, library branch. Explore the sights, sounds, tastes, feel and smell of the place.