April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate the occasion, libraries across Atlanta are hosting a broad selection of virtual and in-person events. Librarians at several branches of the Dekalb County Public Library system have organized their own poetry-oriented programs for local residents to enjoy, ranging from hands-on crafts to songwriting. Here are some activities for Atlantans looking to leap into this lyrical avocation.
Haiku Poetry Contest — Doraville Library
The Doraville Library is hosting a poetry contest centered around writing haiku, with separate divisions for children, teenagers and adults. Participants must follow the proper format while writing their haiku — the first and third lines must be made up of five syllables, while the second must made up of seven — and should write about something they miss from before the pandemic, the city of Atlanta or their love of literature and poetry. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded for each division at the end of the month. According to Doraville librarian Joanne Lancaster, the purpose of the contest is to increase awareness and encourage individuals to keep the art of poetry alive in their own lives. “Poetry seems to have taken a back seat,” says Lancaster. “So we bring it up to the front and say, ‘Hey, you can do this, too!’” All materials are due April 30 and can be submitted at the library’s circulation desk or online.
Blackout Poetry — Stone Mountain Library
According to Heather Lewis, an adult services librarian, the Stone Mountain branch offers more of an “artistic poetry exercise.” The blackout poetry event, which will take place each Monday in April, allows participants to draw inspiration from famous literary works that have fallen into the public domain, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Participants are encouraged to cover up large portions of their selected piece to create unique and abstract poetry. “You can either do it with artwork, or you can blackout parts to make a poem out of the words that are in [the famous piece],” says Lewis. Stone Mountain Library also offers a book bundle, which is a selection of recommended works that coincide with a monthly theme. April’s theme is poetry, so be sure to check out this month’s book bundle if you are interested in building your literacy in the genre.
Redan-Trotti Library
There are also options for those who want to practice poetry through a cross-genre approach. The Redan-Trotti Library is hosting an in-person, outdoor Redan Writers Group on April 9 that will focus on poetry as it applies to music. Attendants will listen to a musical selection and then write their own lyrics to accompany it, focusing on rhythm and syllabic stress. “A lot of people tend to think, ‘I don’t ever read poetry,’ but then they know the words of every song,” says Martin Bennett, a librarian and coordinator for the event. “In a way, they do read poetry.” This session is inspired by the works of Scottish poet Robert Burns, who deliberately considered how his poems would interact with music while writing them. The Redan Writers Group meets regularly and is intended for adults.