If you’ve been following along here for a while, you might remember that – usually – I celebrate National Poetry Month throughout April along with a few other poetry-loving bloggers. We usually get together to brainstorm topics and poets we want to highlight during April, and then we . . . share poems with all of you, all month long.
Maybe (or maybe not) . . . you’ve noticed that we didn’t do that this month. And now that it’s the last day of April and the official close of National Poetry Month, I thought I’d give you a down-and-dirty explanation of what happened and why we . . . didn’t.
I blame AI.
Because that’s what actually started the whole thing. Just about the time we (the poetry-loving bloggers) and I were finalizing our plans for our April poetry posts, Tom and I went to dinner with some artsy friends. And the conversation turned to AI . . . and the arts . . . and creative ownership . . . and yada yada yada. And that got me thinking about . . . intellectual property and copyright laws and the public domain and the fair use doctrine. Things I’ve known about for a long time, but tend to push to the back of my mind when sharing poems here on my blog. (After all, I reason to myself, I post complete citations when I post poems — which is more than a lot of people do when they post poetry on the Instagrams or their blogs, etc.)
But I knew in my heart of hearts it wasn’t okay.
So the poetry-loving bloggers and I decided to . . . NOT share poetry on our blogs in April this year. Which made us very sad. But there you go. In a world full of corrupt liars and theives and bottom-feeders (and AI), we decided to do the right thing and take the high road. Sigh.
To round out the month, I decided to put out a little Lightning Round post . . . about poetry. Quick questions (I both ask and answer myself) . . . with quick answers. Just for fun. (I shared these questions with the other poetry-loving bloggers. They might take a stab at a Lightning Round, or they might not.)
So.
On with the Lightning Round: Poetry Edition!
When was the first time you remember being moved by a poem? Bonus points if you remember which poem.
I loved rhyme-y, sing-song-y, nonsense poems as a child, but the first poem I really remember “feeling something” when I read it . . . was probably in 7th grade. Desiderata: Words for Life by Max Ehrmann. I had a poster in my room as a teenager. I still love it . . . “You are a child of the universe.”
Favorite nursery rhyme?
Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
Favorite Mary Oliver poem? (Just one…)
The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac (part 3), which you can find in MO’s collection Blue Horses. (If you follow the link to read the poem, scroll down. There’s also a recording of MO reading the poem, which is a true treat.)
Song lyrics: Poetry? Or something else?
Definitely poetry!
Favorite Dr. Seuss book?
Go Dog, Go! (I love the hats. . . )
A poetry collection you’ve read recently?
This month, I read – and loved – Night Owl: Poems by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Absolutely gorgeous writing.
When do find yourself reaching for poetry most often?
In the morning. And sometimes later in the day . . . to calm my soul when I get riled and need to just breathe again, y’know?
How do you keep track of poems you especially like?
In my books that I own (I have a poetry “collection” in my personal library), I fold down corners, use post-it-notes to mark pages, or use any type of “bookmark” I can get my hands on in the moment. I also keep digital versions of poems I love (a list that is always growing) in a file on my laptop.
Favorite movie having to do with poetry?
Bright Star (John Keats. Sigh.)
Which poem are you keeping in your pocket today?
Today is Poem-in-Your-Pocket day . . . and I am keeping Mary Oliver’s poem Today in my pocket. (Click the link and you can read it, too.)
“Today I’m flying low and not saying a word . . . “
— Mary Oliver, Today from A Thousand Mornings, Penguin Press, 2012
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How about you? Play the Lightning Round and let me know your favorites in the comments!
When was the first time you remember being moved by a poem? Bonus points if you remember which poem.
I was making the bed (as an adult in my 30s) and listening to NPR. The poem was A Tale Begun. It’s honestly one of my most vivid memories!
Favorite nursery rhyme?
Ring Around the Rosie because me kids loved the “we all fall down part”.
Favorite Mary Oliver poem?
Wild Geese because it’s the only one I can think of right now.
Song lyrics or poetry?
Song lyrics because some of them are poetry!
Favorite Dr. Seuss book?
The Lorax
A poetry collection you’ve read recently?
Map by Wislawa Szymborska
When do you find yourself reaching for poetry?
Any time!
How do you keep track of poems you like?
By dog-earing pages in books I own, and with folders (both paper and digital). Sometimes post-its on the refrigerator.
What poem is in your pocket?
I’m carrying my Poetry Cootie Catcher in my pocket literally and may ambush a few people with it.
I am only just learning g to love poetry the last few years. I blame my English Lit degree for over examination of poems, making poetry reading feel like a chore. These days, I am reaching for poetry more and more. Now I am off to find a poem to keep in my pocket today.
These are so fun, Kym! (and thank you for including the reasons behind our blog-silence… you said it all so perfectly!) Poetry… the stuff of life that is a must have! I even pulled together a post to share today! XO
My best friend in college passed on her poetry book (Sound and Sense) for the intro lit class. I still have it. Some time that quarter I read Robert Frost’s The Rose Family (yeah, I’m sentimental) and I was a poetry person. My mom would quote songs and poems a lot – I especially remember I’m Nobody (Emily Dickinson).
Did anyone work on the NYT Poetry challenge this time? Here’s a gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/wh-auden-the-more-loving-one-poetry-challenge.html?unlocked_article_code=1.e1A.zBVM.k3aaEXRVmeRP&smid=url-share
I have not had a chance to pull together a post today, but will take a stab at the questions!
Not sure I remember the first time I was “moved” by a poem. I grew up in a house where poetry was read and recited ALL the TIME. And I loved it. My parents and grandparents all recited poetry (some of it quite long) (and some of it in other languages than English) quite a bit. I feel lucky to have grown up surrounded by poetry.
Favorite Nursery rhyme? Don’t really have one, though “London Bridges” springs to mind because I sing it to Iris a lot.
Mary Oliver poem? Oh so hard to choose just one. Perhaps “Wild Geese.”
Song lyrics are definitely poetry.
Dr. Seuss? Not a favorite of mine, but perhaps “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.”
Recently read “Bright Scythe” – a collection of Tomas Transtromer’s poems translated by Patty Crane. Excellent!!
Most often read poetry early morning or before bed.
How to keep track of poems – book marks in my books or copying poems that move me into a notebook (journal of sorts).
A favorite movie about a poet or poetry: “Reaching for the Moon” about Elizabeth Bishop. (available on Netflix I think)
A poem in my pocket? A simple Haiku I read this morning. Soothing and peaceful.
I believe my introduction to poetry (after Dr Seuss, of course) was Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends when I was 9. That beloved branch librarian, Miss Kean (the one who inspired me to become a librarian) handed it to me and I was totally enraptured. I thought poetry had to be serious and here was a whole book of poems that were funny! Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out was my favorite.
I love that there’s a poem to suit any situation, and my poetry library has grown quite a bit thanks to our annual celebration of it. Thanks for helping us Do Better by not sharing poems on our blogs and showing our support for poets and their rights!
My poetry reading career ended with an illustrated copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses (I still have it!) and the ubiquitous and still available on Amazon 101 Poems (or some such) which introduced me to Edna St. Vincent Millay and others which I consumed intensely cover to cover. Those plus what we studied in school (Robert Frost will always be a favorite) make me feel quite satisfied no matter how eloquent modern poetry can be. So sorry, Kym. I must just belong to another era. If someone pops up unexpectedly on my radar I would be so happy to let you know.
It was “One Hundred and One Famous Poems” borrowed from my mother and which I read with an intensity only a teen-ager can muster – hence a tendency to back away from “intense” and embrace “lighthearted.” So still a fan of Dr. Seuss:).
When was the first time you remember being moved by a poem?
I only remember it was college and I bought a book of Poetry called Twelve Moons. I LOVE the moon and I loved the poetry in the book. I still read that same book today (in fact I’ve been reading it this month). I love The Fawn.
Favorite nursery rhyme?
Because it was interactive! London Bridges
Favorite Mary Oliver poem?
Mindful ~ from Why I Wake Early (my favorite collection)
Song lyrics or poetry?
Bob Dylan proves they are one and the same
Favorite Dr. Seuss book?
Green Eggs and Ham was very popular in my house! LOL
A poetry collection you’ve read recently?
Horses by Jake Skeets
When do you find yourself reaching for poetry?
Every day – It wakes my soul.
How do you keep track of poems you like?
Tabs on the page. You should see some of my poetry books. They all have colored tabs like cactus needles! LOL
What poem is in your pocket?
For the last two years the NYT has had a poetry challenge to learn a poem in one week. I learned an Edna St. Vincent Malay poem last year and a W.H. Auden this year! I always have two poems I can recite to myself whenever waiting, walking, falling asleep (like counting sheep) or just for fun!
Looking up at the stars….
When was the first time you remember being moved by a poem? When I was young I would sit on my grandfather’s lap and listen to him as he read poetry and I loved it. The Wreck of the Hesperus was the poem I asked him to read to me over and over again in spite of the fact that it scared the crap out of me, moved me to tears, and left me with powerful images and lots of questions. I think I asked him “Why?” about every stanza of that poem! When I was a little older I loved poems by Robert Frost, especially Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Favorite Nursery Rhyme: Mary Had a Little Lamb
Favorite Mary Oliver Poem: Wild Geese
Song Lyrics or poetry? Most of them are poetry
Favorite Dr. Seuss? To Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street
A poetry collection you’ve read recently: Dog Show by Billy Collins
When do you find yourself reaching for poetry? Most mornings and anytime I’m upset
How do you keep track of poems you like? I have pages marked in my poetry books
A poem in my pocket? At this time of year I think of Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins-“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flyin”