Reading Central : Poetry
International Haiku Poetry Day – April 17, 2022
A haiku is an ancient form of Japanese poetry which dates back more than 1,200 years. A haiku consists of three lines with the syllable structure “five-seven-five” — although this is contested for being a western way of teaching the haiku. Japanese haikus also count sounds, not only syllables.
Haikus typically revolve around nature, the passing of seasons, or ephemeral beauty.
This page shares the history and ways to share haiku.
Poem in Your Pocket Day takes place every year on a day in National Poetry Month. Poem in Your Pocket Day 2022 will take place on April 29th.
What is Poem in Your Pocket Day?
Poem in Your Pocket Day was initiated in 2002 by New York City. By 2008 the Academy of American Poets brought this to all 50 U.S. states. And in 2016 the League of Canadian Poets brought it to Canada.
Download Poems for Your Pocket
Join the celebration by printing one of the following poems from our downloadable Poem in Your Pocket Day PDF for 2021, which includes a free guide for celebrating in your school, community, or business.
Poetry Resources for Classrooms & Libraries
Poetry Lessons from 826 Digital: 826 digital is a nonprofit project that champions student writing. It includes high interest poetry prompts, lessons, and mini-lessons, as well as student writing samples. Notable writers like Amanda Gorman (Youth Poet Laureate), and Jason Reynolds (Young People’s Literature Ambassador), have contributed to the content.
Poetry for Teens at Poetry.org: The Academy of American Poets has curated themed lists of poems for teens and interviews/essays offering advice for young poets.
Read, Write, Think: NCTE shares a variety of resources to share/teach poetry
NYT Poetry Teaching Archive: Includes lessons, poems, activity ideas and resources
Poetry Out Loud: An easily searchable and well-referenced guide to poems from the Poetry Out Loud contest
Fibonacci Poems: Who doesn’t love a formula??
The Universe in Verse: A charitable celebration of the wonder of reality through stories of science winged with poetry. Highlights from the live show and individual episodes of the animated season can be seen here. Animation by notable illustrators. Poems narrated by actors, musicians, etc.
April is National Poetry Month
Subscribe to "A Poem a Day"
Each April, the Academy offers activities, initiatives, and resources so that anyone can join in online and at home and—hopefully—find comfort, resilience, and connection throughout the month of April and beyond:
- Order and display the official 2022 National Poetry Month poster
- Read about 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month online and at home
- Read about 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month in the virtual classroom
- Join the Academy of American Poets for its first-ever virtual Poetry & the Creative Mind gala on April 29
- Find virtual poetry readings and events on our Poetry Near You calendar, and add your own online events
- Participate in the 2022 Dear Poet Project by May 1, 2022
- Sign up for Poem-a-Day and enjoy a free daily poem in your inbox
- Follow the thousands of celebrations taking place on social media with the official hashtag #NationalPoetryMonth and follow the Academy of American Poets on Twitter @POETSorg
- Share a #pocketpoem on Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 29
This website has poetry examples and generators for everything from MadLib Poetry, Concrete, Exquisite Corpse, Haiku, writing games, text manipulation, etc.
Have some fun writing poetry!
- Language is a Virus Enjoy the writing process with this web page that contiains: writing prompts, games, exercises, techniques, and poetry. Read about the life and writing process of poets and authors.
Play with Friends and Family Online
A Concrete Poem is a poem that is written in a way that the text forms the subject of the poem. It is sometime called "shape" poetry.
SoftSchools.com has definitions and examples.
Playful Poetry has examples, links, and suggestions to create your own poetry.
This may be the oldest example of Pattern Poetry an ancient example of shape poetry. Read about this example and watch the video showing how they cracked the code to decipher this poem.
