April may be, as T.S. Eliot called it, “the cruelest month,” but it is officially National Poetry Month, designed to honor poetry’s vital role in our culture. We have been celebrating National Poetry Month in April through poetry readings, Poem in Your Pocket Day, and school poetry contests since its founding by the Academy of American Poets 30 years ago.
Around the Island, there are many wonderful “April Is Poetry Month” events for you to enjoy.
Aquinnah
On Saturday, April 11, from 2:30 to 3:30 pm, the Aquinnah library will be hosting an informal reading of favorite verses, called Poetry Circle. All are invited. Come and read a poem you love, one of your own perhaps, or come and just sit and listen. Poetry Circle is free, and there will be delicious refreshments.
In April, poet Ron Slate will publish a new edition of “On the Seawall,” an online gallery of new writing, art, and commentary. Slate also curates and hosts the Pathways Arts “Poetry and Prose Nights” every Tuesday at the Chilmark Tavern, from 7:30 to 9 pm.
Chilmark
The Chilmark library will be celebrating Poetry Month with a community reading on Wednesday, April 22nd, 4 to 5:30 pm, hosted by Claudia Taylor, Martha’s Vineyard poet laureate. All are welcome to read their own work, recite a favorite poem, or simply come to listen. To sign up to be a reader, or for more information, please check out the library website.
Meanwhile, the Chilmark Library also has two April poetry contests: One contest is for students at the Chilmark School in grades 1 through 5, in addition to Chilmark’s At Home in the Woods School and the Wampanoag afterschool program. On Friday, May 1, at the Chilmark School, any student who has submitted a poem can read their poem to the group at the final ceremony, where prizes will be awarded.
The other poetry contest is for high school students (MVRHS and Charter School). Both deadlines are Friday, April 10. Poems can be any topic, any length. The Brickner family has funded both contests through the Chilmark library, in honor of their daughter Elisa Brickner. For more information, please check the library website.
Edgartown
In Edgartown, bookseller Mathew Tombers of Edgartown Books will be posting videos of various poets on Instagram and TicToc throughout April. In addition, Tombers will offer a 20 percent discount on all poetry books at Edgartown Books, some of which he will “feature on our center table downstairs by our checkout desk.”
On Wednesday, April 29th, at the Edgartown library, Claudia Taylor, adult programs coordinator and Martha’s Vineyard’s poet laureate, will celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day. Taylor urges anyone interested, “Stop by the Edgartown library’s circulation desk to pick up a copy of a poem, carry it in your pocket, and share it with others. Poems by local writers of all ages will be included in our selection. If you would like your poem to be considered for inclusion, please submit it by April 15 to programs@edgartownlibrary.org.”
Oak Bluffs
In the month of April, the Oak Bluffs library sponsors the Gordon Goodwin Maritime Poetry Competition, an annual poetry contest focused on maritime themes. Poems must be inspired by the sea, the coast, ocean life, or nautical adventures. There are multiple categories, with prizes for children, teens, and adults. The deadline for poems is April 30, and the winners will be featured at a community poetry reading event in May.
Vineyard Haven
One April poetry event you may enjoy is the online haiku workshop by Carolyn Joy Adams: “The Mindful Art of Haiku,” on Thursday, April 2, from 2 to 3:30 pm on Zoom. The workshop is for writers of all experience levels, backgrounds, and interests. Also, check out the library’s poetry reading group, which meets online monthly, and will discuss poems by Nikki Giovanni on Monday, April 6, at 10 am on Zoom. April is the perfect time to join this group of poetry aficionados. You can sign up for either event on the Vineyard Haven library’s website, or in person at the Church Street temporary location.
Meanwhile, the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore will offer 20 percent off all in-stock poetry books (including children’s) for the month of April, according to bookstore owner Molly Coogan, “with the hope that that will encourage folks to read more poetry!” That’s surely one good reason to get up off the couch.
West Tisbury library
The West Tisbury library celebrates Poetry Month with its annual community poetry reading at noon on Sunday, April 12, hosted by Adriana Stimola, West Tisbury’s poet laureate. All are invited to read a poem, whether it is one you wrote or simply a lifelong favorite. You can also just come to listen.
Vineyard poet Michael West curates The MV Times Poet’s Corner.
Famous poets born in April
April 2: Anne Waldman, 1945
April 3: George Herbert, 1593
April 4: Maya Angelou, 1928
April 5: Algernon Charles Swinburne, 1837
April 7: William Wordsworth, 1770
April 9: Charles Baudelaire, 1821
April 13: Seamus Heaney, 1939
April 13: Samuel Beckett, 1906
April 16: Tracy K. Smith, 1972
April 18: Louise Glück, 1942
April 18: Etheridge Knight, 1931
April 21: Charlotte Brontë, 1816
April 23: William Shakespeare, 1564
April 24: Robert Penn Warren, 1905
April 24: George Oppen, 1908
April 24: Natasha Trethewey, 1966
April 25: Ted Kooser, 1939
April 27: Patricia Lockwood, 1982
April 28: Carolyn Forché, 1950
April 29: Yusef Komunyakaa, 1947
April 30: John Crowe Ransom, 1888
April 30: Annie Dillard, 1945