Notes from the Spiral Staircases # 7

April is National Poetry Month! In the Honorable A. Gordon Cooper Library, we are celebrating with a basket holding about 50 unique poems offered by the Academy of American Poets and the League of Canadian Poets for the annual Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 29, 2022). Poems are written by current American and current Canadian poets, and there is a selection of poems from the public domain. Students and teachers may use the poems in any way they see fit. As I began to write this, some Grade 7 students grabbed a few during reading period. If the basket becomes empty, I will put more poems in it. It will be an ever-flowing basket of literary gold during the month of April. Find an example poem by Carl Sandburg below. Will you ever look at fog the same way again? 

 

During an April session of Karlee Sinclair’s Grade 8 art class, students used their growing talents in illustration to draw in the white space around three poems. The hilarious and fun read-aloud tongue-twister poem “Bleezer’s Ice Cream” by Jack Prelutsky was the favourite.  

 

Another way we use the library during National Poetry Month is to create some book spine poetry. Students can look through the stacks and create poems out of the titles on the book spines. They have to use the actual titles as they appear, and each book spine represents one line of poetry. They can make actual stacks, or write down the words, or take photos. One example is attached as a photo. I bet you will run to your bookshelf to give this exercise a try. Happy Poetry Month everyone! 

 

Fog  

by Carl Sandburg 

 

The fog comes  

on little cat feet. 

 

It sits looking 

over harbor and city 

on silent haunches 

and then moves on.