Poem in Your Pocket Day

Today we’ll be handing out copies of our favorite poems, including this classic:

We Real Cool
By Gwendolyn Brooks

THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

So why did we choose today to celebrate National Poetry Month? Thursday, April 29th is Poem in Your Pocket Day. The idea is to bring poetry into our everyday lives by carrying one of your favorite poems with you to share with others. And couldn’t we all use a little more poetry?

Poem in Your Pocket day has been celebrated in New York City since 2002. For a list of poetry-inspired events throughout the city, check out: http://www.nyc.gov/html/poem/html/home/home.shtml.

Come by to read the rest of our favorites and share yours with us! While you’re here, browse our poetry selections, including I Speak of the City and Beat Poets. You can even pick up a copy of Poem in Your Pocket and carry poetry with you every day.

I’ll leave you with one more selection of verse to ponder as the weather tries to decide which way to turn.

Spring III
By Audre Lorde
Spring is the harshest
Blurring the lines of choice
Until summer flesh
Swallows up all decision.
I remember after the harvest was over
When the thick sheaves were gone
And the bones of the gaunt trees
Uncovered
How the dying of autumn was too easy
To solve our loving.

- Posted by Kat Broadway