For Immediate Release: 4/1/2021 10:35 am
The Worcester Public Library (WPL) will be celebrating National Poetry Month throughout the month of April. Nationally, the month of April is set aside as a time to celebrate poets and their craft. The Library will be hosting events, sharing book lists, and promoting other poetry events and materials from organizations across the globe.
The first event WPL will be hosting is “A Writing Workshop with Worcester's Poets Laureate” on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. The public is invited to join the City of Worcester’s Poets Laureate Juan Matos and Amina Mohammed for a poetry-writing workshop. Experienced poets and novices ages 16 and up are invited to join this virtual workshop and hear the experiences of the Poets Laureate, who will share some of their works and guide attendees through creating their own poetry. This Poetry Writing Workshop is hosted in partnership with the City of Worcester’s Cultural Development Division.
The next event presented by WPL will be “Sisters Outsider: A Virtual Panel of Black Women Creating Poetry” on Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. The public are invited to an evening of Black women creating poetry, inspired by Audre Lord's book “Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches”. Expect great verse and conversation with poets Rush Frazier, Tina Gaffney, Amina Mohammed, Xaulanda Thorpe and Ashley Wonder.
“Poetry has always played an important part in our culture, but it's become even more so over the past year,” said Devon Evans, WPL Public Services Librarian. “With Amanda Gorman being the first person ever commissioned to write a poem for the Super Bowl, and as the inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate, this shows renewed interest in this art form. The great thing about poetry is that it provides room for lots of different voices and styles, so expect to see some of that during National Poetry Month at WPL.”
Information and registration for these events, as well as WPL poetry booklists, other links of interest, and poetry events from other organizations can be found at https://wplreferenceblog.blogspot.com.
For more information on the Worcester Public Library and a complete list of resources and services visit https://www.mywpl.org. For more information on National Poetry Month, contact Linnea Sheldon, Community Relations and Communications Manager, at 508-799-1654 or lsheldon@mywpl.org.
