William_Carlos_Williams_passport_photograph_1921
1921 passport photo of William Carlos Williams, modernist poet

April is National Poetry Month, and as usual, tons of resources are online to help you celebrate.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Month (the Academy of American Poets launched it in 1996). An official Web page lists events in various communities, some writing challenges and other goodies.

Looking to stay closer to home and just enjoy the Month on your own? Here is a leading poetry-related app to consider—along with e-books to get you started.

The Poetry Foundation’s free app for iOS and Android can summon up thousands of poems, both recent and classical. Browse by theme, search by title or author, or just run across random titles through the app’s “spin” feature. The screen shot below shows one of William Carlos Williams‘s works on a phone.

poetry foundation appThe Best of Poetry: Shakespeare, Muse of Fire collects short snippets from the great Bard into handy topical chapters. This compiler has another more general poetry anthology available as well, which is also borrow-able via Kindle Unlimited.

–Dover Thrift Editions have several inexpensive e-book titles, including a Best-Loved Poems collection.

The Seashell Anthology is a popular general poetry anthology, working chronologically and covering a huge span of the canon.

Classic Poems for Children has a range of poems for children, organized by topical themes.

–A contemporary poet to round things out: The Funny Side: 101 Humorous Poems is a wonderful introduction to the work of Wendy Cope, one of the few moderns I enjoy.

Happy National Poetry Month! Perhaps I will treat myself to a new anthology to celebrate. How about you?

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"I’m a journalist, a teacher and an e-book fiend. I work as a French teacher at a K-3 private school. I use drama, music, puppets, props and all manner of tech in my job, and I love it. I enjoy moving between all the classes and having a relationship with each child in the school. Kids are hilarious, and I enjoy watching them grow and learn. My current device of choice for reading is my Amazon Kindle Touch, but I have owned or used devices by Sony, Kobo, Aluratek and others. I also read on my tablet devices using the Kindle app, and I enjoy synching between them, so that I’m always up to date no matter where I am or what I have with me."

1 COMMENT

  1. […] April is National Poetry Month in the United States and Canada. Amanda Earl has a great post with a roundup of many online resources to help you get in on the action. The Poets.org Tumblr has a list of poetry month events. If you’re feeling too cold or secluded for events, then why not enjoy some e-books and apps to accompany poetry month. […]

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