National Poetry Month Projects

This page collects resources related to each of my National Poetry Month Projects. On the project pages, you'll find links to the daily posts.

Original Poetry
2023 - Poems and Primary Sources - For this project, I wrote poems to primary sources from the National Archives and Library of Congress that focused on American history.

2022 - Poems and Primary Sources - For this project, I wrote in Japanese poetic forms to family photos, letters, and other ephemera.

2021 - Found Poems - For this project, I wrote and shared found poems, most of which were science- or nature-themed. 

2020 - Armchair Traveler - This project highlighted original poems related to places I've been. These were written in response to the COVID lockdown and the desire to be anywhere but home.

2019 - Original Poems - This project highlighted original poems in a range of forms on a variety of topics.

Reviewing and Highlighting Poetry of Others
2018 - Assorted Poems - This project highlighted a range of poems by others that I found interesting or inspiring.

2017 - Celebrating My Late Sister-in-Law - On the fifth anniversary of my sister-in-law's death, this project shared memories of her and a poem related to each memory.

2016 - Celebrations - Inspired by World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of (written by J. Patrick Lewis) and The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations: Holiday Poems for the Whole Year in English and Spanish (compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong), this project focused on daily, weekly, and monthly celebrations held during the month of April. In addition to information about each celebration, posts highlighted poems, books of poetry, children's books, and more.

2015 - Poetic Forms - This project, entitled Jumping Into Form, examined poetry writing and a variety of poetic forms, while providing a wealth of resources for teachers guiding students in writing poetry of their own.

2014 - Science Poetry Pairings - Inspired by the Book Links article Sylvia Vardell and I co-authored, Nonfiction Monday meets Poetry Friday: Linking Genres, this project highlighted books of poetry (or in some cases very special poems) and their perfect partners.

2013 - Poetry A to Z - In this project, I shared books, poems, poetic forms, and other poetry-inspired topics. Beginning with Z and winding down to A, the posts were a potluck of poetry resources.

2011 - Poetry in the Classroom - In this project, I highlighted a poem, a theme, a book, or a poet each day and suggested ways to make poetry a regular part of life in the classroom. I also suggested companion books, websites, and activities to accompany the reading of selected poems.

2010 - Poetry Makers - Following on the heels of the 2009 project, I posed a series of questions to 32 different children's poets. I highlighted their answers, along with their work and selected poems.

2009 - Poetry Makers - In this project, I posed a series of questions to 35 children's poets. I highlighted their answers, along with their work and selected poems.

2008 - Poetry in the Classroom - In this project, I highlighted a poetry book or related set of books (on a theme) and described how they might be used in the classroom. I also suggested companion books, websites, and activities to accompany the reading of selected poems from the books. Over the course of the month, I covered 62 books by 39 authors.