National Poetry Month Project 2023

Last year for National Poetry Month I wrote poems in a variety of Japanese poetic forms (haiku, tanka, dodoitsu, etc.) to photos, letters, newspaper articles, and other family ephemera. This was my first attempt at using primary sources to write poems.

This year I'm going back to primary sources, though this time around I'm using pieces from the National Archives and Library of Congress. I am posting the poem and primary source here. You will be able to find a graphic mashup of the poem and primary source on my Instagram.

My first poem is written to this Sketch map of White Oak Swamp and vicinity southeast of Richmond.]; 6/1862; Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Record Group 77.

In 1862, this was his world
a hand-drawn map
dotted with enemy encampments
rebel pickets and redoubts

world turned upside down
civilization measured in
miles to Richmond

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2023. All rights reserved.

I hope you'll join me this month for more primary source poems. If you are interested in my previous projects, you can find them linked below.

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

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.

2018 - Assorted Poems - This project highlighted a range of poems written 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.