April is National Poetry Month. Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events. (http://poets.org). At Poets.org, there are great ideas for celebrating and creating awareness about this month.
In recognition of Poetry Month, the Hachette Book Group is generously providing a set of six poetry books for five winners. All I’m going to ask from you on this giveaway is for you to visit Poets.org National Poetry Map and give me a Poetic History landmark from your state. You will find the Poetic History sidebar on the far right as you scroll through the page.
The rules are: you must be in the US or Canada, you can’t have a post office box. Please remember to include an email address so I can contact the winners. This giveaway will run through April 30, 2009 – cutoff will be 11:59pm. and the winners will be announced no later than the morning of May 5th.
Five winners will win:
* The 100 Best Poems of All Time By Leslie Pockell ISBN: 0446676810
* The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson By Emily Dickinson ISBN: 0316184136
* The Poets’ Corner By John Lithgow ISBN: 0446580023
* Odes to Common Things By Pablo Neruda , Ken Krabbenhoft , Ferris Cook ISBN: 0821220802
* American Primitive By Mary Oliver ISBN: 0316650048
* Revolution on Canvas, Volume 1 By Rich Balling ISBN: 0446697869
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D.H. Lawrence visited and lived in New Mexico for 3 years. This experience had a great impact upon his life and he intended to return but died in Europe. His ashes are spread on the D.H. Lawrence Ranch in Taos. I always enjoyed his writing and after I realized that he had spent time in this unique place I was captivated even more with his books and poems.
Since this map is for the U.S. only and I’m from Canada, I’m going to pick a state that’s closest to me and has a Poetic History Landmark.
Minnesota: John Berryman was buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.
Thanks for linking to the Poets.org site. It’s extremely interesting and I’ll be going back to check out more of it.
I consider THE YADDO in Saratoga Springs a Poetic History Landmark. One of its most famous guests was Sylvia Plath. Recently, Christina Davis was one of the recipients of the Wittner Byner Fellowships.
I’m in Canada and the closest State to me is Washington State.
Bumbershoot
Literary Arts at Bumbershoot in Seattle includes writers, essayists, slam artists, panel discussions and a small press bookfair. From young writers from local middle schools to award-winning novelists, Bumbershoot Literary Arts showcases more than 50 authors, spoken word artists and profound performers for four days of literary daredevilry and discourse.
Thanks, this package of books would be wonderful to win; my grandmother is my favourite all time poet!
nancyrobster@gmail.com
A Poetic History landmark in PA is the Marianne Moore Collection at the Rosenbach Museum: Philadelphia, PA.
This is a great selection of books – please count me in!
Thanks,
Cheryl
megalon22[at]yahoo[dot]com
Enter me in your contest please.
South Florida has attracted numerous artists and writers, including Ernest Hemingway, Wallace Stevens, Ralph Ellison, Elizabeth Bishop, Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, and James Merrill.
Nely
Nelaine(dot)Sanchez(at)gmail(dot)com
I am from WI and there don’t seem to be any poetry landmarks listed on poets.org. It’s a great site and there are several poets from WI and poetry about WI. Lorine Niedecker is my favorite. Her poetry really gives the feel of WI, the sounds of the river and feel of the environment.
I think that the Council for WI Writers is an awesome resourse for writers. There is wonderful support and ideas and I’m not sure I would keep writing without it.
Thanks for hosting this great contest!
tynlyd4ever1@yahoo.com
A Poetic History landmark in N.C. is Randall Jarrell’s grave in the New Garden Friend’s Cemetery in Greensboro, NC.
Thanks!
Nancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
On April 17, 2007, the poet Nikki Giovanni closed a ceremony commemorating the April 16 Virginia Tech massacre by leading the crowd through a chant poem, stating “We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech… We do not understand this tragedy… No one deserves a tragedy.”
Mel K.
Meljprincess AT aol DOT com
I don’t understand, there is no “Poetic History” listed for Rhode Island. However, I know that Edgar Allan Poe lived in Providence, walked the very streets that I walk daily, and wooed Sarah Whitman at the Providence Atheneaum (to which I sadly had to give up my membership. Galway Kinnell was born in Providence. And next week, 11 state Poet Laureates will be visiting and touring Rhode Island for an event called “Poetry for Hope.” That all sounds landmarkable to me!
Thanks for the chance to win this collection of books.
geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com
Robinson Jeffers’s Tor House: Carmel, CA
In 1919, Jeffers began building a stone cottage overlooking Carmel Bay which he called Tor House, after the craggy knoll, or “tor” on which it was built.
Though I’d prefer to have used Adrienne Rich who currently lives in Northern California.
This package of books looks so good!
I’m in Canada. The closest state to me is Washington, for which a listed event in poetic history was when Kenneth Patchen toured (Patchen visited my home province of British Columbia on the same tour).
ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca
“Theodore Roethke’s House: Saginaw, MI
Built in 1909, just after the poet’s birth, it housed Roethke until he left for the University of Michigan in 1925.”
I didn’t know this existed. Next time I go home, I’ll have to visit.
Forgot my email address! danunepthys(at)hotmail(dot)com
Paul L. Dunbar lived and died in my native Dayton Ohio. He living in an Italianate turn-of-the-century home that he shared with his mother until his death from TB in 1906. One item that I did not know was he was a classmate of Orville Wright.
When I first moved to NM I was enchanted with this unique and special state. The more I explored it the more I fell in love with the land and the beauty. I have been reading baout the various authors and poets. D.H. Lawrence visited for a brief time but this had an intense impact upon his life. I think that this has happened to many who have travelled here.
Heritage House Museum, Key West, FL – This is the Poetic History Landmark for Florida that I picked. Thanks
deduster(at)yahoo(dot)com
Wallace Stevens’s Hometown: Hartford, CT.
Stevens walked the two-mile route every day from his West End home to his office in Asylum Hill. He composed poems in his head while walking, and explained that he enjoyed matching the words in his head to the rhythm of his steps.
hrbeck_98 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Mino Loy is buried in Aspen Grove Cemetery in Aspen, Colorado
nazatraz(at)yahoo(dot)com
Hello.. TX is not showing a specific Landmark.
Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review is a literary journal based in Austin, Texas that publishes poetry along with photographs, reviews and essays.
Texas poets include
Sandra Cisneros
Mark Doty
Edward Hirsch
Tony Hoagland
Randall Jarrell
Harryette Mullen
Barbara Ras
Susan Wood
Adam Zagajewski
Please Enter me in the giveaway
MarieBurton2004 at yahoo dot com
I love the Poet’s House, and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in NYC! Thanks.
Sorry, my email is: grace.toy@gmail.com