Tag Archives: National Poetry Month

your secret belief in perpetual spring

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

IN PERPETUAL SPRING Amy Gerstler Gardens are also good places to sulk. You pass beds of spiky voodoo lilies and trip over the roots of a sweet gum tree, in search of medieval plants whose leaves, when they drop off … Continue reading →

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like a shadow or a friend

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

KINDNESS by Naomi Shihab Nye Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully … Continue reading →

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Perhaps the world ends here

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Perhaps the World Ends Here Joy Harjo The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live. The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, … Continue reading →

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Hey, It’s National Poetry Month

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Just Beyond Yourself David Whyte Just beyond yourself. It’s where you need to be. Half a step into self-forgetting and the rest restored by what you’ll meet. There is a road always beckoning. When you see the two sides of … Continue reading →

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My First Memory of Librarians

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

A last tribute to libraries and librarians for National Library Week from the brilliant Nikki Giovanni. MY FIRST MEMORY (OF LIBRARIANS) This is my first memory: A big room with heavy wooden tables that sat on a creaky wood floor … Continue reading →

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Pity the Nation

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

April is National Poetry Month in the United States. I can think of no one better than America’s greatest living poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti to mark the occasion. “Pity the Nation”, which was written in 2007, is especially appropriate in the … Continue reading →

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Welcome to Whitman

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

It seems appropriate to wrap-up National Poetry Month this year with a nod to the beloved 19th century poet Walt Whitman. Welcome to Whitman, Alabama is a brilliant documentary that uses the poetry of Walt Whitman to explore life in the … Continue reading →

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Hey, It’s Still Poetry Month

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

h/t to Robert Montgomery

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National Poetry Month Is Here

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

LETTER TO SOMEONE LIVING FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW Matthew Olzmann Most likely, you think we hated the elephant, the golden toad, the thylacine and all variations of whale harpooned or hacked into extinction. It must seem like we sought to … Continue reading →

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Yes, It’s National Poetry Month Again

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Brian D. Butler
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