ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 14, 1997 TAG: 9704160010
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN GRIESSMAYER THE ROANOKE TIMES
No doubt about it, April is a wonderful month. There's the warm weather. The blooming flowers. The start of baseball season. The poetry.
Poetry? What does poetry have to do with April?
You may not know it but April is National Poetry Month. This month is set aside for the celebration of poetry - studying it, reading it and writing poems of your own.
Don't groan, though. Studying poetry doesn't have to be boring. Not all poems were written hundreds of years ago by some dead guy in tights. Not all poems are about weird Greek heroes or shipwrecks or boring military battles.
Sometimes, poems are written just for kids. These poems can be about fun things such as chocolate or bubbles, or about not-so-fun things such as sadness or divorce. The important thing is that they're written about subjects that kids understand and find interesting.
But don't think for a minute that adults are the only people who can write good poetry. Kids can write, too. Try writing a few poems yourself and you'll realize how rewarding and fun it is.
Nikki Giovanni, a poet who teaches writing at Virginia Tech, knows the joy of writing poetry. She's written many books of poetry for adults, and several just for kids.
"Poetry is important to everybody," she said recently. "Writing poetry is totally fun."
"We often lose track of the idea that life is an adventure. Writing captures that adventure."
She said April is a great month for poetry because there's so much to write about. With the Hale-Bopp comet and the early spring, you don't have to look far to find a topic for a poem.
"Poetry captures a moment in time," she said. "A poem is like a photograph put to words."
Giovanni also said that writing poetry is much easier and more fun once you've learned "the rules," like spelling and verb agreement. Paying close attention in class and reading lots of poetry will help you learn this even faster.
Once you know the rules, you can be creative. Without them, she said, you'll just be crippled.
Another way to improve your creative writing is by keeping a journal or diary. Writing your thoughts, feelings and observations in a notebook is good practice for poetry or fiction. And, according to Giovanni, there's the added benefit of getting out your frustrations on paper.
"Keeping a journal is a great idea," she said. "There's a lot of anger sometimes in being a kid. Writing is a great way to get it out rather than acting it out."
So if you have a bad day at school, instead of beating up your little brother, grab a pencil and paper and write a poem. And if you have a good day, write about that, too.
In short, poetry can be about anything. Find a topic you're interested in and try some writing. At least during April - National Poetry Month - find some time every week to write, or just to read some of your favorite poems.
If you get stuck, remember this advice from the area's most celebrated poet, Nikki Giovanni:
"Remember that you are a creative being, a creative person. Give yourself over to that creative person.
"It's a wonderful feeling."
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