
Madison Public Library and City’s Poet Laureate to Celebrate National Poetry Month
City of Madison’s Poet Laureate, Oscar Mireles, and the Madison Public Library are partnering to celebrate National Poetry Month beginning Monday, April 1, 2019.
As part of the month’s festivities, daily poetry selections chosen by Madison Public Library staff will be featured on the Madison Public Library website.
Members of the public are invited to a special National Poetry Month kick off at Central Library on Saturday, April 6 from 2:00-3:00pm. Guests will enjoy a reception followed by special poetry readings from current City of Madison Poet Laureate, Oscar Mireles; Poet Laureate of Wisconsin, Peg Rozga; as well as former City of Madison Poets Laureate Fabu, Andrea Musher, and Wendy Vardaman.
Another public reception to honor the writers selected for the 2019 Madison Metro Bus Lines Poetry Project will take place on April 17 from 6:00-8:00pm at Central Library.
Other related library events include:
- Poet-in-Residence on April 6, 12, 16 & 24 at Monroe Street Library is a pilot spin on Spontaneous Writing Booth, placing a singular poet in a neighborhood library to hang out with patrons and write or share poems as she wishes. Visitors are also invited to chat with the poet about their favorite poems or try writing a poem on the spot.
- Monroe Street Sidewalk Poetry Dedication on April 10, 6:00pm at Monroe Street Library with Madison's Poets Laureate past and present to dedicate the new sidewalk poetry on Monroe Street. An initiative of the Madison Poet Laureate Program in conjunction with the Madison Arts Commission.
- Wisconsin Book Festival Presents Brian Teare for Doomstead Days on April 15, 7:00pm at Central Library. Presented in partnership with the Center for Culture, History, and Environment and the UW-Madison Program in Creative Writing, Brian Teare offers readers a new kind of nature poem—one that both anticipates and contributes to the renewal of public dialogue about environmental ethics and individual responsibility instigated by the UN’s recent report on climate change.
- Wisconsin Book Festival Presents Solmaz Sharif for Look on April 18, 7:00pm at Central Library. Stanford University professor Sharif’s first book, LOOK, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Presented in partnership with the UW-Madison Program on Creative Writing.
- Taking Poetry for a Walk on April 27, 1:00pm at Sequoya Library, inviting parents and children ages 6-12 to take a literal (and literary) walk to Midvale Schools community garden to write haikus. Registration required. Funded by a grant from Beyond the Page, with additional support from the Madison Community Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Call 266-6385 to register or visit madisonpubliclibrary.org/calendar.
- Poetry Open Mic & Live Music on April 29, 6:00pm at Lakeview Library welcomes folks of all ages to bring their favorite poem to present, or read an original work. Light refreshments served.
About Madison Public Library
Madison Public Library’s tradition of promoting education, literacy and community involvement has enriched the City of Madison for more than 140 years. Nine locations throughout the City of Madison are open six days per week and welcome over 2 million visits each year. For more information, visit madisonpubliclibrary.org, Madison Public Library on Facebook, @madisonlibrary on Twitter, and @madisonpubliclibrary on Instagram.
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