Because the 45-year-old observance falls during National Poetry Month, library staff combined the two occasions to create a weeklong Poetry @ Your Library party. Volumes of verses for all ages will be on display at the library, and poetical programs abound.
To kick off the festivities, children and families who participated in the kindergarten readiness sessions held during the last two summers are coming together for a reunion on April 6.
This program is a cooperative effort between the library and Southern Pines Primary School to help children entering school with their pre-literacy skills and to connect them with the library as a resource for life long learning.
“We will be using humorous poems in the library’s collection that kids really get a kick out of such as ‘Booger Love’ and ‘Chocolate Maniac,’ from Brod Bagert’s Giant Children as a springboard for creative writing,” says Barbara Smith, program coordinator.
For those who missed the potluck book discussions the library held last year, it is not too late to get in on the fun.
Just right for the season, the next event is inspired by the Joyce Carol Oates observation, “If food is poetry, is not poetry also food?”
Adults are invited to come to the library on Tuesday, April 8 from 5:30-7 p.m. with a treasured poem or book of poetry to share at “A Slice of Pie and Poetry.” Everyone is welcome to bring a sweet or savory pie to sample.
Not a big poetry fan? Relax — the library has several titles where you can find verses to suit your “tastes.” One popular title at the moment is “The Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” published in 2001. Another is Naomi Shihab Nye’s “19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East,” one of School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year that tells of the poet’s experiences as an Arab-American.
Thursday, April 10 packs a double punch of poetry.
For starters, teams of teachers from Pinecrest High School, The O’Neal School, and Southern Middle School will put their literary trivia skills to the test at the library’s first ever Poetry Bowl at 6:30 p.m.
Students are encouraged to cheer their schools on in this friendly competition fraught with verses, poets, and fun facts.
With the excitement of competition, great refreshments, movie ticket door prizes, and French fry coupons for participants provided by McDonald’s, the night promises to be a win-win situation for all.
Directly following the Bowl is an Open Mic for teens that runs until 8 p.m. The event, cosponsored by The O’Neal School’s literary magazine Black Bird’s Eye, is open to students in sixth through 12th grades wishing to share their own poetry or that of a favorite writer.
National Library Week goes out with a bang the morning of April 12. Beloved storybook character Curious George is planning a special visit to the library from 8:30 to 10 a.m.
Children in grades K-5 are invited to share stories and a light breakfast with the famous monkey during the Saturday Morning Live program. Second graders from Southern Pines Primary School have written Curious George poetry for a display at the program. The works will remain on display throughout the month. Parents are welcome to take pictures with their own cameras as children greet George at the end of the program.
In a letter to his son John Quincy Adams in 1781, John Adams wrote, “You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.”
"We hope library users of all ages will enjoy the programs this week, and we thank the Friends for their support in providing refreshments and prizes for these events," says Library Director Lynn Thompson.
Katherine Trott is a public services librarian at the Southern Pines Public Library.
