Poetry is not just for the month of April!

I was inspired by the #ALAAC25 presentation – “Poetry as Makerspace: Making Poetry Visible in Your Library Year-Round” – to explore creative ways for my patrons to experiment with and enjoy poetry throughout the year, from January to December. Not only did the presenters encourage attendees to write and play with poetry during the program, the presenters gave practical ideas of poetry stations and activities to implement right away in your library. Here are some of their great ideas!

List Poetry

Presenters gave examples of books that are list poems which answer different phrases, such as “I am…” in the picture book I Am Every Good Thing. Other ways to do list poems is to have students manipulate physical objects (like Legos or popsicle sticks) that have themed-words on the objects.

Color Poetry

Examples of color poetry books were shared, including The Crayons’ Book of Feelings. Then, presenters provided an example activity in which the attendees chose a paint chip swatch and brainstormed ideas of what that color reminded us of or what it could represent. There is even a Paint Chip Poetry game that can be purchased from Chronicle Books.

Found Poetry

Using words cut out from magazines or recycled books, patrons can make poems from words they find. In the end, it creates a fun zine look that would be appealing to young patrons to teen patrons. Also, this allows our younger patrons to practice the motor skills required when cutting paper.

Bracelet Poetry

Beads with words on them can be purchased from a craft store for patrons to create poetry they can wear! Tip: Alphabet beads can also be purchased to make new words if needed.

Comics/Cartooning as Poetry

Using Poetry Comics by Grant Snider as an example, the presenters showed examples of writing poetry and illustrating it in a comic. I really liked the list poem “Places to Feel Small,” which shared drawings illustrating captions like “under a forest canopy,” “lost in a crowd,” and “at the edge of the sea.”

Ultimate Goal: Be creative and have fun!

Throughout the session, the presenters exuded a love for poetry. Their joy and passion infused the room with a sense of playfulness that I aspire to replicate in my library. Overall, the presenter’s activities emphasized that the end product of a poem was not the main goal–but rather the focus was on the process of creating, allowing one to enjoy and savor word play and personal expression through poetry.

(All images taken by S. Sansbury)

Sarah Sansbury (she/her/hers) is an elementary school teacher-librarian from Atlanta, Georgia. She recently finished her doctorate in school improvement with a focus on how school librarians contribute to student achievement. She is eager to learn how to better partner with local public librarians so that her students can benefit from all the community resources available to them. At the conference, one will most likely find her drinking coffee, no matter the time of day. You can follow her on BlueSky and Instagram: @supersansbury.

The post Poetry is not just for the month of April! appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 I was inspired by the #ALAAC25 presentation – “Poetry as Makerspace: Making Poetry Visible in Your Library Year-Round” – to explore creative ways for my patrons to experiment with and enjoy poetry throughout the year, from January to December. Not only did the presenters encourage attendees to write and play with poetry during the program, the presenters gave practical ideas of poetry stations and activities to implement right away in your library. Here are some of their great ideas! List Poetry Presenters gave examples of books that are list poems which answer different phrases, such as “I am…” in the picture book I Am Every Good Thing. Other ways to do list poems is to have students manipulate physical objects (like Legos or popsicle sticks) that have themed-words on the objects. Color Poetry Examples of color poetry books were shared, including The Crayons’ Book of Feelings. Then, presenters provided an…
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