The Academy of American Poets kicked off National Poetry Month in 1996 to promote America’s poetry heritage as well as the reading and writing of poetry. This month Denver is promoting dozens of events throughout the city; among them:
Today, 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Poets on Corners — As part of the neighborhood First Friday Arts Walk, poets will read from the street corners of Santa Fe Drive and West Seventh, West Eighth and West Ninth avenues.
Fridays, April 3, 10, 17 and 24, 10 p.m.: Open Poetry Reading at Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St.
April 18, 8 p.m.: Liquid Poetry 2 at Wynkoop Brewery featuring poetry, music and Red Ale with proceeds going to the Colorado Anthology Project, 1634 18th St.
April 28, 7 p.m.: Minor Disturbance Youth Poetry Slam at Gypsy House Cafe, 1279 Marion St.
For more events, see do you celebrate National Poetry Month?
Attending a reading is just one way to participate. The website of the Academy of American Poets suggests 30 ways to celebrate, including memorizing a poem, and placing a poem in an unexpected place, including a poem in a letter or chalking one out on your sidewalk for passers-by to read. For more ideas, see .
Poetry in Denver
Bones of the earth
19th-century British writer John Ruskin penned the words that wrap around the Hyatt Regency Denver at 15th and California streets. It begins with “Mountains are the bones of the earth” and ends with “the plains being the uppermost.” While not technically poetry, this poetic take on natural history is worth the walk around the block to read in full.
On the bus
The Poetry in Motion program returns for a second year later this month by placing the works of young local poets on Regional Transportation District buses. The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs sponsors the program in partnership with local nonprofits. In 1979 RTD joined other mass-transportation outfits to participate in the national “Poetry on the Buses” program, which installed art and poetry on buses for riders.
The Green Automobile
Allen Ginsberg’s early 1950s poem imagines a reunion in Denver with Denver native and beat inspiration Neal Cassady, writing in part:
“Denver! Denver! we’ll return roaring across the City & County Building lawn.”
Poets’ Row
The 1000 block of Sherman Street in Capitol Hill is known as Poets’ Row because many of its apartment buildings are named after authors.
Poet laureate
In September 2004, Mayor John Hickenlooper named Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado the city’s first poet laureate. The honor was bestowed upon the poet, activist and professor just months after his death. Delgado’s 1969 poem “Stupid America” is recognized as a hallmark of the Chicano movement.
Chris Ransick was named Denver’s second poet laureate in March 2006. Ransick is the author of several collections of poetry and prose, including the poetry book “Never Summer, Poems From Thin Air,” which won a Colorado Book Award in 2003.
