National Poetry Month in Key West

Po’Key (Poetry Key West) dares young and older alike to claim their Andy Warhol-15 minutes-of-fame. National Poetry Month in April offers plenty of local opportunities.

Maybe hang a poem (your own or someone else’s) on the designated “poet-tree,” snap a selfie, and post it on the Po’Key Facebook page. Maybe write a really bad poem, bring it to our Pepto Bismol Challenge, win first prize, get your photo posted on our Facebook page smiling into the camera and holding your trophy. Or be one of the audience members who decides the winner by show of hands. Maybe join the Soapbox Reading at Mallory Square Sunset. Maybe create a poetic activity of your own and let us know so we can co-produce it with you.

National Poetry Month, like Black History and Women’s History Month, designates 30 days focus on an aspect of our shared culture. A small group of local poets including the current Poet Laureate of Key West, the publisher of the Keys literary magazine Decimos, and several members of the KW Poetry Guild have taken their cue from O, Miami. That mainland group, funded by the Knight Foundation, promotes a wild array of activities to increase Miamians’ contact with poetry during poetry month which is always celebrated in April. Key West’s Po’Key Collaborative aims to bring the same kind of community involvement and excitement to our island.

Maybe you never liked poetry; maybe you never “got” it or thought of it as elitist—we invite you to reconsider. Rev up your creativity. Flex your bragging rights. Write a poem of a couple lines or of a couple pages. Or be an audience member for at least one Po’Key event. There will be something poetic going on every day April 1 through April 30. Check out the schedule of events at the Po’Key Facebook page.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]