MONTPELIER, Vt. – As spring begins to bloom in New England, some Vermont communities come alive with the places and sounds of written verse.
“These are the honey makers
The maple sap tappers
The pollen collectors
The elixirs heal the future
from the ghosts of the past,” a woman recited from a poem by Buffy Aakaash of Marshfield, Vermont, during a poetry parade in Montpelier on Saturday.
Every April, the country’s smallest capital goes all out to celebrate poetry. Storefronts and restaurant windows in Montpelier are adorned with poems written by Vermonters of all ages, poets read their works aloud at events — some with musical accompaniment — and poetry workshops meet to discuss the art form. And this year, the Montpelier Library hosted a first: a poetry parade.
“We’re doing National Poetry Month better than anyone as far as we can tell,” said PoemCity organizer Michelle Singer, the adult programs coordinator for the Kellogg Hubbard Library in the city of about 8,000.
This year, 350 poems written by residents of 60 Vermont towns will be displayed in downtown storefronts and 30 poetry programs were planned.
“It’s a walk-through anthology that will remain throughout the month of April, and people just experience poetry as they go about their daily chores in Montpelier,” she said.
Other cities across the country celebrate National Poetry Month in their own ways. West Hollywood, California will host a “spa day” for poetry, and a selection of poems by living poets will be displayed on street pole banners along Santa Monica Boulevard. The New York Public Library is offering free workshops, and winning poems from a competition in Alexandria, Virginia, will be displayed on city buses and streetcars in April and May. In Vermont, two other parishes—Randolph and St. Johnsbury—have followed Montpelier’s example with their own readings and poetry performances.
The Academy of American Poets created National Poetry Month in 1996, saying it was “the greatest literary celebration in the world.”
“We can confirm that PoemCity in Montpelier is one of the largest citywide celebrations of National Poetry Month,” said Academy spokeswoman Michelle Campagna.
On a rainy April 1 opening day, Cynthia and Hugo Liepmann strolled through Montpelier reading poetry.
“I think it’s wonderful, but I’m biased because I love poetry,” said Cynthia Liepmann, who writes poetry herself and has a poem in a store. “We were coming home from the farmer’s market, so we were like, ‘Well, let’s stop and read some poetry before we go home.'”
They said they enjoy reading the works of people they know, pointing out a poem by their state representative before the legislature, and annotating poems written by elementary school students. This year about 100 of the poets are students.
“It’s a really great demonstration of community literacy. It’s a great role model for young children,” said poet Rick Agran. “They write their hearts and they publish in a window. We’ll see small groups of girls and boys go to the candy store after school and then go out into the street and then they’ll hop around and read poetry.”
Last Saturday morning, during the so-called “Poetry Parade,” about a dozen poets walked through the city and absorbed poetry as a group experience. At each window one of them, sometimes the author, would read a poem. They clapped after hearing each one and made comments on technique and importance. Themes ranged from love and war to elm trees and the salmon on the poet’s plate.
“I’ve always made this unique,” said Argan, who led the parade as he read the poems in the windows. “But I always thought it would be cool to try and make it a group experience.”
Also for the first time for PoemCity, the poems were published this year in an anthology. Singer said she’s excited to see PoemCity back to near pre-pandemic levels.
“There were a few years where there was literally a program every day, which is why I say we do it in this amazing way,” she said. “We have a community that can support almost an entire poetry program every day. This is a special community. We’re going to have people showing up on all of these programs.”
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