The Iola Public Library will take part in “Poem for Your Pocket Day” on Friday, handing out poems to people as a way to celebrate National Poetry Month in April.
Volunteers will hand out 600 poems at 16 places throughout town, including the library.
National Poetry Month began in April 1996 by the Academy of American Poets and has become the largest literary celebration in the world.
This is the twentieth anniversary for Poem in Your Pocket Day, which started in New York City. Iola Public Library is participating for the first time. Organizers selected a variety of short traditional verses with a spring theme, from such poets as Robert Frost, Dorothy Parker, Sara Teasdale, Paul Laurance Dunbar and Edna St. Vincent Millay. They are printed on pastel papers and rolled up to resemble small scrolls.
The poems are to be carried and shared throughout the day in what the library hopes will become a fun ritual each spring.
The Academy of American Poets offers free poems at their website poets.org.
