Rhymes with Everett

Hey, Everett! You're invited to join poets Kevin Craft, Ed Skoog, and Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken for a night of poetry at the library. Come to the Main Library Auditorium on Wednesday, April 11 at 7pm to participate in the Favorite Poem Project. Sign up in advance if you want to read a poem. But if you're not interested in reading a poem aloud you can always sit in the audience and enjoy as your fellow citizens bring poetry to life.

At the time of this writing, we have almost 20 people signed up to read poems and talk about why they like those poems so much. Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks, William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes are among the favorites. But don't feel tied to the classics. The only rule is you can't read a poem written by yourself, a friend, or a relative.

I can't make it that night but I'm still participating. How? One of our librarians was kind enough to tape many different staff members and me reading poems. We also talk about the reasons behind choosing the poem we chose. I picked something a little silly, Why I Have a Crush On You, UPS Man by Alice N. Persons. It's something that became a rollicking inside joke among my fellow catalogers in the basement where we receive deliveries every day. But it's also totally appropriate, not just for the nature of our work but the nature of my personality.

So have fun with it. Poetry is what you make of it. And we're making a good time on April 11^th!

Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library