Poetic Mnemonics: The Leap Year Poem

On Feb. 29, a certain rhyme may come mind -- just as it does when someone asks: "how many days are there this month?" You know what I'm talking about: the "Thirty days hath September..." poem. To me, leap year day is a good time to reflect on poetry's role in developing memory.

Hearing and reciting poetry is probably the oldest form of building memorization skills, skills that we use in all areas of life every day. In 1995, the Academy of American Poets commissioned Connecticut's Poet Laureate, John Hollander, to compile an anthology of poetry specifically geared to be memorized and recited. The antholgy is called Committed to Memory; you can learn more about it, as well as historical background and tips for memorization at poets.org.

Maybe one of the most interesting things is the reference to Plato's Phaedrus, in which Socrates describes the invention of writing. In Socrates' story, the Egyptian god Thoth shows his writing to another god, Ammon. Ammon's response is "This discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember themselves."

As I sit blogging, with my computer remembering passwords for me and my cell phone remembering phone numbers, it's sobering to think that writing itself could induce forgetfulness!  Let's see how much of this posting I will remember tomorrow.

And you? Do you still remember the "Thirty days hath September" poem in its entirety? Here is the version I learned, way back when. Happy Leap Year!

30 days hath September
April, June, and November.
All the rest have 31,
save February - the shortest one.
28 is all it stores,
till Leap Year gives it one day more.