Celebrate National Poetry Month at the Monmouth County Library!

Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, open mic and slam poetry. Pick your favorite as the Monmouth County Library marks National Poetry Month. 

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets throughout the United States band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture.

Library programs in April include:

The Borders of Sleep: Readings from Shakespeare and Poe
2 p.m. Saturday April 12
Eastern Branch, 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury 07702
1-866-941-8188

A reading and discussion of a selection of sonnets by Shakespeare and short works by Poe, that will delve into the 'borders of sleep', that landscape between dreams and reality. Presenter John Russo will incorporate his own experiences into the dialogue. Russo is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and a member of various repertory companies including the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival Company, and Shakespeare for Students.

Poets Live! A Celebration of National Poetry Month
1 p.m. Saturday, April 19
Eastern Branch, 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury 07702
1-866-941-8188

Listen to poets reading their works and read some poetry of your own! This program will feature published poets James Arthur and Christine Salvatore, along with members of the Jersey Shore Poets. After the readings there will be an open mic session – sign up at the Library to read your own poetic creations. Call the library at 1-866-941-8188 for more information.

Approaches to Poetry: A Slam Poetry Workshop for Teens
1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 26
Ocean Township Library, 701 Deal Road, Ocean Township 07712
732-531-5092

Three local slam poets join forces to offer a workshop, performance and open mic afternoon for high school teens. Students will work with the poets to create a poem, listen to the poets perform samples of their own work, then perform their own.

The featured poets each come to their poetry from different places:

-- Josh Ballard is a spoken word artist who has toured the country and hosts Loserslam, New Jersey's longest running Slam Poetry Team.

-- Mark Brunetti is the editor of The Idiom Magazine and believes that the white space for a poem on the page is just as critical as the words themselves.

-- Dogmatic is a visual artist who can be found painting at festivals, shows and poetry readings

To register for this event, please call 732-531-5092 or stop by the Library's Reference Desk.

For more information on programming at the Monmouth County Library, please click on the Library’s webpage at www.monmouthcountylib.org