National Poetry Month 2009

Did you know National Poetry Month is in April? National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. If you love poetry and you happen to live in Texas, below is a short list of events you can attend in Texas for the months of March through May.

1. In Austin Texas, The Austin International Poetry Festival is held near the last weekend of April (April 23-26). All the events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. To register to read your poetry you can register online at http://www.aipf.org/. The AIPF poetry slam will be Friday, April 24th at Ruta Maya starting at 9:30pm. Winners will be rewarded with cash prizes. For more information you can visit the AIPF website at http://www.aipf.org/ or you can email aipfdirector@gmail.com.

2. The University of Houston-Clear Lake center is hosting four poetry readings this semester. The next reading will be held on April 7 and May 6 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., in the Cappuccino Bono, Student Services and Classroom Building. The address is 2700 Bay Area Blvd. All the readings are open to the public and novice poets as well as experienced poets are welcome. For more information visit the UH-Clear Lake website at http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/portal/HOMEPAGE, call 281-283-3430 or e-mail subramanian@uhcl.edu.

3. The 2nd Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival is quickly approaching. Poets still have a few days to register. March 21 is the deadline. Dates of the events have not been updated from last years schedule, but the Festival will be held the last weekend of April 2009. The location is still to be determined as well, but updates will be posted this month. The events will be free and open to the public. There are; however, books, chapbooks, CDs, t-shirts, and other items for sale at the festival. The VIPF also plans to offer an anthology, a poetry slam for youth and adults, open mic for college students and other events. Contact the founder, Daniel García Ordaz at 956-358-7211 or visit the website at http://www.vipf.org/ for more information.

If these events are not convenient for you SOL Magazine Projects has a site filled with poetry events happening in Texas throughout the year. I found this site to be the best place to go to for the most current information. If you know of an event and it is not on the list please email them to add it to the list.

In addition to this list take a look at Meetup.com. The Houston Poetry Slam Meetup group is holding a meeting on April 5, but the location can only be seen by members. Click on the join button on the group site if you want to become a member.

Happy National Poetry Month!