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poetry community, Brodsky was the first to suggest a program with national reach. Maxine Kumin initiated a poetry workshop for women at the Library of Congress, and Natasha Trethewey foundedWhere Poetry Lives, a collaboration with PBS NewsHour’s Poetry Series to explore societal issues through poetry’s focused, emotional lens. Juan Felipe Herrera, who was the first Hispanic person to hold the position, holds the record for most projects completed during his term. One of his largest projects, “La Casa de Colores,”was a two-piece project. One half, named “La Familia,”was an epic poem that writers across the nation could contribute to that ran through the span of Herrera’s Laureateship. The other half, “El Jardín,”was a series of webcasts that explored the various curators who work at the Library of Congress. Anyone in the world can view deeply touching records of poetry from soldiers and the professionals behind maintaining them. His other projects include “The Technicolor Adventures of Catalina Neon,” a children’s book that schools across the country helped finish writing; Wordstreet Champions and Brave Builders of the Dream, a program for promoting poetry in the Chicago school district; and the Laureate Lab and Visual Wordlist Studio, a performance/classroom space. You can show support for poetry without being in office. Celebrate National Poetry Month by sharing poetry with loved ones, writing your own, or subscribing to the Poem-A-Day initiative provided by the Academy of American Poets!
Poet laureates are rarely expected to express political stances —with only one exception in U.S. history thus far. In 2001, Billy Collins was asked to write and perform a poem in honor of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Pennsylvania. Because of the hands-off nature of the position, many poet laureates choose to address very specific issues or projects during their terms. In 1991, Joseph Brodsky proposed a system by which the government would provide poetry to put in airports, supermarkets, and hotel rooms. Although government-supplied poetry sparked heated debates in the
WHEN SHOULDYOUTEACHYOUR CHILDTO READ? And How Should You Do It?
goes oink or the mailman has a funny, nasally voice, bring those features to life. You can also have your kids help you with daily tasks that require reading, like making a to-do list or shopping at the grocery store. When they’re helping you and having fun, it won’t feel like learning at all! Finally, the best way to make reading enjoyable for your children is to enjoy it yourself. Your kids watch what you do, and if they see you enjoying a good book, they’ll want to read even more. Reading opens up the world to them, and with your help, nothing will dull their love of learning.
If your child is between 3–5 years old, you’ve probably noticed that they’re becoming a lot more talkative. By the time children are 4, they can usually speak in 5–8-word sentences. That makes this age range the perfect time to get your child interested in reading. However, this can raise a lot of questions. For starters, the question of how to get your child interested in reading is almost more important than when you do it. You may wonder howmuch time you should spend reading with them, how intensive reading time should be, and if you should make everything involving words and letters into a reading lesson. While the answers to these questions will vary from child to child, there’s one goal that every parent should strive for when teaching their child to read: Above all, help them enjoy it. When your child starts kindergarten, learning to read will be a part of the curriculum. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to teach them to read earlier, though. If your child loves to read, it can make their learning experience much more enjoyable.
There are plenty of ways to help your child enjoy reading from an early age. One is to simply read to them and make storytime fun. If the pig
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