T.S. Eliot dubbed April the “cruelest month,” but for poetry enthusiasts today, we consider April the happiest month—an entire month to celebrate poetry and its vital place in our culture. How do you plan to celebrate?

First off, stop by your neighborhood library to check out some poetry books. Secondly, join us at ALOUD on Thursday, April 12, for Concrete Rivers: The Emotional Topography of LA, to hear from local poets Wanda Coleman and Lewis MacAdams on how Los Angeles has shaped their poetry and activism.

Want more poetry? Watch this conversation on poetry and politics with Edgar Arceneaux and Douglas Kearney. Or read our recent interview with U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine. Here’s a link to The Waste Land to read why Eliot blacklisted the month of April, and check out the Academy of American Poets website for other ideas on celebrating National Poetry Month, including requesting a free copy of this poster: