"Poetry is an act of peace."

Here are 17 things I thought were worth sharing:

1. With thanks to Pablo Neruda for this blog post’s title, poetry is EXACTLY what we should be turning towards in these difficult times. Whether it’s National Poetry Month (which begins today!) or not, the Academy of American Poets wants to help you celebrate!
2. Ask your students to write a response to a poetry video, and they just might hear back from that poet!
3. As we all stay at home and do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19, check out the hashtag #shelterinpoems on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! 
4. Create some spine poetry from the books you have around you!
5. Sign up for a new daily poetry podcast (created by our current U.S. Poet Laureate) that might just make you feel better!
6. Even though most of us are not riding the subways now, check out the MTA’s ongoing “Poetry in Motion” campaign.
7. Think about what role poetry plays in your life…
8. Sign up here to get a poem in your inbox every day!
9. This year, Poem in Your Pocket Day is on April 30th, and even though we probably won’t be together at school on that day, plan to celebrate anyway! You can download some poems for the day here, put together by several national and international poetry organizations. 
10. Here are 22 Ways to Teach and Learn about Poetry with The New York Times (updated for 2020). 
11. Billy Collins is one of my favorite contemporary poets, and more than 15 years ago, he created and edited “Poetry 180”, a way for poetry to be shared to high school students for every day they were in the school building. Enjoy this resource at the Library of Congress!
12. Here are two interactive tools that allow anyone to create, print, and share “erasure” poems: democratic texts and erasures. 
13. We can’t travel very far these days, but we can now easily get back to 1954 if we want to!
14. Even though it’s physically closed, NYPL is still actively celebrating their 125th birthday! Click here to see 125 books that they just LOVE!
15. Smithsonian Open Access is a brand-new way to access and re-use millions of images from the Smithsonian’s archives! 
16. The New York Times’ Learning Network now has a YouTube channel! Subscribe today!