Throughout April, the Edsel Ford Memorial Library celebrated National Poetry Month with readings, displays, and activities, including a poet’s bracket.

Ms. Kelly Whelan, instructional services coordinator and outreach librarian, said, “Poetry Month celebrates poetry in all its forms, whether that’s text, music, or other sorts of artistic representation. It’s an opportunity for people to be exposed to different kinds of poetry that they might not expect.”

Dr. John Hyland, instructor in English, led a found poetry workshop on April 24 in the Sprole Reading Room. Students in the workshop altered magazine cuttings and other found texts to create their final pieces. Olivia Choo ’26, said, “The workshop was a unique way to explore creativity in poetry in a non-conventional manner.”

On April 30, student poets organized a reading: “Celebrating Poetry Around the World.” Students from nine different cultures shared poems about the coming of spring in their native languages. Organizer Remy Lee ’26 said, “It was a great way to explore the commonalities and uniqueness of the cultures in our community and also grow an appreciation of poetry.”

Sofia Rasic ’26, a member of the Cherokee nation, read “Praise the Rain” by Muscogee poet Joy Harjo. Rasic said, “I was captivated by the unique rhythm of the poem, which embodied the form of rainfall: repetitive, yet free and flowing.”

Jose Jimenez ’26 read “Prodigio en la Montaña” by Costa Rican poet Julieta Ycaguirre. Jimenez said, “The poem captures the natural world of my home state at the beginning of the rainy season. Everything blooms and birds chirp, frogs croak; it’s as if the sky is raining green paint.”