sPeCiAL ApRiL – CeLeBrAtInG pOeTrY

April marks the celebration of poets and poetry being recognized as National Poetry Month celebrating its 25th Anniversary! What a monumental moment. Poetry is an art form of expression used to convey messages through words, rhythm, rhyme, and of course different styles. Poetry is not just an art form but also it is a craft. The enjoyment of literature in its various forms dates back thousands of years as early as 20BC. Most scholars recognize its beginnings in 13 BC when Sonnets were introduced. But there are poems from the Restoration society and the satirical verses of the 17th Century with poets such as John Dryden (English Poet) but noted there were Spanish poets such as Joan Baptista Aguilar, amongst many others.

 There are three writing forms such as prose, spoken poetry and of course different types of poems, itself. Prose tends to include the following characteristics: Most everyday writing is in prose form; The language of prose is typically straightforward without much decoration; Ideas are contained in sentences that are arranged into paragraphs; There are no line breaks; Sentences run to the right margin; The first word of each sentence is capitalized; And lastly, Prose looks like large blocks of words. 

Spoken word poetry is poetry that is written on a page but performed for an audience. Because it is performed, this poetry tends to demonstrate a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, free association, rhymes, rich poetic phrases, wordplay, and slang. Types of poetry include the following qualities: Poetry is typically reserved for expressing something special in an artistic way; The language of poetry tends to be more expressive or decorated, with comparisons, rhyme, and rhythm contributing to a different sound and feel; Ideas are contained in lines that may or may not be sentenced; Lines are arranged in stanzas; Poetry uses line breaks for various reasons—to follow a formatted rhythm or to emphasize an idea; Lines can run extremely long or be as short as one word or letter; And, traditionally, the first letter of every line is capitalized, but many modern poets choose not to follow this rule strictly; Furthermore, the shape of poetry can vary depending on line length and the intent of the poet. Poetry’s art form is a literary space where all people can benefit as the audience and writer. Go write your poem and submit it to the Buffalo Latino Village.

Editor’s Note: We need more Puerto Ricans/Latinos to discover the beauty of poetry.  Visit your local library, go online, go to the bookstore, and discover our great poets: Julia Alvarez, Pedro Pietri, Isabel Allende, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Julia de Burgos, Sandra Cisneros, Nancy Mercado,  Jesus Papoleto Melendez, and many more. Just type “Latino poets” and a treasure of our Latino poets pops up.  To begin, go to www.poetry.org, and learn about the beauty of Poetry.