ArtsFairfax: Celebrating National Poetry Month with 30 guest poetry readers

ArtsFairfax: Celebrating National Poetry Month with 30 guest poetry readers

ArtsFairfax: Celebrating National Poetry Month with 30 guest poetry readers

ArtsFairfax and inaugural Fairfax Poet Laureate Nicole Tong invite you to celebrate the 25th anniversary of National Poetry Month. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff C. McKay kicked off the month by proclaiming April 2021 as Poetry Month in Fairfax County and read a poem written by local student Joon Won Lee.

ArtsFairfax continues celebrating poetry month each day in April and into May, releasing poems written by contemporary poets and read by 30 local residents as part of Ms. Tong’s community engagement project, Poetry Lives Here.

National Poetry Month, which takes place each April, is a celebration to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets celebrating poetry’s vital place in our culture.

“Poetry gives us the means to see life in a myriad of perspectives. ArtsFairfax, Fairfax Poet Laureate Nicole Tong, and our Poet Laureate program encourage county residents and others to discover and enjoy poetry through these public readings and your personal reading. Together these 30 readings bring to life the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of living US poets, and most importantly reminds people that poetry and poets are all around us,” says Linda S. Sullivan, President & CEO, ArtsFairfax.

Look for a new video each day in April on ArtsFairfax.org. Follow ArtsFairfax on Facebook and Instagram and Ms. Tong on Twitter @PoetryLivesHere. Remember to share on social media @ArtsFairfax your favorite poet, poem, and reader using the hashtag: #NPMArtsFairfax.

April Poem Reader Schedule:

1st The Honorable Jeff McKay, Fairfax County Board of Supervisor Chairman

2nd Nicole Tong, Fairfax Poet Laureate

3rd Crys Matthews, Singer, Songwriter

4th Josephy Gueron, Radio Host

5th Jennifer Atkinson, Poet

6th Paul Vodra, Host/Producer of DC music podcast Hometown Sounds

7th Calista Garcia, Singer and Songwriter

8th Holly Mason, Poet

9th Jona Colston, Poet

10th Yana Nikol, Musician

11th The Honorable Gerry Connolly, U.S. House of Representatives

12th Holly Karapetkova, Poet Laureate, Arlington County, VA

13th David Ebenbach, Author

14th Yasmine Bolden, Poet

15th Peggy Fox, Media Relations, Dominion Energy

16th Meghan Trossen, Marketing, Capital One Center

17th Alison Kysia, Potter, Multimedia Artist

18th Rebecca Tax, Chef

19th Sara Ebba Hansen, Writer

20th Lynn Borton, Producer/host Choose to Be Curious

21st Scott Weaver, Poet

22nd Sally Keith. Poet, Professor George Mason University

23rd Guillermo Almada, arts lover

24th Megan Beyer, former Director, President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities

25th Sharon Fishel, ArtsReach Director, McLean Project for the Arts

26th Reggie Holmes, Owner/Creative Director, Enthuse Creative, LLC

27th Nancy Najarian, Clean Energy Advocate

28th Kevin Leong, Music Therapist

29th Nathan Carter, Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer, NOVA

30th The Honorable Sharon Bulova, former Board of Supervisor Chair

May 1st Holly Seen, Affiliation Certified Child Life Specialist, INOVA

 

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