LAKE COUNTY — Lake County bookstores and coffee houses will be abuzz in April to celebrate National Poetry Month, with contests and celebrations for poets of all ages.
Poets between ages 8 and 18 are eligible to participate in the Youth Writes contest, being held at six different venues throughout the county. Contestants must submit a permission slip signed by a parent in order to participate. Information and permission slips are available on the Lake County Arts Council Web site, or by contacting Lorna Sue Sides, 274-9254, poetryshared@yahoo.com. See information below about audition times and locations.
All day on Thursday, April 17, at Wild About Books, people will be celebrating “Poem in Your Pocket Day” by sharing with the public the poem they”ve been carrying around and sharing with their friends and loved ones all month. Lori Peters and her mother, Ellen Lundquist will have recording equipment going all day, so that these poems can be shared again in the future.
“Poem in Your Pocket” is an idea created this year by the Academy of American Poets, the organization that has been responsible for stimulating celebrations of poetry in April since 1996. The idea is to find a short poem you like and carry it in your pocket, sharing it with other people. Peters and Lundquist are extending this idea by providing poems people can pick up at the store, and then providing a full day, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 17, for people to come into the store and read their poem in front of an audience and a camera if they like.
From 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 19, young people between 15 and 25 years old are invited to participate in a Poetry Slam ? a performance contest, reading or reciting original poems ? at Watershed Books, where Cheri Holden will offer prizes for the three best poems.
Contestants can read or recite up to three original poems, each one a maximum of three minutes long, in three different rounds. Judges will be selected from the audience and prizes will go to for the three best poems.
Children 12 years old and younger will be invited to participate in a contest being organized by Lynn Fegan at Catfish Books. To qualify, children must submit their poems to Catfish Books by Monday, April 21, and winners will receive prizes for poems in many different categories. The contest will be judged by elementary school teachers and by Lake County Poet Laureate Mary McMillan.
April poetry celebration calendar:
* April 4 ? Youth Writes, 4 p.m. at Holy Joe”s in Upper Lake;
* April 5 ? Youth Writes, 1 p.m. at Caf? Victoria inLakeport;
* April 12 ? Youth Writes, 1 p.m. at Giovanni”s in Loch Lomond;
* April 17 ? Poem in Your Pocket, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Wild
About Books in Clearlake;
* April 19 ? Youth Writes, noon at Tuscan Village in Lower Lake;
* April 19 ? Poetry Slam, 3 p.m. at Watershed Books in Lakeport;
* April 21 ? Deadline for contest, all day at Catfish Books in Lakeport;
* April 25 ? Youth Writes, 3 p.m. at Wild About Books in Clearlake; and
* April 26 ? Youth Writes, 1 p.m. at the Calpine Geothermal Visitor”s Center in Middletown.
Poetry Resources:
* Catfish Books, 1013 11th St., Lakeport 263-4454
* Watershed Books, 305 N. Main St., Lakeport, 263-5787
* Wild About Books, 14290 Olympic Drive, Clearlake, 994-9453
* Lorna Sue Sides, 274-9254, poetryshared@yahoo.com
* Mary McMillan, mtmcmillan@mac.com
* LCAC Web site, www.lakecountyartscouncil.com.
Compiled by Lake County Poet Laureate Mary McMillan
