Thursday, April 15, 2010

Let's Celebrate National Poetry Month with a Mini-Challenge!


I came across a list at Goodreads called "Favorite Poets of Color" and it gave me an idea for a mini-challenge here at the POC Reading Challenge blog. I wish I would have thought of it earlier in the month, but we've still got 2 weeks left. Through the end of April, write up a blog post about a poet of color. It can be a review of a poetry book, it can be a spotlight on a poet of color, it can be a list of some of your favorite poets of color, it can be a poem written by one of your favorite poets of color. I'm opening it up to any kind of post as long as it focuses on poets of color. Let's limit entries to one a day per person. :-)

I have a couple of poetry books here that I will offer up as prizes to participants and I'll pick two winners randomly out of all of the entries. I'm happy to send to international participants as well.
What can you win?
I'm offering The Book of Light by Lucille Clifton (gently used), Burnt Sugar: Contemporary Cuban Poetry in English and Spanish, and She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo (gently used)**. The winners will get to choose one of these books. :)
**Note for the FTC: I bought these books with my own money.


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12 comments:

  1. :D Thanks Pam!

    If anyone wants to use it in their mini-challenge post, feel free!

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  2. I love the button too. What a great idea!

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  3. I became all excited. I put the button on my blog. Then, I posted a poem. I hope that's alright. How many poems can we post, each person, since we only have the two weeks?

    http://readwithtea.blogspot.com/2010/04/poets-of-color-mini-challenge-lucille.html

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  4. Tea, I'm happy that you are so excited about this mini-challenge! Let's limit entries to once a day. :) I like the poem you posted--Lucille Clifton is wonderful.

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  5. Okay, thanks Katy. I can't wait to read other poems posted by the other friends here.

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  6. What a great idea and lovely button! I'll try and participate. Hmm can it be a review of a book written in verse? Or strictly a poetry book? I don't mind either, it's a good stretch for me since I don't read much poetry or verse novels.

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  7. :) I think novels in verse count as poetry, so go for it! I haven't read many novels in verse either, so I'd love to see what you come up with.

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  8. What a cool idea. I hope I will have time to participate, but I doubt it, but will TRY to read/post something.

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  9. Great posts so far! I'm loving them!

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  10. I already linked mine in the main post for April, but I added it here as well just so that it's in the poetry post.

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  11. Here is a poem written in the 1930s by a Filipino poet that expresses very well the corrosive power of colonialism

    They took away the language of my blood,
    Giving me one “more widely understood”,
    Ah, could I speak the language of my blood,
    I, too, would free the poetry in me,

    These words I speak are out of pitch with ME!
    That other voice? . . . Cease longing to be free!

    Forever shalt thou cry, a muted god:
    “Could I but speak the language of my blood!”

    The name of the poet is no longer known, it is from an anthology of the work of women poets of Manila-it is out of print and was published in 1937

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