Poets.org Unsnobs Verse

The Academy of American Poets was founded in 1934. 

I don't think of myself as a poetry lover, but Poets.org convinced me to re-consider. 

With a mission "to support American poets...and to foster the appreciation of contemporary poetry," it sounds just a tad stuffy, don't you think? Well, it's not.

Turns out these wordsmiths foster appreciation in some very accessible ways. Mobile poetry reader, anyone? (It allows you to "Woo or woe, on the go.")

The site has oodles of references for educators (hello, substitute teachers, bookmark this: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/6) and other folks, including those (like me) who can't always tell their ee cummings from their Robert Frosts and those who'll admit (as I do) they've never read Shakespeare outside of a classroom. Poetry 101 is a lively, not-at-all disdainful or sarcastic section where I could learn a lot. But for today, at least, I'm going to browse the more bourgeois Poems for Every Occasion pages, complete with emoticons and links to the poets' Twitter and Facebook pages. #don'tjudgeme :D
___________________________________________
psssst - April is also National School Library Month. Hey I know, you could celebrate by donating a poetry book to your local school library. Bet Poets.org could recommend a few good books ...