Curious links for April 2015 (NPM15 edition)

1) Happy National Poetry Month! April is always brimming with opportunities to connect and share in our love of literature. Among those celebrating (formally or casually): AngelHousePress is curating some beautiful visuals under the NationalPoetryMonth.ca banner, the New York Public Library is rolling out 30 Days of Poetry (wherein library staff are recorded reading poems they’ve selected), Chaudiere Books is publishing new work every few days, Apparatus Magazine is posting 30 inspiration prompts and then there are countless others taking the poem-per-day challenge in various ways (including myself). I reckon the best way to navigate National Poetry Month is by following hashtags like #npm15, #nationalpoetrymonth, #poetrymonth and #NaPoMo for an unpredictable hodgepodge of videos, poems and encouragement. 

2) Locally, National Poetry Month culminates with gritLIT, Hamilton’s Readers and Writers Festival, which takes place April 16th through 19th! It'll be another stellar line-up of readings, workshops, lectures and events, featuring the likes of Kathleen Winter, Richard Swift and Christine Fischer Guy, among others. Just as exciting are the pre-festival partner events, such as Hamilton Poetry Centre’s reading with Gary Barwin and Deanna Young on April 9th at Homegrown Hamilton, and Lit Live’s roster on April 12th, including Janet Hepburn, Michael Lista, M.A.C. Farrant, Stephen Smith and Elizabeth Bachinsky. I've barely scratched the surface, so check out the full itinerary here.

3) But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. Poetry Month is young and gritLIT has barely warmed up. There’s still time to submit a poem for the Mayor’s Poetry City Challenge, a project spearheaded by Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi that selects local poets to read their  winning poetry during a city council meeting in April. So far nearly 70 communities around Canada have enlisted, so read the submission rules and apply by your city’s deadline.

4) BookThug's Spring 2015 launch is happening April 23rd at Toronto's The Garrison, celebrating new books by Mike Steeves, Pearl Pirie, Carellin Brooks, Lesley Battler, Daniel Karasik, Jimmy McInnes, Jake Kennedy and kevin mcpherson eckhoff. Full details are here.