April is the Coolest Month

I’m thrilled it’s April and not just because it brings us in Boston one step closer to warm weather. April is also National Poetry Month, which is a great excuse to share favorite poems and celebrate all things poetry-related.

When I was a teen, we’d get to the poetry section in English class, and my teachers would talk about how special poetry is and how we were going to examine all the words and lines and phrases so carefully. As a fiction writer, I’d get all defensive and want to argue that stories take a lot of care with word choice, too, and what was so special about poetry, anyway? Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to read and write more poetry, and now I fully embrace National Poetry Month. Poems are cool, guys!

Know what else is cool? Bill Murray. Apparently he’s all about the poetry. He’s a video of Murray reading a couple of Wallace Stevens’ poems (including one of my favorites, “A Rabbit as King of the Ghosts”) as part of Poets House’s 17th Annual Poetry Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge:


Click through for more of Murray’s poetry reading skills, and feel free to share your plans for National Poetry Month in the comments!

Billy Murray, Coming to Your Next Poetry Reading

When you think “poetry,” you don’t necessarily think of Bill Murray. (Okay, maybe you do, but it’s probably because of the innate poetry in Ghostbusters.) But Murray can pull of a surprisingly good poetry reading. Here, at the 16th Annual Poets House Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge, he reads Billy Collins’ poem, “Forgetfulness”:

I’ve seen Collins at a couple of readings and Murray really hits that Collins vibe–humorous at first, with that great thoughtful turn at the end.

Click through to see Bill Murray tackle more poetry readings.

(via Tweetspeak Poetry)