The Academy of American Poets chose wisely back in 1996 when they designated April as National Poetry Month. A book of poetry is the perfect choice for outdoor reading in spring. You can open to one page and put your hands back in your pockets to warm while you read. You can pay attention to all the tiny things popping up about you without losing your place. You can stop reading and just look at the shape of the words on the page while you take in some bird talk. While poetry is often compared to (and paired with) music, I think its artistic equivalent is more like sculpture: the poem stays in one place while you wander around it, taking in not just its shape but how it sits in the world that surrounds it. So pick up a poem and find a bench.



Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief

From the April 2015 issue of Notes from Horn Book.