And to Poetry Month, your response might be: Who Cares?!

It may very well be that poetry is past its prime. A professional poet is a hard thing to come by, and I’m fairly certain that most people couldn’t name a living poet when asked to. (It’s OK. See below for a quick list!)

What it comes down to is art: the art of our ever-changing language as a means of expression. It’s shocking to come across a poem written hundreds of years ago, and then hear lyrics written by a rapper last week, and have both “poems” ring true to you, though the language is vastly different. (Looking for “Spoken Word” poetry? Search it on iTunes, where you’ll also find audio recordings of works of poetry.)

Here we encourage your exploration into poetry, which, with a little insight, makes for brain-enlivening, fun, “quick-time” reading outside of a classroom. What’s great is that now you can listen to poetry on your MP3 or iPod, download it to your Kindle or Nook, or browse online or in a bookstore* for a juicy poetical payoff. No analysis required.

Poetry for Kids

You might think the hundreds of picture books published each year qualify as poetry for children, but really, they’re mostly just rhymed stories. Today’s teaching helps kids understand the succinct nature of poetry and language, and how their limited vocabularies are still quite effectual and expressive.

One source, Poetry for Children, a blog run by Sylvia Vardell, will give you all kinds of kids’ poetry ideas and authors, and surely something will suit your kid’s individual style. Check out “Poetry TagTime”, available for 99¢ as an ebook at Amazon.com.

Jack Prelutsky, children's book author

Jack Prelutsky, current US Children’s Poet Laureate, has a do-it-yourself poetry workshop available via Scholastic.com which can result with kids publishing their work on the web. If you’re not familiar already with Jack P.’s work, find his books at Barnes & Noble, or bn.com, or Amazon.com.

For older kids, especially the self-starter tween, young adult, and teens, Figment.com is an amazing site for reading “what everyone else is doing”, as well as an outlet to share works and receive feedback (or not!).

Poets Laureate

American Poets Laureate are determined by a consortium at the Library of Congress, and are meant to be writers whose work reflects the sentiments of their time or generation. The poets chosen tend to hold cache on the East Coast collegiate circuit; despite its diversity, the poets are worthwhile reading.

Current US Poet Laureate, W. S. Merwin’s poetry has garnered national awards. His poems reflect a mid-20^th Century angst, and question war, just as we do now. Check out his tome Migration: Selected Poems 1951-2001.

Past laureates include Robert Lowell, William Carlos Williams, Billy Collins and Kay Ryan, who recently used her stature to get community college students published in a project called “Poetry for the Mind’s Joy”. Read the successful Mind’s Joy poetry on the Library of Congress website.

Modern Poetry and the New Haiku

Wonder which authors are on today’s watch list for the publishing world? Industry journal Publishers Weekly put out a list of authors in an article “Poetry Profiled 2011” in their nod to National Poetry Month. Included in this list is a poetry guide by David Orr, Beautiful & Pointless: A Guide to Modern Poetry.

There are hundreds of poetry anthologies to find on Amazon, Borders, Indiebound.org, or at Barnes & Noble, often classified by subject: Love, Nature, Classics, Sonnets, Regional, etc. Try unusual search terms and see what you find: type in “Dog Poetry” and the first selection in query results is a fun collection written by writer’s dogs.

A new, digital phenomenon is Twitter Poetry. The emergence of poems written in 140 characters (or less) was noted recently in the Establishment’s paper-of-record, The New York Times. Look up T Poet on Twitter (@TwitterPoetry) or try the blog site TwiHaiku, where you can read Twitter examples filed by subject (love, nature, the universe), or upload your own works.

The thought of haiku might bring to mind Japan. Traditional haiku is a more carefully studied art form with centuries of history. To quench your 5-7-5 syllable haiku thirst, pick up a translated collection by Matsuo Basho, Kobayashi Issa, or Yosa Buson, or compare all three in a Haiku collection with an introduction to all three authors by the illustrious Robert Hass.

Want to read more?  Add some of these great poet’s works to your ipod or MP3 player by purchasing discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle to make the downloads more affordable.  Or head over to your local bookstore and peruse the shelves for your favorite authors.

Get discounted Barnes & Noble Gift Cards >>>

Trade in or exchange a gift card with unused balance for an Amazon.com Gift Card >>>
Get Discounted Borders Gift Cards >>>
Get Discounted iTunes Gift Cards >>>

Get Discounted Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Gift Cards (you have to read somewhere!) >>>

Remember that most poems are copyrighted material, so think twice before you publicly publish any works that are not your own.

Enjoy the look inward, as you explore our language as it lives, changes, and even to explore its dead, fallen branches (to wax poetic!) to see how you may grow in your humanity.

Give us your favorite poems and poets. Leave a comment to let us know how you think of poetry in your daily life.

Sometimes, entering your contact information can seem risky. Here at Plastic Jungle we steer you to valid and current gift card sweepstakes, weekly on Fridays.

Get the scoop on hot gift card sweepstakes going on around the web right here! We bring you the best of the online sweepstakes and online giveaways – these are first-rate promotions and are your chance to win gift cards. This week brings you opportunities to win at GameStop, Courtyard Hotels and a favorite retailer, JCPenney.

• GameStop is running a $500 Gift Card Giveaway. Just enter your information for a chance to win.
• Courtyard Hotels Gift Card Giveaway on Twitter. Courtyard Hotels is giving away $50 gift cards daily now through December 17, 2010. Just follow @courtyardhotels on Twitter, and reTweet the specified daily Tweet, and you are entered to win.
• JCPenney presents Mix It, Match It, Virtual Closet. Parenting.com and JCPenney are giving away a $50 gift card weekly, with a $1000 grand prize.

16 Days Left in Plastic Jungle’s Holiday Sweepstakes

If you’ve not become a fan of ours on Facebook yet, there’s never been a better time to “Like” Plastic Jungle. Check out our fabulous DAILY $100 gift card giveaway: we’re giving away a $100 gift card EVERY DAY through December 25th when you Like us on Facebook.

You want to know, right?! So far, winners include:

•       T. Wisner won a $100 Kohl’s Gift Card

•       L. Lemons won a $100 Best Buy Gift Card

•       J. Neal won a $100 Target Gift Card

•       Palmer won a $100 Williams Sonoma Gift Card

•       W. Scruggs won a $100 Target Gift Card

•       K. Brand won a $100 Kohl’s Gift Card

•       A. Sakurada won a $100 Shell Gift Card

•       C. Alley won a $100 Walmart Gift Card

•       D. Roucoulet won a $100 Barnes & Noble Gift Card

•       K. Lyneis won a $100 Nordstrom Gift Card

•       L. McInnis won a $100 Macy’s Gift Card

•       R. Stephen won a $100 Walmart Gift Card

•       C. Hicks won a $100 Walmart Gift Card

•       S. Brown Lee won a $100 Target Gift Card

•       J. Cook won a $100 Old Navy Gift Card

•       W. Thompson won a $100 JC Penney Gift Card

•       R. Ceja won a $100 Pottery Barn Gift Card

•       H. Fan won a $100 Best Buy Gift Card

•       S. Jones won a $100 Victoria’s Secret Gift Card

•       A. Lopez Jr won a $100 Apple Store Gift Card

•       R. Lane won a $100 Sears Gift Card

•       I. Flores won a $100 American Eagle Outfitters Gift Card

•       A. Feinstein won a $100 Gap Gift Card

Congratulations to Plastic Jungle’s 40 Days of Holiday Sweepstakes winners!

Search "Plastic Jungle" on Facebook to find our Holiday Sweepstakes!