Her 1970 poem I Am a Black Woman, brought national acclaim. Mari Evans, who first made her home in Indianapolis in 1947, was a writer, teacher, cultural and social activist, and a key figure in the Black Arts Movement. His verse was adopted as the official state poem in 1982. Kendalville’s Arthur Franklin Mapes wrote Indiana, expressing his love for the natural beauty abundant around him. Rose Hartwick Thorpe, born in Mishawaka in 1850, penned the narrative poem Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight, which was translated into multiple languages and became a favorite of Queen Victoria’s. While James Whitcomb Riley is probably the most recognized luminary in the Hoosier poetry sphere, there are so many others! Morin is the state’s current Premier Poet (or unofficial Poet Laureate). And, while Indiana may be known for growing corn, it’s also produced a bumper crop of poets. Hoosiers are no exception.ĭid you know that Indiana has a Poet Laureate? Officially, since 2005, and unofficially since 1929, the state has appointed a poet to interact, educate, and engage the public through poetry. Anyone – and I mean ANYONE – can enjoy or write a poem. This literary form is perhaps the most accessible means of expression. Notable Hoosier PoetsĪ poem can ask a question, express grief or elation, make us laugh, paint a picture, or take us on a journey. I was genuinely moved by the emotion of all that was happening in the world, and I wrote a poem on the spot that I’d like to share with you: One April morning, as I stopped by the buffalo statue that lives at the bottom end of our Nature Trail and looked out across the prairie. It was amazing to experience the wild edge of nature seeping in on what is normally and carefully ‘curated’. Poems can be inspired by a feeling, an event, a place, or even a sky-blue buffalo.ĭuring the 2020 quarantine, I spent some time on our closed grounds, making sure Conner Prairie was being looked after until our guests could return. As an adult, I use poetry to express emotions or share stories that might otherwise go unspoken. As a teenager, I poured out pages and pages of angst. As a child, I used rhyme to create silly songs I sang to box turtles in the pond. “Her shoe was askew.” Go ahead, say it out loud.ĭoesn’t it feel and sound luxurious? That’s poetry!Īs an art form, I have always found great freedom in poetry. My 4-year-old vocabulary hadn’t yet catalogued its definition, but I loved what it did to my mouth when spoken aloud, especially paired with shoe. I remember hearing that word – askew – and being fascinated by it.
#THE BIG TIDY UP NORAH SMARIDGE FULL#
Her beautiful box to keep ribbons in was full of old junk instead…” I can still quote by heart most of the sing-song-y lines from my favorite, The Big Tidy-Up, about a girl with a particularly messy bedroom, by Norah Smaridge: Truly, I was enamored by the poetry in the books I read as a small child. “To err is human to forgive, divine.” An Essay on Criticism, by Alexander Popeįrom the very beginning of our lives, nursery rhymes are quoted to calm and amuse us. “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose…” Sacred Emily, by Gertrude Stein “Because I could not stop for Death…” Poem, by Emily Dickinson “I have spread my dreams under your feet…” He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven, by W.B. “I wandered lonely as a cloud…” Poem, by William Wordsworth
“‘Tis better to have loved and lost…” In Memoriam A.H.H., by Lord Alfred Tennyson
“Do I dare to eat a peach?” The Love Song of J. “I took the road less traveled by…” The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost Just read through these lines of literary touchstones: Poetry is often perceived as difficult, by writers and readers alike, but we’ve subconsciously adopted bits of poetry as a part of our cultural zeitgeist. Since 1996, April has been a time to celebrate and explore the wonder of words that is the poem. Twenty-five years ago, the American Academy of Poets launched National Poetry month.
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