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You don't read poetry. Stuffy at best, incomprehensible at worst, and irrelevant either way, contemporary poetry rarely (if ever) insinuates itself into your heart, or even your dusty I'll-get-to-it-someday bookshelf. Right?

If written poetry seems flat and uninteresting to you, try listening to it instead. Some poetry is brought to life by the voice of the author. Would your favorite song be so darn catchy if you just read the lyrics out of a book?

These are a few of the poets whose lyricism and compelling voices jump off the page. Forget impenetrable metaphors, obscure and pedantic references, or saccharine odes to pretty little daffodils. These women are forthright, politically and socially engaged, and even funny.

Orange and Grape
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Radical. Passionate. Revolutionary.

These are probably not the first characteristics you would ascribe to poetry or poets, but they are often used to describe Muriel Rukeyser and her work. Spanning WWII, the Spanish civil war, the communist witch hunts, and the Vietnam protests, her intrepid voice challenged common perceptions and social injustices. "The Ballad of Orange and Grape" is straightforward, witty, and full of clear and evocatively gritty urban imagery.

Struggling with her role as a suburban housewife and suffering from lifelong mental illness, Anne Sexton used her poetry to plumb the shadowy depths of her body and her psyche at a time when few writers and even fewer women did so. She was also a consummate performer, and her voice in this audio clip is nothing short of spine-tingling. "Her Kind" is a stunningly crafted short poem which challenges many of the expectations and stereotypes imposed on women.

Want more poetry on audio or video? We have spoken word performances on everything from LP to DVD, from Chaucer to Def Poetry.

Submitted by Audrey @ MPL Central

Yes, Mad Men fans, this is the book of poems that Don Draper is reading from at the end of the season 2 episode of the same name. In part because of his untimely death at the age of 40 in 1966, O'Hara may not be as well known outside of academic circles as some of his contemporaries, such as Allen Ginsberg (the subject of the recent film Howl), Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, and other Beats, but his poetry drew the praise of critics for a spontaneity that is at once artless and profound. O'Hara, an art critic and assistant curator at the Museum of Modern Art, believed that the best poems came about when, as he put it, "you just go on your nerve," and don't depend on form or convention. Poetry for O'Hara was something that you toss off in the heat and energy of the moment, not something that you sit down and compose, edit, and work into shape with painstaking care. Hence the title of this collection--his poems have a Zen-like calm and an unforced naturalness, despite arising from the hurry and uncertainty of everyday life. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Chris G. @ Bay View & Tippecanoe

I picked up Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno's collection of poems as an afterthought. I needed something to read quickly while waiting for a friend and Slamming Open the Door was a new book on display at my library. What I saw was a slim volume of poems, a cute ladybug on the cover, and a poet I had never heard of. I grabbed the collection and started reading. It took no more than the length of the introductory poem, "Death Barged In," for me to realize this was no ordinary collection and I had just entered a powerful place of sorrow and loss.

Here is what you need to know: Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno's 21 year old daughter, Leidy Bonanno (nicknamed Ladybug), was murdered on July 7, 2003. The police entered her apartment and found her dead; she had been strangled with a telephone cord. Her ex-boyfriend was later charged and found guilty of her murder.

After July 2003 these have become the essential facts of Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno's life. Through her poems we are given a glimpse into the grief that the loss of a child brings. Her language is compact, concise; never flowery or overwrought. The image of death "in his Russian greatcoat / slamming open the door / with an unpardonable bang" who "stands behind me / clamping two /colossal hands on my shoulders" will resonate with many who have felt the heavy weight grief.

I think of Slamming Open the Door often, and not morbidly. The power of this collection is that the poems manage to be beautiful in spite of the tragedy they convey. The American poet Thomas Lux hits the mark with his take on Bonanno's collection, "How does one say I love this book, which I wish never had to be written? Only one way: I love this book. I wish it did not have to be written."

Submitted by Kristina@ MPL Central

"There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it." -Flaubert

National Poetry Month is here; how are you celebrating? Attending a poetry reading? Signing up for a poetry class or workshop? Reading one poem a day? All of the above?

One of my favorite ways to celebrate National Poetry Month is to read at least one debut poetry collection. It's a great way to support new poets and be exposed to new poetic visions. Check out one of the debut collections below available at the Milwaukee Public Library.

To check availability click on the book cover, or click on the titles below.

• Adam Robison and Other Poems by Adam Robison
• Red Summer by Amaud Jamaul Johnson
• Factory of Tears by Valzhyna Mort
• Nick Demske by Nick Demske

Find even more ways to celebrate National Poetry Month with "30 Ways to Celebrate" from The Academy of American Poets.

Submitted by Kristina@MPL Central

Established in 1950, the National Book Award is an American literary prize given to writers by writers and administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization. 2011 winners include:

FICTION: Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones

NONFICTION: Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE: Thanhha Lai, Inside Out & Back Again

POETRY: Nikky Finney, Head Off and Split

Submitted by Jacki @ Central

I spent an evening curled up with an anthology of short stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe and I remembered why I loved Poe so much when I was young. It was, as they say, a match made in heaven. I still love the guy. I hope you will too.

It was just the other night and
the moon was bright
but I decided to read by candle light
because the story I chose
rose from my bookshelf
like a ghostly mist, as if, maybe, from
a dream within a haunted palace.
I read of a pit and what was at the bottom of it
and my mind shivered in horror.
Then I got bit by a tiny gold bug
and my face felt like a masque of
swollen red pseudo-death and
my heart had a tell-tale pitter-patter
that expressed all my fear and dismay
at what happened that day
on the Rue Morgue.
All I can say,
is that back in the day,
that Poe guy was some kind
of character
and one heck of a brilliant
writer.

Click here for catalog holdings

April is National Poetry Month, a month-long, national celebration of poetry. The concept is to widen the attention of individuals--to the art of poetry, to living poets, and to our complex poetic heritage. Look here for more ideas on how to celebrate, including a searchable poetry database and a place to sign up via email to receive a Poem-a-Day.

Submitted by Dan@Central

Submitted by Jacki @ Central

What Have You Done to Our Ears is the debut collection of poetry by first generation American poet Arlene Kim. Mixing fairy tales and Korean folk tales, Kim creates a surreal world where family and tradition collide with temptation and danger. This is a place where stolen sisters return "missing some part" and mothers and fathers disappear into the "dark milk" woods leaving orphaned children. "Season of the Frog", a personal favorite, is based on a Korean folk tale of a disobedient frog rebelling against his mother's wishes. Echoes of the conflict facing children of immigrant families, struggling to maintain cultural traditions in the face of assimilation, rise through in lines such as:

There is more world
and it is too sweet
to deny. Though I tried
to listen. I could not
follow your song

Be sure to read the notes portion of the collection as it explains many of the Korean folk tales and symbolism that may otherwise pass unnoticed. If you are interested in more poetry with inventive takes of fairy tales, check out The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales.

Kristina @ MPL Central

The National Book Awards (NBA) has a reputation for recognizing literary excellence. Independent panels of five writers have choose the National Book Award Winners in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature.

Now, over a half-century since its inception, the National Book Awards continues to recognize the best of American literature, raising the cultural appreciation of great writing in the country while advancing the careers of both established and emerging writers like Richard Powers, Jonathan Franzen, and Lily Tuck.

Nonfiction: Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity.

The dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the twenty-first century's great, unequal cities. In this fast-paced book, based on three years of uncompromising reporting, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human. Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees fortune in the recyclable garbage of richer people. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a rural childhood, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption. And even the poorest Annawadians, like Kalu, a fifteen-year-old scrap-metal thief, believe themselves inching closer to good times. But then, as the tenderest individual hopes intersect with the greatest global truths, the true contours of a competitive age are revealed.

Ficion: Louise Erdrich, The Round House.

When his mother, a tribal enrollment specialist living on a reservation in North Dakota, slips into an abyss of depression after being brutally attacked, 14-year-old Joe Coutz sets out with his three friends to find the person that destroyed his family.

Poetry: David Ferry, Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations

To read David Ferry's Bewilderment is to be reminded that poetry of the highest order can be made by the subtlest of means. In poem after poem, his diction modulates beautifully between plainspoken high eloquence and colloquial vigor, making his distinctive speech one of the most interesting and ravishing achievements of the past half century. Ferry's translations, meanwhile, are amazingly acclimated English poems. Once his voice takes hold of them they are as bred in the bone as all his other work. And the translations in this book are vitally related to the original poems around them.

Young Peoples Literature: William Alexander, Goblin Secrets
Hoping to find his lost brother, Rownie escapes the home of the witch Graba and joins a troupe of goblins who perform in Zombay, a city where humans are forbidden to wear masks and act in plays.

Jacki @ Central

While year-round, life-long reading of poetry is encouraged, National Poetry Month is a great way to celebrate the reading, the sharing, and the writing of poetry. You can even subscribe to receive daily poems by email for free, all year long.

Red Doc> by Anne Carson

Continuing the adventures of Geryon in Autobiography of Red, who is called only "G" in this volume, the modern world is observed through prose poems, marrying myth with contemporary culture. G is stunned and appalled by humanity, travelling with a lover named Sad and an artist named Ida, he faces death and love with maturity.

Taps on the Walls: Poems from the Hanoi Hilton by John Borling

The pen is indeed mightier than the sword--or, in this case, the mind and scarred knuckles. This collection was composed while the author was held in military prison by the Viet Cong for eight years. By rapping on the cell walls with his knuckles, Borling communicated pain and despair as well as humor and hope to his fellow prisoners.

The Oldest Word for Dawn: New and Selected Poems by Brad Leithauser

This collection explores the varied subjects of prehistory, travel and love through quirky patterns and inventive designs taken from traditional forms. Readers come upon a sonnet in one-syllable lines, a clanging rhyme-mad tribute to the music of Tin Pan Alley, and autobiography through parodies of Frost and Keats and Omar Khayyám.

Jacki @ Central

Add some poetry to your life this April in celebration of National Poetry Month. Many people don't read poetry simply because they don't know where to start. We are here to help! For each of the popular fiction titles below there is a matching poetry collection with a similar theme, tone, or writing style. Find the collection that fits your interest. Happy reading!

If you like George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice Series, try:

Finding My Elegy by Ursula K. Le Guin

You may be familiar with fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin's novels, but did you know she began her career as a poet? Finding My Elegy is a collection of her best poems spanning over 50 years. With the compelling and richly detailed language similar to Martin's series, Finding My Elegy is sure to transport you to another world.

Excerpt from A Lament for Rheged:
In the cold days/ of the end of December/ in dead Rheged/ I stand alone.
Winter wind/binds hand/binds tongue./The songs are sung./No fires burn.

If you like Marissa Silver's Mary Coin, try:

Flying at Night by Ted Kooser

Mary Coin is a fictional account of the life of the unknown woman featured in Migrant Mother, a famous Depression-era photograph. The novel's moving and reflective tone immediately reminded me of Great Plains poet Ted Kooser's work, particularly Flying at Night: Poems 1965-1985. Kooser writes about everyday life and his subjects are often from the rural Midwest. He has a wonderful ability to write about the past with a keen eye towards understanding the hardships of the time.

Kristina @ Central

There is a Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year. The winner is The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, described as "an exquisitely crafted novel that carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart."

Other finalists are:

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander -- "A diverse yet consistently masterful collection of stories that explore Jewish identity and questions of modern life in ways that can both delight and unsettle the reader."

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - "An enchanting novel about an older homesteading couple who long for a child amid the hard wilderness of Alaska and a feral girl who emerges from the woods to bring them hope."

The prizes in the other book awards went to (finalists listed here):

History: Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall -- "a balanced, deeply researched history of how, as French colonial rule faltered, a succession of American leaders moved step by step down a road toward full-blown war."

Biography: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss -- "a compelling story of a forgotten swashbuckling hero of mixed race whose bold exploits were captured by his son, Alexander Dumas, in famous 19th century novels."

Non-fiction: Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King -- "a richly detailed chronicle of racial injustice in the Florida town of Groveland in 1949, involving four black men falsely accused of rape and drawing a civil rights crusader, and eventual Supreme Court justice, into the legal battle."

Poetry: Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds -- "a book of unflinching poems on the author's divorce that examine love, sorrow and the limits of self-knowledge."