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These quotes for National Poetry Month will make you fall in love with the rhymes and rhythms of poetry.

It’s National Poetry Month! Not too excited? Well BookPal has put together a collection of 14 amazing poetry books to reinvigorate or ignite a passion for poetry! If you dread the thought of poetry, or even hate when you rhyme by accident, cure your poem-aphobia with these classic, popular poetry titles.

 

For Young Aspiring Poets

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

This collection of Silverstein poems and accompanying artwork will probably incite a giggle or two, and will definitely make you smile.

“I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.”

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Whether you’re a child or even an adult moving on to a new adventure, this classic Dr. Seuss title will inspire you to believe in yourself and all the place you can go.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..." 

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

A unique interpretation of Walter Dean Myers poem “Love That Boy”, written as a collection of free verse poems, this book offers subtle poetry for young readers.

“I don't want to
because boys
don't write poetry.

Girls do.”

Poetry for Young People by Maya Angelou

This brilliant collection of poems from one of the greatest poets and scholars of our time is specifically geared towards young readers, providing a stepping stone into the stirring world of poetry. 

From “Still I Rise”

“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”

The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury by Jack Prelutsky

A sweet compilation of children’s poems by famous writers mirrored with colorful pictures by artist Meilo So.

“How fragile
Floats the butterfly,
A banner barely cloth.
Woven of sterner stuff
It seems,
The tapestry of moth.”

by Victoria Forrester

 

The Essentials

The Pocket Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson 

Need some Emily Dickinson on the go? This miniature version of Dickinson's most famous poems makes for a great read no matter where you are.

“Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.”

Paradise Lost by John Milton

Needless to say Paradise Lost is one of the most epic sagas of poetry (there was almost a film version starring Bradley Cooper  — sigh for what could have been). This edition offers detailed annotations and commentary that will help you navigate the entire poetical journey. 

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven” 

T.S. Eliot: Selected Poems by T.S. Eliot

What better way to enjoy T.S. Eliot’s classic poems then with a collection chosen by Eliot himself.

From “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

 “Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” 

The Selected Poems of Li Po by Li Po

Though Li Po may not be a household name today like T.S. Eliot — unless your family happens to read poetry around the dinner table every night, which I think is wonderful — Li Po’s wistful and elegant poems have made his work recognizable in many corners of the world.

From “To Send Far Away”

“It’s been three years. Your scent still lingers,
your scent gone and yet never ending.
But now you’re gone, never to return,
thoughts of you yellow leaves falling,
white dew glistening on green moss."

 

For the Romantics

Love Poems by Pablo Neruda

So maybe it’s no longer Valentines Day... but with poems this romantic, why not share some of Pablo Neruda’s greatest love poems with those special someones in your life?

From “The Queen”

“I have named you queen.
There are taller than you, taller.
There are purer than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.
But you are the queen.” 

Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Poems by William Shakespeare

Everyone thinks they know Shakespeare, but do you really know the Bard? This collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets and poems, accompanied by detailed notes, will allow you to explore the most infamous name in poetry.

From “Sonnet 18”

“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

 

Poetry Not Written With a Quill

The Man with Night Sweats: Poems by Thom Gunn

As a modern poet, Gunn uses the delicate art of poetry to discuss dark themes such as illness and AIDs.

“I wake up cold, I who
Prospered through dreams of heat
Wake to their residue,
Sweat, and a clinging sheet.” 

To a Fault by Nick Laird

Born in Ireland and living in London, Laird is a modern writer whose poems discuss age old themes of displacement and the struggle for a sense of home.

“an English girl might well believe
that time is how you spend your love.” 

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

As one of America’s most revolutionary poets in the last fifty years, Howl encapsulates modern American issues and topics still pertinent today.

“We are great writers on the same dreadful typewriter”

 

You can purchase all these titles for National Poetry Month, as well as other children's books in bulk and classroom book sets, from BookPal.

 

This post was written by Sydney Moorhead, a customer service associate at BookPal. She loves reading (so much so that she majored in literature) and is currently working through Work Rules by Laszlo Bock, Do Over by Jon Acuff, Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath and Stir by Jessica Fechtor.