National Poetry Month: A World of Poetry | Periscope

Poetry is a language spoken around the world.

Although you may not regularly sit down and read poetry, chances are you are exposed to some form of it every day. Do you jump rope? If you do, you may sing a song like this to keep your feet moving.

Down by the seashore, down by the sea,
Johnny broke a bottle and blamed it on me.
I told ma, ma told pa,
Johnny got a spanking, ha-ha-ha!

If you jump rope, sing or rap, you are participating in a form of language art that has been around for thousands of years! Recently, poetry has been reinvented through poetry "slams." At poetry slams, poets perform to a lively, critical audience. But, no matter what form poetry takes, all poems use words to express ideas, feelings, thoughts and images.

National Poetry Month is celebrated in April each year.

 

Title:
Fleas Interest Me So Much | A World of Poetry
Fleas Interest Me So Much | A World of Poetry
Episode 7

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fleas Interest Me So Much Fleas interest me so much They are perfect, ancient, Sanskrit, machines that admit of no appeal. They do not bite to eat, they bite only to jump; they are the dancers of the...
Pat Mora | Poetry All-Stars
Pat Mora | Poetry All-Stars
Episode 7

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pat Mora (1942 - ) Pat Mora is a writer of numerous children's books of poetry and prose. Mora is a native of El Paso, Texas and her work often features local interests, such as her family, the...
China | A World of Poetry
China | A World of Poetry
Episode 8

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

China The written form of Chinese poetry is believed to be over 22,000 years old. The first collection of Chinese poetry, The Book of Songs, was created between the 11th century and 2nd century B.C...
Emily Dickinson | Poetry All-Stars
Emily Dickinson | Poetry All-Stars
Episode 8

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Emily Dickinson 1830 - 1886 Emily Dickinson rarely left her home in Massachusetts, and her connection to the outside world was usually through letter writing. But Dickinson's creativity seemed to...
While Visiting on the South Stream | A World of Poetry
While Visiting on the South Stream | A World of Poetry
Episode 9

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

While Visiting on the South Stream the Taoist Priest Chang Walking along a little path, I find a footprint on the moss, A white cloud low on the quiet lake, Grasses that sweeten an idle door, A pine...
Deer-Park Hermitage | A World of Poetry
Deer-Park Hermitage | A World of Poetry
Episode 10

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Deer-Park Hermitage There seems to be no one on the empty mountain... And yet I think I hear a voice, Where sunlight, entering a grove, Shines back to me from the green moss. - Wang Wei
Modern Aboriginal Poetry of Australia | A World of Poetry
Modern Aboriginal Poetry of Australia | A World of Poetry
Episode 11

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Modern Aboriginal Poetry of Australia The songs and oral poems of the aborigines of Australia have been passed down for thousands of years. The poems explore their historical and spiritual connection...
Africa, Part 1 | A World of Poetry
Africa, Part 1 | A World of Poetry
Episode 14

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Africa In Africa, the djelis (pronounced "jay-lee"), or storyteller, uses poetic rhythms and expression to tell stories. Like the Greek poet Homer, the djelis memorizes poems and is part of an oral...
Africa, Part 2 | A World of Poetry
Africa, Part 2 | A World of Poetry
Episode 15

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

To The Rain Bringer of wealth Feeder of orphans Fall gently Come and feed us peacefully Oh, fall gently. - Acoli
Africa, Part 3 | A World of Poetry
Africa, Part 3 | A World of Poetry
Episode 16

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Bicycle My frail little bicycle, The one with the scar, My sister Seabelo, Horse of the Europeans, Feet of tire, Iron horse, Swayer from side to side. - Hurutshe A scar is a thin tool bag attached to...
Africa, Part 4 | A World of Poetry
Africa, Part 4 | A World of Poetry
Episode 17

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Frog Frog you, frog you Your Friend, your friend; Frog you, frog you: He is calling his wife Jump squat, jump squat He is calling his wife - Sotho "Frog" is sung in a jumpy, jerky manner to imitate a...
Japan, Part 1 | A World of Poetry
Japan, Part 1 | A World of Poetry
Episode 18

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Japanese haiku is one of the most widely known forms of poetry in the world. Haiku, or "beginning verse," evolved from a 16th-century Japanese poetry form known as the "renga." Haiku is admired...
Poetry Comes in Many Shapes and Colors | A World of Poetry
Poetry Comes in Many Shapes and Colors | A World of Poetry
Episode 22

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

These are only a few types of poetry found throughout the history of the world. In this month's issue of Periscope, you will find that poetry comes in many shapes and colors. It is written for...
Hyer, Helen von Kolonitz | South Carolina Public Radio
Hyer, Helen von Kolonitz | South Carolina Public Radio

Audio

Grades: 6 7 8

"H" is for Hyer, Helen von Kolonitz (1896-1983). Poet, writer. While still in her teens, Hyer published her first poems. She joined the Poetry Society in 1920. Her first poetry collection, Santee...