Make with Me: Poem Pockets

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the National Writing Project via Write Now, will post ideas and activities to encourage creating and sharing poetry: fun activities, serious activities, silly activities, activities for children and adults, etc. The first activity is to make a pocket to keep your favorite poems in preparation for Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 30, a special day to share poems.

Here is some inspiration to get you started:

Pocket
noun
a small bag sewn into or on clothing so as to form part of it, used for carrying small articles.
a small patch of something.

idiom
in one’s pocket
in one’s possession
under one’s influence

Ex. Social distancing? We’ve got it in the pocket with pocket poems.

Poem to inspire:

• Vest by Jane Hirshfield
• Pockets by Neal Bowers
• first, take a fistful of hair by Francine J. Harris

Songs to inspire:

• Songs with “pocket” in the title. (Warning: some lyrics NSFW.)

Pocket ideas to inspire:

Origami paper bag pocket for petite poems. (Because grocery delivery.)

Spruce Crafts tutorial for beginner origami pocket

Fabric pocket with fake quilt stitching. (In case you want to be fancy.)

Fabric pocket from old cargo pants. (Because who’s wearing them these days?)

Three meditations on pockets for poems made of toilet paper rolls. (Enough said.)

Create a Digital Poem Pocket with Padlet. (Because you want to screen share, right?)

Example: https://padlet.com/stephwp/fi9n3hu7bcv0 … I added I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth

Share your pockets and your poems all month long!

To share your pockets and poems to a wider audience, use the following hashtags on social media: #WriteNow #NWP #NationalPoetryMonth