April is National Poetry Month and the library has plenty of ways to celebrate. All through April, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Main in Oakland is giving library-goers a taste of poetry from the library’s extensive collection through daily poetry reads and thoughtfully crafted library displays.
Some of the poets the library will feature from the collection include:
- Amanda Gorman
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti
- Langston Hughes
- Danez Smith
- Mother of Honorary Grand Minister (Takashina no Takako)
- Emily Dickinson
- Basho Matsuo
- Ogden Nash
- Elizabeth Acevedo
- J. Drew Lanham
- Marianne Moore
- Ko Un
- Thich Nhat Hanh
- William Ernest Henley
And many more. Each of these poets have works in the library that can be checked out physically, or digitally using the library’s eBook services like Libby or Hoopla.
But what if the immersion of poetry has you feeling inspired to write your own verses? The library has you covered there too. For teens in grades 9-12, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is once again accepting submissions for the annual Ralph Munn writing contest. All top-rated submissions will be published in the 2025 Ralph Munn Creative Writing Anthology, a book of creative work distributed to all Allegheny County public libraries. First and second place winners will receive cash prizes. See the contest page for more information and to submit work.
For those outside high school, CLP-Main is offering a free writing program dedicated to writing poetry. While the Create and Connect program occurs monthly, April’s will feature poems from the library’s collection for inspiration, and will include prompts and tips specifically for writing poetry. The library also hosts the Main Zine Collective each month, with the option to feature your work in a monthly library Zine.
If you find after April that you haven’t gotten enough poetry, CLP-Main is also hosting this year’s Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books on May 31st. The festival will feature poetry readings all day, as well as workshops and panel discussions with local poets.