April Poetry Café: Nature Nonets

Join us for our mid-month Poetry Café in the Great Hall. Bring a poem to read (either one you’ve read or written), or come ready to listen to and enjoy poetry. There will not be an academic discussion on the pieces, rather time to celebrate and share the poetry that we love.

This month, we will be reading the submitted nature nonets for our celebration of April as National Poetry Month. Come to listen and support the poets, or bring your nonets. The nonet has 9 lines with a decreasing number of syllables per line: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Send your original nature-themed nonet to by April 29 to thenorfolklibrary@gmail.com. As we receive them, we’ll post the poems on our social media and in the Library.

Wine and warm beverages will be served. Please register below.

There is some debate on the origin of the phrase “Poetry Café.” Some argue it refers to the Modernists (Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, TS Eliot, etc.) sharing their work in the cafés in Europe. As spoken word poetry has gained traction and the genre of slam poetry has evolved, some trace the phrase to the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan. The café was founded in 1973 by Rutgers professor Miguel Algarín and gave Puerto Rican New York poets a place to meet and share their work. Although the café was closed for several years in the 1980’s, it continues to serve as an arts center for the Nuyorican community.