April is National Poetry Month!

During the month of April, check out the in-house curated displays or librarian recommended lists online for choice pieces on poetry. The Sioux City Public Library has poems for the literature lover or the reader who is just starting to discover the wonder of poetry!

Sarah recommends An American Sunrise: Poems by Joy Harjo  

“Joy Harjo is a poet, author, musician, performer, teacher, and playwright. She is the incumbent Poet Laureate of the United States and the first Native American to earn this title.  

American Sunrise is Harjo’s highly acclaimed book of poetry published in 2019. In it, she expresses through her words and personal interpretation the aching sorrow her ancestors experienced as a result of being forced from their land combined with her own grief pulled from recent memory. The contents consist of vignettes ranging from ancestral history to completely abstract works.  

One of the most beautiful things about Harjo’s work is her ability to give the reader just the perfect amount of lyrical content to spark emotion with enough space to allow for individual interpretation. Listening to Joy Harjo’s saxophone music while taking in these poems is nothing short of magical.” 

Michael recommends The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext

“The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext is the latest in the exciting Breakbeat Poets series that approaches poetry through the lens of hip hop culture. This volume focuses on poets of the Latinx diaspora and contains a wide variety of styles and voices. Each poem feels fresh, and many of these demand to be read out loud. This series is a great gateway to poetry for fans of hip hop and pop music.”