Though COVID put a damper on that last two years’ events — in April 2020 and April 2021 — the Four Mondays of Poetry program will return (in slightly modified form) for National Poetry Month. This longstanding collaboration between the high school Creative Writing program that I teach and the English department at Auburn University at Montgomery has typically featured a poetry workshop, a local poets reading, an open mic event, and a featured poet. Past years have seen AUM bring Frank X Walker, Denise Duhamel, Neil Carpathios, Jacqueline Trimble, and others. This year, the program will proceed without a featured poet, effectively becoming Three Mondays of Poetry. Below is the schedule of events with brief descriptions:

April 4: poetry workshop at Auburn University at Montgomery

Anyone in the Montgomery area is free to submit a poem for the workshop, led by AUM Creative Writing professor Kent Quaney. Please email your poem (before March 20) to kquaney@aum.edu. The workshop will be held in the Liberal Arts building on the AUM campus, room TBA.

April 11: Local Poets at Kress on Dexter
(hosted by BTW Magnet Creative Writing)

The reading will begin at 7:00 PM and end at 8:30. It  will feature Susie Paul, Jacqueline Trimble, and Jonathon Peterson (JP da Poet). The reading is free and open to the public. 

April 18: High School Open Mic at LAMP High School

This event will begin at 4:00 PM and end at 5:30. Any Montgomery area high school students may come read poetry or just come to listen.