It's National Poetry Month @ home in the USA (& the world)

April is looking like an even crueler month than usual this year, but it's still National Poetry Month! (In the US, anyhow. But the rest of the world is more than welcome to join in.)

Fortunately, poets.org and the Academy of American Poets has a handy-dandy list of 30 ways to celebrate at home or online:

https://poets.org/national-poetry-month/30-ways-celebrate-national-poetry-month-home-or-online


Spoiler alert: #30 is a fund-raising appeal. However, there's also a poster to download (I managed to put it up as wallpaper on my PC), free poetry emails & podcasts to explore, and even a selection of poems just for kids.

There is also Knopf Poetry, with its free daily poem for your Inbox during the month of April (and, of course, occasional sales mailings throughout the year -- though these are rare & never terribly intrusive). Sign up here:

https://tinyurl.com/ssax8g4

Once you're on this particular list, it seems to activate automatically each April.

I've been reading a lot more poetry lately -- while struggling to write my own -- & I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one with this craving. I'll be posting more links throughout April to help folks find free poetry & related resources while staying safe.

My Goodreads review: Cetaganda

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a reread for me, though my first time listening via Audible. After reading the earlier Vorkosigan books during stressful times in grad school, & finishing the series as each book was published, I find myself turning back to this deeply satisfying space opera series in audio format. And, once again, it hasn't failed me.

This particular entry in Miles' adventures is less action-oriented & more of a mystery, with some fine worldbuilding. Bujold manages to create a nearly alien society inhabited by humans, though these humans are intentionally distancing themselves genetically from the rest of the species. Miles, himself the product of another nearly alien "species" -- the Vor -- must find his way through the rules & the clues, with a great deal of wit & desperation.

That said, this is not the place to start reading the Vorkosigan Saga. Though Bujold includes quite a bit of explanatory material, personal relationships & recent military events are vital to the enjoyment of this one. Start with Shards of Honor, please. You'll be glad you did.





View all my reviews