National Poetry Month, Local Book Clubs and a Literary Dating Game

By Lynn Taylor

Celebrate National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and there are plenty of ways to enjoy poetry. Eckerd College hosts a weekly Poetry Reading Series throughout the month featuring four events in four weeks.

Featured poets include Danez Smith, a Black Queer, Poz writer and winner of the Lambda Literary Award and Midwest Booksellers Choice award; Eckerd College creative writing faculty Gloria Munoz and Scott Ward; Ada Limon, a current Guggenheim Fellow and National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist; and Donika Kelly finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and longlisted for the National Book Award.

All events are on Thursdays at 7 p.m. and are free, virtual and open to the public. Registration is required. Find out more about each event and get a Zoom link at eckerd.edu/news/ events.

Art & Poetry

The latest show at the Beach Art Center in Indian Rocks Beach, “Poetry in Motion,” features poetry inspired by art. Poets are invited to view works selected by the art center and choose a piece that inspires them to write a

poem. Art and poetry will be on display together through April 12 at the Beach Art Center, 1515 Bay Palm Blvd., as well as at beachartcenter.org.

A Literary Dating Game

Inspired by the classic 1970s game show, local bibliophiles can find their literary soul mate at The Literary Dating Game. Daters will quiz their suitors on favorite writers, books, characters, genres, writing styles and more. The free outdoor event takes place in The Ale and The Witch courtyard Tuesday, April 13 from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

More at The Literary Dating Game event page on Facebook or email WordierThanThou@gmail.com.

Book Club News

The next Gabber Book Club happens Wednesday, April 14. The book discussion will focus on Zora Neale Hurston’s “Mules and Men.” For those looking to get a jump on the May book, it will be “Killing Mr. Watson,” book one of the Shadow Country Trilogy by Peter Matthiessen. The book is a fictionalized account of real-life outlaws set in the Florida Everglades. Go to tombolobooks. com to order the selections and get a Zoom link for the monthly meetings.

The Gulfport Public Library invites the public to their monthly virtual book club, Book Club Live, on April 29 at 2 p.m. The group will discuss “We the Animals” by Justin Torres. The blurb from the inside cover says the book is “written in magical language with unforgettable images, ‘We the Animals’ is a stunning exploration of the viscerally charged landscape of growing up, how deeply we are formed by our earliest bonds, and how we are ultimately propelled at escape velocity toward our futures.”

Find the link to attend on the Gulfport Public Library online calendar, on their Facebook page or with this article at thegabber.com. You can also call the library at 727-893-1074.

Amanda Hagood