New York City Celebrates "Poem in Your Pocket Day"

April 30, 2015

First Lady Chirlane McCray selected winners of “#PoetweetNYC” Twitter poetry contest and penned original poem – “Spring Wisdom”

NEW YORK—Today New York City will host the annual “Poem in Your Pocket Day” – a citywide celebration led by the Office of the Mayor in partnership with the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs – to encourage all New Yorkers to appreciate poetry and highlight the importance of literacy during National Poetry Month. Throughout the month of April, organizations have hosted poetry events across the five boroughs, and on April 30, all New Yorkers are encouraged to carry a poem in their pocket to share with friends, family and colleagues.

The City partnered with Metro New York to host the sixth annual “#PoetweetNYC” Twitter poetry contest from April 6 to April 13. @NYCulture and @NYCGov received hundreds of “#PoetweetNYC” submissions and New York City’s First Lady Chirlane McCray selected the winning entries published in Metro New York today on Poem In Your PocketDay.

2015 #PoetweetNYC Winners

Sage Indigo
‏@MrSageIndigo
With infinitely unspeakable detail,
I ruffle like a pocket
Full of loose change
Because I am not made of feathers.
#PoetweetNYC
https://twitter.com/mrsageindigo/status/587594215233839104

LA_esque11
‏@LA_esque11
Lips stained/hair in place/clothes match/I strut with grace/'round these streets/I search in vain/for my chance/at HONY fame. #PoetweetNYC
https://twitter.com/la_esque11/status/587663170887618560

Philip Rodenbough
‏@prodenbough
crosswalk light thru burglar bars / headlights stream from passing cars / ground floor kinds of twinkling stars. #PoetweetNYC
https://twitter.com/prodenbough/status/585604399759765504

Jules C
‏@yulesie
She was Whole Foods
I was Trader Joe’s
It would never work
#PoetweetNYC
https://twitter.com/yulesie/status/587323742679883776

fernando pizarro
‏@mrpizarrox
electromagnetci solarwind particles along a graffiti glittering Bronx street is where inspiration began its rapturous beat
#PoetweetNYC
https://twitter.com/mrpizarrox/status/586180194886492160

Chirlane McCray also wrote an original poem, also published today in Metro New York and on her blog at flo.nyc:

“Spring Wisdom”
By Chirlane McCray

Remember when we could eat the snow,
drink the rain and food was food.
Fresh air was not an oxymoron, and children fed animals in the zoo
with bread crumbs and carrot sticks.
We worked hard to get ahead; we saved up
and generally, got some place better,
had hope anyway -- in the path, in the possibilities.
Was there not enough for everyone?
When did we start working against ourselves,
dissolving our planet for profit and
feeding our children to the colossal new animal
running unregulated among us in corporate reverie?
It crunches on our souls as it poops out guns and pills,
that protect and kill, heal and addict,
fills false hungers with recreational sugar
and products generating confusion while
masking its devotion to the dollar dance. 
When did we forget to respect that which nourishes us?
Nature is not always kind,
but if there is hope for us, it is a movement
that comes like spring rumbles up from the chilled earth,
and pushes past rock and wind and storm.
It is people unfurling, voices sharp in demand
for what is right, for what really matters,
people who remember the earth and have heart
and think and rise in blooms like truth
and together, put that animal to rest.

2015 Poem in Your Pocket Day Events

In addition to carrying a poem today, New Yorkers are encouraged to visit the cultural groups, schools, libraries, and other organizations that are hosting literary events throughout the city. Highlights include:

Master Story Tellers Exhibition | 8 AM – 4 PM
Classic tales from Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Edgar Allan Poe, and master story tellers, inspire nineteen children's book artists who create illustrations for children age three through teens in this exhibit. The show will include events for children and adults.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/poe-park/events/2015/04/30/master-story-tellers-exhbition

718-365-5516
Poe Park Visitors Center, 2640 Grand Concourse, Bronx 10458

Bryant Park Poem in Your Pocket Day Celebration | 11 AM – 2 PM
The Reading Room invites student poets and poetry lovers to New York City's 13th Annual Poem in Your Pocket Day. This daylong celebration of poetry kicks off the Reading Room's 2015 Word for Word series and is free and open to the public. Students from NYC's elementary, intermediate and high schools will have the opportunity to read their latest poems during the open mic forum.
http://bryantpark.org

212-768-4242
Bryant Park Reading Room, West 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan 10036

Poem in Your Pocket Day at Middle Village Library | 12 PM – 8 PM
Every April, on Poem in Your Pocket Day, people throughout the United States celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with them and sharing it with others throughout the day. Poems will be available at the Reference Desks.
http://www.queenslibrary.org/event/poem-in-your-pocket-day

718-326-1390
Queens Library Middle Village Branch, 72-31 Metropolitan Avenue, Queens 11379

Staten Island Out Loud Great Poetry Giveway | Multiple Hours
Throughout the month of April, OutLOUD distributes free poems throughout Staten Island.  A complete list of locations is available on their website. The Staten Island Museum is also providing free poems for visitors related to its new exhibition of photography inspired by the American Civil War.
http://www.statenislandoutloud.org/5467/staten-island-outlouds-great-poetry-giveaway/

718-326-1390
Staten Island OutLOUD , Multiple Locations, Staten Island

Poets House – Neighborhood Poetry Read-In | 3 PM – 6 PM
Poets House invites visitors to bring a poem of their choice to share, or to find one at Poets House. This is a great after-school event for families and poetry lovers of all ages, and a festive culmination of Poets House’s year-long work with local school children.
http://poetshouse.org

212-431-7920
Poets House, 10 River Terrace, Manhattan 10282    

Kids Create-National Poem in Your Pocket Day! | 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM

Kids Create celebrates National Poem in Your Pocket Day by creating a "poet-tree" on the bulletin board, make a poetry craft, and read and write our own poems.
http://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/kids-create-national-poem-greenpoint-library-043015

718-349-8504
Greenpoint Library, 107 Norman Avenue, Brooklyn 11222

Poem in Your Pocket Day at Hamilton Grange Library | 4 PM
Learn about some of the world's shortest poems from around the world and create your own that can fit in your pocket. For children 5-12.
http://www.nypl.org/events/calendar?keyword=%22poem+in+your+pocket%22&location=&type=&topic=&audience=&series=&date_op=GREATER_EQUAL&date1=04%2F23%2F2015

212-926-2147
NYPL Hamilton Grange Library, 503 West 145th Street, Manhattan 10031

Poem in Your Pocket Day at Hollis Library | 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Children will make a pocket from construction paper and will be encouraged to write a poem, place it in the pocket and read the poem aloud to the group.
http://www.queenslibrary.org/event/poem-in-your-pocket

718-465-7355
Queens Library Hollis Branch, 202-05 Hillside Avenue, Queens 11423

The New Salon--Dorothea Lasky In Conversation with Deborah Landau | 7 PM – 9 PM
Dorothea Lasky is the author of four full-length poetry collections, most recently "Rome.” This event is hosted by NYU Creative Writing Program director Deborah Landau, and is co-sponsored with the Poetry Society of America.
http://cwp.fas.nyu.edu/page/readingseries

212-998-8816
Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 West 10th Street, Manhattan 10011