Dear Ethical ELA community,
April is just around the corner, which means it’s time to begin preparing for one of our favorite traditions: #VerseLove, our month-long celebration of poetry and community writing.
Each April, we gather as writers, readers, and witnesses to poems. Some of us write every day. Some write once a week. Some read and respond to others. However you participate, VerseLove is about showing up for poetry—and for one another.
This year, we’re holding a broad theme as we approach the month: Landscapes of Our Lives.
Poetry often begins in place: the place we stand, the place we remember, the place we imagine. Our landscapes include the physical world—fields, cities, rivers, kitchens, classrooms—but also the emotional and cultural terrains that shape us: language, memory, family, identity, and community.
Throughout April, our prompts will invite you to explore those landscapes through many poetic forms and inspirations.
Before we begin, we invite you to prepare your writing life for the month.
Here are 4 things you can do today:
1. Make a small commitment
VerseLove is not about perfection—it’s about practice. Choose a goal that feels joyful and sustainable:
• Write daily, responding to each prompt
• Write once or twice a week
• Read and comment on poems from others
• Write privately in a notebook
• Share poems with students or colleagues
Whatever your goal, name it. A small commitment can open surprising creative doors.
Make your pledge here: https://forms.gle/K18pwhBuB6da3Y5MA
2. Read poetry
One of the best ways to prepare to write poetry is to read poetry. Let April become a month where poems overflow your desk, your nightstand, and your classroom shelves. Seek out poets from many places and traditions. Look for voices that reflect different languages, geographies, and experiences of the world. Here are a few recent collections you might explore:
- Theophanies by Sarah Ghazal Ali — a celebrated debut exploring faith, language, and the sacred in everyday life.
- With My Back to the World by Victoria Chang — ekphrastic poems responding to visual art.
- mother by m.s. RedCherries — a powerful exploration of Indigenous identity, family, and belonging.
- Silver by Rowan Ricardo Phillips — a formally inventive collection reflecting on faith and contemporary life.
- Becoming Ghost by Cathy Linh Che — poems confronting history, family memory, and the legacy of war.
- Mexicans on the Moon by Pedro Iniguez — speculative poems imagining Latino futures in space and society.
You might also explore anthologies such as You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, which gathers contemporary poets writing about their relationship to land and environment.
Let poems from across the globe fill your reading life this month.
3. Gather your inspiration
As April approaches, you might:
• Start a small poetry notebook
• Place a stack of poetry books near where you write
• Revisit poems you love
• Bring poetry into your classroom routines
• Invite friends or colleagues to write alongside you
Poetry thrives in community. VerseLove works because of the generosity of writers who show up to read, comment, and witness one another’s words.
4. Join our warm-up with Anna, March 21-23
The incredible Anna J. Small Roseboro will host our March Open Write, 21-23. This is a great opportunity for you to warm up for April and meet some of our community.
Poetry invites us to experiment—with sound, image, memory, and form. Some poems will surprise you. Some may frustrate you. Some may become favorites you return to long after April ends.
But each poem is a step into the landscape of your own voice.
In the coming days, we’ll share more updates from our hosts. Until then, gather your stories, clear a little creative space, and get ready for a month of writing together.
We can’t wait to see what landscapes you bring to VerseLove.
With gratitude,
The Ethical ELA community