Picture it: you and a couple of your literary friends make a road trip happen this summer, a literary trek across the USA. You go to the homes of your favorite poets, see the preserved original letters of Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Robert Lowell, and Allen Ginsberg. You talk about how surreal the experience is, say to each other: "Whoa! they actually lived here, man!" If you are in New York, go to the Beat poet's favorite hangout, The White Horse Tavern. Get a few drinks in you, then go to New Jersey and find the graves of Ginsberg, Whitman, and William Carlos Williams. Become emotional. Shed a few tears over their gravestones, read a few of their poems, and then write an Ode or Elegy which includes tears falling onto their graves. This exemplifies how you believe your words can still reach them just as their words reach you.
America has a plethora of amazing poetic landmarks, and poets.org has an accessible map of these landmarks all across the U.S. You can find out about poetry festivals, living poets, poetry-friendly bookstores, and lots more in each of the places you visit. You might also be surprised to learn about landmarks that are in your home state. So go check it out!
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