Website of the Week: A Poem From Us

Have you ever had the urge to shout a poem? Well not shout, maybe just to share a poem. Perhaps it was one that made you smile and you thought of someone who would enjoy it just as much as you did. One of my favorite qualities of poetry is that sometimes it is at its best when it is heard, spoken, shouted.

Our featured website of the week offers a new twist to the found poem and presents the public with an opportunity to share their favorite poem. A Poem From Us is a website launched in honor of National Poetry Month. The goal is to use technology to help poets and listeners share their favorite poems.  A Poem From Us invites readers and listeners alike to share their love of poetry not only with friends and family, but also with the world.

You can participate in two ways. For those inclined to be the speaker, you can upload a video of yourself reciting your favorite poem onto the website. For the camera shy and lovers of FREE STICKERS, you can participate by visiting the website to request your set of free stickers. When these stickers are scanned by passers-by, a random video from the project website will play on the scanner's mobile device. Kind of a "found poem" for the digital age. And pretty cool, no?

I chose to share this recitation of I Am Offering You This Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca, ready by Morgan Joyce Williams, because of how much enthusiasm she put into this reading.