3rd annual Big Poetry Giveaway — get your free poetry here

image by Kelli Russell Agodon

It’s that time of year again, when the poets of the blogosphere join together to send free poetry all around the world. Kelli Russell Agodon is the ringleader of this poetry circus, and you can find out more about the Big Giveaway on her blog.

(**Oh, and I forgot to say in the original post that Kelli will be keeping and updating a list of all poets participating in the giveaway if you want to try for a bunch more books!)

If this is your first visit to the stanza, welcome and thanks for stopping by. This blog is a labor of love where I write about poetry, the writing life, parenthood, and life in general. I invite you to poke around a little bit while you’re here: for poetry, craft talk, and poetry resources try the roundups; for inspiration look at sunday words; if you’re a fan of stories told in a single image, take a look at wordless wednesdays. What I love most is when this blog becomes a place for conversations amongst readers, so I invite you to chime in with your thoughts if you’re so inclined.

And don’t forget to enter your name in the comments of this post for your chance to win one of the following poetry collections:

Threshold by Jennifer Richter

Threshold was winner of the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition, and published by Southern Illinois University Press in April 2010. In spare and finely honed language, Jennifer Richter weaves moments of everyday life — putting the baby to sleep, talking with neighbors — with an account of illness and, ultimately, survival. The poet looks at each strand of her life with grace and clear-sightedness to give us a collection of beautifully crafted poems that help us see our lives as something luminous and growing despite our struggles.

Rookery by Traci Brimhall

Rookery won the Crab Orchard Series First Book Award and was published by Southern Illinois University Press in 2010. This book is part story, part book of spells. We are just as apt to find crickets, ants, and mice grinding their teeth, as angels and saints making themselves known in daily life. In Brimhall’s beautiful and urgent language, stories of betrayal, coming of age, and historical events combine to create a sensual study of our human nature shaped by forces of love, loss, and life.

I promise you won’t be disappointed with either of these titles, and I hope you’ll enter for your chance to win by commenting on this post. Please make sure to leave some way for me to get in touch with you if you’re the lucky winner. Winners will be selected at random and I’ll announce the lucky pair on May 1.

Happy April is Poetry Month to all of you!