The Hillsboro Library is excited to celebrate National Poetry Month with weekly activities that will culminate in a special Poetry Open Mic on Saturday, April 27.

“Poetry is something that is more a part of our lives than most people may think,” said circulation manager Sarah Davidson. “Just think about all of your favorite songs, all those Dr. Seuss stories you grew up loving — that’s poetry.”

Each week, the library will have activities that patrons can enjoy at their leisure. The month will start with black-out poetry.

“This is a really cool craft,” Davidson explained. “We’ll have book pages and Sharpies out, and patrons can black-out words that they don’t want to use, and the words that are left will form a poem.”

During the second week, patrons can color their own poetry bookmarks. Then for week three they can write their own poems on paper leaves that will be added to the library’s “poet-tree.” On week four patrons can again create their own poems, but this time with words cut out from magazines.

Finally, on Saturday, April 27, patrons are invited to share their poems during an Open Mic.

“This is a time for patrons to come and express themselves,” Davidson said. “Poems must be appropriate for all ages, but the goal is for this to be a time when patrons can get creative and form connections with each other.”

The Open Mic will start at 1 p.m. and last an hour. “We’ll have snacks and tea to enjoy while people read their poems,” Davidson said. “It should be a really fun event.”

For more information on these or other library programs, call 937-393-3114, visit www.highlandco.org, or search “Highland County District Library of Ohio” on Facebook.

Submitted by Sarah Davidson, circulation manager, Hillsboro library.