I once heard Stephen King recommend reading a poem every night before going to sleep.  He reads poetry himself, and writes it, too.

Stephen King?!  The King of Horror?!

Whether or not you enjoy Stephen King's works, if you've read him, you know that the man has a way with words--he's definitely a poet, even in prose. I admire his skill (even as I pull the covers over my head).

April is National Poetry Month, and I'm celebrating by dusting off the poetry books on my bedside table and reading a poem every night before bed.  


National Poetry Month attempts “to widen the attention of individuals and the media to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern,” according to the American Academy of Poets, sponsors of the event.

If you’re interested in participating in National Poetry Month, you can sign up for a poem-a-day email for the month of April here. Or download a free iTunes app called "Poem Flow" (an animated version of a poem reads itself to you).

Here are a few more simple things you can do (taken from http://www.poets.org/):

Google a poem. Do you have a line of verse running through your head? Many people do…and with the simple click of a mouse, they can discover where that line came from and explore the rest of the poem.

Buy a book of poems for your library. Many libraries have been hit by funding cuts, and would greatly appreciate the donation of a book of poetry.

Add verse to your email signature. Your email program may allow you to create a personalized signature that gets automatically added to the end of every email you send.

And, of course,

Read a book of poetry. (Or even just one poem, for that matter.)

Where to start? I’ve written about American Life in Poetry here and it remains one of my favorite places to explore poetry. In addition, here are two of my favorite books for sampling poetry or learning about it in general: Poet’s Choice: Poems for Everyday Life (selected and introduced by Robert Hass) and Poetry Daily: 366 Poems from the World’s Most Popular Poetry Website.

On a more fanciful note, try reading If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries (subtitled “poems for children and their parents”) or How Did I Get to Be 40…& Other Atrocities, both by Judith Viorst. Also, Love that Dog is one of the most touching books I’ve ever read, and one of the best examples of how poetry can enrich your daily life.

I know poetry is not to everyone’s taste, but I hope if you give it a chance, you’ll find it can be part of your life. Happy reading!

Last Holiday. Georgia opens herself to all the good things in life, and instead of losing it all, gains even more.

American Dreamer. (Synopsis for those who have never heard of this movie: A housewife wins a writing contest, and the prize is a trip to Paris. On the way to a luncheon in her honor, she is hit by a car and wakes in the hospital convinced she is “Rebecca Ryan,” the main character in the series of books the contest was based on. Mayhem ensues.) What’s not to like about someone named Kathy winning a writing contest and going to Paris?

My Life in Ruins. I originally wanted to see this because it takes place in many of the Greek sites I visited on my own life-changing trip nearly three years ago. I’ll keep coming back to it, because of the lovely message about regaining your kefi, or zest for living.

Thinking about these movies, I realized I had a sort of theme emerging: woman leaves husband/job/ordinary life, goes to foreign country and “finds herself.” Hmm. I wonder what that says about me? Perhaps I think I have to travel somewhere, leaving my ordinary life, in order to learn about myself and what I really want. I do know that I love to watch women opening up to the world, stepping outside their comfort zones to embrace life, probably because in general I’m such a big chicken about doing that myself. I live vicariously through them, when I’m not willing or able to buy a house in Italy or spend all my savings on food and clothes and snowboarding in Europe.

I suspect I’m not alone in having a theme arise in my favorite movies. When I mentioned my theme to my mother-in-law, she noted that many of her favorite movies have a road trip theme. In fact, she’ll rent or borrow a movie she’s never heard of before if it includes a road trip. (My husband’s theme seems to be good triumphing over evil, after a heck of a lot of blood loss.)

What are your favorite feel-good movies? Do they have an underlying theme and what do you think that means? Share them, and maybe I’ll have some new ones to add to my list.

Laure at the Painted Thoughts blog was kind enough to give me a Sunshine Award for creativity and positivity. This means a lot to me, as those are two things I really want and strive to be: creative and positive. Makes sense for a blog titled “Catching Happiness”!

Now it’s my turn. Though I read and enjoy quite a few blogs, I am passing this award on to three blogs that I feel especially meet the criteria of being creative and positive:

The Enchanted Earth—Visit Meredith for some beautiful photos and heartfelt, thoughtful prose.

Beginning a Life at 50—Julie is a fellow SheWrites member, and always has something interesting to say.

Elizabeth Patch's More to Love Sketchbook—Another SheWrites member, Elizabeth shares a message we all need to hear.

As each one of us types away in solitude, we hope to touch someone else “out there.” We visit each other’s blogs and leave comments, even just a couple of words to show that we’re paying attention. I think these blog awards are one more way we connect with and encourage each other.

So thank you Laure for the award, and thank you, fellow bloggers, for brightening my days, giving me something to think about and inspiring me to write better every time I sit down in front of the computer.