Weekend Round-Up Part One

National Poetry Month is the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets marking poetry’s important place in our culture and our lives.

While we celebrate poets and poetry year-round, the Academy of American Poets was inspired by the successful celebrations of Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March), and founded National Poetry Month in April 1996 with an aim to:

• highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets,
• encourage the reading of poems,
• assist teachers in bringing poetry into their classrooms,
• increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media,
• encourage increased publication and distribution of poetry books, and 
• encourage support for poets and poetry.

There are many ways to participate. Here are just a few:

• Follow the thousands of National Poetry Month celebrations taking place using #npm17 and follow the Academy of American Poets on Twitter @POETSorg.
• Use the National Poetry Month logo to promote your events. It can be downloaded here.
• Order a free National Poetry Month poster and display it proudly.
• Invite K-12 students to participate in our Dear Poet project by writing letters in response to poems shared by the award-winning poets serving on our Board of Chancellors.
• Attend Poetry & the Creative Mind, a celebration of poetry from the reader’s perspective featuring leading and luminary actors, artists, and public figures, on April 19, 2017, in New York City.
• Participate in National Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 27, 2017.
• Sign up for Poem-a-Day.
• Join the Academy of American Poets and show your support year-round for poets and poetry.
• Share your photos and feedback about your National Poetry Month celebrations with the Academy of American Poets by emailing npm@poets.org.

Enjoy another  Yolen Spring poem 
Gliding Into Spring 

by Jane Yolen

Gliding into spring,
the hot air balloon
huffs across the sky,
the very definition
of the year.

I look for it to land
but it seem oblivious
to sentiment, paying
its sole obeisance
to the small winds.

Scripting its story
in vivid colors and hanging
above the land like a lantern,
it gives another hiss, wrinkles the blue, and is gone.
©2017 Jane Yolen all rights reserved

 rolls into the weekend

One Pan Southwest Chicken Fiesta Meal  
Recipe inspiration from thegirlwhoateeverything Pair the meal with Mexican cornbread and fruit.
Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 2 TB. olive oil 
• 1-1/2 TB. taco seasoning 
• 1/2 cup sweet onions, diced
• 1 cup diced mini sweet peppers-red, yellow,orange
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 cup uncooked long grain white, brown, yellow or Mexican rice
• 1- can (10 oz.) red enchilada sauce
• 1-can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed 
• 2 cups shredded low fat Mexican blend cheese

Directions:

• In a zip loc bag place chicken pieces and taco seasoning mix. Coat pieces.
• In a large skillet with deep sides heat 1 TB. oil and saute chicken, onions, garlic,peppers and cumin. Cook until chicken pieces are no longer pink.  
• Push chicken mixture to side. Add rest of oil and saute uncooked rice a few minutes. 
• Add in enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, corn and beans and water.  Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil then lower the heat to simmer and cover pan.
• Cook chicken and rice mixture about 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir a few times. More water can be added towards end if rice does not seem cooked. 
• Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with lid, letting it sit for 1-2 minutes or until cheese has melted.    

Mexican Cornbread

http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2014/09/autumn.html

Chipotle Burrito Bowl with Chicken and Avocado  
A Southwest Poem with parting snapshots of the Southwest