News to us: April 18 was designated by Gov. Hutchinson as Arkansas Youth Poetry Day, at the behest of Arkansas Poet Laureate Jo McDougall and Poets Roundtable of Arkansas President Frieda Patton.
To celebrate, a host of young poets will read their work at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, April 18 on the Wednesday Night Poetry Facebook page, home to an organization that’s kept up its weekly gatherings without exception since 1989, meeting virtually when the coronavirus pandemic ruled out physical meetings.
From the press release:
In lieu of a face-to-face gathering, the inaugural Arkansas Youth Poetry Day will be celebrated virtually on April 18th, 10AM on the Facebook page for the Wednesday Night Poetry Reading Series hosted by Kai Coggin, poet and Arkansas Arts Council poetry teaching artist. The Porter Prize Foundation and the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance will sponsor the event designed by McDougall, Coggin, and local haiku poet Stacy Pendergrast. Writeous Poets, a youth arts collective sponsored by Stacey McAdoo, 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, and her husband, LeRon McAdoo, the Hiphoptimist, will also provide leadership.