April is National Poetry Month in Canada.

Reading poetry has always been a challenge for me. I tend to read too fast, often missing the lyrical flow or cadence of the poem. A good friend suggested that I read the poems aloud. What a difference that simple suggestion has made to my appreciation of poetry.

I also now limit myself to reading one poem at a sitting, rather than my typical approach of blitzing through a bunch of poems at a time.

In celebration of National Poetry month, why not (re)discover a Canadian poet and reap the benefits:

Animals of My Own Kind: new and selected poems, by Harry Thurston

The New Blue Distance, by Jeanette Lynes

Expressway, by Sina Queyras

Asking Questions Indoors and Out, by Anne Compton

Lousy Explorers, by Laisha Rosnau

Sumac’s Red Arms, by Karen Shklanka