Concord University celebrates National Poetry Month [Video]

ATHENS, WV (WOAY) – April is National Poetry Month, so every day Concord University’s writing center prompts its faculty, staff and students to ‘write a haiku’ or response to a particular poem.

English professor, Dr. Michelle Gompf says Poetry Month is a good way to encourage people who like to write poetry but also expose people to it and engage with it even if they don’t write.

“And then I love teaching poetry, the emotional impact and seeing students connect with the emotion in a poem that could be centuries old and yet they can identify with it,” said the Department of Humanities chair. “So looking at Shakespeare’s sonnets (‘I recognize that feeling of being in love’) or Sappho complaining about somebody not loving her back (‘I get that’).”

Gompf’s undergrad degree was in creative writing and she specialized in poetry. As far as writing, she says poetry is a …