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On this last day of National Poetry Month, I present my third and final book spine poem. I think it's the strangest of the three, but oddly enough it's my favorite. Click here for Poem #1 and here for Poem #2.

Last year, I admired Travis Jonker's Book Spine Poetry Gallery at 100 Scope Notes from afar. This year, I was determined not to miss out, so before National Poetry Month completely passes me by, I want to share the book spine poems I've written. There are three in all; this one was my very first attempt.

April 1st is a mere two weeks away, bringing with it the glory that is National Poetry Month. On that day I’ll be hosting a gallery of book spine poems (or centos) submitted by you. Interested in getting in on the action? If you give it a try, take a picture and email it to me (scopenotes at gmail dot com) or post it to your blog and let me know.

For those who want to try it with kids, I’ll also put up a students-only gallery on April 1 and add to it for the entire month.

How do you create a book spine poem? Click here to read my tips.

I’m posting a new cento of my own every Friday until April 1, and today is no exception. Here goes:

Be sure to check out the Poetry Friday roundup at Liz in Ink.

On April 1^st, I want to kick off National Poetry Month with the bang it deserves.

But I’m gonna need your help.

I’ll post a new book spine cento here every Friday in March. On Friday, April 1^st I’ll put up a gallery with your submissions. Click here for more information on creating your own book spine poem.

Give it a try, snap a photo, and send it my way (scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com) or post it to your blog and let me know.

Here’s my first March poem:

Be sure to check out the Poetry Friday roundup at The Small Nouns.

April is National Poetry Month, or as I call it ’round these parts, National (Book Spine) Poetry Month. I actually do the air parentheses and everything. Last year, inspired by the amazing work of Nina Katchadourian, I tried my hand at creating a book spine cento. Here were the results:

I also encouraged all comers to give it a shot as well, and was amazed by what I saw.

Click here to view the book spine poetry gallery

Let’s kick off National Poetry Month in style. Create your own book spine poem, snap a picture, and send it my way (scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com) or post it to your blog and let me know. Starting tomorrow, I’ll post one of my book spine centos every Friday for the month of March. On Friday, April 1st, I’ll post a gallery with all of the entries I receive from you.

Here are my tips for creating a book spine cento

1. Check out last year’s book spine poem gallery for inspiration.
2. Get to  a place with plenty of books. A library works nicely. Or a large home collection.
3. Start looking at titles, and see what strikes you. Arrange and rearrange in your head. The best part of this type of poetry is the fact that you don’t know where you’ll end up.
4. Have a pencil and paper with you to write down titles that stand out – you can refer back to them later.
5. Don’t be afraid to use the library catalog to look up titles with specific words or phrases that fit.

Do you want to try book spine poetry with your students during April? I’ll post a second gallery on April 1st exclusively for student poems, and add to it for the entire month.

Click here to view last year’s awesome student book spine poetry gallery

So create your own, send it my way, and see your work in these here pages on April 1st.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with.