There is a nation-wide effort to get more poetry, diverse and anti-racist books into the hands of young people around the United States.
Downtown Book & Sound in Salinas – in partnership with the Arts Council for Monterey County, Bookshop.org and We Need Diverse Books – is part of the effort. The bookstore is celebrating National Poetry Month (April) with a book drive with the goal of equipping each school library in Monterey County with a book by young Black poet Amanda Gorman.
“Gorman recited her poem at the last presidential inauguration,” said Arts Council for Monterey County Executive Director Jacquie Atchison. “She reminded us all that poetry is cool. And with our new Monterey County Poet Laureate Daniel Summerhill, we have the perfect opportunity to promote our cultural heritage with the spoken word."
“We want even the youngest resident of Monterey County to experience the power of poetry—the power of words,” wrote the bookstore’s proprietor Trish Triumpho Sullivan. “Because poetry can create and encourage positive change. I’ve always said that poetry is spoken music, and just as powerful to bring people of all cultures together, remove barriers and build relationships.”
The bookstore will match books donated by the public with a copy of the rhyming book, Beans and Rice, by local doctor and author, Dr. Joshua Deutsch (a book promoting healthy lifestyle in poetic form intended for younger children, illustrated by Vikas Upadhyay).
The objective is to gather 468 poetry books to the Arts Council—one of each of Amanda Gorman’s three published books of poetry, so that every school library in the county—all 156 of them—has copies of her books available for students to read. Any person who wishes to participate should follow this link to order the book (or books) they wish to donate. The orders will be shipped directly to the Arts Council who will distribute them straight to schools.
The Amanda Gorman Poetry Month Book Drive will continue through May 15.
Downtown Book & Sound will host a Black poet and the county’s Poet Laureate, Daniel Summerhill, for a live free event in Downtown Salinas. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with this local poet, author and CSUMB professor, as well as procure signed copies of his book, Divine, Divine, Divine and hopefully his new book, A Mausoleum of Flowers, too. Summerhill will recite some of his work; there will be live music and refreshments. The exact date is yet to be announced.