By Jamie Lynn Connors
Have you run out of “quarantivities” to keep yourself busy? Looking for ways to relieve stress during this pandemic?
For National Poetry Month, the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Program is offering Spring & Fountain Online. This free, week-long program is meant to “help you cultivate some calm and tend to your spirit during a difficult time,” the program explains.
“Poetry is the language we use when all other language fails us; when the world takes our breath away with its beauty, its fragility, and its pain,” according to the Dodge organizers.
From April 26 to May 2, 2020, the program will send daily emails consisting of activities that support centering and grounding, curated packets of poems, opportunities to connect online with other poetry-lovers, and questions to reflect on and respond to.
To participate, register here by April 25.
Started in 1986, the Dodge Poetry Program has hosted the biennial The Dodge Poetry Festival — the largest poetry event in North American– and one-day poet visits to New Jersey high schools. The festival is scheduled for Newark from Oct. 22-25, 2020, health conditions permitting.
Additionally, the Morristown-based Dodge Foundation has made $4 million in grants to COVID-19 funds and nonprofits affected by the pandemic.=
