Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

           To celebrate National Poetry Month, Shawnee State University Assistant Professor Neil Carpathios has planned several events. National Poetry Month is a month-long celebration established by the Academy of American Poets. The concept is to make more people aware of the art of poetry.
            To celebrate, “A Poem A Day” is at SSU Online throughout the month of April at www.shawnee.edu. “Poem in Your Pocket Day” will be from 9 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 21, when students will be carrying poems in pockets to hand out on campus.
            “Poem In Your Pocket Day” has been celebrated each April in New York City since 2002. Every year, city parks, bookstores, workplaces, and other venues burst with open readings of poems from pockets. Even the mayor of New York gets in on the festivities, reading a poem on the radio. Later in the month, poetry will be placed in public places on campus.
            This year, Carpathios initiated the second Student Writing Competition at SSU and an awards ceremony and open-mic night is planned at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 15 in the Sodexo Ballroom in the University Center, sponsored by the Scribes of the Round Table. Refreshments will be available. The event is free and open to the public.