Redmond poet Gary Miranda, 85, is a recipient of the 2023 Stewart H. Holbrook Literacy Legacy Award. 

A long tradition of constraining poetry to meter, sonnets and villanelles has led to a narrow understanding of the art form, according to Paige Ferro, adult programs specialist at the Deschutes Public Library.

“It’s often been considered a very high art, something that very few people are capable of or qualified to create,” Ferro said. “And I think that is such a shame.”

National Poetry Month, taking place this month, is an opportunity to celebrate poetry and its role in our culture. Various upcoming events invite the community to appreciate and participate in the craft, including readings, spoken word and workshops.

Gary Miranda, 85, a Redmond poet who has practiced the craft for 63 years, said poetry isn’t read to the same extent as when he was young, pointing to the poems selected to be taught in schools.

“The students don’t really get it, so they get the idea, ‘Well, I don’t understand poetry,’” Miranda said.

Poetry is an avenue of self-expression and there’s no wrong way of doing it, Ferro said. Practicing poetry through this frame of mind is a lot more fun, she added. She aims to reintroduce poetry to the community through the perspective that the medium is accessible to all.

“Anyone can do this. Anyone should do this,” she said.

Healing Poetry — The Art of Living Through Grief

After her father passed, local poet Carol Barrett wrote “Calling in the Bones” in his honor and to process her grief. Healing Poetry focuses on utilizing poetry, writing, and art as a tool to work through the grief process. Barrett, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and creative writing, has previously hosted this workshop and is well equipped to handle its sensitive nature, Ferro said. The workshop will be held on April 17 — Barrett’s father’s birthday — representing a connection to her own loss.

5:30-7:30 p.m. Monday; Downtown Bend Public Library, 601 NW Wall St., Bend; Free; deschuteslibrary.org

Gary Miranda Poetry Reading

Gary Miranda received the 2023 Stewart H. Holbrook Literacy Legacy Award from Oregon Literary Arts earlier this month. “It’s sort of like a lifetime achievement award, which is a little scary,” he said with a laugh, adding that now he has to decide what to do next.

At an event Wednesday in Redmond, Miranda will read from his most recent work, “The Must-Be-Admired Things.” The book is a collection of his four books and its title is a nod to the literal translation of his last name.

Miranda has received numerous accolades, including nine awards from the Poetry Society of America and an invitation by The Atlantic Monthly to serve as poet-in-residence at the Robert Frost House in Franconia, New Hampshire. But it is not the awards Miranda treasures most.

One year, during National Poetry Month, Miranda was driving his son back to college and listening to the radio when a woman recited his work, “Like Snow,” from memory.

“To have someone care enough about your poem and recite it out loud — it doesn’t get much better than that,” he said. “The Must-Be-Admired Things” is available for purchase at Roundabout Books and Barnes & Noble in Bend, The Willow Bookstore in Redmond and on Amazon.

6-8 p.m. Wednesday; High Desert Music Hall, 818 SW Forest Ave., Redmond; Free; highdesertmusichall.com

Third Thursday Spoken Word Night

Ferro describes spoken word nights as having a special kind of magic.

“There’s an energy that goes through these rooms with these poets and these storytellers and these memoirists and essayists,” she said. Hosting the event is part of Ferro’s favorite part of her work. After hosting the event for years, she still remembers the faces of people who have recited their work.

“These people’s stories stick with you in a different way when you’re able to hear them spoken by the poet, by the author in front of you. There’s really nothing quite like it,” she said.

Spoken word nights are a safe space for people to share their work and their most vulnerable selves. The event is held on a monthly basis, alternating between The Commons Cafe and Taproom in Bend and the High Desert Music Hall in Redmond. Ferro aims to bring the event to both locations on a monthly basis.

6-8 p.m. April 20; The Commons Cafe and Taproom, 875 NW Brooks St., Bend; Free; deschuteslibrary.org

Central Oregon Community College poetry events

This month, COCC hosts three writing workshops led by faculty and students, “Share a Poem, Write a Poem” on Monday and April 27, and Healing Through Poetry on April 25. Next month, COCC will host additional poetry events, including a May 5 poetry slam on the Bend campus. On May 10, current Poet Laureate of Oregon Anis Mojgani will host a writing workshop, social and performance. Mojgani is a spoken word poet, visual artist and musician.

Multiple events. Visit cocc.edu for more information.