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Poetry at Work Day Survival Kit

By Will Willingham 15 Comments

poetry at work day survival kit

Celebrating Poetry at Work Day

Want to celebrate in your workplace, but not sure where to begin? Bringing poetry to work and engaging your coworkers, employees or management can be as simple as reading a poem or printing some out to leave on the cafeteria tables. Or maybe you could invite a local poet in for the afternoon break time or create a poetry wall for your coworkers to write a few lines together.

Whatever you decide, we’ve put together a Poetry at Work Survival Kit to help you plan.  Check out these great resources and bring poetry to work:

robert frost collected poems

Taking Poetry to Work: A Few Good Tricks

We’ve created three simple activities you could use in your workplace to encourage your coworkers to play with poetry at work. You might need some paper, scissors, and glue, or you might just need a poem.

call the poet

Poetry at Work Day Infographic

Our new Poetry at Work Day infographic highlights the places you can hear poetry at work, famous poets and their “day jobs, ” great poems about work, and simple ways you can celebrate the day at your workplace. Want to spread the word? There’s no better place to start than this great shareable infographic–complete with a chicken and chocolate chip cookies! Send it to your colleagues and friends via email, or share it to Facebook or Twitter. You can even post it on your company’s intranet site.

poetry cookies

10 Great Poems About Work

Poetry at work has been going on for centuries, from the farm to the blacksmith shop to the boardroom and unemployment line. And poets have long written about the value of work, the lack of work, the toil of work. Check out these ten great poems about work, including some relatively new works.

Illustrations and post by Will Willingham.

_____________________________

Poetry at Work Business and Poetry Books

Poetry at Work, by Glynn Young, foreword by Scott Edward Anderson

“This book is elemental.”

—Dave Malone

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Will Willingham
Will Willingham
Director of Many Things; Senior Editor, Designer and Illustrator at Tweetspeak Poetry
I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.
Will Willingham
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Filed Under: Blog, Poems, poetry, poetry and business, Poetry at Work, Poetry at Work Day, poetry teaching resources, writer's group resources

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About Will Willingham

I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.

Comments

  1. L.L. Barkat says

    January 14, 2013 at 10:37 am

    I am trying to figure out where to get a chicken for tomorrow’s celebration 😉

    That, or John Donne. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Maureen Doallas says

    January 14, 2013 at 12:02 pm

    Do you know the Jack Prelutsky poem “Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens”? (I read so much Prelutsky to my son while he was growing up. Love him.) His poem is here:
    http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15576

    LL, get yourself a virtual chicken (though be careful what you click on while searching). How to raise a virtual chicken: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/rootbeer/550996

    Reply
  3. L. L. Barkat says

    January 14, 2013 at 1:03 pm

    Maureen, you are hilarious.

    I am only going to raise a virtual chicken if she promises to write poetry 😉

    Reply
  4. Claire says

    January 15, 2013 at 9:42 am

    I know people often tell you that you are awesome, but here I am saying it again.

    Reply
  5. Elizabeth Wynne Marshall says

    January 15, 2013 at 10:08 am

    You and your art are fresh air in my world. Fresh, funny, crisp and clean. I’m opening my windows wide today for more of your art to blow in (its in the ’70’s here) The chicken is a hoot.

    Reply
  6. Debbie says

    January 15, 2013 at 8:52 pm

    Fun and creative work. These poems give me reason to go to work everyday. Thanks for your uplifting spirit.

    Reply
  7. foam fold up bed chair says

    July 18, 2013 at 7:21 am

    I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are
    but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if
    you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!

    Reply
  8. http://jinap63.bloggspace.se says

    September 26, 2013 at 11:58 pm

    If some one wishes to be updated with newest technologies then he must be
    pay a visit this website and be up to date every day.

    Reply
  9. Donna says

    January 9, 2017 at 10:56 pm

    I will always love your “Call the poet!” Hee hee 😀

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Poetry at Work Day, Done Good - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    January 18, 2013 at 9:33 am

    […] had more fun than a chicken on a stack of poetry books. Here’s a sampling of how some people celebrated the […]

    Reply
  2. Get Your Official Poetry at Work Day Poster! | says:
    December 20, 2013 at 8:23 pm

    […] Day Resource Table Ideas to see how you can set up a display in your library or workplace or our Poetry at Work Day Survival Kit full of ideas to celebrate the day in your […]

    Reply
  3. Poetry at Work Day Pinups | says:
    December 30, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    […] Activities for your workplace (plus work poems) in our Poetry at Work Day Survival Kit […]

    Reply
  4. Poetry at Work Day 2015-It's Coming! - says:
    October 26, 2014 at 5:03 pm

    […] have more details over the next weeks, but for now, put it on your calendar. Pick your celebration style. And thank Slice Magazine and Scratch Magazine for co-sponsoring this international event! […]

    Reply
  5. Get Your Free Official 2015 Poetry at Work Day Poster - says:
    November 13, 2014 at 8:01 am

    […] details to help you plan for the day coming soon, but for now, put it on your calendar. Pick your celebration style. And thank Slice Magazine and Scratch Magazine for co-sponsoring this international event! […]

    Reply
  6. Infographic: Poetry at Work Day 2016 - says:
    January 11, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    […] Browse more Poetry at Work Day resources Get your Poetry at Work Day Survival Kit! […]

    Reply

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