Dear Bona Fide Readers,

Each year in April, I recommit to finding a new poet every month and reading [purchasing] their work. Poets have an important job, keeping their eyes open and reporting what they see while the rest of us go about our lives. I hope that you will consider celebrating National Poetry Month by attending a reading, sharing a poem, or perhaps making your own chapbook. The Academy of American Poets has great ideas — you can sign up to receive a poem a day, or download a Poem Flow app for your iPhone.

In April, let us engage with those who do not avert their eyes. In Tahoe, poet and playwright Nathalie Handal, editor of “The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology” and co-editor of “Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia & Beyond” will read from her new book in two locations. Benjamin Arnold and Bethe Cause will rock Reno, the Berkeley Slam Poets will MC the annual poetry slam at Sierra Nevada College, and the cowboy poets are riding into Genoa — you can check it all out here.

Who are your local poets? What do they see?

Thanks for reading,

Kim Wyatt, publisher & editor, Bona Fide Books