We’re looking for reader submissions!

Local libraries create ‘spine poetry’— poems made out of stacked book titles

Thu, 04/17/2014 - 3:45pm

    CAMDEN — Now here’s a very clever idea. Amy Hand, children’s librarian at Camden Public Library, posted a “spine poem” on Facebook this past week. According to an article from Amanda Nelson of Book Riot, the concept of book spine poetry originated in 1993, by Nina Katchadourian, who began collecting interesting titles and arranging them in clusters so the spines could be read like a sentence.

    Maria Popova of Brain Pickings adapted the spine sentences into poetry and the idea quickly spread around.

    Given that it is National Poetry Month and National Librarian Week, we asked local libraries to submit their own versions of spine poetry. It’s very simple: stack some book titles together to make a poem and snap a photo. We hope the following librarian spine poems inspire our readers at home to create one and send it to us. We’ll add to the gallery of the ones we collected from librarians, below.

    Camden Public Library

    Morning, Noon and Night
    Stormy Weather
    Rain
    Snow
    Signs of Spring
    10 Turkeys In The Road
    Snow Day!
    Spring
    Liberty!

    Belfast Free Library

    April Is the Cruelest Month (wishing for summer's return)

    hummingbirds
    Signs and Wonders
    Close My Eyes
    fall on your knees
    broken for you
    A friend of the family
    Exile
    Come again no more
    Tex and Molly in the Afterlife

    Vose Library, Union

    This Is How To Dance “is a poem about the magical joys of dancing with another person, and the ways that dancing celebrates life and transforms your inner world. The books are drawn from many areas of Vose Library's collection.”

    We first
    Sparkle and spin
    Alone together
    A ring of endless light
    Force & motion
    Making things float and sink
    After
    Radiant days
    Blue shoes and happiness
    Touch and go
    This is how
    To dance.
    This song will save your life.

    Rockland Public Library

    “I've been intrigued by the book spine poetry since I read about it a few years ago--what a fun way to create!”

    Why I read
    Everything Under the Sun
    Forgot to Remember
    Plot & structure
    Writing on the Wall

    Jackson Memorial Library

    Close your eyes
    Just a dream
    Something magic
    Sweet, sweet memory

    Reader Submission: Susan Bates

    Necessary places
    We took to the woods
    An Unexpected Forest
    She’s not there
    Rivers of memory
    More than you know

    Reader challenge: Send us a spine poem with one of your favorite Maine author’s books as part of the title!


    Submissions can be sent to Kay Stephens at news@penbaypilot.com