(via CambridgeMA.gov)

April is National Poetry Month, and Cambridge, MA, has plans to celebrate accordingly.

City officials have just announced the new Sidewalk Poetry program–a collaboration between the Department of Public Works, staff from the Cambridge Arts Council, and the public library. As city officials set about replacing the sidewalks damaged by this winter’s historic snowfall, they’re offering residents the opportunity to have their own poetry set in . . . cement.

Applicants of any age are eligible to submit 2 poems of up to 250 characters in length, published or unpublished, by April 12th. The five winners–selected by an anonymous panel of judges–will be announced on April 30th.

This project follows in the footsteps of a similar initiative that began in 2008 in St. Paul, MN, where there are now more than 450 poems imprinted in the city’s sidewalks.

While Cambridge’s Sidewalk Program is only open to local residents, there are, of course, plenty of ways to celebrate Poetry Month no matter where you are. The Academy of American Poets has lots of suggestions. Some (“Write an exquisite corpse poem with friends”; “Recreate a poet’s favorite food or drink by following his or her recipe”) are admittedly more exciting than others (“Subscribe to American Poets magazine”). Or, you can just do as I do and memorize something like John Berryman’s excellent “Dream Song 29” and offer it up as a cool party trick every now and then.