Watch out Jacksonville for poems that will be drifting your way on Saturday, April 13 in downtown, starting at high noon. April is National Poetry Month and was created in 1996 to spotlight poetry. Since then, it has been celebrated nationwide in a variety of ways, including the illumination of the Empire State Building. In the Rogue Valley, Poets on the Loose started greeting strangers with poetry readings in 2006 to honor the genre.

Sponsored by Art Presence Art Center for the second year, loose poets, wearing colorful tags with cheery demeanors, will be roaming the streets reading poems to passersby on the street. Look for other poets inside Rebel Heart Books and The Miners’ Bazaar, where you’ll catch other delightful poetry readings!

Those lucky enough to get “poemed” will receive a copy of the poem and be anointed with a special sticker. Look out for Poets on the Loose!