This librarian hired him as her library assistant and told him to keep the kids away from a certain shelf of books. This poem is what got him writing his own poetry. It took him awhile to realize that the books on this shelf kept changing. Kevin Young also described the influence of libraries on his life as a poet. He spoke about the many connections that libraries offer and that librarians should encourage this.
Librarians can make poetry active.
Marsha Spyros gave tips on how to start and run a successful poetry program and encouraged people to follow the NYPL model that was developed. It is up to librarians to continue and nurture this trend for poetry in the masses. Back to Issue 3 American Library Association For questions or comments, contact the Webmaster.