Dana Crum – poet, writer, english-language expert

_April is National Poetry Month. To commemorate the occasion, “30 Poets.30 Days.” will — every day this month — release a video of a poet performing an original poem. On April 3, Dana Crum was featured; he read a piece titled “Coupling.” You can view Crum’s video on the site itself or on Vimeo.

“30 Poets.30 Days.” is the brainchild of filmmaker and photographer David Flores.

According to poets.org, National Poetry Month was “inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996” and is “held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.”

_A poem must be powerful indeed to shake the world, for poets, at least in this country, are generally the least-read writers. (And the least-paid. But that is a subject for another article.) A poem can achieve a large readership in various ways—by galvanizing political movements or making political statements; by revolutionizing poetry through the introduction of radically new techniques, forms, or subjects; or even by shaping the language during times of linguistic chaos. Here are seven that shifted our consciousness.