WHEELING – The Ohio County Public Library’s next Lunch With Books program will feature its first ever Open Mic Poetry Slam.

The program will take place at noon on Tuesday, April 7, at the library in downtown Wheeling.

Interested in helping the Ohio County Public Library to celebrate National Poetry Month? Patrons may do so by participating in the first ever Open Mic Poetry Slam. Because time is limited, the library will accept poets on a first-come, first-served basis. They ask that patrons keep his or her recitation under five minutes so that as many poets as possible can be accommodated.

Please keep poems “library-friendly.”

To access the library’s sign-up form, go to https://tinyurl.com/OCPL-Poetry-Open-Mic.

Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and of course – poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives.