Poetry on the rise in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The South Dakota State Poetry Society (SDSPS) is wrapping up its pilot ‘Poetry on the Road’ series with readings in Pierre, Aberdeen and Madison to celebrate National Poetry Month in April.

The program launched last fall after the 2023 Festival of Books in Deadwood and since then, it’s reached 14 communities across the state.

“We’ve had a good turnout for almost every event,” SDSPS President Marcella Remund said. “Lots of first time people reading their poems at the open mics and South Dakota Poetry Society board members reading their work as well.”

The next readings for Poetry on the Road is April 9 in Pierre at the Waterfall Gallery, April 11 in Aberdeen at the Red Rooster Coffee House and ending April 16 in Madison at The Brick House. All events are free to attend and perform.

Remund said the turnout for the last readings was so positive, that they’ll be bringing the series back for another trip around the state. According to former SDSPS president Dana Yost, the readings in Sioux Falls, Yankton and Kyle were packed.

“We had one for Sioux Falls in December at Full Circle Book Co-Op and it was beyond standing room only; it was overflow,” Yost said. “We ended up with about 25 readers, but we had maybe 70 to 80 people in total listening to the poetry. That was terrific.”

Both Remund and Yost said the face of poetry has been changing in South Dakota, which has led to more public interest over the years.

“At the one in Yankton, we had a couple of young people read and then we had a woman in her nineties who got up and read for the open mic,” Remund said. “It’s really people from all walks of life who are participating. It’s pretty exciting to see rural folks in smaller towns.”

Yost said he’s noticed more young people and high school students attend readings, especially after the Poetry Out Loud (POL) program was implemented in South Dakota. POL is a national arts education program run through the South Dakota Arts Council that helps students memorize and recite their own poetry work. The 2024 state competition was on March 18.

“There’s so many good young poets, so I’m really excited about the future of poetry,” Yost said.

If anyone is unable to attend any of the three Poetry on the Road readings during National Poetry Month, Remund recommends checking out poetry books from the local library, joining a writing group or taking a poetry or writing class to get into the spirit.

“I think some people are scared off by the stereotype of poetry being really difficult and hard to understand, but there’s a lot of amazing poetry that’s very easy to understand,” Remund said. “I would say just explore what’s out there and if there’s some poetry you don’t like or you find too difficult, set that aside and look for stuff that appeals to you because there’s so many different kinds out there.”

Dana Yost is also the husband of KELOLAND Digital Reporter Rae Yost.

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