April may be the cruelest month, but it’s also National Poetry Month. In honor of the month that’s almost lost and gone, let’s celebrate the art of losing before it’s too late:

One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

–Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

You might remember our friend Barney Saltzberg for his impromptu office crooning, or maybe just for his gorgeous and heartwarming books that inspire kids to make videos of their own.

Well, now he’s really done it. He’s put Arlo (the REAL Arlo) in a video for his (their!) new book. Talk about a Wonder Dog!

It’s too cute for words. We hope you’ll agree. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get my eyes checked…

We at the Workman Blog love to celebrate writers of all kinds, but particularly those with vibrant, eccentric lives outside of their literary pursuits. So when it came time to write a blog post in celebration of National Poetry Month (it’s April!), we knew there was only one place to turn for poets whose first calling isn’t necessarily words: celebrities.

The Anthology of Really Important Modern Poetry is just that: a collection of “poems” by some of the preeminent public speakers of our day, from Charlie Sheen to Sarah Palin and everyone in between. Below, some choice examples of brilliant verse…by people who really should learn to think before they speak.

 ”After Winning an Oscar for the Film Titanic,” by James Cameron

This is for a real event that happened when real people died
and shocked the world in 1912 and I’d like…
to do a few seconds of silence
in remembrance of 1,500 men, women and children who died.
You really made this a night to remember in every way.
Now let’s party ’til dawn!

“My Recipe for Raising Kids,” by Ivana Trump

My recipe for raising kids:
I encourage my children to try new things.

As much as I tell them they can do anything,
I don’t want them to engage in pastimes that have no future.

xxxxxThe other day, Ivanka came to me and said
xxxxxshe wanted to enroll one afternoon in field hockey.
xxxxxI said,
xxxxx“Ivanka, that’s a boy’s sport. There’s no future in it for you.”

If Ivanka wanted to do karate, fine.
Field hockey she doesn’t need.
Golf, I think, is a perfect sport, but fencing? I’d say,
xxxxx“Kid, don’t waste your time.”

Ice skating is great exercise and it’s social.
xxxxxYou won’t get many phone calls to play field hockey,
xxxxxbut ice skating you can do in New York
xxxxxat the beautiful Wollman Rink in Central Park
xxxxxwhich their father and I rebuilt during our marriage.

—————————————————————————————————–

The Anthology of Really Important Modern Poetry was curated by Kathryn and Ross Petras and is on sale now. Visit the Petrases at their website, Stupidest.com, and follow them on Twitter @TeamStupidest.

In anticipation of Earth Day on Sunday, we’re offering a free project  via Etsy’s How-Tuesday from forthcoming book, Paper Made! 101 Exceptional Projects to Make Out of Everyday Paper by Kayte Terry. So before you practice the third of the three Rs (Recycle), dig through that bin and practice the second R — reuse that cardboard box by transforming it into a Modern Fete Silhouette Chandelier!

And there are plenty more where that came from… 100 more projects, to be exact. So dig into your stash of candy wrappers, wall paper scraps, junk mail, leftover wrapping paper, and old office materials — and get making! (Forget Earth Month, I have a feeling Earth Day might turn into Earth Year…)

According to one Urban Dictionary definition of 420, the term is “widely used in Cannabis culture as a time to get high, a national day to get high, and cannibis itself.” But the theories on how the term was invented seem to number almost as many. Today’s Washington Post article shares a few, and the Wall Street Journal shares some newer takes on the marketing of this “holiday,” but here are several classic theories that seem to have permeated the air.

Have you heard the Bob Dylan theory? It involves math, so it must be taken seriously: The “everybody must get stoned…” lyric is from the Dylan tune, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.” Multiply 12 times 35 and you get 420. (Dylan is also credited with introducing The Beatles to stuff.)

What about Bob? The other Bob. The Bob Marley theory is a rather mistaken since the reference is in regard to the claim that he died on April 20. He actually died on May 11.

Or how about the Police Code theory? Basically, that “a 420″ announces a narcotics bust… Though widely cited, it’s not true, since there is no code for a drug bust, just a drug deal — which is referred to as a “966,” apparently. (Some people claim that it used to be known as a 420, though…grasping at straws, here.)

We look to our neighbors to the north for the Highway 420 theory: In 1960s Ontario, Canada, marijuana plants used to grow roadside on this stretch of highway. It wasn’t given the 420 moniker, however, until 1972.

The Chemical Makeup theory: Some claim there are 420 “ingredients” in weed, but the reality is that there are closer to 300, a number that fluctuates according to the source of the weed. In another take on this angle, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol. Tetra means four, and hydro means water (or H2O), and so the mash-up gets you vaguely to 420.

The Tea Time theory: Okay, this one’s cute, about 4:20 p.m. being “tea” time in Amsterdam, but still doesn’t have legs to stand on.

Most signs, however, point to the San Rafael theory as being the rightful heir to the 420 myth. In the early 1970s, a group of students (yes, they’re middle-aged now) from the San Rafael High School in California (incidentally, the first state to legalize the stuff) who called themselves the Waldos, liked to enjoy an afternoon toke at the base of the Louis Pasteur statue on campus. The term “420,” referring to the time of day they would meet at the statue to engage in the illicit activity, was their code for the meetup. In an interview with High Times, one member of the original Waldos shared what may be the actual genesis of the particular time stamp: one Waldo had heard about a patch of weed plants growing in the woods nearby. The group decided to form a search party of sorts and agreed to meet at the statue at 4:20 to embark on a search for the elusive crop (PS: they never found it).

There are a slew of other theories and coincidences and intentional instances of 4/20, 4:20, and 420 in the history of the plant that is celebrated today — and no shortage of places to read about them. So for those of you who like to get high on reading, we’ve got a special one to recommend today.