National Poetry Month: Day 1

It is National Poetry Month, thirty days of writing and reading poetry. In addition, today, April 1, is April Fool's Day and as a results I think my body played an April Fool's Prank on me last night. I had a bout of insomnia. I could not sleep. I did not get to sleep until after 4:00 or 5:00 AM and then I woke up at about 7:30 AM.

I am not sleepy. I am wide awake and doing laundry. I did not do laundry or housework last night because I wrote instead. My grandmother did housework or played solitaire when she could not sleep. I write or play solitaire when I cannot sleep. I finished a poem and submitted it to the contest this morning.

I am here to wish
You Happy April Fool's Day,
Please make someone laugh.

If you are not into pranks, then find a funny poem and read it or send it to someone who needs a laugh today. I do not pull pranks myself, but I do enjoy a good prank. I laugh at an amusing or funny prank; so be nice today and pull an amusing prank on someone.

What is a good genre for an April Fools Day story?

Today is April 1, April Fools’ Day, and I have been wondering what genre is good for an April Fools’ Day story. Comedy is the first genre that comes to mind, but it is not the only one to use. Science Fiction, fantasy, and romance would make good genres as well.

I thank romance would make a good genre for an April Fools’ Day story, but then I write bitter love poems; so that may explain the reason I would pick romance for this type of story. In fact, I did write an April Fools’ Story that was also a romance. The story is still on my hard drive; I will have to find it and post it in my writing.com port.

I have two April Fools Day stories to write today. One is a flash fiction, with a deadline of midnight Eastern Time. The other is a short story (1,000 words or less) and its deadline is April 2 at noon Eastern Time. Each of the stories has a prompt because they are entries in two contests on writing.com. I think one of the stories will be a romance, but the other will be either fantasy or science fiction.

April Fools Day brings out the Creative Side of People

April Fools' Day appears to bring out the creative side of people. The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time shows just how creative people have gotten through out history. This website tells about hoaxes from 1708 to 2007.

One of the more interesting had spaghetti growing in trees, which I suspect is much better then money because you can eat spaghetti. Another concerned a wild animal called the Hotheaded Naked Ice Borer. Then there was the one about a decrease in Earth's gravity because of an unusual planetary alignment. Yes, April Fools' Day brings out the creativity in the human race.

A Day to Celebrate Foolishness

Fidál (Grace), 12 Baha (Splendor), 165 B.E. – Tuesday, April 1, 2008 about 3:47 AM PDT

Today is April Fools' or All Fools' Day. There are various explanations of why foolishness is celebrated today. One-explanation concerns then change in the date of the New Year's Day celebration. According to the Julian Calendar New Year's Day falls on April 1, but when the Pope Gregory XIII implemented Gregorian Calendar the date changed to January 1.

Not everyone embraced this change. Some people continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. The results, those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated April 1 as New Year's Day. This does not fully explain the spread of the custom, but it does make a nice explanation. The webpage April Fools' Day Origin and History gives more information.