The Open Road Blog

Read a poem aloud during National Poetry Month!

"It's only when you read it aloud that it begins to sing," says the world-renowned actor Jeremy Irons, who, along with many other prominent members of England's artistic community, frequently participates in the poetry readings organized by author Josephine Hart (author of Damage and Sin) in London. Hart began the series in 2004 in an effort to renew the public's interest in the compressed power of poetry. In this video, Irons and Hart discuss the series and how poetry can awaken people's minds to the infinite possibilities of language.

Sure, we talk about books all the time. But Open Road is plugged into the world beyond books, too. Each Friday we'll step outside of the industry silo to call out what caught our eye. Whether we're talking about technology, museum exhibits, education—and, yes, sometimes books—we're happy to share Links We Like with readers.

• Although I liked being a Girl Scout as a kid, I was always jealous of the adventuring the Boy Scouts got to do. Playing with bees? Swinging around giant rocks? Making fires? And, in 2011, building robots. According to NPR, the Boy Scouts have now ...