Immortalize your relatives in poetry! From your favorite aunt who has a kind word for everyone to that infamous rascal of a third-cousin, writing poetry about your relatives is a unique way to re-tell your family stories. 

We’ll present three short-form varieties of poetry to help you frame your family in poetry. You’ll take home a new way of thinking about the stories you’ve heard all your life – and, hopefully, at least one poem about your family. 

Before you arrive, you might find it helpful to choose a favorite family story or an individual relative as a starting point. Feel free to bring photographs, letters, or other memory triggers that will inspire your writing process. 

Ages 18+
Interested teens (ages 13-17) are also welcome.

This program is inspired by the One Maryland One Book 2025 selection Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Weatherford.

While you do not have to read the book to attend this program, we encourage you to consider it! Starting August 18, free copies of the book will be available at all KCPL locations while supplies last. The book is also available to be borrowed with your library card. To place a hold on a copy of Kin: Rooted in Hope (available in multiple formats), visit our catalog.

About One Maryland One Book

One Maryland One Book (OMOB) is Maryland’s first-ever statewide community reading project and is the signature program of the Maryland Center for the Book at Maryland Humanities. Initiated in fall 2008, this year-long project culminates with three months of public programs and is designed to bring together diverse people in communities across the state through the shared experience of reading the same book. Readers are then invited to participate in book-centered discussions and other events at public libraries, high schools, colleges and universities, museums, bookstores, and community and senior centers.

One Maryland One Book is a program of Maryland Humanities.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Maryland State Library.

For more information, please visit One Maryland One Book.