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Friday, March 10, 2017

Sign Up Here for 2017 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem!

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Michelle at Today's Little Ditty for Roundup.

I do have a poem to share with you today, but first:

It's that time again! National Poetry Month (April) will soon be upon us, which means it is time again to sign up for our annual KIDLITOSPHERE PROGRESSIVE POEM. This year -- our 6th year! -- our goal is to create a poem for kids, and Heidi Mordhorst will be launching our first line! The rest is up to all of YOU! I invite you to choose your day in comments, and I will update the calendar below as we go along.

ETA: Schedule for 2017 is FULL. Thank you!

Here's how it works:

Poetry Friday Friends and other poetry lovers are invited to join in a community writing experience during National Poetry Month (April).

What is it? a poem that travels daily from blog to blog, with each host adding a line, beginning April 1. Anyone who wants to join in the fun can sign up below. First come, first served. If you are new to the Progressive Poem, please include your email and blog url in comments -or- send via email: irene (at) irenelatham (dot) com. 

April
1 Heidi at my juicy little universe
2 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
3 Doraine at Dori Reads
4 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
5 Diane at Random Noodling
6 Kat at Kat's Whiskers
7 Irene at Live Your Poem
8 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
9 Linda at TeacherDance
10 Penny at a penny and her jots
11 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
12 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
13 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
14 Jan at Bookseedstudio
15 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
16 Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy
17 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
18 Buffy at Buffy's Blog
19 Pat at Writer on a Horse
20 BJ at Blue Window
21 Donna at Mainely Write
22 Jone at Jone Ruch MacCulloch
23 Ruth at There is no such thing as a godforsaken town
24 Amy at The Poem Farm
25 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
28 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
29 Charles at Poetry Time
30 Laura Purdie Salas at Writing the World for Kids

Once we have a complete schedule, I will be send via email the HTML code to include in your post and/or sidebar so that readers might follow along/look back/look forward. And feel free to snag the above graphic!

Can't wait to see where our poem will take us this year! (To view poems from previous years, click on the Progressive Poem tab above.)

And now, a poem for you. I've just finished reading PIECING ME TOGETHER by Renee Watson. It's the story of Jade who is poor and black and attending a white private school in Portland as she navigates race and privilege and relationships on the road to success. And it ends with a poem by Jade's best friend Lee Lee:

Black Girls Rising
by Lee Lee Simmons

Our black bodies, sacred.
Our black bodies, holy.

Our bodies, our own.
Every smile a protest.
Each laugh a miracle.

Piece by piece we stitch ourselves back together.
This black girl tapestry, this black body
that gets dragged out of school desk, slammed onto linoleum floor,
tossed about at pool side, pulled over and pushed onto grass,
arrested never to return home,
shot on doorsteps, on sofas while sleeping
and dreaming of our next day.

Our bodies a quilt that tells stories of the middle passage,
of roots yanked and replanted.

Our bodies a mosaic of languages forgotten,
of freedom songs and moaned prayers.

Our bodies no longer
disregarded, objectified, scrutinized.

Our bodies, our own
Every smile a protest.
Each laugh a miracle.

Our bodies rising.
Our feet marking, legs dancing, our bellies birthing, hands raising,
our hearts healing, voices speaking up.

Our bodies so black, so beautiful.
Here, still.

Rising.
Rising.

- Renee Watson

53 comments:

  1. "Of freedom songs and moaned prayers," gave me a chill.

    I hope the scenes of violence the poem brings
    us to
    never occur for Lee Lee & Jade in Renee Watson's story.
    (Or in real life for any students.)
    Appreciations for sharing such potent work.

    April 14
    April 21
    Either would fit my schedule.

    Thank you for all this dear Irene.

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  2. I think I'll go EARLY this time! How about April 7?

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    Replies
    1. Duh! How about the 14 or 21 - whichever of those is left over!

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  3. Replies
    1. Thanks! You're a doll! (as my mother would say!)

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  4. April 5 or 10? I'm curious as to how we'll construct a poem for kids!

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    1. Diane, April 5 is yours! Yes, this will be interesting. :)

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  5. If you will once again host me, I would love the 12th! I so look forward to this. This slow "hare" is really thinking she should get a blog, but I have to be sure I will be able to commit my time to it. The bar is pretty high around here, but I need to jump in!!!! I signed up for an online course to learn the ins and outs of Wordpress so there is that!!!!
    Janet Clare F.

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    Replies
    1. Janet, I am happy to have you here for the 12th!

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    2. As always, many thanks.
      Janet Clare F.

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  6. I'll take a Monday, either the 3rd or the 17th.

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  7. Dear Irene, thanks for doing the progressive poem again. It is an exciting April event! I would love April 9th, please! As for the poem from the new book (which I will find!), I'm struck by the powerful words catching the survival: "Here, still." Nothing can take that away. Thanks for sharing the book and the poem.

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  8. Irene, thanks for doing this again! I'm nervous but I'll take April 2nd! xo

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  9. Hi Irene! I could do the 13th or the 20th. if those have been taken, I cd do the 27th or 28th. Yay, I finally signed up on time! bjlee@childrensauthorbjlee.com; www.bluewindow.weebly.com. Thanks Irene!

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  10. Hi Irene. I can do the 9th or 10th or date after the 20th. Thanks!!!

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  11. I can do April 23rd. Thanks for organizing this!

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  12. Hi Irene, Thanks for sharing this strong poem "Black Girls Rising!"
    I would love to join in your progressive poem let me know if any of these days are open 21st, 23rd or 28th. email: mkogan@mdandmk.com blog: www.moreart4all.wordpress.com

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    Replies
    1. Welcome, Michelle! The 28th is yours!

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    2. Thanks Irene, I'm looking forward to it; and thanks for putting this all together too!

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  13. Yay, it doesn't feel like Poetry Month without Irene's progressive poem. :) Let's see, can I have the 4th please?

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    Replies
    1. PS, thank you for posting the poem from PIECING ME TOGETHER. So powerful!

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  14. Haha. I was coming to say, 'The 4th please,' then scroll right to the next-to-last comment... :D So can I have the 6th please? If not the 6th, then the 8th. Ta. I've not taken part in your progressive poem project, before. Looking forward to it! :)

    As to 'Piecing me Together'... Such a strong and lovely truth line; "Our bodies so black, so beautiful."

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  15. I'm listening to The Hate U Give, and this would be a great companion poem.

    I'll take any multiple of 4 you'd like to assign me!

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    Replies
    1. Yay! The 8th is yours! (Thanks for making me do math this morning. :)

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  16. Hi Irene, I'm happy to take a day. The 4th or the 15th?

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  17. "Do the thing you fear." And so I sign up for another year. I'll take April 11th.
    Love these repeated lines from the powerful poem you shared:
    "Our bodies, our own
    Every smile a protest.
    Each laugh a miracle."

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  18. More soon, my friend, but may I please have the 24th or any other day? amy@amylv.com at The Poem Farm www.poemfarm.amylvcom Thank you for this annual poemfun! xx

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  19. Thanks for doing this again, Irene! As always, it looks like I'm in time to sign up on my birthday, the 26th! If not, any other free day is fine with me. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Renee, this makes me smile and smile! How many years have you made this part of your birthday?? Love it. 26th is yours. xo

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    2. This is my third Progressive Poem birthday! My first was in 2012, then again in 2016. The other years I didn't sign up in time, but I will be forever more vigilant about it! :D

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  20. Hurray! I didn't sign up in time last year. I am very flexible and will do any day that works for you.

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  21. What a powerful poem, Irene - and that book cover, too! Wow.

    And, aaack! Almost missed the sign-up! That would have been the first time. If there is still room, I'll take April 25? XO

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  22. So glad you're doing the progressive poem again, Irene! Since I'm too late to sign up for my birthday, I'll choose the birthday plus one week (April 18.) Or any other date that's left.

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  23. Irene, did you get my request 14 or 22? Write on Fridau.

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    Replies
    1. The phone is too tiny for typing. Wrote a comment on Friday.

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  24. I will take which ever day that is open... I work and worry about my line whatever day it is so worry has no preferance

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  25. If the 30th is still open, I'll take it. I'm thinking it's all full by now, which is fine, too. Can't wait to see what this year's poem brings!

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    Replies
    1. Laura, the 30th is YOURS! Thank you so much. xo

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