Poets on Poetry: AMY LUDWIG VANDERWATER

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"I have always liked little things, and great poems are little things that can make us more of who we are. One great line of poetry can help a person make a big decision or do a kind deed. Poetry truly matters."
 - Amy Ludwig VanDerwater


Complete interview (by moi!) at Nerdy Book Club.

Poets on Poetry: KATE COOMBS

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"I prefer free verse, but I deliberately wrote most of the ocean poems in rhyme because kids just really love rhyme, something I learned from being a first grade teacher about 10 years ago. My caveat when rhyming is that rhyme cannot distract from the language. I won't include words to force a rhyme, and try to ensure that the lines flow naturally, not with an overly stiff, perfect meter." - Kate Coombs

Complete interview at Jama's Alphabet Soup!

Poets on Poetry: LAURA PURDIE SALAS

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Have fun! Poetry is an adventure!

Write freely. Write new things. Write

stupid things. Write unsellable 

things (you will do this whether 

you're trying to or not). 

- Laura Purdie Salas


Complete interview at Cynsations!

Guest Post: KATE COOMBS with the latest line in our Progressive Poem!

Hello, everyone! Please join me in welcoming Kate Coombs to Live Your Poem!

Joseph Campbell is known for his writing about the hero’s journey, and you’ll find that journey traced in countless fairy tales, let alone in great poetic works such as Homer’s Odyssey.

We’re been tracing a life journey, hopefully a heroic one, in this year’s Progressive Poem. I’m happy to have the chance to add my line—my two cents or, in this case, my seven iambs. Caroline, I was briefly tempted to give you a horrendously difficult word to rhyme, but I resisted the urge. Can’t wait to see your line, and then two more from Ruth and Tara!

I have taken the bold step of titling the poem, though Irene can change that if she likes. “Progressive Poem” just doesn’t seem pretty enough for what we’ve been doing. (But “The Journey” seems a little too obvious!) And of course there are three eggs. This is a story.

I love the hopes/dreams/possibilities/insert symbol of your choice that those eggs represent.

image courtesy of WikiCommons

Three Blue Eggs

Sitting on a rock, airing out my feelings to the universe

Acting like a peacock, only making matters that much worse;

Should I trumpet like an elephant emoting to the moon

Or just ignore the warnings written in the rune?

Those stars can’t seal my future; it’s not inscribed in stone.

The possibilities are endless! Who could have known?

Gathering courage, spiral like an eagle after prey,

Then gird my wings for whirlwind gales in realms far, far away.

But, hold it! Let’s get practical! What’s needed before I go?

Time to be tactical—I’ll ask my friends what I should stow.

And in one breath, a honeyed word whispered low—dreams—

Whose voice? I turned to see. I was shocked. Irene’s!

“Each voyage starts with tattered maps; your dreams dance on this page.

Determine these dreams—then breathe them! Engage your inner sage.”

The merry hen said, “Take my sapphire eggs to charm your host.”

I tuck them close—still warm—then take my first step toward the coast.

This journey will not make me rich, and yet I long to be

Like luminescent jellyfish, awash in mystery.

I turn and whisper, “Won’t you come?” to all the beasts and birds

And listen while they scamper, their answers winging words:

“Take these steps alone to start; each journey is an art.

You are your own best company. Now it's time to depart!"

I blow a kiss. I hike for days, blue eggs pressed to my chest.

One evening’s rest, campfire low, shifting shadows brought a guest.

A boy, with hair in wild waves and eyes blue as the sea, 

Says, “You’ve traveled far. What did you find—your best discovery?”

“I found a bird, I found a song, I found a word,” I say.

  

My thanks to Irene for hosting this event, and to our roster of very cool participants (listed on the sidebar!).

----------------------------------------

Thank YOU, Kate! I can't wait to see how the poem ends!!!

A Pond Full of Ink by Annie M.G. Schmidt

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit the ever-inspiring and inspiredTabatha at The Opposite of Indifference for Roundup. Annndddd... our Progressive is winding down! Visit Marvelous Michelle for the latest at Today's Little Ditty.

I've just been reading A POND FULL OF INK by Annie M.G. Schmidt, illus. by Sieb Posthuma, translated by David Colmer. These poems are very much reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's longer poems, like "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Wouldn't Take the Garbage Out," which I love! Narrative, rhyming verse that a little bit zany and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

And since Shel is in my head, I offer you today's Poets on Poetry from Shel himself:

"Don't be dependent on anyone else - man, woman, child, or dog. I want to go everywhere, look at and listen to everything. You can go crazy with some of the wonderful stuff there is in life." - Shel Silverstein

... and apparently, write lots of poems! Shel gave few interviews, but I found this quote in an article from Mental Floss magazine.

And now, here's a favorite from the book:


Belinda Hated Getting Clean...
Belinda Beronda, from somewhere near Flushing,
was not keen on washing and not fond of brushing.
She was an inveterate cleanliness hater,
and always postponed her baths until later.
Her bodily odor grew stronger and stronger,
and her hair and her nails grew longer and longer.
Belinda was filthy, a terrible fright.
She looked like a pig, a horrible sight.
And when her mother finally came home
with soap and shampoo and a brush and a comb,
Belinda just started to yell, howl, and glower,
as if she was going to drawn in the shower.
Her mother - by now at the end of her tether-
gave in and shouted "Stay dirty forever!
But if that's what you want, you just walk out that door,
and I won't be your mother anymore!"
So that filthy little Belinda Beronda
took off up the street and started to wander
the highways and by ways all over the land,
getting grubby and covered with mud, dirt, and sand,
with grimy smudges all over her face.
The more she avoided a bathroom or scrubbery,
the more she began to resemble some shrubbery.
Grass started growing on her shoes and her clothes,
it covered one leg, then slowly rose,
until she was totally, thoroughly hid
and no one could see that she was a kid!
And then the roots grew into the ground,
and fixed her in place like a tree on a mound.
Birds came and build little nests on her sleeves,
and slowly she grew her own branches and leaves.
A nightmare, but true- you can take it from me --
Belinda Beronda turned into a tree.

So now you know, little cleanliness haters
end up as trees....sooner or later.

- Annie M.G. Schmidt


--------------------------------
Ha! Good thing I'm not a cleanliness hater. :) Though, little nests on my sleeves? That might be cool... for a little while...

Poets on Poetry: MAGARITA ENGLE

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Poetry is an emotional refuge. Prose still has a valuable place in my life, but I don't think it offers the same level of intimacy between author and reader. When you show someone a poem you've written, you've giving them a glimpse of your heart and soul. Everything is right there, out in the open, visible. There is nothing like an uncluttered page of free verse to expose one's innermost self." - Margarita Engle

Complete interview found at YARN.

Poets on Poetry: ERIC ODE

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"I'm often convinced children are quite naturally drawn to poetry provided it's presented in a nonthreatening, playful way. that makes my job pretty easy. chldren love to play with words. They recognize rhyme and make up silly rhyming nonsense at the earliest ages. Older children enjoy drawing fresh analogies. They play easily with alliteration and imagery. - Eric Ode

Complete interview by Sylvia Vardell at Poetry or Children.

Poets on Poetry: JANE YOLEN

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"A great poet can make poetry out of a simple walk with a dog, a morning weeding the garden, a startling encounter with a snake, or a sister-in-law living "a hedge away" as Dickinson did. Or write good poetry using that too-often-used muse of bad poets as well as good - love. Shakespeare leaned on that one over and over and over again." - Jane Yolen

Complete interview at Silver Blade.

Poets on Poetry: NIKKI GRIMES

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"I love language. Language is phenomenal. I have always been fascinated that one word can mean many different things. I love the challenge of painting a story in as few words as possible. I'm also a very direct person and poetry is a no-nonsense genre. If it's done well, no words are wasted or minced. That really appeals to my personality. I love that poetry can make a beeline for the heart." - Nikki Grimes


Complete interview at Reading is Fundamental.

2014 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem is Here!

Happy Poetry Friday! Please visit rockin' Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge for Roundup. I'm very excited to be hosting our Progressive Poem here today, and I'm excited to share the latest line. But first..........

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Without poetry,

stories would be 

told in sepia."

- Ellen Hopkins

How much do I LOVE THAT QUOTE?! Complete interview at The Examiner.

And now! What a delight this year's Progressive Poem has been! We've gone from sitting on a rock to spiraling like an eagle to seeking advice and listening to a voice (who IS that "Irene" anyway? Still feeling shy about my name being in this poem, so I am thinking of my great-grandmother who is my namesake, and who, according to family legend, "never said a bad word about anyone." I wish I could say I've lived up to that. Alas. Something to strive for. And oh, she was wise! She could have said the words in our poem.) to tucking that merry hen's eggs close... and now the reason for our angst, our fear, our journey...

Sitting on a rock, airing out my feelings to the universe
Acting like a peacock, only making matters that much worse;

Should I trumpet like an elephant emoting to the moon,
Or just ignore the warnings written in the rune?

Those stars can’t seal my future; it’s not inscribed in stone.
The possibilities are endless! Who could have known?

Gathering courage, spiral like an eagle after prey
Then gird my wings for whirlwind gales in realms far, far away.

But, hold it! Let’s get practical! What’s needed before I go?
Time to be tactical— I’ll ask my friends what I should stow.

And in one breath, a honeyed word whispered low— dreams —
Whose voice? I turned to see. I was shocked. Irene’s?

“Each voyage starts with tattered maps; your dreams dance on this page.
Determine these dreams—then breathe them! Engage your inner sage.”

The merry hen said, “Take my sapphire eggs to charm your host.”
I tuck them close – still warm – then take my first step toward the coast.

This journey will not make me rich, and yet I long to be

like luminescent jellyfish, awash in mystery.

......

How's this for kismet? The rhyming word "be" brought to us by Margaret allowed me to use "mystery," my One Little Word for 2014! And isn't a state of mystery a great place to be?! Also, I love jellyfish! From a distance, of course... I have some not so pleasant memories of jellyfish stings, but all those dissipate when I see amazing photographs like this one: 

photo found here

So there you have it! Can't wait to see where Julie takes us next!

Big thanks to everyone for making this such a fun tradition. Mwah!

Poets on Poetry: REBECCA KAI DOTLICH

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"I love playing with words, being the puppeteer that dances and places the words on the page using nothing but a pencil or a computer, creative juices, and hard work. Poetry can bring a child further into their world, by sharing some of your own. It is truly a magical thing; spending your days playing with words and metaphors. I love writing poetry for children mostly because I adore children. I love connecting with them in both the silly and noisy hours as well as the tender, quiet ones." - Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Complete interview found at Wild Rose Reader.

Poets on Poetry: KENN NESBITT, CHILDREN'S POET LAUREATE

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Oh, I write all sorts of poems. I just like to make kids laugh, so I write funny poems. And one thing I've noticed is that I can always improve a kids' poem by adding some people running and yelling and screaming." - Kenn Nesbitt


Complete interview by Renee LaTulippe at No Water River.

Poets on Poetry: RALPH FLETCHER

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"If you want to write poetry, you must have poems that deeply move you. Poems you cannot live without. I think of a poem as the blood in a blood transfusion given from the heart of the poet to the heart of the reader. Seek after poems that live inside you, poems that move through your veins." - Ralph Fletcher

Quote found in POETRY FROM A to Z by Paul B. Janeczko.

Poets on Poetry: MARY ANN HOBERMAN

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Well, you’re asking what poetry is, and there have been so many definitions. . . . To me, it’s a recreation, a renewal of language. . . . The subtlety of what words mean and the fact that you write something and all of a sudden you’ll realize that 'yes, it reaches out. It meant that, too.' Then all of a sudden you’ll get a rhyme and the rhyme will throw up a whole new way of looking at things. It’s this relationship that you never dreamed of. A poem really does recreate the language, and that’s what it has to do. A true poem, I think, has to give you that shiver. That, 'yes, it’s never been said quite that way before.'” - Mary Ann Hoberman

Complete interview at Teaching Books. (emphasis mine.)

Guest Post: Janet Fagal Brings Us the Next Line in Our 2014 Progressive Poem!

Please join me in welcoming Janet to Live Your Poem!

--------------------------------------------

JANET: I am so happy to participate in the Kidlitosphere’s Progressive Poem again this year, even though I am not a true blogger! For those who may not know me I am a retired teacher, poetry-lover, poetry advocate and poet. I also read many blogs and comment often. Watching third graders embrace all kinds of poetry and poetry opportunities has been the happiest experience of my teaching career, though I only came to it in the last seven years in the classroom! I am thankful to Irene for allowing me to be a guest once again this year on her blog. I was lucky to meet her at NCTE 2012. I so enjoyed the 2012 Progressive Poem and couldn’t wait to read the next line each day. I loved the aura of that poem. Last year I joined in and must have composed 200 versions of my line before I committed! What fun we had with our dancing, daring poem.

And now some time for rhyme and reflection. We have a thinker who is debating, planning, wondering and a gift: some wisdom from Irene. With Mary Lee’s surprise, I could sense our poem turning, but where and how. After much debating I offer the latest line!

Can’t wait to see and hear what happens next.

Sitting on a rock, airing out my feelings to the universe
Acting like a peacock, only making matters that much worse;
Should I trumpet like an elephant emoting to the moon,
Or just ignore the warnings written in the rune?
Those stars can’t seal my future; it’s not inscribed in stone.
The possibilities are endless! Who could have known?
Gathering courage, spiral like an eagle after prey
Then gird my wings for whirlwind gales in realms far, far away.
But, hold it! Let's get practical! What's needed before I go?
Time to be tactical— I'll ask my friends what I should stow.
And in one breath, a honeyed word whispered low— dreams — 

Whose voice? I turned to see. I was shocked. Irene's?

“Each voyage starts with tattered maps; your dreams dance on this page.”

Now on to Deborah, where will these maps and the dancing dreams take us?

Now for some background about Janet for those who may not know her!

Third grade students reciting “School Daze Rap” by Carol Diggory Shields at Poery on Parade Night 2012

I am on FB as Janet Clare and I comment as Janet F. You can see a little of my work in this video. I believe poetry should be at the heart of the classroom and that we should joyfully highlight poems every day, whenever possible, in all kinds of ways and in all subjects. As you can imagine I am a big fan of Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell’s Poetry Friday Anthology books as well as so many new titles by poets I have met because of Poetry Friday and the Kidlitosphere. When I speak at teacher conferences like NCTE, IRA, NYSEC, CRA and NYSRA I focus on bringing the rich world of poetry, new poets and Poetry Friday bloggers into other teachers’ and students’ lives. When I work in schools I share different blog posts and send home links so children can follow on their own.

In my “adopted” third grade class which I visit at least weekly, we continue to learn poems by heart, learn about poetry and poets, write poems and bask in the glow of the words in all the books I bring in to share and read. My life is so much richer thanks to the poets and teachers I have met or learned about online via Facebook, Blogs and at conferences and workshops.

     I advocate learning poems by heart and believe we are all capable of learning more poems than we can imagine. That said, the quantity of amazing work I have found in the last three years makes me wish I had started sooner. And prolific writers like Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and others who write about places I love like the seaside, Kate Coombs and Eric Ode to name two, challenge me to keep adding to my repertoire. Having poetry literally at hand and heart is a true blessing. As Pat Lewis, recent Children’s Poet Laureate has said, “the two worst words in the English language are “poetry unit.” And I completely agree! So do the students I work with who literally cheer when I arrive, but not for me. They say, “Yay! We get to do poetry!” In this day of new standards and high stakes testing I think we all need poetry more than ever. 

--------------------------------------

Ooh, I agree! We all need poetry more than ever. Thank you, Janet! 

Poets on Poetry: PAUL B. JANECZKO

Hello, and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Michelle at Today's Little Ditty for Roundup. Wow, has National Poetry Month been awesome, or what? Our Progressive Poem continues to progress... please visit Linda at Write Time to see where we are!

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"A good poem is like a booster shot of human kindness. We need more of that. I think that's the
'so what' of poetry." - Paul Janeckzo

Complete interview by Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

It was my great pleasure this week to pick up FIREFLY JULY: A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko with illustrations by Melissa Sweet. I love that there are poems from both children's poets and adult poems, contemporary poets and not contemporary ones. None of the poems has more than ten lines, and the title poem is by J. Patrick Lewis. Really, really lovely.

I offer you one poem for each season:

SPRING

Open-billed
gulls
fighting
for fish heads
creak
like
rusted
gates.

- X.J. Kennedy


SUMMER

Sandpipers

Sandpipers run with
their needle beaks digging -- they're
hemming the ocean.

- April Halprin Wayland


FALL


What is it the wind has lost
that she keeps looking for
under each leaf?

- Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser


WINTER


A wild winter wind
Is tearing itself to shreds
On barbed-wire fences.

- Richard Wright

Poets on Poetry: DOUGLAS FLORIAN

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"I would offer this advice: Work hard but work smart. Keep your eyes open, your ears open, and your mind open. But close your mouth. Talking too much about a book before you finish it is a mistake. What surprises me is how I'm still able to do this without getting bored or relying on formulas. The industry itself has  become too industrious and not nearly illustrious enough." - Douglas Florian

Complete interview by Matt Forrest Esenwine at Poetry at Play.

Poets on Poetry: NAOMI SHIHAB NYE

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"...words can give you something back if you trust them; and if you know that you're not trying to proclaim things all the time, but you're trying to discover things.

A little girl said to me, last year: 'Poetry has been eating all my problems.' And I said, 'What do you mean by that?' And she said, 'It just makes me feel better when I read it, or when I write it.' And I think that's been true for many people in this country." - Naomi Shihab Nye

Complete interview with Bill Moyers at PBS.

Poets on Poetry: J. PATRICK LEWIS

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Great poetry is a circus for the brain. It's ten pounds of excitement in a nine-pound bag. But children won't know what that means unless we offer them the best. Soon, they'll be asking for second and third helpings. Even though few children will become poets, poetry helps them realize that one of the most phenomenal gifts humans get free of charge is the English language. And there is nothing in any language more beautiful, more inspiring and thought-provoking than poetry."

- J. Patrick Lewis

  

Complete interview by Sylvia Vardell at The Poetry Foundation.

Poets on Poetry: MARILYN SINGER

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"When I am on a roll, I will write several poems each day, spending much of the time staring into space and playing with language - or, as my husband puts it, "poetizing." It's a pleasant state to be in, but most particularly when I'm sitting outdoors in the country on warm days with few distractions."  - Marilyn Singer

Read the complete interview at The Miss Rumphius Effect. 

"Poetizing." I love that! :)

Poets on Poetry: NIKKI GIOVANNI

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit The Poem Farm for Amy's latest Thrift Store poem... and Poetry Friday Roundup! 

Also, our Progressive Poem is progressing with a parade of animals! Be sure to check in with Anastasia at Poet! Poet! for the latest line.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Poetry is employed by truth. I think our job it to tell the truth as we see it. Don't you just hate a namby-pamby poem that goes all over the place saying nothing. Poets should be strong in our emotions and our words, that might make us difficult to live with, but I do believe easier to love. Poetry is garlic. Not for everyone, but those who take it never get caught by werewolves."
 - Nikki Giovanni

Complete NPR interview here.

And here is a favorite Nikki Giovanni poem! I use it with students as an example of a poem that employs all of the senses. Don't mean to rush us into summertime, because wow, isn't spring amazing this year?! But I sure do love this poem. Plus my sister lives in Knoxville, so now I have all sorts of new memories and feelings associated with this poem. :)

Knoxville Tennessee

I always like summer
Best
you can eat fresh corn
From daddy's garden
And okra
And greens
And cabbage
And lots of
Barbeque
And buttermilk
And homemade ice-cream
At the church picnic
And listen to
Gospel music
Outside
At the church
Homecoming
And go to the mountains with
Your grandmother
And go barefooted
And be warm
All the time
Not only when you go to bed
And sleep 

- Nikki Giovanni

Finally, big thanks to Tabatha for inviting poets to write poems set in imaginary places... and for sharing mine at The Opposite of Indifference today! I also recorded a version, if you'd like to give it a listen. Can't wait to read others' responses!

Poets on Poetry: KARLA KUSKIN

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"Encourage children to read and write poetry and they will be encouraged to reach into themselves and articulate feelings and dreams. Clearly a good science report and a good poem are not created by the same process. And yet it is common to judge children's accomplishments only in terms of action and concrete production. The notes and study that go into the science report are easy to appreciate, but daydreaming and reflection, those silent pursuits that lead one inside oneself, are generally dismissed as inaction and therefore a waste of time. The imagination is a temperamental beast. Shy of groups and timetables, it thrives on solitude and freedom." - Karla Kuskin

from NEAR THE WINDOW TREE: poems and notes by Karla Kuskin (HarperCollins, 1975)

Poets on Poetry: JOYCE SIDMAN

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"I love the brevity and power of poetry, and the way, through metaphor, it connects everything to everything else. I love the way it can celebrate the humble things, the odd or overlooked things, and make them fresh and amazing. I love the way it captures these moments of epiphany: when we suddenly realize something deep and powerful." 
- Joyce Sidman


Complete interview at Smack Dab in the Middle.

Poets on Poetry: LEE BENNETT HOPKINS

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry. Enjoy!

"...poetry is reachable, is teachable, and should come to children as naturally as breathing! One needn't ask hundreds of questions about poems, nor dissect or analyze them to death. Just read poetry, love it to pieces, and enjoy it to the fullest."  - Lee Bennett Hopkins

Click here for complete interview.

Coming TOMORROW: 2014 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem!!

Wow, can you believe it? National Poetry Month is very nearly upon us! Such a joyous time on ye old blogosphere... I am ready to be inspired and informed. Can't wait to see what all of you've got cooking.

Want to know what I've got cooking? Well. I will be sharing in each post during April a favorite quote from a favorite poet on poetry!

Please do be sure to check in on the Progressive Poem as it makes its way across the land -- and big thanks to all the participating poets! Who knows where our poem will take us this year?! I can't wait to find out. See you tomorrow!!

2014 Kidlitosphere
Progressive Poem

1 Charles at Poetry Time
2 Joy at Joy Acey
3 Donna at Mainely Write
4 Anastasia at Poet! Poet!
5 Carrie at Story Patch
6 Sheila at Sheila Renfro
7 Pat at Writer on a Horse
8 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
9 Diane at Random Noodling
10 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
11 Linda at Write Time
12 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
13 Janet at Live Your Poem
14 Deborah at Show--Not Tell
15 Tamera at The Writer's Whimsy
16 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
17 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
18 Irene at Live Your Poem
19 Julie at The Drift Record
20 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
21 Renee at No Water River
22 Laura at Author Amok
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Linda at TeacherDance
25 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
26 Lisa at Lisa Schroeder Books
27 Kate at Live Your Poem
28 Caroline at Caroline Starr Rose
29 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
30 Tara at A Teaching Life

The Sound of Poetry Friday

my father reading to my oldest brother (first child)

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday from the Land of Spring Break! Be sure to visit the ever-inspiring (early bird!) Mary Lee at A Year of Reading for  Roundup.

Ever since I was wee, I have loved listening to poetry -- I was so lucky to have a father who read poetry to me. He still reads poetry to me. So it should come as no surprise that I am really loving SoundCloud. 

In the past couple of weeks I have recorded something every day -- about half of my own poems and half poems written by others. My goal is to record the poems from all of my published collections as well, as other favorites not by me.

Poetry Friday regular Amy Ludwig VanDerwater already has an impressive library on SoundCloud, and Laura Purdie Salas is steadily building hers.... so we decided to create a Poetry Friday SoundCloud page! We invite you to join us by listening and adding your own sound contributions. There is something so special about hearing the voices of Poetry Friday friends... I really hope you will check it out.

To get us started, I recorded our Progressive Poems from 2012 and 2013. I'm very excited to get our 2014 version started on Tuesday! Meanwhile, hope you enjoy these recordings:

New Kitten!

Our oldest has been wanting a kitten of his own... and now he has one! Isn't she cute?!

Name to be decided!

Check out the paperback cover of DON'T FEED THE BOY!

I am completely fascinated by the work of illustrators and book designers. And anyone whose read this blog knows I am crazy about illustrator Stephanie Graegin's work. I'm so glad Square Fish didn't go all photographic and used her work again for the paperback version of DON'T FEED THE BOY: 

Readers, you may recognize the scene from one of the black & white illustrations inside the book, as seen here:

... and here's the full jacket spread. Notice it's all birds on the back. Flamingo, pigeon, Ferdinand the peacock... the Bird Girl would be pleased!

Look for it three months from today: June 24, just in time for those summer visits to the zoo!

Adventures in Haiku, and HI, KOO! by Jon J Muth

Hello, and Happy Poetry Friday! Please visit Amazingly Talented Traveler-Poet Julie at The Drift Record for Roundup.

I have long been interested in haiku, and have long admired those of you who write it regularly (Robyn! Jone! Diane!), but have never written any myself. So when wonderful librarian Haruyo Miyagawa announced haiku events in conjunction with the Sakura (cherry blossom) Festival at Birmingham Botanical Gardens (tomorrow!), I decided to make attending those events a priority.

One of the things I did was attend a haiku workshop with Terri L. French. Here's some of the things I learned:

Haiku is more objective than the poetry I generally write -- no feelings or analogies allowed! No titles or end punctuation. It relies heavily on a juxtaposition. Uusally less than 17 syllables. Has a season word. A dash or ellipses act as the Kireji (cutting word). No personification.

Here's my very first effort at haiku:

Pine thicket laced
with dogwood blossoms--
painter's poison

-Irene Latham

While I was at the workshop, I checked out 6 books of haiku, including HI, KOO! A Year of Seasons, Presented by Koo and Jon J Muth. The illustrations are delightful, and kids will love Koo, the little panda bear, as he (she?) romps through the seasons. To give you a sense of the book, I offer you a poem from each of the seasons:

FALL

these leaves
fall forever
my Broom awaits


WINTER

Icicles
reach down with dripping fingers
will they touch the ground?


SPRING

flashlights
sparkle in Puddles
shadows climbing trees


SUMMER

Violet petal
caressing a cheek
butterfly kisses

You may have noticed capitalization of certain words... this book doubles as an ABC book, in that the capitalized words are in alphabetical order. :) For haiku lovers-- and for those like me who are new to haiku-- it's a must-read!

Answering the Hard Questions at School Visits

Last week it was my good fortune to visit with 4th graders and the Reading Club at John S. Jones Elementary School in Gadsden, Alabama. We had a great time, and I was warmly welcomed by librarian Lisa Richards and the entire faculty and staff at the school. Carol York, librarian at Gadsden Public Library brought pizza for the group (and whose lovely father helped fund the visit - thank you, Mr. Roark and grandson Alex), and I enjoyed chatting with the kids, who were wonderful and curious and asked great questions. Thanks to everyone who made it a great time!

Now for those hard questions:

AGE
One thing the students often want to know is how old I am. This is not a new question. In my experience students are very curious about basic facts like age and where you live and how many kids you have. It helps them see you as a real person, and I suspect, helps them realize that they, too, can achieve their dreams, if given enough time.

Some folks I know have handled the age question with responses like this:
"It isn't polite to ask a woman her age."
"29 is always a good guess."

Here's what I tell all students: "I was born the same year Walt Disney World opened in Orlando. Look it up."

When someone figures it out, I give them a signed bookmark. :)

APPROPRIATENESS
Other more serious questions often come from librarians or teachers. One librarian wanted to know if DON'T FEED THE BOY was an appropriate read-aloud. She said she got worried when she got to the part where we meet Phil, who pops pain pills and keeps a gun under his chair. She said the last thing she needed was to be challenged by a parent over this book!

It's a great question, and I understand the librarian's concern. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to give a terribly succinct or reassuring answer. That's because I am not the one to ask.

Please, teachers and librarians and parents, take the time to read a book first yourself, so you can make your own decision. What I deem appropriate, you may not. What's right for one reader, may not be right for another. It's really impossible for me as the author to give a useful answer. And while I could argue that realistic fiction should be realistic -- which means including things that exist in our world like pain and addiction and bad things happening to good people -- I understand that the urge is strong to protect our children from these realities as long as possible. I'm a mother, too.

MONEY
Another question I often get asked is about the financial part of being an author. I use two volunteers positioned on opposite ends of the room to illustrate the answer: One is a poet, who gets a copy of the magazine as payment. The other is Suzanne Collins, who writes a series that becomes a blockbuster movie franchise. I place myself somewhere in the middle and explain that there are authors anywhere and everywhere in between. It's a tough business, and not everyone can be Suzanne Collins! So, without ever offering a dollar amount, I am able to give kids some valuable information.

And that's all for today. Connecting with students is one of my favorite parts of being an author. Thanks to all those who help facilitate those experiences!

Movie Monday: ENOUGH SAID

This weekend we watched ENOUGH SAID, which could have been titled, LOVE IN THE TIME OF MIDDLE-AGE.

I have a friend who, after her divorce, said that going on a date was like going on a very strange job interview. This movie confirmed it. :) People who are middle-aged and dating often have ex-es and children and all sorts of peculiarities and baggage that (maybe) hadn't had so much time to accumulate the first go-around. The need for and enjoyment of companionship/love is as strong as ever, and middle-age presents its own array of challenges. It can (I think) very easily feel not worth the effort. And this movie shows that!

Funny and sweet and realistic, I really can't say enough good about it. Relationships are hard, whatever the age. And often we are our own worst enemies, especially when we allow other people's opinions to stand in the way of what makes us happy. Also, I think this was James Gandolfini's last movie, which makes me feel more tender toward his character and sweet performance here.

Experiment with Science and Poetry with Fifth Grade PFA FOR SCIENCE!

Each day this week I will be sharing about the new PFA FOR SCIENCE, brought to you by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong, with a host of fine poets contributing! And what a fun week it's been... thanks to all for your comments and warm enthusiasm.

Here's the schedule:
Monday: KINDERGARTEN
Tuesday: FIRST GRADE
Wednesday: SECOND GRADE
Thursday: THIRD GRADE
Friday: FOURTH GRADE
Saturday: FIFTH GRADE

Each day I will be giving away a copy of the Student Edition for that grade level... and at the end of the week, I will choose one winner from all the commenters via blog/Facebook/Twitter for the K-5 TEACHER edition!

So, FIFTH GRADE. Again, the line drawings that accompany the poems in the Student Edition are wonderful and engaging! There's also a Glossary and Index, both of which I find particularly helpful. And I especially appreciate the inclusion of English and Spanish translations of some of the poems. Nice!

The poem I'd like to share today reminds me of why I love poetry. It magnifies something small and often taken for granted: 

THINK OF AN ATOM

by Buffy Silverman

Think of an atom

so tiny, so small--

a speck of the world

             a speck of us all,

a speck of the ocean

a speck of a fly

a speck of a mountain,

             a book or the sky.

Imagine that speck

growing wide, growing tall

              an atom as large as

your school or the mall.

The atom looks empty--

           almost nothing at all,

but there in the center

a tiny tight ball

of neutrons and protons

with mass and with weight.

How many for each?

           for oxygen: eight!)

Its charges are balanced: 

a proton adds one,

           -(each electron's a minus)

the neutrons add none.

Outside of the nucleus--

             that tight little ball--

the electrons are swirling

they're smaller than small

like pieces of dust

whizzing through space

a cloud of electrons

              in a zip-zapping race.

An atom is tiny--

astoundingly small--

Trillions like here

on this dot that I scrawl.

-------

Yay for atoms! This poem makes something we can't even see wondrous and fun. To which I say: yay for poetry! :)

In the TEACHER'S EDITION for this poem (p.237), Sylvia Vardell has created TAKE FIVE! activities that include: 

Listening for science words

inviting students to join in on the final stanza

challenging students to illustrate a part of the poem using sketch or collage

discussion about matter and properties and a look at a model of an atom

a reference to other poems about matter

Good stuff! 

GIVEAWAY: Comment here or on Twitter @irene_latham or on my Facebook page! Winners announced daily.