Welcome to Day 19 of our Kidlit Progressive Poem, a yearly opportunity to join friends in the Poetry Friday community as we create a communal poem for children. Margaret's inspiration came as she gazed out her back window at her golden-doodle pup. I enjoyed thinking about other creatures who might be lurking in our spring meadow. I pass the baton to Mary Lee for the next line and the ending to our stanza . . .
Thanks to our host, Margaret, for organizing this effort and to all the poets joining us at the playground this month:
April 1 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
April 2 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
April 3 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Denise at https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/
April 6 Buffy at http://www.buffysilverman.com/blog
April 7 Jone at https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/
April 8 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 9 Tabatha at https://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/
April 10 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins
April 11 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities | Rose’s Blog
April 12 Fran Haley at Lit Bits and Pieces
April 13 Cathy Stenquist
April 14 Janet Fagel at Mainly Write
April 15 Carol Varsalona at Beyond LiteracyLink
April 16 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm
April 17 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 18 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
April 19 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
April 20 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 21 Tanita at {fiction instead of lies}
April 22 Patricia Franz
April 23 Ruth at There’s No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
April 24 Linda Kulp Trout at http://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com
April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
April 26 Michelle Kogan at: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/
April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight
April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors
Today's poetic quotes come to you compliments of a gift from the 2014 Two Writing Teachers SOL Writing Challenge. I won a beautiful handmade book created and gifted from blogger, Stacie Evans, also known as Girl Griot. I have used it to capture quotes that I want to remember. Join me today as I meander through the pages of my commonplace book to share quotes about poetry.
"For me, poetry provides a place to slow down and see what is often unseen, to feel what might be empty, to hear a murmur in a world that shouts."
- Steve Peterson, Inside the dog
"Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn."
- Thomas Gray
"Writing is a daily practice, an opening of my heart to the whispers of my soul."
- Carol Varsalona, Beyond LiteracyLink
"Without poetry, we lose our way."
Joy Harjo, 23rd US Poet Laureate, 2019-2022
"One breath taken completely, one poem fully written, fully read - in such a moment, anything can happen."
- Jane Hirshfield
"Poetry can break open locked chambers of possibility, restore numbed zones to feeling, recharge desire."
- Adrienne Rich
"Poetry is a tool for disruption and creation and is necessary for generations of humans to know who they are and who they are becoming in the wave map of history."
- Joy Harjo
"Poetry invites a reader's participation. It is meant to communicate and connect."
- Holly Karapethova, Poet Laureate of Arlington County, Virginiapoets.org
"Poetry is like singing on paper."
(No attribution for this quote)
"Poetry offers us that silence - that great space."
- Ada Limon
"Poetry surprises us and deepens our sense of the ordinary. Poetry tells us that the world is full of wonder, revelation, consolation, and meaning."
- Tracy K. Smith, US Poet Laureate, 2017-2019
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Today's poetry book share is not from my personal collection, but I found this long-time favorite at my local library. It's written and illustrated by the dynamic duo, Bob Raczka and Peter H. Reynolds. Guyku takes us through the calendar year with haiku from each season. I'll share one from each season, but you'll need to check out the book to see Peter Reynold's delightful illustrations.
Spring
I free grasshopper
from his tight, ten-fingered cage -
he tickles too much!
Summer
Lying on the lawn,
we study the blackboard sky,
connecting the dots
Fall
The best part about
kicking this stone home from school
is there are no rules.
Winter
Icicles dangle,
begging to be broken off
for a short sword fight.
This book could just as easily be titled Kidku. These haiku, centered in the natural world, appeal to the kid in all of us, not just the guys.
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Many of the poetry books in my collection have come from book sales or library discards. Some of these books still have the pockets for a card and stamped dates indicating when the books were checked out.
The Dream Keeper and other poems by Langston Hughes was first published in 1932. My edition published by Knopf came out in 1994. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney, the artwork was done on scratchboard, a technique in which a white board is covered with black ink. The ink is then scratched off with a sharp tool to reveal white underneath. The book was checked out once in '94, twice in '95 twice in '96, and once in '97, '99, '00, and '08.
Here's a favorite poem from this collection:
Worlds I Know and Other Poems by Myra Cohn Livingston, with drawings by Tim Arnold, was also a discard from the middle school library where I taught. It was published in 1985 The stamped card inside the front cover shows it was checked out twice in '88, once in 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 06, and 09. My guess is that our library moved to digital checkouts somewhere around 2010. While some of the poems may seem a bit dated, "Lemonade Stand" speaks to every child who's ever sold lemonade on a hot summer day.
A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys by Charles Ghigna was published in 2003 and purchased as a used book. It has a wonderful inscription on the first page.
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A certain gap of six days
appears in my poetic sharings.
And so today I bring you
six favorite books of poetry
from my bookshelves
for days ten through fifteen.
My quick version
of poetry month catch-up.
Day 10: all the small poems and fourteen more by Valerie Worth with pictures by Natalie Babbitt - I bought multiple copies of this book for my classroom library over the years since my copy often disappeared. No worries, teachers love it when poetry books go walkabout, especially if they're being read.
Day 11 - What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms & Blessings by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski - So many poems to love in this slim volume with a red bookmark: "Come Happiness," "How To Find A Poem,"and "Starting Now."
Day 12 - Sketches from a Spy Tree by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, illustrated by Andrew Glass - Pink sticky notes mark the pages of favorite poems: "Bubblegum in Braces," "It Must Be September,"and "Tasting."
Day 13 - Mural On Second Avenue and Other City Poems by Lilian Moore, illustrated by Roma Karas - Green sticky notes mark the spot for favorite poems in this book filled with poems to love: "Forsythia Bush," "Winter Dark", and "The Tree on the Corner."
Day 14 - The Great Frog Race and Other Poems by Kristine O'Connell George with pictures by Kate Kiesler - This book, covered with laminate and a P on the cover indicating its spot in the classroom library, includes these favorites: "Spring Wind" (perfect for teaching personification), "Garden Hose," and "Winter Swing." Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems is another favorite book on my shelf by Kristine O'Connell George.
Day 15 - Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams by Janet S. Wong, illustrated by Julie Paschkis - I adore this entire book (inscribed "Sweet dreams," by Janet) but especially "The Ones They Loved the Most," and "Turnip Cake," a treat I loved when I lived in Hong Kong.
Whew! And that catches me up to tax day and the middle of April. Isn't it great that National Poetry Month falls during this dreaded month of reckoning when everyone needs a puff of poetry to lighten their mood?
Every time I walk, I snap pictures of trees. Here are just a few examples from recent weeks:
I decided that these pictures needed a poem. I went to the Poetry Foundation, where I discovered the concrete poem, "Whenever You See a Tree" by Padma Venkatraman. The poem ends with these words:
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