Blog
Do You Have Your Suitcase?
Well, we almost didn’t get to Atlanta. At least not the day we were supposed to. Some of you may remember my “knife at the airport” story. Ack. Then there was our family trip to Washington, D.C., when my husband left his driver’s license in the scanner at home, so my brother-in-law Dack drove all
Poetry Friday Right Here!
Happy Poetry Friday! I’ve been re-reading Words with Wrinkled Knees: Animal Poems, an old collection by Barbara Juster Esbensen (who also wrote one of my favorite poetry collections ever, Swing Around the Sun). Here’s one poem I love: You must read this word under water under wavering nets of cool light A vertical word
On the Road: A Red Balloon Author Event
On Saturday, I did an event for Stampede at the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minnesota. Some of you might have seen on Facebook that I was freaking out because I saw online that they ordered a ton of books. A ton. Most bookstore signings (my own and other much better-known authors than me)
Poetry Friday: Picnic, Lightning (Billy Collins)
I felt like sharing a Billy Collins poem this morning, and “Picnic, Lightning” won the Poetry Friday lottery. I really love the tiny dark unmoored ship and the ending images of immersing yourself in the now, the ordinary moments that make live so vivid. Picnic, Lightning “My very photogenic mother died in a freak
Quotation Motivation: Plain and Simple
“There is more, not less intensity in plainness, because simple stuff operates without the safety net of the poetical.” –Hugo Williams, Strong Words, 2000 I’ve been reading many quotations about obscurity, vagueness, mystery, accessibility, etc., and how they relate to poetry. I love poems that I can understand. I want rhythm, imagery, and perfect word
Poetry Friday: Without (an original poem)
Today, I have a poem and a question to share with you. First, the question. I’m looking for recommendations of poetry journals for adults featuring accessible, mainstream poetry. I love Billy Collins, Kay Ryan, Jane Kenyon…so you can see I don’t really go too much for the experimental stuff. Anyway, I’d like to possibly
Poetry Friday: Without Rancor (an original poem)
I took a wonderful poetry class at the Loft in Minneapolis last spring. One of our exercises was to write a poem with the word “rancor” in the title. Most of my poems are NOT actually about my personal experiences, though people often think they are. But for this assignment, I thought of my childhood,
What if 9th Grade Is a Disaster?: An Original Poem and My Bad News
I received some terrible news a couple of weeks ago–my editor is leaving Clarion. In fact, Friday was her last day. She resigned because of a family move away from NYC, and I don’t even know if she’ll be able to remain in children’s publishing at all. This is devastating news–she has been such a
I Was a Saint This Weekend (Only Temporarily)
Yesterday, I was the guest author for the St. Paul Saints minor league baseball game in St. Paul, MN. I read Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School, of course. I was invited to participate by the Red Balloon Bookshop, a lovely children’s bookstore who partners with the team to promote reading. Sudden downpours, spilled drinks
Poetry Friday: The Poems We Wear (original poems)
LJ’s giving me fits this morning, so I’ll try this super quick to see if it works! The Poetry Stretch at the Miss Rumphius Effect this week was to write poems about articles of clothing. Early in the week, I wrote two for my daily poems–totally different moods and styles. The Tie That Binds A
Headed to the Kerlan
One of the fun things to come out of attending ALA in Chicago last month was an invitation to visit the Kerlan Collection here in Minneapolis and a request for me to donate my rough drafts, revisions, etc., of Stampede. “The Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota is one of the world’s great children’s
Poetry Friday: Holding Hands with Lee Bennett Hopkins and Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Did you see the lovely essay in the new SCBWI Bulletin by Diane L. Burns about shaking hands with someone who shook the hand of…It reminded me of this wonderful experience I just had of the chain of encouragement and joy poets build. When I saw poet Tracie Vaughn Zimmer in May, she related
Cooking Up Recipe Poems (2 Original Poems)
Shhh! Don’t tell the Poetry Friday police! I’m posting a day early because I leave tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. for the airport to head to Chicago for ALA. This week’s Poetry Stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect is all about recipe poems. On Monday and Tuesday, I wrote recipe poems for my daily poems.
Poetry Friday: Dry Sea Skin and The Best Place to Be… (2 original poems)
Summer is my least creative time of year, so I’ve been extra grateful for the Poetry Stretch challenges at The Miss Rumphius Effect recently. This week’s challenge was to write an acrostic (where the first letter of each line forms a word when you read down the left margin of the poem). It’s one of
Poetry Stretch: Obsession, by Prince Charming
This week’s Poetry Stretch over at Miss Rumphius Effect is about fairy tales. My WIP is actually a collection of poems all with a certain hook and related to fairy tales, but I can’t share one of those here. So here’s a different one, for an older teen audience. Obsession by Prince Charming I thought
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Are You Looking For?
Go to my Poetry page for:
- National Poetry Month projects through the years
- Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
- Introductions to several favorite poetry forms