Blog
NPM2022 Day 12: Cold Aches
It’s another N+7 draft for you today. The one I’m sharing here and also the one on Thursday both came out of the same stanza that I shared yesterday. Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a few links you might find helpful.
NPM2022 Day 11: Travel Law #1
Today’s sticky note poem is the result of another exercise, called N+7 (read about it here). Again, I use it as a starting place. Not to write a poem but to give me a springboard into a poem. Below the image, you’ll see a stanza by J. Patrick Lewis, one of my very favorite poets.
NPM2022 Day 10: Skyscraper Bones
Here’s another draft that grew out of an oppositify exercise. See a couple more here. I thought about pairing with art of a skyscraper being imploded or brought down with a wrecking ball…but somehow this image is what I wanted with it. Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up
NPM2022 Day 9: Magic Rock
I love rocks, and they show up a lot in my poetry! Here’s my drafting process. Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a few links you might find helpful. Intro to what I’m doing this National Poetry Month ALL the sticky-note poems
NPM2022 Day 8: Thirsty Rocks
Happy Poetry Friday! Like yesterday’s poem (which I liked much better), this one resulted from that oppositify exercise of that same Robert Wallace poem. Janice at Salt City Verse has the roundup today! Yay, Janice! Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a
NPM2022 Day 7: The Sun Is Never a Spoon
Tried an exercise with some poet friends where you take a poem and replace every noun with its opposite. And then you see if anything in that new nonsense poem sparks an idea for you. Here’s the draft I ended up with, followed by the oppositified poem :>) Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry
NPM2022 Day 6: A Loch Ness Rock #ClassroomConnections
On Wednesdays (when I share tips for educators related to my books) for Poetry Month, I’m planning to share poetryactions–that’s what I’ve called poems that use some book as a starting point for my inspiration. Usually I write these poems inspired by other people’s books, but this month, I’ll do a few based on my
NPM2022 Day 5: The Opposites of Chickadees
Had fun watching a few bird videos last week! Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a few links you might find helpful. Intro to what I’m doing this National Poetry Month ALL the sticky-note poems I’ve written so far To see each
NPM2022 Day 5: The Opposites of Chickadees
Had fun watching a few bird videos last week! Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a few links you might find helpful. Intro to what I’m doing this National Poetry Month ALL the sticky-note poems I’ve written so far To see each
NPM2022 Day 4: Hyperspace
I always feel like I’m in the opening credits of Star Wars when I drive in the dark during a snowstorm! Here’s the drafting of it, written at breakfast. Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a few links you might find
NPM2022 Day 3: Bird Calligraphy
Here’s today’s sticky-note poem! Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a few links you might find helpful. Intro to what I’m doing this National Poetry Month ALL the sticky-note poems I’ve written so far To see each sticky-note poem as I post
NPM2022 Day 2: Ukraine
The news can’t help but seep into my writing. Thanks for reading, and happy National Poetry Month! And if you ended up here by chance, fantastic! Here are a few links you might find helpful. Intro to what I’m doing this National Poetry Month ALL the sticky-note poems I’ve written so far To see each
NPM2022 Day 1: Sandcastle
Hi there, readers, writers, poets, educators, and parents! Welcome to National Poetry Month 2022! This year, I’m keeping it simple. Every day, I’m writing and sharing one poem of some kind on a sticky note–so you know they’ll be short. Not that short is necessarily easy, but it feels more manageable. Each day, I might
Secrets of the Loon Riverby Award!
I’m so excited to share the lovely news that Secrets of the Loon is a winner for the 2021 Riverby Award for exceptional nature books for young readers! Whee! I am hugely honored. This picture book launched right as the pandemic hit, all in-person events were canceled, and, like many 2020 books, it hasn’t had
Artisan at Work — a Dodoitsu [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Last Sunday, we Poetry Sisters met on Zoom for live writing. Our challenge this month was an ekphrastic dodoitsu. Yup. A dodoitsu (new to me) is a Japanese poetic form with a bit of wry humor, usually around work or love. It has
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