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Leaving Things Behind — a Golden Shovel Poem [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was to write a golden shovel poem. Tricia chose this prompt, and she also chose Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty” as the poem we would all choose our lines from. This time around, I shared my
Catacombs [15 Words or Less Poems]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. The Paris Catacombs are…overwhelming. So many bones. So many emotions: sadness, horror, reverence, acceptance, melancholy. We had gone to a bone chapel in Austria a few years ago,
Writing a Golden Shovel Poem: Day 5
[You can read Days 1, 2, 3, and 4 by clicking, if you like.] Well, you guys, I feel like sharing my process makes it sound like I have put hours and hours into this poem! But, really, it was just a stolen 15 minutes here and there. I have spent more time writing the
If You Were the Moon in School Library Journal…and Japan!
I’m excited to share this lovely review from the May/June issue School Library Journal. If You Were the Moon is a book that does more than one thing, and I’m always happy when a reviewer keys in to the different things going on in the book! SALAS, Laura Purdie. If You Were the Moon. illus.
Writing a Golden Shovel Poem: Day 4
[You can read Days 1, 2, and 3 by clicking, if you like.] After writing at Valleyfair, I took my poem on the road next to Taco Bell. I do most of my writing on my laptop or phone, but playing around with short poem drafts lends itself to longhand, sometimes. Here are the drafts
Writing Poems with 5th Graders [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Earlier this month, I got to write poems with the Literacy L.I.F.T. Club: Linking Imagination Fun & Text at Evergreen Park World Cultures Community School in Brooklyn Center, MN. My daughter Annabelle came along as an assistant, and we spent two hours writing poetry. Maurna
Sculpture of…? [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. At the Reykjavik, Iceland airport, this eye-catching statue dominates. I thought it was a berry, as I saw lots of berries on pillows and art while we were
Writing a Golden Shovel Poem: Day 3
[You can read day 1 and day 2 here.] Yesterday, I went to Valleyfair (theme park) with Randy and Maddie. It was a gorgeous day, high 60s and sunny, and the park was practically empty. No lines for anything–even the big coasters! We rode and ate and laughed–and I worked on my poem. Sadly, even
Writing a Golden Shovel Poem: Day 2
You can read Day 1 here. So, yesterday morning, I walked around a little pond. It was lovely, misty, and grey out, so nobody else was walking. That meant I could think about my poem and do a little brainstorming. I dictated possible lines into my poem based around this line: With swift, slow; sweet,
Summer Biopoem and Things to Do if You Are a Firework [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) A couple of weekends ago, I spoke at the Minnesota Kindergarten Association annual conference. For an hour, I shared with 2–300 teachers why poetry matters, what the process is behind my poetry/science books, and other poetry books wonderful for K classrooms (fun to share so
Arc De Triomphe Stairway [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Before we get to today’s picture, congratulations to Lauren McBride, longtime 15 Words or Less contributor, on her poem at YourDailyPoem.com. I subscribe to Your Daily Poem, and
Writing a Golden Shovel: Day 1
Our Poetry Princesses group is writing a golden shovel poem this month (Tricia chose this prompt), and I thought I’d try sharing the process here. I’ve never written one, and I’ve only read a few! I checked out this post by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes and this one by Laura Shovan (and make sure to follow
Pink Cow [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Last week, I shared a picture of Mont Saint Michel. In the little village nearby, several shops/restaurants had cows decorated in different ways. This pink plaidish beauty caught
Things to Do if You Are a Minnesota Summer [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) It’s the first Friday of the month, so it’s Poetry Princesses Friday! This month was my choice, and I chose the Things to Do form with a seasonal angle. (See page 4 here for a lesson plan.) This is the poetic form of
Mont Saint Michel [15 Words or Less]
Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain (guidelines here), and I’m very glad you’re here. Although the day trip itself was dreadful, one of the most beautiful things we saw in France was Mont Saint Michel, an amazing ancient abbey built on a
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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