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Pipe Cleaners [15 Words or Less Poems]
Welcome to 15 Words or Less Poems Day! Are you ready to wake up your poetry brains with our weekly exercise (guidelines here)? Here’s a picture from my basement clean-out. I’m gathering lots of arts & craft supplies into a pile to give to my daughter and/or niece. This image makes me think of:
Writing & Reading About Hard Topics
[Hi, educators–I’m in the middle of a technology crisis! Please forgive me for possibly not responding to comments the rest of this week. I will be reading them! In fact, they will cheer me up. But it’s likely I might not be able to respond. :>( ] I definitely have a melancholy side, an awareness
The Buzz of Self-Doubt for Writers (Not Just Students)
I’m a fairly confident writer. But even though I know I can write, I never know if any particular person will like it. So, when I turn in a piece of writing to an editor, I hold my breath. It’s like turning in a school assignment and waiting for a grade. I just turned in
A Skeleton for Poetry Friday
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) In thinking about my word of the year–essential–I realized I had written a poem not too long ago that connected with that. This was part of Carol Varsalona’s Autumn Palette Gallery–a collection of lovely images and words/poems from autumn. Here’s my piece in the gallery.
Trunk [15 Words or Less Poems]
Welcome to 15 Words or Less Poems Day! Are you ready to wake up your poetry brains with our weekly exercise (guidelines here)? Here’s one last picture from the Bell Museum of Natural History . This is a cross-section of a tree from a fig-tree display (the curator of the museum is doing some kind
Poetryaction and Bookalikes for Marilyn’s Monster
I’ve been working (for many years, off and on!) on a poetry project with a main character who feels rejected in many areas of her life. She tries so hard to not want things like friends and invitations to birthday parties, because she doesn’t have them. So it hurts less if she tells herself she
My Word of the Year: Essential
First off, congratulations to ALL the creators and publishers of the books honored by ALA yesterday! I sat at my laptop, listening and cheering along with the crowd there, and it was just as exciting as usual. Extra congratulations to Matt de la Pena for Last Stop on Market Street, which won the Newbery–a picture
The Periodic Table — a Crown Sonnet by the Poetry Sisters [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! It’s that time again–we Poetry 7 are sharing poems! In November, we wrote ekphrastic poems, which I struggled mightily with. Now, we’re beginning 2016 by sharing our crowning achievement of 2015: a crown sonnet–hehe. One of the topics I suggested to the group (last spring) was the periodic table, and I was
Antlers [15 Words or Less Poems] & Live Writing Video
Whee! It’s 2016, and this is the first 15 Words or Less Poems Day of the year! I’m glad you guys are here. Are you ready to wake up your poetry brains with our weekly exercise (guidelines here)? I took this picture at the Bell Museum of Natural History on Randy’s birthday a couple of
It All Comes Back to Books
I went to the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota a few weeks ago, and everywhere I looked I felt connected to friends–both human friends and book friends. In a special exhibit on peregrine palcons, they had an Audubon print of one, and looking at the detail and ferocity and truth
Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2016! This year on my blog, I’m hoping to share more behind-the-scenes/inside-my-head posts about my own writing process and my life as a book-lover. I hope you’ll join me. Isn’t this a beautiful Rilke quote? I love its calm but celebratory feel. It inspires me to want to try new things with my
Cougar [15 Words or Less Poems]
Welcome to the final 15 Words or Less Poems Day of 2015! Ready to wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less? (guidelines here) Here’s a picture I took at the Bell Museum of Natural History on Randy’s birthday last week. This image makes me think of:
Merry Poetry Friday Christmas!
Happy Poetry Friday, and Merry Christmas! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I’m sharing a favorite old Christmas song today. When I was growing up, this was one that my mom played on the piano, and that we sometimes did during our family Advent Sunday night celebrations. We were not a particularly religious family,
A Pear‑y Pretty Chandelier [15 Words or Less Poems]
Hi, 15 Words-or-Less-ers! Merry Christmas Eve, if you’re celebrating! Ready to wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less? (guidelines here) Here’s a picture I took at the theater where we saw So You Think You Can Dance Thanksgiving weekend. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but those colored crystals make up
BookSpeak, Old-School!
Last week, school librarian Karen Bentall shared a wonderful photo of a BookSpeak display in the Oak Ridge Elementary School library in Arlington, VA. Wow! It’s beautiful! I asked if I could share this cool artwork here and if she could tell me a little more about it. Here’s what Karen said: Smart
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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