Blog
Essential: Update on My Word of the Year
I figured it was time for a Word of the Year check-in. And then I realized I couldn’t remember my Word of the Year. Oi. That tells you right off the bat I haven’t been thinking about it much, doesn’t it? On the plus side, even though I haven’t been thinking of the word itself,
Can Be… Books by 2nd Graders
I’ve been sharing loads of poems by the students of Wealthy Elementary, but today, I want to share some nonfiction. The second grade wanted to write nonfiction books using my Can Be… mentor text project. I would only have two sessions with each class, one 45 minutes long and the other 30 minutes long. So
Sort of Ceiling [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)? Sorry for the confusion last week–I had the settings to not allow comments (accidentally). We should be all good today, though! Thank you for your poems and good thoughts last week. My
Monday Was a Poetry Blur at Wealthy Elementary
Here are a few pictures from yesterday, when I did grade-level sessions plus kindergarten class poems about love. And I got to hear many amazing poems by members of the Poetry Club! Principal Morey and all the faculty and staff have been so enthusiastic and welcoming. Today, I’ll be doing lots of individual class workshops,
Getting the K‑5 Poetry/Nonfiction Party Started at Wealthy Elementary
I Don’t Know Art, But I Know What I Don’t Like [Poetry Friday]
Happy Poetry Friday! Last month, we Poetry 7 shared our crown sonnet about the Periodic Table–that was such a fun project to be part of! Now the good news is that we have renewed our vow to continue monthly poems through 2016. Yay! The bad news is that we’re doing a LOT of ekphrastic poems.
Garden Snake? [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 my friend Vida posted on Facebook and offered up for 15 Words or Less (thank you, Vida!). At first glance, I assumed it was a snake, but then saw
A Plea from the Invisible–a Diversity Acrostic by Laura Purdie Salas
I was honored to have a poem in Dragon Lode not too long ago. Janet Wong wrote a great piece about diversity, and she included poems by both Margarita Engle and me. I keep some pretty great company, right? Here’s my poem–in one of my favorite forms, the acrostic! I was just an average middle-class
Things To Do If… Student Poems
Last Friday, I was part of a literacy event in Stewartville, MN, called Hot Reads for Cold Nights. Wow. There were 500 or so people there, and organizer Renita Irvin had so many things going on: book exchanges, food, storytellers, silent auctions, and a ton of other stuff. What a logistical accomplishment! All these elementary
Froggy? [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 of a stuffed frog. It’s one of Jackie’s toys, and it’s pretty nasty. This image makes me think of:
Poetryaction and Bookalikes for P. Zonka Lays an Egg
Here’s one more poetryaction! I am feeling more like a dreamer lately, wanting (but not having) more time for writing just for the heck of it—that’s a rare luxury for me. P. Zonka’s daydreaming and its randomly beautiful results really touched me in this book. I wanted to capture a taste of that randomness—the serendipity
Poetryaction for The Secret Life of Squirrels
Here’s today’s poetryaction! I’ve had this poetryaction for The Secret Life of Squirrels for a long time and am finally getting around to sharing it! I didn’t expect to like this book because, well, the cover looks a little cheesy to me. Then I read it and was totally charmed by the art, the artist’s
Poetryaction for The Harvey Milk Story
While I try to catch up this week, I’m going to share a few poetryactions. Hope you like them! The flap copy of The Harvey Milk Story says, “In making history that day, Minnie Milk’s intelligent, energetic and courageous son showed the world that…” so I assumed the story would involve Milk’s mother. Nope.
A Poetryaction for Poetry Friday
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) This week, I’ve talked about writing about hard topics, worrying about manuscripts turned in, and reading things twice. Since I’m in technology chaos right now, I think I’m just going to share a poetryaction I’ve shared before that seems to tie in with the themes
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:
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