Blog
Weebles [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! On Father’s Day, we also went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see the Leonardo daVinci codex exhibit. Amazing! Randy wanted to browse the Mark Mothersbaugh exhibit, too. Not so amazing–well, just not my taste, for the most part. But this piece
Catch Your Breath: a poetry-writing guide by Laura Purdie Salas
Hey, guess what! My most recent writing project for Capstone Press is a guide to writing poetry, aimed at 4th-8th graders. And it covers ALL sorts of poetic forms and moods. (The title is rather a long story.) And in addition to a few classics, it features poems generously, graciously donated by many poets you
Pit [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! On Father’s Day, we went to the Smack Shack in Minneapolis (delicious), and I took this pic there and Waterlogued it. This image makes me think of:
My Cat, by Valerie Worth
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) With all the excitement over a lion or other big cat roaming a Milwaukee neighborhood, I thought “My Cat,” by Valerie Worth, would be appropriate for today. It’s from the book Pug & Other Animal Poems (see it on Indiebound or Amazon). The spread in
Umbrellas [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! When my sister Patty visited a few weeks ago, we went to an improv show (I love those!), and the mall had umbrellas all over. This image makes me think of:
Meet Me in St. Louis? And poetryaction for Dolphin Baby!
I’m on my way to St. Louis this morning for ILA 2015! Anybody else heading there? Would love to see you–leave a Comment here or Message me on Facebook or DM me on Twitter. Maybe we can meet up! Now… Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I really enjoy Nicola Davies’
Theater [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! The Gordon Lightfoot concert last month was at the beautiful State Theatre in Minneapolis. I always love looking at the architecture and embellishments inside. This (Waterlogued) picture is looking up at the ceiling. This image makes me think of:
Fall is like a last-chance hand (the Poetry 7 are at it again)
Happy Poetry Friday! In June, we Poetry 7, Poetry Sisters, Poetry Princesses (depending on what day you catch us) wrote “poems in the style of…“After much hemming and hawing and debating, we decided to each write a poem inspired by a specific e.e. cummings poem. e.e. cummings scares me. He is illogical and rule-breaking. There
Belly of the Beast [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Randy and I went to see Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot perform a couple of weeks ago. The stage design was very simple, with these long skinny triangles of fabric stretched taut in the background. Different colored lights dreamily came on and off
poetryaction for Giant Squid
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) I love the ocean and its mysterious creatures. I really enjoyed the text of Mary Cerullo’s Giant Squid, but one of Clyde F.E. Roper’s photos is what inspired this poetryaction.
Marie [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Randy and our older daughter, Annabelle, visited family in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, and Randy sent me this sculpture of Marie Antoinette made entirely of cut paper except for the mannequin. Read more about the artwork here. I love the
A homework-hating poem
When I was poetry-touring the Arrowhead region of Minnesota last April, a kindergarten or 1st-grade girl tugged on my arm on her way out of a session. “Can I give you these?” she asked. She held out a few papers to me. I took them, told her I couldn’t wait to read them, and off
“Hello” to a Magazine Merit Honor
I had a lovely message a few weeks ago about my poem “Good-Bye, Hello!” It’s a back-to-school poem that appeared in Highlights magazine last year, and it is the runner-up for SCBWI’s 2015 Magazine Merit award. Yay! And, I’m happy to say that Michelle Heidenrich Barnes of Today’s Little Ditty was the winner for her
A Jig and a Poem [15 words or less poems]
Wake up your poetry brains with 15 Words or Less (guidelines here)! Usually, I post pictures I find beautiful or spooky or engaging. This one just makes me smile. When we were in Dublin, we were signed up for the Irish Dance Party at the Temple Bar. It was an afternoon event where we
poetryaction for See What a Seal Can Do
I loved See What a Seal Can Do (Candlewick). It has delightful language, beautiful art, and clear, simple facts. One of the words early in the book inspired this poetryaction full of wordplay. Check out my Pinterest boards of poetryactions and bookalikes if you’d like to see more:>)
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