Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)
I’ve missed you! Last week, I was in Chicago for the NCTE-NCTM Joint Conference. A couple of poetry-related highlights: hearing Irene Latham and Charles Waters’ wonderful keynote and then getting to talk poetry, mistakes, publishing, and life with them at lunch; meeting Keila Dawson in the Exhibit Hall. Hooray!
 |
 |
 |
 |
I also did some research, ate a lot of donuts and cupcakes, and had many Chicago adventures with my husband, Randy. Here are just a few pics. I’ll stop here or else I’ll be uploading hundreds of images. But a few memorable things were seeing Big Country and OK Go, the Emmett Till exhibit, Millennium Park, the Architecture Tour on the First Lady, Titanique, and SO much delicious food.
This month, our little poetry group (and hopefully you too!) wrote raccontinos. It’s a bit of a complicated form, featuring couplets where every other line rhymes and the title followed by the end words of every other line tell a little story (I bolded and underlined the story words). We’ve done them before. Here’s the one I wrote 9 years back. This time, I didn’t want to write a poem about writing a poem. I fall into that sometimes. So I looked at my idea file and came across the fact that orangutans build new sleeping nests every night.
I did some quick research, brainstormed some words I might need, and then made rhyming lists. Then I wrote an okay first draft. I realized it was flat–just an expansion of that little 5- or 6‑word story in the end words. So I thought about another layer. Something to make it a bit meatier. I thought about how mother orangutans teach their young how to build nests and decided to weave that into the poem. I didn’t get it in there very much, to be honest. But I felt like adding a child did add a touch more emotional resonance to the poem. Here’s my draft 2.
The rhythm needs refining, but I do like a fair bit of the content. And I like that it’s not about autumn or writing (two default topics for me). Can’t wait to see everyone else’s drafts–maybe yours?
Liz
Kelly
Click here to see all our previous Poetry Princesses collaborations.
Our Poetry Friday host is the witty rhyming fanatic, Tanita Davis. Check out the Roundup and see what she has to share.
12 Responses
Okay, EXCUSE ME, ma’am, but that is brilliant. SO many delicious tidbits:
the buzzing builds buggy songs…
a branch, brand new…
quickly, nimbly threading…
Always a great choice to add a baby animal — and I love that you literally got the topic out of the Random Facts File and made it do so much WORK! I could see this poem included in a “what did I learn today?” collection, interspersing what a child learns in the course of a day with what an animal learns. Additionally, I love the image you used. Generally I kind of dislike simians (after An Incident in first grade with a monkey cage over which we’ll just DRAW A THICK VEIL), but orangutans are way too cute to hold a grudge against.
OMG, a monkey cage incident when you were only in 1st grade? Primates can be adorable…or utterly horrifying! I love your idea for a poetry collection–that sounds like so much fun! Thanks for all the encouragement, always.
Laura, your raccotino is well-structure with a flow and an adorable photo. I am amazed how your thoughts weave beautifully to tell your story. I believe teachers could use your poem as a mentor text. I also love your photos of your trip. Ice cream — $25. Yikes!
What?? This is SO GOOD, Laura. Adding the child definitely gives it emotional depth, but it also enables you to gently and organically show us the process of building the nest, as Mother teaches Son, which is beautiful. And your rhyme is subtle and soothing, so in line with the tone of the poem. I agree with Tanita—this one belongs where kids can read it and learn from it.
Wow! I love this little story…it’s sweet and has layers of meaning. If this is your draft…your finished needs to be in a book. It’s wonderful. Your idea file paid off in spades!
Wonderful, Laura. You managed to weave in facts, emotion, and wonderful words all the while following a form. That is not so easy, I know. thanks for sharing the pictures, too.
This is SO delightful on so many levels, Laura! I love the unique story you chose (and had no idea that orangutans build new sleeping nests nightly) and agree that the mother/son scenario adds depth. Love these lines:
She picks a spot, a branch brand new
and soon she is quickly, nimbly threading
twigs to capture the dreams of their sleeping
A dreamy raccontino! 🙂
Holy WOW! A nonfiction raccontino, and just about literally pulled from a hat at that! Well played!
I love your poem because the rhymes flowed well with the story and vice versa, a weaving of words. I also have new babies on the mind as we await the arrival of another grandson. I like that the baby was a boy in soft, cozy bedding.
Love the tenderness in your poem Laura, and the snug-tucked-in ending! Glad your Chicago trip and talk went well, too bad we didn’t rendezvous, maybe on a future one, thanks!
Such a fun, nonfiction (?) poem, Laura! I love reading your process; thanks for including this. And I hear you re: the $25 ice cream! We are in Maine and they charge quite a bit for theirs, too!!
I love a good nonfiction poem and this one is filled with information and tenderness. Lovely!