Happy National Poetry Month! And welcome to my monthlong extravaganza of posting a Poem Starter Video every day!
Here’s the scoop. I decided to start sharing Poem Starter Videos to give teachers a quick and simple poetry activity for the classroom. These are quick and casual and done for fun. I’ll also be posting the text of each poem each day. So you can use these posts just to find a delicious daily poem to read, or?you can watch the?video with your students and start writing!?I hope you like them.
We’re going to start off the month with a poem by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater from her debut collection, Forest Has a Song: Poems?(Clarion, 2013). This book is stunning, with deceptively simple, delightful poems. It’s the kind of poetry I strive to write but rarely do. Congratulations, Amy! I think it’s appropriate to start off National Poetry Month with an invitation, especially one as lovely as this.
Invitation
Today
I heard
a pinecone fall.
I smell
a spicy breeze.
I see
Forest
wildly waving
rows of
friendly trees.I’m here.
Come visit.
Please?–Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, all rights reserved
And here is my Poem Starter Video:
[wpvideo 8AxV7PlL]
This is such a great idea – a gift to parents, teachers and homeschoolers! Amy’s poem is lovely. I haven’t gotten her book yet but it’s on my list – I’m really anxious to read it.
Thanks, Susanna. This book is so lovely–great child appeal and gorgeous poems, all in the very same words.
This is such a great idea – a gift to parents, teachers and homeschoolers! Amy’s poem is lovely. I haven’t gotten her book yet but it’s on my list – I’m really anxious to read it.
Thanks, Susanna. This book is so lovely–great child appeal and gorgeous poems, all in the very same words.
I am going to use your poetry starters this month, Laura!! This is a lovely one and I can’t wait for my copy (signed!) to arrive!! Happy April! I am signing up for a poetry workshop at Boyds Mill !! So exciting. Hopefully it will work out.
You will adore it, Janet! And happy workshopping at Boyds Mills–lucky you!
I am going to use your poetry starters this month, Laura!! This is a lovely one and I can’t wait for my copy (signed!) to arrive!! Happy April! I am signing up for a poetry workshop at Boyds Mill !! So exciting. Hopefully it will work out.
You will adore it, Janet! And happy workshopping at Boyds Mills–lucky you!
The month of poem starters is going to be good, Laura. So many ideas come from poems, and this one, the invitation from Amy, is a terrific one for your beginnings!
Thank you, Linda!
The month of poem starters is going to be good, Laura. So many ideas come from poems, and this one, the invitation from Amy, is a terrific one for your beginnings!
Thank you, Linda!
What a great way to celebrate April Fools Day!
Animate the forest! Take us there.
Jeanne Poland
Yes! I thought about sharing a funny poem for April Fools, but then I figured, I’m a fool for poetry, so I’ll just go for what seemed to work best for the start-off poem. :>)
What a great way to celebrate April Fools Day!
Animate the forest! Take us there.
Jeanne Poland
Yes! I thought about sharing a funny poem for April Fools, but then I figured, I’m a fool for poetry, so I’ll just go for what seemed to work best for the start-off poem. :>)
Laura, I am honored to be here kicking off the month with you! Thank you for reading from my book so beautifully and for inviting us all into your project. I am sharing it with teachers! xo, a.
Thanks, Amy, and thank you for your beautiful poem!
Laura, I am honored to be here kicking off the month with you! Thank you for reading from my book so beautifully and for inviting us all into your project. I am sharing it with teachers! xo, a.
Thanks, Amy, and thank you for your beautiful poem!
Terrific poem and video–I love the way you take one very specific aspect of a poem and invite readers to create their own. And yes, I agree about the deceptive simplicity of this poem. That’s something I’ve yet to achieve! It’s hard to paint a picture like this and resist the temptation to fill in every detail.
Thanks, Buffy–yep, we’re all still in the trenches in one way or the other, aren’t we?
Terrific poem and video–I love the way you take one very specific aspect of a poem and invite readers to create their own. And yes, I agree about the deceptive simplicity of this poem. That’s something I’ve yet to achieve! It’s hard to paint a picture like this and resist the temptation to fill in every detail.
Thanks, Buffy–yep, we’re all still in the trenches in one way or the other, aren’t we?
What a sweet poem to start the month off! I want to visit that forest right now.
Me, too! (Not all the poems will be so sweet this month, though!:>)
What a sweet poem to start the month off! I want to visit that forest right now.
Me, too! (Not all the poems will be so sweet this month, though!:>)
Love this poem of Amy’s and just adore her book. Like you, it’s filled with the kind of poetry I am striving for and Amy has done so well.
And I love your poem starter idea! Way to get us launched into the month, Laura!
Thanks, Susan. Hard to go wrong with this poem, isn’t it?
Love this poem of Amy’s and just adore her book. Like you, it’s filled with the kind of poetry I am striving for and Amy has done so well.
And I love your poem starter idea! Way to get us launched into the month, Laura!
Thanks, Susan. Hard to go wrong with this poem, isn’t it?
FIRST DAY
I stand outside kicking a pine cone.
Eyes darting between this one level
Maze and clusters of kids emitting
A steady stream of chatter about their
Summer vacations. Why am I constantly
The new kid? I silently whine. Being a
Military brat stinks. A girl then walks up
To me. She has strawberry hair with purple
Streaks, chalky white fingernails, a minty
Green dress, plaid socks and salmon colored
Shoes. It’s obvious that shyness is not in her
Vocabulary. “I don’t remember you from last
Year.” she said. “I’m new here.” I whisper.
“What’s your name?” She asks. “Name’s John.”
I mutter. “I’m Indigo. C’mon I’ll introduce you
To my friends.” She grabs my hand and off I go
Thankful for my life preserver.
(C) Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved
What a great invitation to friendship!
FIRST DAY
I stand outside kicking a pine cone.
Eyes darting between this one level
Maze and clusters of kids emitting
A steady stream of chatter about their
Summer vacations. Why am I constantly
The new kid? I silently whine. Being a
Military brat stinks. A girl then walks up
To me. She has strawberry hair with purple
Streaks, chalky white fingernails, a minty
Green dress, plaid socks and salmon colored
Shoes. It’s obvious that shyness is not in her
Vocabulary. “I don’t remember you from last
Year.” she said. “I’m new here.” I whisper.
“What’s your name?” She asks. “Name’s John.”
I mutter. “I’m Indigo. C’mon I’ll introduce you
To my friends.” She grabs my hand and off I go
Thankful for my life preserver.
(C) Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved
What a great invitation to friendship!
Great, Laura! I’m working on a new page on my blog. I’m referencing resources for teachers to use when teaching poetry. Your videos are a real treasure. I will definitely include them!
Thanks, Penny–I really appreciate your spreading the word. Once NPM is over, I’m going to figure out if I want these to live somewhere besides my blog–my website, youtube, etc. But for now, they’re just a blog project and would love to reach some teachers with them:>)
Great, Laura! I’m working on a new page on my blog. I’m referencing resources for teachers to use when teaching poetry. Your videos are a real treasure. I will definitely include them!
Thanks, Penny–I really appreciate your spreading the word. Once NPM is over, I’m going to figure out if I want these to live somewhere besides my blog–my website, youtube, etc. But for now, they’re just a blog project and would love to reach some teachers with them:>)
I received my copy of Amy’s book on Friday. I’ve read and reread her lovely poems. The one you shared today is one of my favorites in the collection. Teachers are going to love your poetry starters, Laura! What a great idea!
Thanks, Linda! The poems grow more delightful with each read, don’t they? I had trouble picking which one to share.
I received my copy of Amy’s book on Friday. I’ve read and reread her lovely poems. The one you shared today is one of my favorites in the collection. Teachers are going to love your poetry starters, Laura! What a great idea!
Thanks, Linda! The poems grow more delightful with each read, don’t they? I had trouble picking which one to share.
What a fabulous idea! I bought my copy of FOREST HAS A SONG this weekend and am enchanted by it.
Enchanting is a great way to describe this collection!
What a fabulous idea! I bought my copy of FOREST HAS A SONG this weekend and am enchanted by it.
Enchanting is a great way to describe this collection!
Gorgeous poem, Amy – and thank you Laura for sharing it! Spicy breeze – love it.
Glad you liked it, Alvaro! Thanks for stopping in:>)
Gorgeous poem, Amy – and thank you Laura for sharing it! Spicy breeze – love it.
Glad you liked it, Alvaro! Thanks for stopping in:>)
My copies showed up today!! Just holding them is wonderful. I have yet to dive in. Waiting for a spare moment and by spare I mean one where I can focus and really let these poems take root!! I am going to share your reading, too, Laura. Kids come back to school next week.
My copies showed up today!! Just holding them is wonderful. I have yet to dive in. Waiting for a spare moment and by spare I mean one where I can focus and really let these poems take root!! I am going to share your reading, too, Laura. Kids come back to school next week.
Yay! You couldn’t have picked a better poem to start with. I’m with you and Susan Taylor Brown – I strive to write like Amy! Such lovely, seemingly effortless language (though we all know it isn’t). This is a great resource, Laura!
Yay! You couldn’t have picked a better poem to start with. I’m with you and Susan Taylor Brown – I strive to write like Amy! Such lovely, seemingly effortless language (though we all know it isn’t). This is a great resource, Laura!