A couple of weeks ago, I got to hear Jane Yolen speak at the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota. What a treat!
Here are just a few highlights from her wonderful talk, "Loving the Lyric Line."
She wrote her 7th-grade essay on New York manufacturing in rhymed couplets. Really!
She shared J. Patrick Lewis’ recent poem, "The Rules of History," for the peace project. Jane said, "It is such a consummately smart poem, the only response is yes, yes, yes! And it’s for kids."
She shared Lilian Moore’s "Until I Saw the Sea," which I love and shared in 2007 at Wordy Girls. "…[T]he metaphors are so childlike without being childish…"
She talked about how teachers (the audience was mainly, I think, education students) could pair various poems to discuss aspects of poetry.
She read David McCord’s "This Is My Rock," another of my favorites. [Here it is in one of my mini-poetry books. I made these when I first started reading children’s poetry and wanted to assemble my favorites into tiny books I could keep with me.]
Wonderful quotation: "Poems are coded messages of fact and emotion."
Poems were actually used as codes in WWII. Jane read the haunting "The Life That I Have," by Leo Marks, which I wasn’t aware of.
Well, there was lots more wonderful poetry by Jane and others, so I hope you’ll have the chance to hear her speak on this topic someday. The talk was inspiring and fulfilling. It was wonderful that she shared poems I already knew and loved, and wonderful that I heard some new ones, too.
| After her talk, Jane signed books, and I was thrilled to have her sign Once Upon Ice, Shape Me a Rhyme, and Water Music (she graciously signed mine "For Poet Laura from Poet Jane"!). I can’t believe I forgot to take my copy of Take Joy. Next time.
Here’s one of my favorites from Water Music! Embroidery On this green loom, Each patterned wave Enduring –Jane Yolen, Water Music |
If you ever have the opportunity to hear Jane Yolen speak, don’t hesitate. Even if parking is a pain (it was) and your kids are on spring break (mine were), her insight, passion, and encouragement outweigh any inconvenience!