I Learned From

Clara and Her Kittens

Photo by One of Clara's Many Admirers

Today's poem was inspired by one of my favorite poems, What I Learned from My Mother by Julia Kasdorf.  You can hear me talk about this and see Clara and her babies in action in the video below. Usually I do write more here, but during this time, I am instead sharing daily writing videos for students and teachers at Keeping a Notebook and will crosspost here on Fridays.

Michelle is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Today's Little Ditty and she is sharing all about SOUTHWEST SUNRISE, the latest gem from Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Wendell Minor.

As for Poetry Friday, we invite everybody to join in each Friday as we share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship. Check out my left sidebar to learn where to find this poetry goodness each week of the year.

Please share a comment below if you wish.day 

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

A Letter from the Country

 Abandoned Kittens

by Amy LV

 

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Did you ever have anything bad happen to you that turned out to be good after all? Our family has. One such thing was finding kittens (which I have written about many times before). Many years ago we found some kitties on the side of the road, not even in a box, and we cared for them. Two we still have. It was a bad thing...turned good. Such stories of good and bad intertwined make strong writing topics.

You might also wish to try writing a letter to someone you have never known. For this is what today's poem really is, something I did not realize until I did this lengthening-revision. It's a letter with no real recipient.

Today's poem is a grown up poem, grown up from a shorter version of the same poem that I found in a pile of old poems.  Looking at it (below), I realized that it didn't tell the whole story of the cats or the whole story of my feelings either.  Try this sometime - find an old piece of your writing and ask yourself, Am I telling the whole story here, or is there more to say?  And then try revising by adding more.  You may be quite happy with the result...or you may stick with your original shorter version.  It's the experimentation that matters.

Did you like the sound of kittens in the background of the recording?  Those voices are the voices of two kittens we are fostering now, Apollo and Luna.  They were not abandoned, but they are looking for homes!

This week over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, I am so happy to welcome Barry Lane.  Barry is a cartoonist, a songwriter, a teacher of teachers, and a very inspiring notebook keeper.  If you keep a notebook (or if you're a curious person) do not miss his post.  Teachers - he has also offered a generous giveaway of two of his books about writing and a CD!  

I have also just added an index to Sharing Our Notebooks.  Click here to see a list of previous posters.  I will continue to add to the descriptions of the posts so far.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!

White Fields & Notebooks

Little Notebook

Notebook Entry from March 24, 2010

Lately I've been thinking a lot about writer's notebooks. A month ago, I began a new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, partly to inspire me to get back into more notebook writing. Well, it's working.

We had a busy week this week with a new batch of foster kitties to "home" and a new manuscript to revise. So, last night I wasn't sure what to to choose to write about. With notebooks on the brain, it didn't take long to think, "I'll just reread one of my old notebooks and find an idea."

That said, I walked to my big old desk with this little old cherry notebook, opened a page, and found the bit of entry you see above. The poem comes almost directly from this entry, "...walking in the white fields with my pen, uncertain of what I will find."

So if you've ever wondered, "Why keep a notebook?" Here's why. You never know what's stuffed in there that you might need later. One day's idle thought is another day's inspiration.  Try it.  Just open your notebook today, flip through, and choose a line that sounds neat.  Then, make something bigger out of it.

The last two lines in this poem come from Natalie Goldberg's WRITING DOWN THE BONES. She writes, "Writers live twice. They go along with their regular life, are as fast as anyone in the grocery store, crossing the street, getting dressed for work in the morning. But there's another part of them that they have been training. The one that lives everything a second time. That sits down and sees their life again and goes over it. Looks at the texture and detail."  This idea of "Writers live twice," is one that rings deeply in me.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Please note that the nominations for the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) including poetry books, are open for another week! Please check out the Cybils website if you haven't yet done so and take a peek at the already-nominated poetry books here.  As a judge for this year, I look forward to reading these books and helping to usher some of them to the short list.

Mary Ann is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Great Kid Books. Thank you, Mary Ann.

Meow!

Penny, Pumpkin, & Juniper
Photo by Henry LV

(Please click on POST A COMMENT below to share a thought.)