Showing posts with label Poems about Poems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poems about Poems. Show all posts

Friday, September 8, 2023

Give Some (Writing?) Advice


Hello friends! I am the grateful host of this Poetry Friday. Please scroll to the bottom of this post to visit all of the different people sharing poems and poemlove and fellowship today.

A Few Stones
Photo by Amy LV

In many places, it is the start of a new school year, and as I believe that writing poetry is a fabulous way to begin a new year and a beautiful way to get to know people, this poem is for all of you new poem writers.



Students - If you are in a place that is just starting school, happy new school year! If you have been in school for a while, happy day just the same! Today I am thinking about beginnings and doing new things, including making new kinds of writing. Each time I take too much time off or place too much distance between me and writing, it feels new again. This is good...and also difficult. For me, it is often trickier to start something new than it is to keep going with something already on the move. So writing regularly can be one helpful secret for writers. Then, the approaching-the-page feeling is simply I'm back! rather than What do I do again?

Today's little poem compares writing to a different activity I love - collecting stones. Truth be told, I also love collecting shells, buttons, pinecones, sea glass, yarn, flowers, old handkerchiefs, and of course words. I do believe that writing a poem is a lot like collecting little treasures and making patterns with them. And while I sometimes get nervous about writing or feel like there is a bag of tricks I do not know, the truth is that writing is collecting and arranging, standing back and rearranging. Writing is making time for the glory of words in all of their shapes and sizes. Writing is a way to figure out what we think and to think about what what we wish to figure out. It is not a mystery, and each of us can do it. But we need to eat. We need to rest. We need to not always be on the go-go-go. Pausing is part of writing. Allow yourself to look out the window, to look down at the pavement and to see the flat stone that is looking up at you. Eat.

What will you write this week? Perhaps you, too, will write a poem with a tip or a thought about writing as I did here. Maybe you, too, will think of an interesting "Did you ever...? question to begin a poem. Such an open-ended start could take you into the world of real or into the world of pretend. You may even choose to write a poem with a You Asked... title. Sometimes beginning with any old title gets a writer going, and you one always change a title later once the draft is on its way. Maybe you will compare one thing to a different thing as I have compared picking up and arranging stones to picking up and arranging words. We all learn from each other. If I could read your writing right now, I would learn from you.

Bloggers - I invite you to add your posts for Poetry Friday below. And if you're new to Poetry Friday, just click the blue button, and you will be able to visit other blogs and add your own if you wish!

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I leave you with good thoughts about trying new things and sticking with habits that help you be your favorite you.

xo,

Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish.
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If you are under 13 years old, please only comment 
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Friday, May 12, 2017

A Poetry Birthday Party for Poet Ben!



Village Bench
Photo by Amy LV




Students - Today's poem is for a friend, a friend you'll meet in a moment.  My new friend Ben.  Cats love to visit Ben's poems, and so when I knew Ben would be visiting today for his birthday, I wanted to write a poem about this truth.

Then, last evening, as I took a walk through the village, I saw the scene you see above: an bench holding only a bag reading I HEART CATS.  Perhaps cats around the world are all thinking about Ben's sixth birthday today!

Sometimes when I sit to write, I write a poem for someone I care about.  A thought of someone you care for is a great reason to place pen to paper.  If ever you are feeling stuck...consider your loved ones.  Who would appreciate a gift of words right now?  Who might need such a gift? Who do you wish to surprise?

Today it is my honor and delight to welcome a young poet and birthday boy to The Poem Farm.

Young Ben, his mother, his school's literacy coach, and one of his teachers join us today from Crossroads Academy-Quality Hill in Kansas City, Missouri.  I couldn't feel luckier!  Happy birthday, Ben!


Meet Ben!

A Note from Ben's Mom

Ben is a very special poet with a unique voice. He has been reading and writing poetry since he was two. His first poem, written in 2013, was a haiku:

A lady laughing?
Mama laughing. Falafel?
Falafel laughing.

Two of Ben’s favorite poets are Emily Dickinson and E.E. Cummings. One of his favorite phrases when he was two was “so many kinds of yes.” Here is a video of two-year-old Ben reading part of a Cummings poem about springtime: “Sweet spring is your time is my time is our time…”


Since 2013, Ben has read poems, made videos, and created artwork inspired by poets during Poetry Month. Here is a video of Ben reading William Carlos Williams for Poetry Month 2014: "The Red Wheelbarrow."


And a video of him reading Pablo Neruda for Poetry Month 2015: "Ode to Hope."


The Balloon of the Mind by W.B. Yeats
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A Note from Instructional Coach Mrs. Callahan

 I am the Instructional Coach at Ben’s school, and, since January, I have had the privilege of spending most afternoons with Ben.  During this time, Ben has worked on various poetry challenges and created two full books of poetry. Writing is Ben’s way to do what he loves. I introduced Ben to the poetry and lessons of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and he soon became a huge fan of The Poem Farm and Amy’s work. 

 A Note from Teacher Mrs. Lupton

 Ben has great interest and talent with poetry.  He loves words and his skills far surpass an average 5 year old. To try and meet Ben where he is, give him what he needs, and feed his creative spirit, we came up with the idea of partnering him with Emily Callahan (a fellow lover of poetry) during our school wide intervention time to work on deepening his understanding and love of poetry.

Hi I’m Ben!
Today, May 12, is my 6th birthday!

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I am a founding 1st grader at Crossroads Academy-Quality Hill.  Our school opened in August, 2016.  It is located in the heart of Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. I am lucky to have wonderful teachers here and the chance to write and read poems almost every day. I am a big fan of poetry! Here's a video of me showing this!



I like writing poems about cats. I like cats. Poems can follow any rules.  You do not have to write poems with the same rules that I did. I like writing poems because they can be about anything. I was 5 years old when I started publishing my poetry books.


This year, I discovered Amy’s 2012 National Poetry Month Dictionary Hike Challenge, and I was inspired to do my own! I have published two books: Alphabet Challenge for Poems: Poems A-Z and Color Poems (based on Amy’s Poetry Month challenge this year).

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You can hear me read these books and watch the book movies!

 
ALPHABET CHALLENGE, POEMS A-Z


Here are some of my favorite poems from my first book, ALPHABET CHALLENGE, POEMS A-Z:

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BEN'S COLOR POEMS! THE BEST POEMS OF 2017

Here are two of my favorite poems from my second book, BEN'S COLOR POEMS:

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I am working on my 3rd book, EMOTION POEMS.  Here are some of my emotion poems so far:

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On May 3, I got to Skype with Amy! My parents got to come too!

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Here is my favorite poetry quote and some of my thoughts about poetry…

“A poem helps the mind
play with it’s well-trod patterns of thought, and
can even help reroute
those patterns by making
us see the familiar anew.”
-Mark Yakich

“A poem is like a song
without music.
A poem is like a machine,
But also like a wild animal.
Every part is precisely
placed and chosen, but it
doesn’t have to follow any
rules.”
-Ben Stoker

Thank you to Amy, Mrs. Callahan, Mrs. Lupton, Mrs. Weseloh, Mrs. Reasby and Ms. Williams for helping and encouraging me.

Have fun and keep writing!
Love, Ben

Thank you so much to Ben and to his parents and teachers for joining us today.  What a celebration!  Ben, may your year ahead be full of joy, full of poetry, full of cats!  xo

To celebrate Ben's writing, today I am offering a giveaway of Kwame Alexander's new book, OUT OF WONDER: POEMS CELEBRATING POETS.

Image result for out of wonder alexander

Please comment to be entered into this giveaway, and I will draw a name next Thursday and announce the winner next Friday!

To continue enjoying poetry all week long, visit Tara at A Teaching Life where you will find this week's Poetry Friday roundup.  All are always welcome!

Friday, January 20, 2017

Personification and Poems and Woodstoves and Joy


Tonight's Fire
Photo by Amy LV




Students - Today's poem is about how I think poems might feel...if poems could feel. If a poem could talk, it would offer to be your friend. And it would offer to be my friend.  It would offer to be everybody's friend.  And it wouldn't show off or say rude things or act fancy or self-absorbed.  A poem would be a cozy friend, always there to listen or give you a foot rub when you most need it.

For me, that's what poems are and that's what poems do.  Poems keep me warm when I feel cold.

May it be so for you, sweet friends.

Violet is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Violet Nesdoly/poems. Please visit her place to learn about what's happening poetry-wise all around the Kidlitosphere this week.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Something I Do - Free Verse & a Padlet




Poem Path
by Amy LV




Students - I do collect poems and do sometimes feel like they are spilling out from my pockets and onto the earth.  But you know what, I still always wish to learn and collect more.  Poems are my way of understanding the world - both reading poems and writing poems helps me make sense of life on both the dark and the very sunny days.  Poems are both song and like medicine to me.

Today's poem is a free verse poem, not following any special rhyme scheme or meter. Yet still, I read the poem many times out loud to listen to the pauses and rhythms and repetition.

What is something you do?  Might that be a good start to a notebook entry or poem?  "Something I do..."

As I learn more about using digital technologies to share and publish writing, I hope that you will occasionally hold my hand on the journey.  Today I truly am collecting poems...favorite poems of favorite people.  Please visit my Padlet and leave a note with your name, telling about, and maybe even linking to, one of your own favorite poems. We all become wiser through sharing, and I feel fortunate to share with you.

Please be sure to include your own name if you leave a poem on the Padlet. Only with a name will I approve the note.


Katie is hosting today's Poetry Friday extravaganza over at The Logonauts.  Visit her online home to enjoy this week's poetry offerings all around the Kidlitosphere.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Day 9 - National Poetry Month 2015 - Sing That Poem!

Happy National Poetry Month!
Welcome to Day 9 of this Year's Poem Farm Project!

Find the Complete April 2015 Poem and Song List Here

First, I would like to welcome all old and new friends to The Poem Farm this April. Spring is a busy time on all farms, and this one is no exception.  Each April, many poets and bloggers take on special poetry projects, and I'm doing so too.  You can learn all about Sing That Poem! and how to play on my April 1st post, where you will also find the list of the whole month's poems and tunes as I write and share them.  If you'd like to print out a matching game page for yourself, you can find one here, and during April 2015, you'll be able to see the song list right over there in the left hand sidebar.

Yesterday's poem was Look.  Here is the tune that goes along with it, below. Did you figure it out?



Now, here is something wonderful!  One of the funny parts about this month's challenge here at The Poem Farm is getting my poem to match the meter of the song I choose each day.  I sing along to myself, line-by-line (see more about meter here), and I revise based on sound.

However...

Some poems and songs have rhythms that are very similar to each other.  When I put this project's song list together last week, my daughter Hope said, "Mom, be sure not to include TWINKLE TWINKLE and THE ALPHABET SONG and BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP because they all have the same tune."  So I didn't.

However...

There are many songs that have similar rhythms even though they do not have the same tune as each other, and so it was a complete delight and surprise to receive a note from Ms. Simon's class from Jefferson Island Road Elementary in New Iberia, Louisiana and to learn that yesterday's poem, Look, can also be sung to the tune of YANKEE DOODLE. Way to go, my friends!  Thank you so much for sharing your voices here - you are making this game more fun for me.



Just wonderful!  I hope that perhaps some more classes will join in and send some sounds for sharing. I hear that one class is writing their own poemsong, and we'll share that in time.  All are welcome!  Please just send me a SoundCloud file, and I'll put your voices right here.

And here, below, is today's poem.  Look at the song list in the sidebar or on your matching form to see if you can puzzle out which tune matches this one.

Poems Live with Foxes
by Amy LV


Students - Last night I got into a mood to write a poem about poems.  I have been wallowing in the goodness of National Poetry Month for the past week now, and so poems are swimming in my mind and soul.  This poem speaks to what we all face and hope when we seek words, sometimes mysterious, sometimes elusive.  We remain hopeful.  The poems are there.

To discover what is happening all around the Kidlitosphere this National Poetry Month, visit Jama's Alphabet Soup where Jama gives us the complete roundup.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Poetry Friday Is Here!

Welcome 
to...



Written Critter
by Amy LV




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

Students - This poem comes from two happenings that have been swirling in my brain this week.  The first happening is that I've been working on a new project and hoping that people will feel kindly toward it.  The second happening is that our children have been catching Northern rebelly snakes and twirling them around their fingers and hands.  Pets and poems.  We need to take care of both.

And now, a bit of news.  I am very happy to announce the title of my second book with Clarion!  WITH MY HANDS: POEMS ABOUT MAKING THINGS is currently under contract, and I could not be more grateful.  I am very thankful to both my agent, Elizabeth Harding, and my editor, Dinah Stevenson, for believing in this collection.  WITH MY HANDS is dear to me as I believe deeply in the power of working with our hands, the power of making.  I will let you know when this pile of typed poems becomes a real holdable book.

Poetry Friday is a special day for those of us who love poetry and visit it all around the Kidlitosphere each week.  This is a time when we gather around to celebrate words and each other.  I feel lucky to have good friends in here, friends who enrich my life even when they do not know they are doing so.  We welcome everyone to join on in, so please enjoy the links below and feel free to leave your own.

Because I will be away for much of the day, I am allowing Mister Linky the pleasure of helping me host.  Kindly leave your information below.


I look forward to visiting everyone's blogs throughout the weekend.  Happy Poetry Friday!

Please share a comment below if you wish.
To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.
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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Free Verse - Poems Do Not Need to Rhyme


Fly with Words
(Words are Wings!)
Photo by Georgia LV

After a year of daily poems and strategy ideas.  I will be revisiting one strategy/technique for each day of April.  Today's thought is: poems do not need meter and rhyme.  Free verse poetry can be a feast for reader and writer alike.

Poems in Free Verse

Students - last April, when this poem year began, I did not write much free verse at all.  I love the puzzle of rhythm and rhyme, and so I relied on that cradle first in my writing.  There were a few times during the year, however, when I challenged myself to write in free verse, when I did not allow myself to rhyme or write in strict meter.

Looking back at all of the poems, I now realize that these are some of my favorites.  Somehow, writing in free verse encouraged me to drink deeper from my inner well.   Do I still love rhyme and meter?  Yes!  But my goal now is to write more free verse too, to deepen my understanding of imagery.

 from October 2010


from July 2010


from October 2010


 from July 2010


Here are a few more free verse poems from this past year...


This Month's Poetry Revisits and Lessons So Far

April 2 - Imagery
April 3 - Poems about Animals We Know
April 4 - Line Breaks and White Space
April 5 - Poems from Everyday Life
Today -  Free Verse

Go ahead...let go the bounds of rhyme and meter.  Follow meaning and image to the ends of the earth.  And as you do, remember to listen to that wee inner voice - the one with all of the secrets.

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