SPARK & Maine Animal Haiku

by Cathy Stephens Pratt

Students - Every once in a while, I participate in SPARK: ART FROM WRITING, WRITING FROM ART, and I just did so again.  Here's how it works.  SPARK is a 10 day exercise.  On Day 1, founder Amy Souza pairs up artists and writers.  Each gives the other a piece of art or writing to work from, an inspiration piece.  Each has ten days to make something new from the piece he or she receives.  And on Day 10, the artists and writers reveal to each other what they created.

It was such fun to be paired with artist Cathy Stephens Pratt for this round.  I adore her whimsical piece, and I loved imagining walking around inside, wondering what might be inside the house. As I wrote, I imagined this little house, offering each of us what we most desire and need.  It is a magic house!

Thank you to Cathy for the inspiration...and thank you to Amy for organizing us.

If you ever do not know what to write about, try writing from art.

It is a pleasure to welcome Second Grade Teacher Kim Oldenburgh and her young poet artists.  Please enjoy this beautiful slideshow of haiku and watercolors, all inspired by Maine animals.

Please Click the Square Above to Enlarge

The winner of last week's book, LUBNA AND PEBBLE, written by Wendy Meddour and  illustrated by Daniel Egnéus, is Jone.  Please send your snail mail address to me at amy at amylv dot com.  If you did not win this book, I highly suggest checking it out at the library or purchasing it for yourself or classroom or library.  It is beautiful, tender, and wise.

Michelle is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Michelle Kogan with a celebration of our 22nd US Poet Laureate, Tracy K. Smith and this week's poetry offerings from all around the Kidlitosphere. We gather together each Friday, and all are always welcome.  

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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

SPARK: Painting from Writing

Endless Treasures

Painting by Jan Irene Miller

Students - If you read my post last week, you read these words: 

Once again, as I have several times before, I just participated in SPARK: ART FROM WRITING, WRITING FROM ART, an online opportunity to write or make art inspired by others' work.  This community of ever-changing writers and artists is gathered up by Amy Souza, who since 2010 has matched folks to write and create within a ten day time period, each from a traded-on-Day-1 inspiration piece. Any adult is welcome to sign up for a pairing, and I can imagine a school doing this same exercise, matching writers and artists with each other for a set period of creating-time. 

And today, you see the second half of my pairing with Jan Irene Miller.  You may have noticed that my poem comes in this post before her poem.  This is because I sent her the poem at the beginning of SPARK 39, and she created the painting from her thoughts and feelings about the poem's words. So in both posts, last week's and this week's, you are seeing the works in the order created: one inspiration piece and one response piece.

I asked Jan Irene about her process in creating this magical painting.  She wrote:

I read your poem and “sat with it” for several days. I was musing on nature and forever and the countless items of beauty to wonder at. The poem made me think of children, how they find wonder and magic in all the shapes, textures and sizes before they get too bogged down in understanding science. This sense of wonder and magic apparently produced a color scheme to the liking of the child within me. 

I began with four pieces of heavy paper, and filled them with acrylic colors and water. I lined them up and down until I felt what I was working with. I played with the media. On day 7 I got out a piece of paper I had gessoed and put the color flow onto the paper and let the process unfold as a child might. And that’s that!

One of my favorite parts of being a writer is the connections I am lucky enough to make with others.  It is an honor to have my small collection of words interpreted by Jan Irene in such a beautiful and whimsical way, and I am grateful to Amy Souza and to Jan Irene herself for this round of SPARK!  Jan Irene's work brings new life to my own, and her painting helps me to understand myself somehow.  That's art for you.

Liz is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup today at Elizabeth Steinglass with her beautiful poem "The Menorah." Please know that every Poetry Friday, we gather together to share books, and poetry ideas all at one blog.  Everyone is always welcome to visit, comment, and post.  We invite you!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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

SPARK & Letter Poems

Cow

Painting by Jan Irene Miller

Students - Once again, as I have several times before, I just participated in SPARK: ART FROM WRITING, WRITING FROM ART, an online opportunity to write or make art inspired by others' work.  This community of ever-changing writers and artists is gathered up by Amy Souza, who since 2010 has matched folks to write and create within a ten day time period, each from a traded-on-Day-1 inspiration piece. Any adult is welcome to sign up for a pairing, and I can imagine a school doing this same exercise, matching writers and artists with each other for a set period of creating-time. Ten days ago, Artist Jan Irene Miller sent me this fabulous painting to write from, and I sent her a poem.  Above you find the poem I wrote from her art.

Cow eyes are soulful, and Jan Irene's painting made me imagine spending time with this cow, learning more about the world and quietness...all with no words.  I knew right away that I wanted to write about a stare; at first I even considered writing about a staring contest!

Like most makers, I find many ideas in the ideas and books of others, and for this poem, I found myself rereading a bit of GETTING THE KNACK: 20 POETRY WRITING EXERCISES by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford, published in 1992.

Available through NCTE

Dunning and Stafford introduce the idea of Letter Poems in their book, and since I knew that I wanted to write about connection, this felt right.  As per their suggestion, I titled my poem with Dear...., 

This poem is sonnet-like, with fourteen lines, the first twelve alternating rhymes, and the final couplet rhyming as well.  Why a sonnet?  I am not sure, but I think it happened this way because my son and I were talking about sonnets in the car very recently.  Writing spies and sneaks up on you, it does!

Many of you may know that I write drafts of poems by hand.  This process is very different for me than typing.  I do move to typing once a poem is on its way (and once I cannot read through the crossouts), but this movement of idea from head through arm to hand to pen and at last to paper is a different process than flying my fingers across a computer keyboard.  See how messy this draft of today's poem is?  I read aloud as I write and change words as I go, reading aloud and crossing out, again and again, like a person doing cartwheels over and over again.

Draft of Dear Cow,

(Click to Enlarge)

Photo by Amy LV

A few things to consider this week:

• You might try writing from a piece of art by a friend or stranger.
• You might try a letter poem with a title Dear...,.
• You might try a bit of rhyme.  But not forced rhyme. In The Poem Farm's opinon, one strong rhyme in a poem is better than ten weak ones. Rhyme should go unnoticed.
• You might read an old book to give yourself new ideas.
• If you don't already, write by hand. Read aloud and cross out as you go.

Next week, I will share my inspiration piece poem along with the art that Jan Irene
created in response.  Thank you to Jan Irene for allowing me to share this delightful wise cow, and for playing SPARK with me in this 39th round.

I am very happy to host Miriam Haefner over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks this month. She keeps track of the moon and sky, and I recommend a visit to see and inspire yourself.  Too, I am holding a giveaway for a moon journal...to go to a commenter on that post.  Please comment by day's end today to be entered into the drawing.

Carol is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup today at Carol's Corner. Please know that every Poetry Friday, we gather together to share books, and poetry ideas all at one blog.  Everyone is always welcome to visit, comment, and post.  We invite you!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

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

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

SPARKing Again - Collaborating with an Artist

Last week, I participated in Spark once more.  It had been a while since I had taken part in Amy Souza's brainchild where perfect friends or strangers swap art, music, or writing and are given ten days to make new art, music, or writing inspired by what they have been given.  I was so happily paired with artist Tora Estep.

Here you see the painting I received on the first day, and right after, you will see the poem that it inspired.

The Magpies

by Tora Estep

Below is the poem I gave to Tora on day one of our collaboration.  Right after, you will see her painting that grew from it.

Trees

by Tora Estep

Students - it is great fun to be part of this kind of collaboration, and this is why I have taken part in Spark several times. (If you wish, you can see all of the Spark collaborations I've been a part of here.)  And as I always say, try it!  Consider getting with a friend and swapping art or music or writing.  Give yourself a handful of days by which you must each create something new from what you have received.  If you do try it, please let me know...if it's poetry, I'd adore featuring you here.

We are so much more together than each of us can ever be alone.  Collaborating is a joy.

Speaking of collaborating, this week we celebrated a baby poetry book birthday! So many congratulations to Lee Bennett Hopkins and Alyssa Nassner for their new snuggly board book, LULLABY AND KISSES SWEET.  I am honored to have a poem in this book - it's cuddling with poems by so many of my poetry friends.

Available at Your Local Bookstore

Robyn Campbell is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at her site, Robyn Campbell.  Visit there to learn about all of the poetry goodies being passed around all day, all night, all week long!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Quilt Map & Spark 18!

Untitled

acrylic, some pencil, and collage on board. 8" x 8"

by Amy Souza

 

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

Students - Once again, I have had the fun of participating in SPARK, brainchild of Amy Souza.  In this round, Spark 18, I happened to be paired up (again, yay!) with artist Amy Souza herself.  Ten days ago, she sent me a digital file with the above painting, and it was my job to write a poem (it could have been anything) inspired by her piece.  Now, on day 10, I am allowed to share it!   Many other Spark participants (82 this round) are also sharing their collaborations and will be posting the to the Spark website throughout the week.

Spark is a refreshing and invigorating community event here on the Internet, because it presses a writer or an artist to go in a new direction than he or she might have otherwise.  When I first looked at this painting, I fell in love with the colors...then I found a chameleon.  Later, I saw a quilt.  Then, one morning the rhyme patches/matches took hold in my head and Amy's image combined with my wordplay brought "Quilt Map" to life.

Here are the words I chose very carefully for this poem:  stitches, swatches, matching, patches, snuggle, batches, stacks, watch, sew, grow, map, flannel, patterns, lap, wore, tore, seas, snatches, quilted, land.  Do you notice anything special about any of them?  

Oh, how I adore shopping at the word store...where everything is free!

This poem is written in quatrains, except for the last stanza which I wanted to stretch out a little bit.  If you listen to me reading it, you will hear how the last two lines have a bit more of a pause in there...because those lines are the most important part.

This time of year always makes me think of making things: cookies, decorations, dinners for many, gifts! What do you like to make?  Have you ever written about something you made?  Have you ever made a poem as a gift?  Trust me - people like it.

You can see that her very vibrant work made me think of a quilt!

You can see all of my past SPARK collaborations here, and on Monday in this space, look for Amy Souza's artwork inspired by my poem, "Wherever You Are -."

If you have not yet visited Sharing Our Notebooks to read about Mary Lee Hahn's notebooks, she's still there with a a wonderful post and a giveaway too.

Robyn is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Read, Write, Howl!  Stop on by her place to learn the poetry news in the Kidlitosphere today.  You can also visit Robyn at her very cool etsy shop, artsyletters.

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!

Spark 15 II & Paula Lantz's Response

Boulders in My Heart 

by Paula B. Lantz

Students - yesterday I shared a painting by artist Paula B. Lantz, the painting which inspired "The Water Tower." Today you can see how "White Fields," inspired this beautiful piece of art by Paula! To learn more about SPARK, brainchild of Amy Souza, and how the process works, visit here.

'Like' The Poem Farm Facebook Page for regular updates of all things poetry!

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Poetry Friday & Unicorn

Believe

by Amy LV

Students - did your writing ever just make you happy? Writing "Unicorn" made me very happy. It might be because I love magical creatures like Puff (the Magic Dragon) and unicorns. It might be because this is a mask poem, written in the voice of another, in the voice of a unicorn. This is one of my favorite kinds of poems to write.

One thing I especially enjoyed while writing this poem was working on the ending. I hope that it surprised you. By titling the poem "Unicorn," I hope that a reader will think the poem is about believing in unicorns. Of course, it's really about believing in CHILDREN, and I want this to be a surprise.

This week's poems and lessons all focused on endings. Monday's "I Doodle Poodles" took an ending-lesson from David McCord's "The Pickety Fence."  And Wednesday's "Tucked Twinkie" ended abruptly, a different kind of surprise than today's twisty ending.

Endings are important in poetry. If the beginning lines of a poem make a first impression, helping a reader decide whether or not to continue reading, the last lines of a poem leave a taste in a reader's mouth. After you write something, reread the ending and ask yourself, "What taste am I trying to leave in my readers' mouths? Is it working?"

Laura is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Writing the World for Kids. Swing by and check out all of this week's offerings.  And if you feel like writing and sharing, don't miss Laura's 15 Words or Less photograph!

SPARK 15 registrations are up.  This is a great opportunity for writers to connect with artists and musicians - sharing and inspiring!

'Like' The Poem Farm Facebook Page for regular updates of all things poetry!

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SPARK Day - Nancy Claeys & Poem #332

Direction

Photo by Nancy Claeys of A Rural Journal

This past week I had the privilege to work with Nancy Claeys, writer, photographer, and blogger at A Rural Journal.  We were paired up through Amy Souza's  SPARK, trading writing and photographs ten days ago as inspiration.  For ten days we each moodled, me with my little pen and Nancy with her big camera, creating works in response to each other's creations.

This powerful eagle weather vane photo I received from Nancy on February 16 could have taken any one of the four cardinal directions as I imagined looking to it for meaning and answers.  Reading through Nancy's blog gave me insight into her life on a farm and as an admirer of old barns and country landscapes.  

I looked up the history of weather vanes at Weathervanes Plus, surprised to learn that "The popularity of weathervanes exploded when a papal edict from the 9th century A.D. helped bring the weathervane to the skies of most of Europe.  Rome declared that every church in Christendom must be adorned by a cockerel, a symbol to remind Christians of Peter's betrayal of Christ: 'I tell thee Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.'" (Luke 22: 34)

As I wrote and thought and read Nancy's words, roosters and birds from all weather vanes - past and present - whispered through the sky.  Hence, this.

Ten days ago, I sent Nancy an old poem, a sad poem.  I wondered how she would interpret it with an image.  

Here is her hauntingly beautiful response which made me suck my breath right in.

Button

Photo by Nancy Claeys of A Rural Journal

This opportunity to work with an artist one has never met, to share pictures and words, is a true joy.  Thank you to Nancy for her partnership in this round, and much gratitude to Amy Souza for making this space and time for us all.  

My first experience with SPARK was SPARK 10, exchanging work with artist Amy Souza (photograph & painting) as well as Amanda Brainerd (digital illustration).  Keep your eyes out for SPARK 12, which I promise to announce here.  Just like Poetry Friday, all are welcome to play!

Students and Teachers - consider setting up such a project in your school.  This type of collaboration can work long distance as well as close by.  It would be perfect for homeschoolers, and again, I offer to help set up such an opportunity for any children who might wish to try this.  If you try this as or with children, please let me know as I would love to feature your work and process here.

Are you still wondering how weather vanes work?  If so, check out this diagram at scoutingpages.org.

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Triple Feature! - Moon & Moon & Moon

"Everynight Everywhere" was Poem #203 in my year-long series to write and post a poem each day.  It was an inspiration piece for SPARK 10, and artist Amy Souza had nine days to respond to it with a work of art.  Well, she did, and I could not be happier!  Here is her whimsical response:

SPARK 10 Painting 

by Amy Souza

Yesterday, wondering what to write for Halloween, I suddenly thought..."Hmmm...maybe I could do another SPARK from Amy's painting!"  After all, it had been flashing across my mind continuously since I'd first seen it...why not?  So with Amy's joyful colors, a moon, Sallye's students' mask poems, and Halloween on my mind, Poem #215 jumped forth.

There's still one more SPARK to share from my second pairing...look for it sometime this week.

Students - I can't say enough what a good time this was.  The anticipation of working with a partner, feeling so curious about what she would create, hoping dearly that she would like my poems...it felt very exciting.  Even if you don't do this as a school project, you might want to try it with a friend.  Wouldn't this be a fabulous pen pal project?  Let's think about that.

Teachers - if you are a WNY teacher who attended the NFRC conference and are visiting The Poem Farm for the first time, welcome!  Many teachers share these poems via their SMART Boards, hung as classroom posters, or in centers.  I do my best to include a little writing tip or story each day, and on frequent Poetry Fridays, teachers share their best poetry ideas.

Happy Halloween to all!  Don't forget to say "Hello" to the moon!

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SPARK 10! Response - #214 - City Dahlias

Dahlia Soft Focus

Photo by Amy Souza

This dahlia photograph and poem were created through an online experience called SPARK.  On October 20, I received this beautiful inspiration photograph with the understanding that I would use it to spark a piece of writing and share my words today, October 29.  In return, I provided an inspiration piece too, my poem "Everynight Everywhere".  Tomorrow I will post Amy Souza's joyful response painting along with that poem. 

Students - this experience was very interesting, as a writer and as a responder.  I could not wait to see what my new-artist-friend would do with my poem or to see what words would meet this photograph.

Late last night, knowing SPARK's deadline loomed, our sweet Georgia (10) padded down the stairs.  "Mom, I have a poem for you," she said.  Then she spoke.  Then she hurriedly wrote.  Then she padded up the stairs.  How very lucky we are for the children in our lives.

In a city

on a street

there I grew a bud

round and sweet

the city's black

the city's cold

the city's dark

petals unfold

the light is weak

the city's gray

the flower blooms

here comes the day.

by Georgia VanDerwater

Your lovely photograph, Amy S., received two responses from the same home!

For me, the process of writing a poem is all about finding a way in.  It's as if the poems are already out there, and we just have to find the right key.  For this poem, the key was a few lines from someone else's poem, "Otho: The Miller's Son" by Laura Amy Schiltz in GOOD MASTERS!  SWEET LADIES!  I read this book for the first time last week, on the airplane on my way to Minneapolis.  This poem has not left, particularly the rhythms of these lines:

"Oh God makes the water, and the water makes the river,
And the river turns the mill wheel
and the wheel runs on forever."

If you look back to "City Dahlias", you will see which lines sound much the same.  I love the lulling sounds of repetition within these lines, and so began the poem with the words, "For the gate..." even though I knew they would not be the first lines.

If you have not read GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!, I cannot recommend it highly enough.  It is gorgeous poetry, woven word upon word like a tapestry of history.  Schiltz won the Newbery Award for this book in 2007, and it is easy to see why.  A librarian, she wrote these monologue poems for her students to perform.  The combination of perfect language, history tidbits, and meticulous illustration make this one to read again and again.  It is even available in audio, something I'd love to hear.

Available through Amazon

This SPARK experience makes me think about two possible things students might wish to try.  The first one, of course, is to write from a photograph.  It's great fun to use a photograph as inspiration.  Many times I pull over to the side of the road to shoot a picture of a barn, a tombstone (wait for Monday), a sunset, a building.  Writing from my own photos helps me appreciate the small beauties in my life and it gives me a chance to reflect upon them later with words.  You might wish to try this.

Writing from someone else's art is whole new thing for me, and it's something I think could be a wonderful experiment with a pair of friends or classmates or even two classes working together.  Even classes living far away from each other...vive la Internet!  My friend Karen and I were talking about this, imagining what teachers could try with such an idea.  If you take this on, anyone, please let me know.  It would be a real treat to see how children like SPARKing off of each other.  If you do, I would love to share your work and/or stories with my inspiration-partner and founder of SPARK, Amy Souza. 

I do have another SPARK inspiration-partner out there too...a mystery one.  S/he is artistically responding to one of my poems but did not provide an inspiration piece.  Over the next week, I hope to share three pairings with you, this being the first!

Thank you to poet and friend, Heidi Mordhorst, for sharing her anticipation of SPARK two weeks ago.  You can see Heidi's poem and Delores Ekberg's painting at Heidi's blog, my juicy little universe.  And thank you to Amy Souza for the great fun she provided with her photo, painting, and coordination of all of SPARK.

If you are interested in participating in SPARK 11 in February 2011, keep an eye on the SPARK website for an announcement.

(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)

Reverso, Poetry Peek, Tarantula - Oh My!

This is a reverso, Poem #22 in my series of poems about poems.
It is also #213 in my year-long quest to write a poem each day!

Several months ago, I walked into our local bookstore, B is for Books, and owner Jane Bell handed me Marilyn Singer's book MIRROR MIRROR.  "Here," she said.  "I got a review copy of this, and I want to give it to you.  You'll love it."  She was right.  I loved it, and I was intrigued.

A reverso, a form invented by Marilyn Singer, may be read from the top down or the bottom up. It's a tricky form, playful and mysterious, and I never wanted to try it.  "Too hard."  

Not long after, however,  Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect offered the reverso form up as a Monday Poetry Stretch in April.  I didn't play.  Two weeks ago, my daughter Georgia came to me with MIRROR MIRROR, proclaiming, "I LOVE this book!  It's amazing!"  Then, this past Monday, an incredibly smart teacher came up to me holding the Marilyn's book.  "Have you seen this before?" she asked.  So here we are.  Finally I tried.  It was not easy, but it was fun.  I'll try it again.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Poem #22 in my series of poems about poems...upside down!

Greetings to all of you, teachers, students, homeschooling families, old friends, family, and new friends from Kidlit Con!  (I hope there are many of you here on this Poetry Friday!)

Today I am thrilled to offer you our seventh Classroom Poetry Peek into Mrs. Sallye Norris's first grade classroom at Puster Elementary School in Fairview, Texas.  Sallye is an old friend of mine.  We were best-friends-ever as American Rotary exchange students living in Denmark from 1987-1988, and today, we are still great pals.  I truly admire her intellectual curiosity and bright spirit.  Sallye's students celebrate Poetry Friday...listen in.

 Teacher Sallye Norris

There was a Sumo

He was so...fat I used Sumo

as a basketball.

by Drew Turner

Cat

I'm a cat

the best thing ever

made.  I'm better than

a dog.  You don't have

to give me a bath.

All I want is for you

to pat me on my back.

by Claire Easley

Flower

Please don't take me home with you.

I might die and I'll never see you.

Leave me outside for sunshine and

rain.  You might see me some

other day.

by Gina Peoples

When you stretch

me out I look

ridiculous!  And sometimes

I get loose!  You

also wear me

a lot!  I am stuck

in a box! full

of silly bands!

by Delaney McDuffie

Each Friday, the first graders at Puster Elementary visit each first grade teacher in a round-robin type of rotation.  Each teacher teaches a lesson in a subject that is of great interest to her.  I love poetry and language, so my lessons revolve around these things.  My goal for the learners is to help them view themselves as authors and poets and to foster a love of language.

Our first several weeks of poetry rotation were spent discovering poetry.  We spent time talking about words that sounded good to our ears: words that were interesting or funny or felt good on our tongues.  We read poems aloud, listening to see if the poem rhymed or not.  We read the poems Amy posted on her site.  We sang poems with gentle rhythms.  We drew pictures of what the poem meant to us in our hearts.  Together, we wrote poems about the huge tarantula I found in my house and kept as a pet!  Every week, each child was given a copy of the poem we read to put in a poetry notebook, take home, and cherish time and again.

After several weeks of exposure to the world of poetry, we began writing poetry of our own, using Amy's "Pumpkin" poem as a catalyst.  The learners picked objects and listed, in speech bubbles, what each object might think or say.  Then I encouraged them to turn those thoughts into poems.   You could have hard a pin drop (except for all of the verbal sounding out!) as they began imagining their objects talking.  They wrote and shared with each other, and their excitement grew.  One little boy turned to his table mates and exclaimed, "We're poets.  Did you know that?"  

That afternoon, a mom e-mailed me asking, "What did y'all do today?  My child has been writing poems and taping them all over the house."  We're nine weeks into school, but the kids are already viewing themselves as poets!  I can't wait to see what they're doing by the end of first grade!"

Thank you many times over to Sallye and her students for sharing a peek into their own Poetry Friday with us today.  Teachers and homeschooling parents:  I invite you to share on a future Poetry Friday.  Please just drop me a note if you are interested.

Tomorrow is October 30, the last day of SPARK 10.  I plan to post my response to Amy Souza's beautiful photograph, "Dahlia Soft Focus", in this space and look forward to seeing her response to my poem, "Everynight Everywhere".

In addition to being Poetry Friday, today is also National Cat Day.  You can see our family's four cats - Pickles, Firepaw, Sarah, and Mini - over at Jama Rattigan's wonderful cat celebration today.  Check out Jama's blog to see many beautiful cat pictures and stories of authors, illustrators, and their beloved kitties - just slink on over to Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup!  Jama always sets a delightful table, and today is purrfect.

Toby Speed, my wise and witty roommate from Kidlit Con, is hosting today's Poetry Friday at her blog, The Writer's Armchair.  As a person who spent last weekend with Toby, I can promise that her company is thoughtful and full of whimsy and charm.  Enjoy all of your poetry travels today...and Happy Halloween!

Tomorrow I'll be teaching a class at the NFRC Fall Conference all about finding writing ideas through poetry!

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Still - My Poem Writing Year #205

Missing Her

by Amy LV

Students - if you have writing friends, and if you listen to your writing friends carefully, you will often find writing ideas in their writing ideas.  Yesterday I had the good fortune to work alongside some kindergarten students in Mrs. Laura Murray's classroom at Marilla Primary School in Elma, NY.  One little girl, K., wrote and drew about her grandmother who had passed away not long ago.  In her picture, K. drew her grandma up in heaven (in her wheelchair) and herself visiting Grandma in heaven.  Both people held out their arms as if to hug.  

Later last night, sitting with my blank paper and black pen, listening to the strong chilly winds, I remembered my loved ones (human and animal) who have died.  I thought of them out there in the cold, and I wanted them back just for a bit.  But instead of making this poem about all of them, I focused on one favorite cat, now gone for years.  Thank you to K. for inspiring me hours earlier - she will never know how her words and artwork continued to sing quietly to me all day long.  And thank you to her teacher, Laura Murray, who has created such a nurturing writing world for these young students (and yesterday, for me).

So students, talk with your friends about their writing.  Allow yourself to ask yourself, "Hmmm...what does this piece make me think about?"  Allow yourself to be moved by others' words that these same words may give you words and stories of your own.

Tomorrow is the last day of this week's Free Verse Week, a week which has stretched and taught me once more.

Below you can see my SPARK "inspiration piece"!  This lovely image was taken by my SPARK partner, Amy Souza.  I have until October 29 to write a response to this photograph, and on the flip side, Amy S. has yesterday's poem "Everynight Everywhere" as her "inspiration piece".  On October 30, I will post each of our responses to the original works.  In addition, I have another SPARK partner whom I have not yet met.  And while I am not responding to work from her, she has a poem of mine.  If  she is willing to share that response, I will let you know.  What a fun game!

Dahlia Soft Focus

Photo by Amy Souza

On Friday, I'm off to Minneapolis for Kidlit Con 2010 with my fellow Poetry Friday panelists, Mary Lee Hahn of A Year of Reading, Toby Speed of The Writer's Armchair, Laura Purdie Salas of Writing the World for Kids, and Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books.  I am thrilled to have the chance to meet these virtual friends in person and to learn more about this crossover of children's literature and blogging.

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