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Poet-a-Day: Meet Marjorie Maddox
Why write a pantoum? Poet Marjorie Maddox shares her reasons, on the wings of poetry and song.
When Your Phone Dies: “A Hurricane in My Head” by Matt Abbott
In “A Hurricane in My Head,” Poet Matt Abbott has a suggestion for what to do when your young teen’s phone dies.
By Heart: ‘Some One’ + New Walt Whitman Challenge
When a poem knocks, you open. Join Megan Willome as she learns Walter de la Mare’s creepy “Some One” By Heart, just in time for Halloween.
By Heart: ‘Song of Summer’ + New Countee Cullen Challenge
Savor the summer with author Megan Willome as she learns Margaret Wise Brown’s poem “Song of Summer” By Heart.
Pooh, On Poetry
Author Megan Willome takes poetry advice from Winnie-the-Pooh and revises a poem.
Naomi Shihab Nye: Young People’s Poet Laureate
Author Megan Willome takes a trip to the library with Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye. Refreshments will be served.
Children’s Book Club: “Brown Girl Dreaming”
How does one become a writer? Join us for a Children’s Book Club discussion of ‘Brown Girl Dreaming’ by Jacqueline Woodson.
The First Poetry for Children: “Divine Emblems” by John Bunyan
In 1686, the English Puritan minister and writer John Bunyan published what we know today as “Divine Emblems,” the first book of poetry for children.
The Poem as Modern Myth: “Evangeline” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Evangeline” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow resurrected an almost forgotten event in Canadian and American history and helped shaped a regional people.
The Grandfather Stories: Goldilocks and the Three Brothers
Reading to our grandsons has taught us that the “social time” of reading is just as important as the reading itself — reading tells them they matter.
T.S. Eliot Prize: “Jackself” by Jacob Polley
Jacob Polley’s poetry collection “Jackself” won the T.S. Eliot Poetry Prize for 2016, and it’s a work filled with folklore, childhood, and imagination.
Poetic Voices: Susan Lewis and Shanna Powlus Wheeler
Susan Lewis develops a theme of uncertainty in “Heisenberg’s Salon”; Shanna Powlus Wheeler interprets childhood and memory in “Lo & Behold.”
Poets and Poems: Frank Stanford and “The Light the Dead See”
Frank Stanford (1948-1978) embodied William Wordsworth’s “The Child is father of the Man” in both his life and his poetry.
Poetry Prompt: Wildest Dreams
Dust off your cape or your princess cone hat and come along on an adventure with us. We’re reclaiming our childhood imagination and writing poetry about our wildest dreams.
The Circus: The Last Hurrah of Childhood
The circus was spectacular, and it was meant to be. Everything seemed oversized – the elephants, the horses, even the tiny car filled with an impossible number of clowns.
Poetic Voices: Rachel Heimowitz and J.L. Jacobs
In recent collections Rachel Heimowitz and J.L. Jacobs deal with the sense of place – contemporary Israel and the places of childhood and imagination.
Poets and Poems: Jeannine Hall Gailey and “The Robot Scientist’s Daughter”
“The Robot Scientist’s Daughter” by Jeannine Hall Gailey is a story of point-counterpoint of nature and technology, and the bargain we make between them.
Baby, Baby Poetry Prompt: The Short Years
The time between infancy and adulthood are but a blink. Come along as we examine The Short Years, courtesy of our Baby, Baby Poetry Prompt.
Image-ine Poetry: “Jumprope, Pink Room” by Lisa Hess Hesselgrave
Writing poetry from art ignites creativity. For this Image-ine exercise, ponder children and a jump rope with poet Maureen Doallas and artist Lisa Hess Hesselgrave.