It's Poetry Friday

Happy Poetry Day, everybody! Tomorrow, I'm going to SCBWI Mid Atlantic's annual fall conference. The keynote speaker is Jane Yolen. She's written so many wonderful children's books. One of our favorites is "Sleeping Ugly" -- a great twist on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. In her poem "Fat is Not a Fairy Tale," Yolen jokingly and scathingly critiques the fairy tale genre. What a powerful message for kids... Fat Is Not a Fairy Tale Jane Yolen I am thinking of a fairy tale, Cinder Elephant, Sleeping Tubby, Snow Weight, where the princess is not anorexic, wasp-waisted, flinging herself down the stairs. I am thinking of a fairy tale, Hansel and Great, Repoundsel, Bounty and the Beast, where the beauty has a pillowed breast, and fingers plump as sausage. Read the rest of the poem here: http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/056.html (Poetry 180 has poems for every day of the high school year -- check it out!) Writing Exercise: Write your own fractured fairy tale. Another poet to check out -- Anne Sexton, who rewrote several fairy tales (darkly) in her book Transformations. The Poetry Friday round-up is at Big A, Little a this week.

Amok in Letters to Favorite Authors

Great writing opportunity for Maryland kids! In real life, I'm on the introvert/extrovert fence, but blogging about children's literature has pushed me to reach out to authors and other bloggers. Children's illustrator and author Calef Brown has become an e-pal and I've chatted with graphic novelist Gareth Hinds. Author websites and blogs are becoming a publicity must in kids-lit. If I can stop being shy for a second and get in touch with authors I love, so can your students. Turns out, if Maryland kids write to a favorite author, they might just win a prize for their efforts. Read on! 2008 Letters About Literature Contest Kicks Off The Maryland Center for the Book, a program of the Maryland Humanities Council, is calling for entries for the 2009 Letters About Literature contest, a national reading and writing program that encourages young people in grades 4-12 to write to an author who has transformed their view of the world or themselves. This annual, national contest is one of the signature programs of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Last year, Maryland boasted a national winner when Maggie Tighe, then an 11th grade student attending Governor Thomas Johnson High School, was selected as one of six national winners. Tighe chose Monocacy Middle School Library in Frederick as the library to receive a $10,000 library reading grant provided by Target in honor of her achievement. The contest, which focuses on reader response and reflective writing, has three competition levels: Level 1 for students in grades 4-6; Level 2 for students in grades 7 and 8; and Level 3 for students in grades 9-12. More than 56,000 readers nationwide in grades 4 through 12 participated last year. Student awards are presented on both the national and state level. Judges for the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will select six national winners (two per competition level) and 12 national runners-up (four per competition level). National winners will receive a Target GiftCard of $500. In addition, they will win for their school or community library a Reading Promotion Grant of $10,000. National winners will be instrumental in deciding how the library funds will be spent. The 12 national runners-up will win for their school or community library a Reading Promotion Grant of $1,000, and likewise be involved in the awarding of the grant. State winners receive recognition and cash prizes at a state-wide award ceremony in the spring. All entries must be received by December 6, 2008. Contest guidelines, and letters from last year’s winners, are available on the MHC website at http://www.mdhc.org/programs/maryland-center-for-the-book/letters-about-literature/. Guidelines can also be obtained by calling Jean Wortman at 410-685-4187. Teachers, librarians, and parents can download contest materials, including lesson plans, assessment checklists, and writing samples, by visiting http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org/. Program updates will be published on this website throughout the year. Good luck!

Writing Exercise

Recommended for high school and older Monty Python fans.

Call me crazy, but I'm inspired by the wild metaphor poet Robert Hass used at last month's Dodge Poetry Festival. Is being U.S. Poet Laureate really like being the Encyclopedia Salesman in that Monty Python sketch?

I love weird writing exercises, so here's one for you.

Compare life as a poet/writer to a Monty Python character of your choice.

Go obvious and get all Lumberjacky:

"I'm a blog writer and I'm okay.

Online all night and I sleep all day."

Go surreal -- (Startling Admission -- when I'm trying to write and my kids come into my office wanting Mommy time, I react just like the cute little bloody-fanged bunny in Holy Grail.)

Go anti-writer's block with one of my favorite Python sketches, " Confuse-A-Cat."

Go write!

Poetry Outreach in New Jersey

Poet Khalil Murrell is Poetry-in-the-Schools Assistant for the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which puts on the fabulous biennial poetry festival in northern NJ.

As part of his position at Dodge, Khalil does outreach to New Jersey's neediest school districts. Here is the final part of our interview.

KM: The Dodge Poetry Program’s interest in doing outreach in under served communities in urban and rural areas is simply to make our student and teacher-centered programs reflect the actual demographics here in the state [of NJ]. We have been curious as to how we can get the word out to students and teachers in such cities as Camden, Elizabeth, Paterson, and Vineland. Last year, we began meeting with Department Chairs in Newark to inform them of these programs and surveying teachers about how we may best reach other faculty members in their school and district. As a result of our outreach, we registered for Student Day a record number of high school students and high schools overall in Camden, my hometown. [Non-New Jerseyans, the city of Camden has been struggling for decades -- since its major manufacturer, Campbell’s Soup, left the area. The city was also Walt Whitman's last home. Whitman is pictured, left.] I have also received feedback from friends, poets reading at the Festival, and Festival attendees hugely applauding the growing diversity of the line-up, both in terms of cultural background and artistic style. AA: What’s your best “behind the scenes” Dodge Festival story?

KM: I try never to “geek out” over celebrities or famous poets. I was in line for lunch, chatting with a friend, when Robert Hass walked up behind us and joined the conversation, perfectly down to earth and kind, as he always is. He said, “Hi, I’m Bob.” I opened my mouth to speak but for 3 or 4 seconds nothing came out, and he’s looking at me, bright-eyed and smiling, until I finally retrieved my voice box to say, “Uh…uh…I know who you are. You’re Robert Hass.” (I’m guessing he’s probably known that for some years now.) He chuckled a little and patted me on the back. Afterwards, I was so embarrassed. AA: Which poets made an impression on you at this year’s festival? What did you like about their work?

KM: I loved how poets and poems spoke to each other throughout the 4 days. A great complement to Sharon Olds’s “Ode to Douche Bag” was Kevin Young’s great reading of “Ode to Pork” on Saturday night. It was a magical moment when he said, “Babe,” and the crowd took a second to catch the movie reference before laughing and applauding loudly. Having suggested we invite him to Festival, I was also looking forward to seeing Chris Abani. For me, Chris was the star in Stanhope, if there was one. He was so generous in conversation, so brilliant, yet humble, and so likable. He offered such fresh perspectives to the conversations and his readings were impressive.

AA: Chris Abani was a star. Great reader, personable. Even though some of his poems dealt with difficult subjects, Abani's humor and optimism drew in the audience.

Thanks for your insights, Khalil!

I wish I had time to share more about the festival. Never did get to my critique of the Borders Book Tent. Never told you about Robert Hass comparing being U.S. Poet Laureate to Monty Python's Encyclopedia Salesman sketch ("Can I interest you in a nice sestina?" Watch the original sketch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvWVbBowXo ) But, it's time to stop dragging my heels and move on.

Hope to see you at the 2010 Dodge Poetry Festival, y'all.