National Poetry Month 2013: Digital Poetry Archives with Diane Mayr

Librarians can be a writers' best friend. Are you doing research for your  next book? A librarian can help you refine your search and find the resources you need.

Just remember, librarians are now known as Media Specialists -- and for good reason. Helping patrons find books is just a fraction of their skill set. Media specialists assist people in how to find and consume information. And in 2013, information often equals technology.

Today, librarian(!) and Poetry Friday blogger Diane Mayr introduces us to Archive.Org, a great TechnoVerse resource for all things poetic.

The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.

You may already know about the Internet Archive if you've done research for writing projects, but, you may not know about all the poetry you can find.

"Like what?" you might ask.

Like an audio of a class on writing poetry conducted by Allen Ginsberg back in 1984. It's the next best thing to being in a classroom.

Later in life, Ginsberg often played
musical instruments during readings.

Or, recordings of twenty-three different readers reading Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice." Why would you want to hear so many versions? Perhaps you have to read your work aloud--listening might give you insights into how you should perform.

You can get to know a writer like May Sarton through a video recorded interview with her.

Find a page of Sarton quotes at Rugu.Com.

Through its "Open Library," The Internet Archive provides many books of poetry, which are in the public domain. Some of the titles are not available through other sites such as Gutenberg.Org, so if you're looking for something that's out of print, make sure to try The Internet Archive.

Or, do a general search using keywords such as "children's poetry," and you may come across something like Schnick Schnack: Trifles for the Little-Ones, published in 1867. It is not to be missed! Its poems for kids are delightful, as well as cautionary, and are accompanied by full color illustrations. (I never realized such lush illustrations appeared in books back then.)

Old volumes of Poetry magazine, starting with volume one: 1912-1913, are also available.  The first volume included a short piece, "The Motive of the Magazine."  Here's part of it:

If you're not looking for anything in particular, I recommend doing a search on a contemporary poet like Billy Collins or Rita Dove.  Leave the drop-down box on "All Media Types," and click "GO!"  I guarantee you'll be kept busy for hours!  Have fun, and let us know what you find.

Thank you for guest blogging in the TechnoVerse today, Diane. I am already having fun with this amazing resource. I spotted a tab entitled "Wayback Machine" at Archive.Org. How enticing!

Diane was kind enough to contribute a Media Specialist tanka for today's post:

another cup

of coffee while
fingers fly
from link to link seeking 
cures for curiosity

By Diane Mayr

Posted with permission of the author.

Diane Mayr is a public librarian in New Hampshire.  She is also the author of several books. Last November, her picture book, Run, Turkey, Run! was turned into a children's musical theater production!  [see photo]  Diane is a big fan of haiku, haiga (illustrated haiku), and other short form poetry.  Visit her blog, www.randomnoodling.com, to learn more.

Tomorrow, a poet from  my neighborhood -- Kay Weeks of Howard County, Maryland -- tests out a random poetry generator. Want to try one now? How about Vogon poetry?

National Poetry Month 2013: Meet Christine, the Media Queen

Some of the most tech-savvy people I know are librarians. Excuse me: Media Specialists. It's a well-earned term. Although they are still the people who have that magical skill of putting exactly the right book into a child's hands, today's media specialists also guide students and library patrons as they navigate the internet, conduct research using technology, and consume information.

Old School Librarian

New School Media Specialist
Read "Meet Your New School LibraryMedia Specialist" at Scholastic.

It's Poetry Friday. I know all of you educators and librarians will be excited to meet media specialist Christine Hurley. She was recently named Maryland Society for Educational Technology’s 2013 Outstanding Educator!

Christine has a bevvy of spots in the TechnoVerse that she's using with students during National Poetry Month.

Poetry and Technology Blog

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”
~ Robert Frost

The students and teachers at Emma K. Doub School for Integrated Arts and Technology have been immersed in poetry over the last few weeks. We’ve read poems, studied various types of poetry, and created our own poems – it’s been an amazing and creative journey full of discovery and wonder, all in support of our school-wide goal of collaborative digital writing and in honor of National Poetry Month.

How does technology fit in with poetry instruction? The two seem to be polar opposites, when in fact they can blend together to create new and exciting lessons. Whether you have one iPad or a 1:1 initiative, a computer lab or just one computer in your room, you CAN make technology and poetry happen in your classroom! Here is a list of the some of the best FREE poetry apps, websites, and electronic resources!

Poetry Websites:

http://www.poetry4kids.com

http://gigglepoetry.com

http://www.rif.org/kids/readingplanet/gamestation/poetrysplatter.htm

http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html

Collaborative Writing Resources:

Stixy.com – Interactive sticky-note board where students can collaborate on writing projects.

Edmodo.com – Safe social-networking for school!

Poetry Apps:

Poetry from the National Poetry Foundation – great collection of poems.

The Poetry App – contains poems read by poets and actors as well as a good collection of 

poems for students.

Poetry Daily – an app that brings new poems to your device every day!

Poetry Magnets – Refrigerator magnets for your iDevice!

The last app, Poetry Magnets, is a new and fabulous favorite of mine. Refrigerator magnets for the iPad, how FUN is that?! We recently used it to create poetry in 3^rd grade. I briefly demonstrated the app, then I gave the students time to play write:

In Poetry Magnets, the students have the ability to drag words from a word bank at the bottom. They can create new word tiles if they are looking for a specific word as well.

When the students finished writing, we had a sharing session. They used their iPads to mirror their work on my laptop, which is connected to a projector and running AirServer – here is Sylvie, sharing her work:

Some of their products were amazing. Below is a sample poem by Sylvie, age 8.

Poetry appeals to all kids – less words means less pressure when it comes to writing. When you combine it with a fun website to engage lower readers, a collaborative writing resource, or an app to give kids another outlet for their writing, amazing things occur!

Mrs. Christine Hurley is the Library Media Specialist at Emma K. Doub School for Integrated Arts and Technology in Hagerstown, Maryland. Christine graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood/ Elementary Education, and then a Masters of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Educational Technology. After teaching for five years and earning her National Board Certified Teacher status, she decided to switch careers and pursue her Library Media certification.  Currently she is pursuing certification in Writing for Children and Young Adults through McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Christine was recently chosen by Tech4Learning as an "Innovative Educator" for her use in integrating the Tech4Learning suite of software into her instruction. 

Visit her website at http://hurlechr.weebly.com – you can also find her media center social networking sites on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube! 

Christine, you are a Media Queen. Thank you for sharing all of these resources and Sylvie's beautiful Refrigerator Magnet poem. What relaxing imagery she conjured from those magnets.

Today's Poetry Friday is Irene Latham at Live Your Poem. I believe it's Irene's turn with her NPM 2013 Progressive Poem today. Stop by for poetry links and to check on the group poem's progress. (And stop back here on Monday, when it's my turn to add a line to the poem.)