Happy Thanksgiving + Poetry Friday

Happy Thanksgiving to all you who celebrate. I've taken the non-traditional route of a road trip with the kids and my sister this year and, so far, so good.

A few notes:

1. This week's Poetry Friday roundup will be held at Lisa Chellman's place. Thanks, Lisa!
2. I will finally be back with a weekend reviews post on Sunday and will
3. return to regular blogging on Monday with an interview with the one-and-only Judy Blume.

Thank you all for hanging in with me during this slow November.

Poetry Friday

Hi Everyone! It may seem like I've fallen off a cliff, or something, but I'm feeling better and will be back to regular posting this weekend. In the meantime, two pieces of news:

1. Poetry Friday is held this week at Yat-Yee Chong's place. Head on over and leave your links!
2. As of this morning, I have entered a new phase of life. I am now the mom of a teenager. Wish me luck.

Poetry Friday: Organization Time!

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is over at Two Writing Teachers. Thanks, Stacey and Ruth!

And, in taking a look at the Poetry Friday schedule, I noticed it's time for new hosts. If you'd like to host a forthcoming Poetry Friday, then leave me a note in the comments. Available dates:

October 10:
October 17:
October 24: here at Big A little a
October 31:
November 7: Check It Out
November 14:
November 21:
November 28:
December 5:
December 12:
December 19:
December 26 (Should we take this one off?)

I'll be back later today with a review of Hip Hop Speaks to Children.

Poetry Friday + Cybils

Poetry Friday + the Cybils = the Cybils Poetry panel of judges announced today over at the Cybils blog. Kelly Fineman heads up this group of talented poets, bloggers, and readers.

Author Amok hosts the Poetry Friday roundup this week. I'll be back later today with another post.

Poetry Online

Guess what? People still read poetry. And they read it on the internet, Stephen Adams reports for the Times.

Poetry Friday with Czeslaw Milosz and a Snowy Owl

The past two weeks have left me feeling a little frazzled. I have a to-do list that's 8 miles long, and then there's the politics, hurricanes, September 11, Lauren Conrad and her book deal, several exploding inboxes...It's all been a little much. I spent most of the week reading political news and writing a poem that begins with, "Russia: You can see it from Alaska..." And guess what? My poem is, well, a little unhinged.

So, instead, for this Poetry Friday I turn to my friend the Snowy Owl (snapped in a Scottish Wildlife park) and Czeslaw Milosz's "Incantation" for some wisdom, some reason, and some peace.

Here are the first eight lines of "Incantation":

Human reason is beautiful and invincible.

No bars, no barbed wire, no pulping of books,

No sentence of banishment can prevail against it.

It establishes the universal ideas in language,

And guides our hand so we write Truth and Justice

With capital letters, lie and oppression with small.

It puts what should be above things as they are,

Is an enemy of despair and a friend of hope....

Read the rest of "Incantation" at PoetryFoundation.org.

I've nearly missed Poetry Friday. I'm headed over to Biblio File now to read the round up.

Poetry Friday

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is at Biblio File. Head on over and leave your links. I'll be back with an entry later today.

Poetry Friday:

It's been a long week. It was my first full week teaching (great classes this semester!) and, well, I've been just slightly obsessed with political news. So, for this Poetry Friday I wanted to post something lighthearted and apolitical. I chose Пусть бегут неуклюже...a song from Cheburashka, one of Russia's most-loved cartoons. This song serves for many Russian speakers as a birthday song. Here's a clip from YouTube:





Here's a brief entry I once wrote on Cheburashka. I hope you all have a fabulous Poetry Friday. Wild Rose Reader is on the roundup.

(Tadmack: I dare you not to study Russian now.)

Poetry Friday!

Elaine Magliaro is on the Poetry Friday roundup at Wild Rose Reader. Head on over and leave your links. I'll be back later in the day to enjoy the verse.

(Poetry Friday) Book Review: Our California

As bright and beautiful as California itself, Pam Munoz Ryan's Our California makes a wonderful gift for young residents of the golden state or for those planning to visit soon.

Pam Munoz Ryan takes a trip to fourteen California cities and regions, dedicating a few lines of verse to each. Ryan's California road trip begins in San Diego ("Start in the south of this golden land,/in fair San Diego, where vistas are grand") and ends in Palm Springs ("Put up your feet and enjoy the poolside.") Along the way, readers visit Yosemite, Sonoma, San Francisco, and the Central Valley.

Rafael Lopez's illustrations are stunning--they are bright and colorful and grand in the best California tradition. (Think Diego Rivera. Yes, I know Rivera is a Mexican artist if we're being precise, but we Californians--Southern Californians, especially--associate Rivera with our state.) Each city or region is devoted a two-page spread infused with sunlight and the deep colors of nature.

Information about California and each city and region featured in Our California is included in the back of the book. Our California is best suited for children ages two to six years old.
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Today's Poetry Friday entry comes from Our California and concerns The Channel Islands:

Now, the Channel islands! Take a boat out
and cruise these blue waters to glimpse a whale's spout.
Here in the Pacific, among the kelp strips,
are playful sea otters and the ghosts of old ships.

A very happy Poetry Friday to you all! The roundup is at Charlotte's Library.

Poetry Friday!

This week's Poetry Friday roundup is at Charlotte's Library. I'll be back with a review California poems for the youngsters in a few hours here.

Poetry Friday

The Poetry Friday roundup is over at Read. Imagine. Talk! Head on over and leave your links...

Poetry Friday Review: My letter to the World and Other Poems

What is your favorite series? Mine is Kids Can Press's Visions in Poetry--a collection of picture books for readers ages 10 and up.

Picture books for readers ages 10 and up? What can they be thinking? Based on the three Visions in Poetry titles I've read--The Owl and the Pussycat, The Raven, and now Emily Dickinson's My letter to the World and Other Poems--Kids Can Press is thinking exactly the way publishers must in order to inspire a generation of poetry fanatics.

The simple-yet-brilliant concept behind Visions in Poetry is the pairing of classic poems with innovative, stunning illustration. The Raven is enhanced by Ryan Price's sinister blacks and grays. The Owl and the Pussycat is charming in Stephane Jorisch's whimsical, psychedelic pastels. In My letter to the World, Isabelle Arsenault brings a Gothic sensibility (with a palette of blacks, whites, browns, and grays--highlighted with just splashes of pink, orange, or yellow) to seven of Emily Dickinson's most famous poems.

These books make perfect gifts for teens and adults who love cutting-edge illustration but don't read poetry. Or, they are great presents for teens and adults who adore poetry and will appreciate classic poems in a new context. In other words, if you know anyone who is older than the age of 10 or so, put these on your gift list now. Are you listening? Stock up now. (And, no. No one is paying me anything for this recommendation.)

For this week's Poetry Friday entry, I'll quote the first two stanzas of the first poem in My letter to the World--"There's a certain Slant of light..."

There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter afternoons--
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes--

Heavenly Hurt, it gives us--
We can find no scar,
But internal difference,
Where the Meanings, are--

read the rest of the poem here at The Literature Network...

I can't even read this poem in winter, if you must know the truth. From the safe distance of August, it's lovely--especially when glorified by Arsenault's street scene, which is in turn accented by the pink in a young girl's face in the center of the page. My letter to the World and Other Poems, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, is highly, highly recommended.

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The roundup is here this week. I always do the roundup old school, so leave your comments and I'll update throughout the day.
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The first links are in at midnight!

Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect is off to the mountains and celebrates with "Pied Beauty,"
by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Kelly Fineman talks pantoum at Writing and Ruminating and provides a great example of the form by Peter Oresick.

It must be Emily Dickinson week! Little Willow shares "It's all I have to bring to-day..." at Bildungsroman.

More in the morning...

And now it's "morning," if you count 10:21 as still morning. (But I had to stay up and watch Iowa girl Shawn Johnson compete. Go Shawn and Nastia! ) Okay, here we go...

Suzanne of Adventures in Daily Living brings us Mary Oliver's "Heron Rises From the Dark, Summer Pond."

Michele of Scholar's Blog is going to see David Tennant AND Patrick Stewart live and playing Shakespeare! She celebrates with Sonnet 23.

Sylvia Vardell readies for Back-to-School with reviews of three child-friendly poetry books at Poetry for Children.

Katie D., at Creative Literacy, is also thinking Back-to-School: She shares her five favorite poetry books for primary students.

Karen Edminsten shares "If Everything is Lost," by Dom Julian, this Friday.

Poet Julia Larios contributes "A Duo of Triolets" at her newish blog The Drift Record. (Bookmarking now, Julia. Welcome to the land of blogs!)

MmeT (who shares a striking resemblance to Project Runway's Chris March) has found Matthew Dickman and shares his "Trouble" at Destined to Become a Classic.

Sara Lewis Holmes shares a wonderful way to memorize Shakespeare (and some reasons why) at Read Write Believe.

Mary Lee celebrates 10 great years after concluding treatment for breast cancer (go, Mary Lee!) with Arnold Wesker's "Count Ten" at A Year of Reading.

Carol is also thinking Back-to-School, sharing a poem ("Now," by Prince Redcloud) she'll use on the first day at Carol's Corner.

Tadmack shares math angst and "Flash Cards," by Rita Frances Dove, at Finding Wonderland.

Jama Rattigan is talking teddies, lobster, champagne,and John Betjeman today at Alphabet Soup. It's a post bound to raise your spirits. Thanks, Jama!

Janet shares "crutch" poetry at Findings. Get well soon, Janet!

Sarah Reinhard brings some termites to the party from Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering. Um, thank you, Sarah?

Laura Purdie Salas shares 15-word poems celebrating tweens and summer. Looks like it was a great trip, Laura!

Cheryl Rainfield shares an original poem celebrating books this week! Thanks, Cheryl.

Here's a teacher desperate to hold on to one last summer Friday: Stacey shares Eleanor Farjeon's "There Isn't Time" at Two Writing Teachers. (Stacey, I'm 100% behind you. It's my LAST Friday before teaching starts, and I need to make a to-do list.)

Jules talks Karen Rigby's new chapbook Savage Machinery over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Looks cool! Thanks, Jules, for the heads up.

Lisa Chellman talks about Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Withinthis week . (I had no idea Stephen Fry wrote poetry. Interesting!)

Ms. Mac issues a challenge and invitation to you all! She's building a list of great poetry books for her school library. Head on over to Check It Out and nominate your favorites!

Diane shares some prompt sources over at The Write Sisters. Thanks, Diane!

Barbara H. shares some Richard Armour at A Home for the Stray Thoughts of an Ordinary Christian Woman.

Yat -Yee Chong shares "The Seed," by Alleen Fisher this week.

MotherReader shares J.Patrick Lewis's "The Tallest Roller Coaster" from his fabulous The World's Greatest Poems this week.

Susan Thomsen contributes Naomi Shihab Nye's wonderful "Last August Hours Before the Year 2000" at Chicken Spaghetti. (I guess Junior doesn't start school this Thursday like we do in Smalltown. Enjoy the summer, Susan and Junior!)

More later...

Unexpected Outage

Hi everyone! I'm on the road again and internet has proved trickier than anticipated. I'll be back home in Smalltown for good (well, until December 24, in any case) on Saturday. In the meantime, here's the scoop:

Poetry Friday: This week's roundup will be held at Becky's Book Reviews.

The Edge of the Forest: New edition, new version will be up early next week. If you've written to me about editing, I'll be in touch on Sunday with the details.

Until Saturday...

Poetry Friday

When you live in Iowa, you're never 100% sure how a town's name will be pronounced. I was shocked to discover that Madrid, Iowa was pronounced MA (as in cat)-drid. Or Nevada? Just a few states over there's a Nevada. A good model. But here in Iowa, Nevada is pronounced with a long a--ni-VAY-da.

So why had I never thought about Des Moines's pronunciation? Obviously we don't use correct French pronunciation when saying Des Moines. But its odd pronunciation never crossed my mind until I read the wonderful "In the Elementary School Choir" by Gregory Djanikian at Poetry Foundation.org. Here's the relevant stanza:

It was a problem which had dogged me

For a few years, this confusion of places,

And when in 5th grade geography I had pronounced

“Des Moines” as though it were a village in France,

Mr. Kephart led me to the map on the front wall,

And so I’d know where I was,

Pressed my forehead squarely against Iowa.

Des Moines, he’d said. Rhymes with coins.

Beautiful! Do read the whole poem here.
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The Well-Read Child is on the roundup!

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There are still three hosting spots open in October! Let me know if you're interested....

Poetry Friday

It's Poetry Friday and I have nothing for you this week. So head on over to Kelly Fineman's place and leave her your links!

Poetry Friday + Vacation

In Search of Giants is on the July 4 roundup. Head on over and leave your links!

I'll be on the road for this Poetry Friday and the next. We're taking a trip with the grandparents, headed to the Grampian Highlands. I'll be popping in here and there with a book review when I get the chance, but I won't have reliable internet access for a few days. Here's what I do know:

• I'll have a Poetry Friday post on July 11
• I'll post a super-big Weekend Reviews on Monday, July 14 (containing the reviews from this weekend and the next)
• I'm sure I'll forget something important. (Note to self: glasses)
  
• I have several books packed for review and I simply can't wait to buy the new Michelle Magorian title! I may even pick it up in the Glasgow airport after 18 hours of traveling and with 3 more ahead. I want her book that much.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, everyone!

A Poetry Friday original: On Reading Anna Karenina for the Eleventh Time

It's summer here in Smalltown, which means I'm reading what I want when I want. (I collect lists and stacks for each and every summer.) Currently I'm reading Dear American Airlines, listening to Atmospheric Disturbances, and reading a number of children's books for review. But today it hit me: Come fall, I'm going to be reading Anna Karenina yet again. I honestly have no idea how many times I've read and taught this novel. I chose eleven for the title, but only because I like that number.

On Reading Anna Karenina for the Eleventh Time

Once a year I think of you,
in a black velvet dress, eyes
flashing and shattering hearts.
The opera. Trains. A red handbag.
Can I break that aged spine
and live your torment anew?

At sixteen I understood:
Karenin is bo-ring!
He has big ears. Pe-Dan-Tic.
Of course you must leave for
dancing dangerous Vronsky.
At twenty five I understood
life is difficult, there are
many choices. Husband. Son.
New man. How could you have known
you’d chosen so tragically?
At forty I understood
Tolstoy meant it: “Vengeance is
mine; I will repay.” For what
was Vronsky but a spoiled frat
boy you chose over your son?

Can I travel your road again?
I don’t know. But at least I’ll
have Shcherbatsky, Stiva,
and Dolly to walk me through
with joy, humor, and faith,
to the very bitter end.

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Jennie, who studied in Smalltown, is on the roundup this week at Biblio File. Head on over and leave your links...

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Don't get me wrong: I certainly appreciate Anna Karenina and consider it to be, structurally speaking, a great novel. Maybe THE great novel. But my heart remains true to War and Peace and to the Tolstoy who wrote War and Peace.

Poetry Friday from The Edge of the Forest

I have two short entries for this week's Poetry Friday, both from the June Edge of the Forest.

First up, the first three lines from an original poem contributed to the Forest by J. Patrick Lewis:

I Was Your Teacher Once

I was your teacher once.
You may remember me.
I am the chalk dust of memory.
....

You can read the entire poem here. I'm a teacher, I'm from a family of teachers--this poem speaks to me. Thank you for sharing it with the Forest, J.Patrick Lewis!

Next up, two lines from the Dar Williams interview with Carrie Jones. Dar Williams says, "Almost universally, my problems have come from giving the wrong people too much power and not giving myself enough. " Poetry in prose, that is.

Okay, now here's the scoop on the June issue:

• An interview with singer-songwriter—and author of Middle Grade fiction—Dar Williams, by YA author Carrie Jones.
• Poet J. Patrick Lewis graces The Edge of the Forest with a bittersweet original poem.
• Sarah Stevenson (a.fortis) and TadMack (Tanita S. Davis) talk vampires in Fiction with Fangs.
• Not one, but two Summer Reading features: Julie M. Prince takes reading to the pool and Sarah Mulhern suggests summertime reading for kids of all ages.
• Gail Gauthier is this month's Blogging Writer.
• We have three great columns this month: Candice Ransom considers The Long Summer for A Backward Glance, teacher Stacy Dillon gives us her students' picks for Kid Picks, and Little Willow tells us What's in Teens' Backpacks this summer.
• Reviews in all categories—from Picture book to Young Adult.

The Edge of the Forest will return the first week of August with our July-August issue and a technical redesign. I'll be fixing the mailing list glitches of this spring, adding a RSS feed, and making formatting issues behind the scene easier for, well, me, the webmaster, and Chris. (If you've signed up for our mailing list in the past 2 months--I have your addresses and they'll be added in as soon as the mailing list is fixed.)

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As always, please feel free to lift The Edge of the Forest announcement for your own blogs.

Poetry Friday + Update

The amazing June The Edge of the Forest will finally be up tomorrow around noon CST. This issue is also tied to my Poetry Friday post, as the issue has a poetry surprise in it.

So, in the meantime, head on over to Semicolon for the roundup. I'll be back here shortly.