Poetry Friday: Snowday

It's been a busy winter so far in Smalltown. It's only mid January, and we've already had three snow days. Yesterday we awoke to 6 more inches of snow and a snow day. In honor of the festivities (hah!), I bring you Billy Collins and "Snow Day" for this Poetry Friday. I have chosen the three stanzas which relate most to my life, but please do head on over the Poetry Foundation.org to read the entire poem. The final two stanzas are priceless.

"Snow Day"
...
...
...

But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house,

a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow.

I will make a pot of tea

and listen to the plastic radio on the counter,

as glad as anyone to hear the news

that the Kiddie Corner School is closed,

the Ding-Dong School, closed.

the All Aboard Children’s School, closed,

the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed,

along with—some will be delighted to hear—

the Toadstool School, the Little School,

Little Sparrows Nursery School,

Little Stars Pre-School, Peas-and-Carrots Day School

the Tom Thumb Child Center, all closed,

and—clap your hands—the Peanuts Play School.

...
...
read the rest of the poem here.
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Becky at Farm School has the roundup this week!

Poetry Friday: Pullman and Collins

This semester I am lucky enough to be teaching a first-year seminar called "Literature, Intertextuality, and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials." When reading Paradise Lost, the students and I also considered Pullman's "Introduction" to a 2005 edition of Milton's classic published by Oxford University Press. Pullman's "Introduction" is worth the cost of the volume, despite the fact there are no notes to the text.* (The lack of notes was intentional. Pullman wanted "to let the poem stand alone.")

In the "Introduction," Pullman argues for reading poetry aloud: "The sound is part of the meaning, and that part only comes alive when you speak it...you're already far closer to the poem than someone who sits there in silence looking up meanings and references, and making assiduous notes." Pullman continues, "We need to remind ourselves of this, especially if we have anything to do with education." (3)

Our discussion on Pullman's "Introduction" to Paradise Lost brought up, of course, Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry." Here are the final five lines of "Introduction to Poetry" as today's Poetry Friday entry:

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

Read the poem in its entirety here at PoetryFoundation.org

The students and I discussed the importance of experiencing the "rolling swells and peals of sound, powerful rhythms and rich harmonies" present in poetry (Pullman, 3), and then went on to tie Paradise Lost to a chair and flog it. But, still, our intentions were honest and good.
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* Pullman's 10-page introduction to Paradise Lost is worth the cost of the Oxford University Press edition despite the fact it is printed on glossy paper. I do not have a book fetish. Books are for reading, not collecting. And glossy paper--like glossy photos--gives me the creeps. (And, yes, I do understand the glossy paper is for the reproductions of Burghers' woodcuts. But I still don't like it.)
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Today's roundup is over at Literary Safari.

Poetry Friday: The Lanyard

Today's Poetry Friday entry is for all you parents out there: Billy Collins' "The Lanyard."

A few months ago I heard Billy Collins read "The Lanyard" aloud on a NPR program. I laughed so hard, I cried. Here are two stanzas from the middle of the poem. You can find the entire poem (and the audio) at the NPR link above.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

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When I searched for "The Lanyard" this evening, I found the best link ever at FreeResearchPapers.com. Seriously, don't miss it. It will make your day. You get what you pay for!

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Today's roundup is at the fascinating blog The Book Mine Set.

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This just in for Poetry Friday: Susan Mansfield talks to U.K. Children's Laureate Michael Rosen for the Scotsman. Here's what Rosen has to say about poetry in the schools:

• "[The education authorities] haven't twigged it. They think poems are instruments which are an extension of the testing regime. It's a great shame because it says, 'These poems don't belong to you, they belong to us, we clever people who examine and test you. We're giving them to you so we can work out if you're worthy enough to read them and understand them, and mostly we find you're not.' It's terrible."

Poetry Friday

A happy Friday to one and all. This Poetry Friday's entry concerns, well, poetry. And, it comes from the brilliant and funny Billy Collins. Here is the second half of "Introduction to Poetry":

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

Love it! To read the first half of the poem, head on over to PoetryFoundation.org.
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This week's round-up will take place at HipWriterMama. Head on over and leave her your links!