Celebrating Poetry Month ... and Civic Engagement ~by Christy Mihaly

2024 Poetry Month poster:
Art by Jack Wong, words from Lucille Clifton poem

Happy National Poetry Month! It's time to celebrate poetry again!

Many poetry-loving writers, educators, and organizations post suggestions for elevating poetry this month. Reading Rockets has a great collection of resources here. Of course, we can celebrate poems all year long -- but it's nice to have a whole month to focus on bringing more poetry into our lives. 

Music-themed poetry in music store window

One of my favorite celebrations is "Poem City," a month-long event in Vermont's capital, Montpelier, during which the shop windows are filled with poems and libraries, coffee shops, and general stores resound with poetry readings. I'm so pleased to have one of my poems included in the collection, along with many others by poets from near and far. More about Poem City here.

Poetry can engage learners, not only in learning reading and writing, but in lessons about history, science, math, and my personal passion: civics. In Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means, I turned to writing poems as a way to simplify constitutional concepts and make reading about them fun. 

It has turned out to be an effective way to communicate the concepts. Recently, on one hand, an editorial in a local paper reiterated the importance of teaching civics in our schools, and cited my books; and I did a read-aloud of this book with an engaged 5th-grade class as part of a workshop on civics and poetry -- more on that below. 

Spread from FREE FOR YOU AND ME on Freedom of Assembly

Of course you can find and write poems for all kinds of kids and all kinds of interests. 

In their anthology Hop to It: Poems to Get You Moving, poets Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong collected 100 poems by 90 poets (including me!) that incorporate movement. Many of the poems relate to STEM themes. But this book, published in 2020, also includes several poems about civic engagement. Here's mine: 

STAND UP

by Christy Mihaly

Be a friend when someone's hurting
Give a smile or helping hand

Don't be shy about asserting

what is right: just take a stand.

Stand up!

If you want to make things better,

think of things that you can do.

Make a call or send a letter.

Illustrate your point of view.

        Stand up!

In a tizzy, feeling nervous?

Know your rights and learn your laws.

Join a march or day of service.

Find some friends to join your cause.

                STAND UP!

Don't just sit there on the sidelines 

when you know there's work to do.

If you think we need new guidelines,

write them up--it's up to you!

                                    STAND UP!

Lisa Powell created a fun video to go with this poem, posted here.

And yes, this month I've been working with an amazing fifth grade class to explore poetic forms and write poems in a series of workshops exploring freedom of expression and engagement in our democracy. Big concepts -- but we make it concrete through writing haiku, Fibonacci poems, and other poems about topics of concern to the students. 

Poetry can be magic! 

For more ideas and resources, check out GROG's Poetry Month posts from years past: here, or here, or here. (You can search for past poetry posts for lots more good stuff from 10 years of GROG archives!)

And happy month to all!

PoemCity, Madness!Poetry and More for Poetry Month ~ by Christy Mihaly

Happy National Poetry Month! 

It's April! Time to celebrate poetry. 

Are you looking for Poetry Month ideas? I've surveyed some poets and rounded up a few suggestions (with many links for more resources). 

Feel free to share other ideas in the comments. And be poetic! ❤

PoemCity Reading 2023

PoemCity 

I am feeling very fortunate that Vermont's state capital, Montpelier, is hosting its annual "PoemCity." It's an April-long shindig organized and run by volunteers and the hard-working staff of Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Poets from around Vermont are invited to submit poems. Selected works are printed and posted in shops, restaurants, and other establishments around town. These poems will also be compiled into a PoemCity anthology. (I'm happy that my poem, "Who Cooks for You?" -- about a barred owl -- appears in the Capital Kitchen cooking supply store.)

Shop window poetry

Second grade haiku -- can't beat it!
"Brazil nuts irk me.
All they do is take up space,
and they taste like dirt."
 

Work by local students appears in a special display, always a highlight. (Check out that Brazil nut haiku!) 

PoemCity also offers free events, including readings, lectures, workshops, craft projects, ekphrasis (using artworks to inspire poetry in an improvisational collaboration), and  parties. 

Poetic paradise!

Montpelier's beloved Kellogg-Hubbard Library

Madness! Poetry

If you can't make it to Montpelier, you can still join in the fun at Madness! Poetry. This online poetry tournament, created by poet Ed DeCaria, is a wild competition modeled after March Madness. "Kids' poetry under pressure!"

Brackets begin with 64 poets ... er ... "authletes." Each pair of competitors is assigned a word, and each individual must write and post an original poem for children, using the word, by a posted deadline in 48 hours or so. When the poems are posted, readers review them and cast their votes to determine which poet will move to the next bracket and repeat the process with a new word. See this year's schedule, here. Special programs encourage teachers and classes to participate. Sign up, as an authlete, a class, or a voter, here.

I can attest from experience that being an authlete is a bit of a sleepless ordeal, but, in the end, a great deal of fun. Anyone who appreciates poetry can sign up to read, vote, and cheer the competitors to greatness. This year, the application deadline is April 16, so there's still time. 

Poets Doing Madness! and Other Things

I asked a few compatriots at the Poets' Garage how they plan to celebrate this month. I'm happy to introduce them here (look out for their poems and books!), and share their thoughts:

Children's poet Kelly Conroy says she is going for the Madness! -- "I'll be consumed with all things Madness! Poetry: reading, critiquing, encouraging, commenting, voting, and possibly competing...eek! It's fast paced, it's for kids, and it is so much fun!" Mad good luck to you, Kelly!

Kelly's poems have appeared in two wonderful anthologies published by Wee Words for Wee Ones, 10.10 and Two Truths and a Fib; three anthologies --Things We Eat, Things We Feel, and What is a Friend? -- by Pomelo Books; and in online publications Better Than Starbucks and Poetry As Promised. We'll be watching for Kelly's poems, this month and beyond!

Poet and novelist Helen Kemp Zax, who recently completed writing a YA novel in verse, says: "I found the experience of writing in this form so satisfying, I’m planning to rewrite another of my novels during April in verse form. My writing days will look like NaNoWriMo but filled with poetry. Of course, I’ll be writing shorter poems to submit to blogs, magazines, and anthologies." Best wishes with the new novel, Helen!

Her poem “Wish” will be published this month in the Sylvia Vardell/Janet Wong anthology What Is a Family? Helen says, "I plan to support this anthology in April by taking part in Rochelle Melander’s 'Play with Poetry' blog posts. As always, I’ll share copies of this anthology with Reading is Fundamental." 

"Basant Panchami" by Helen Zax,
art by Nayantara Surendranath
CRICKET Magazine, April 2020
 

Helen is co-winner of the 2021 YorkMix International Children’s Poetry Prize, 2018 MG Katherine Paterson Prize winner, and 2019 Finalist. Her poetry appears in anthologies including Imperfect II, chasing clouds, and What is a Friend? and in magazines including Cricket, Hello, High Five, Launchpad, Touchdown, Hunger Mountain, The Caterpillar, and The Dirigible Balloon. She is particularly proud that her poem “Belly Butterflies” was chosen for a Poetry Teaching Programme anthology to be published by Oxford University Press. Helen lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, and Aussiedoodle Huckleberry Finn. 

Children’s author and award-winning poet B.J. Lee say she plans to "celebrate National Poetry Month by doing a blog post(s) with one or more of my poems to [Sylvia Vardell's] Poetry Friday, and sharing to social media." Thanks, B.J.-- and all the Poetry Friday poets! 

B.J. has published poems with Macmillan, National Geographic, Little Brown, Bloomsbury, Penguin, Wordsong, Otter-Barry, Pomelo, Cricket, Highlights, and others. Her latest poem to be included in an anthology is “Box Turtle: Pet for a Day,” in Blessings for Pets, edited by the late Lee Bennett Hopkins and due out from Eerdmans next spring. 

B.J. has also published a picture book,There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth (Pelican Publishing, 2019). She is now hard at work on a YA verse novel. View B.J.'s poetry performances at her website here.

And finally, for Suzy Levinson, a talented New York-based children's author and poet, April means welcoming spring. She says, "One of my favorite things about Poetry Month is it coincides with Awesome Weather Month (aka April), when trees are blossoming, birds are chirping, and New York City looks halfway decent. I like to go on a lot of walks around my neighborhood and take it all in, finding inspiration for new poems wherever I look." Yay for Springtime strolls!

Also this April: Suzy is celebrating her debut picture book, Animals in Pants (Cameron Kids/Abrams, illus. by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell). It is a collection of silly poems about -- you guessed it -- animals wearing pants! It hits shelves April 11 -- check out this amazing cover.

Suzy's poems have appeared in such magazines as Highlights, Cricket, and the School Magazine, and poetry anthologies A World Full of Poems (DK Children), I Am a Jigsaw (Bloomsbury), and Shaping the World (Macmillan). 

A very Happy Poetry Month, Suzy!

And Happy Poetry Month to all! May you find poetry all around you, this month and always.

Celebrate Poetry Month ~by Christy Mihaly

April has arrived

bringing sunshine and poems.

Welcome! Celebrate!

April took me by surprise this year. (The passage of time seems to have stopped following the rules of order ... but that's another topic.) But here we are ... so welcome to Poetry Month! 

The Academy of American Poets created National Poetry Month in 1996. As they (poetically) put it, the goal is to remind us "that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters." 

I've been thinking about poetry's power. My nonfiction writing often involves sifting through piles of notes, sources, facts, and figures. When I'm stuck, one way out of the "stuckness" is to write a poem. 

A poem is an antidote to writer's block in two ways: First, it can be completed quickly (I mean a draft ... polishing a poem is a different story). Completing a poem helps me restart my writing momentum.

Second, a poem helps me find the heart of my topic. A poem boils down a complex idea into its essence. I've written poems about the First Amendment, for example. A poetic metaphor, an image, a figure of speech, or a silly rhyme might show me a new way to illuminate my topic, a path around writer's block.

For similar reasons, I love sharing poems with kids. A poem is short -- a plus in these days of short attention spans. And a poem gets right to the heart of a topic, often right into a young reader's heart. 

This photo shows me getting some elementary school students excited about a poem from the wonderful anthology, "Hop to It: Poems to Get You Moving." Created by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, it's full of lively verse guaranteed to get readers on their feet.

So, whether for yourself or for some young people in your life, here are a few ideas to celebrate Poetry Month!

CELEBRATING POETRY MONTH: some ideas

❤ Begin each day with a poem.
Read an old favorite from a dog-eared anthology or surf online for a new favorite. Or, join one of the poetry projects that blossom this month. For example, poet Michelle Schaub hosts a delightful blog, Poetry Boost, offering many resources and poems. Every weekday this month she'll post a video of a poet reading a poem they wrote. Check it out -- you may spot several GROG poets this year.

❤ Take your poetry outside: write poems in chalk on your driveway or sidewalk or playground. (Get permission first ...) Poems should be out where they can be seen -- not stuck in dusty books, right?

❤ Memorize a poem

Montpelier's PoemCity celebration

. Recite it for fun, or for a group. This is a nice way to internalize the meter, the feeling of poetry--and to share it.

❤ Join public Poetry Month events. Find out what's happening in your area. Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, hosts a PoemCity celebration, posting poems city-wide on walls and windows of local businesses. (I'm excited that one of mine was accepted this year.) Many libraries host April poetry events. Attend a poetry slam! Find a poem-writing workshop! And if you can't find an event ... post your own poems. Or create a poetic celebration with your classroom, friends, or family.

❤ Pair pictures with poems. Choose one or more poems to illustrate. Or use a poem as inspiration for another art project. Your images can show what the poem describes, or respond to the poem by illustrating the feelings it invokes. Or anything else! Or, reverse the process: use a photo or work of art to inspire a new poem. That's an ekphrastic poem!

❤ Put a poem in your pocket. Carry it with you and share it with folks you meet. This year's "Poem in Your Pocket Day" is April 29. You can share a poem in socially distanced ways, too: post it, read it aloud and share the video, or add it to your email footer.

Finally, my personal favorite:

❤ Try writing a poem each day. Capture the magic of Poetry Month by writing a poem a day! Explore different forms. Some formal poems quite brief. You probably know about haiku. Why not experiment with a fibonacci poem? (Following the fibonacci sequence, this 6-line poem has lines of 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 syllables.) Or a list poem, a diamonte, an acrostic, a limerick.... You can find explanations of many poetry forms online. The Writer's Digest listing is a good starting point.

More online poetry resources: 

Poetry Daily offers a contemporary poem each day.

Poetry 180, a Library of Congress poem-a-day hosted by Billy Collins.

The Poetry Foundation: so much stuff here!

Poetry Out Loud: student-oriented poems and programs.

Poetry4Kids: funny poems and more.

Poem Generator: generates poems in different forms from words you suggest.

Happy Poetry Month! May poetry make your heart glad, this month and always. ❤

A Vicarious Look at #NCTE16

A Vicarious Look at #NCTE16

by J.G. Annino


Are you busy enough?

                                                  Copyright 2016 JanGodown Annino

When you come in for a landing from your Holiday

prep for a spot of tea and honey,

perhaps you will look at your
2017 To Do Writing Work List.

A SCBWI conference?

You've done that. Congrats!

Perhaps a Highlights Foundation workshop also perches

on that starred list. This link for one just above
leads to a fetching MG mystery opportunity.

Or, you've done that. YAY! (You could go back.)

Perhaps a NCTE convention is boldy underlined on that list.

HuH? What is NCTE?

If you are a teacher & you are find your way to this blog &
this post,you likely know of or even belong to,

the National Council of Teachers of English.

If you are a very very successful children's author, you know NCTE

because you've been invited to this collection of kids' book nerds.

Recently the National Council of Teacher's of English, founded in

December 1911, staged its annual love-in event for literature.

Some of my friends attended from hither & yon. I have only been able

to peek at some columns/blogs/articles about the energy & ideas
shared at this conference.

Here are some highlights from one article.

"Err on the side of love,

Amplify the light.

Hold the space for children to enter in.

Words are bridges.

Develop our empathy muscle as the reflex response.

When we provide poems in our classroom, we get to the heart of our children."

The wise guidelines (above) are from participants in a 
Writing for a Better World Panel.

Picture book author Irene Latham shares from the conference & that panel.

Ideas also poured out from the Risking Writing panel, in which writers demonstrated

writing in front of their audience, on the spot.

Picture Book author Laura Purdie Salas  shares from that.

A great way to armchair visit with the NCTE is to see a list of top
2016 books featured at the award luncheon. I was so pleased to
find that poet Marilyn Nelson received top honors. As it turns
out, I had just carried home from our library, one of the honor
books in the top 2016 nonfiction list announced at  #NCTE16.
It is COMICS CONFIDENTIAL, by Leonard Marcus. I think I'll
be providing an article on it here; the interviews with the talented
author-illustrators are illuminating whether you have ever read
a graphic novel or one of the new comics for younger readers,
or not.

And School Library Journal, which so recently featured

our Group Blog's astounding maker king, Todd Burleson,
was there to interview book creators, for later articles,
including Florida's own Donna Gephart! Yay, D.G.

Finally, a spot-on view into the conference for me is

from editor/anthologist Sylvia Vardell. 
Her NCTE wrap up coincides with my dwelling with
novels-in-verse. I have tidied up & sailed on
as I can at this point in wiggles & giggles
of two picture book manuscripts & I am again living

with the tough times of my novel character, Pru, in her MG
abolition story. (Thank you to G.B./novel-in-verse pal
Marcie Atkins for this S.V. post alert.)

My sense from the #NCTE16 pieces that I've read is that each
& every author who attends is wildly enthusiastic about writing for
young readers, as are the educators. I feel that energy just from
reading their reports.

Appreciations to NCTE for collecting thousands of educators who

link young readers to great new books & also to the keepers among

the past classics such as Shakespeare & many many others.

............

p.s. in the bumble bee photo at the top, if you look to the far right, you can see
a bee coming in for a landing, which I know is how some of us feel right about
now, a bit beelated & beehind.
(hopefully spell wrecker lets me keep the extra e in each word.

As this is my last post in 2016 at Group Blog,  I am sending smiles to you
all in appreciation of your 2016 articles. The tips & energy & love for
our young readers that I find here are so nourishing. Thank  you!