Saturday, December 04, 2010

LIVE Poetry readings

I'm launching something new today-- video clips of poetry readings (by the poets themselves and shared with their permission). I have a new, easy-to-use Flip video camera and I took it with me to the recent NCTE conference and filmed the four poets on my panel reading from their works. I'm very excited to feature (in order below) new poet Jame Richards, reading an excerpt from her new novel-in-verse, Three Rivers Rising, Lee Bennett Hopkins, reading from his moving poem memoir, Been to Yesterdays, Marilyn Singer, reading the forward-backward reverso poem, "In My Hood" from Mirror, Mirror, and Pat Mora, reading "Sisters" from her 2010 poetry collection, Dizzy in Your Eyes.


Jame Richards


Lee Bennett Hopkins


Marilyn Singer



Pat Mora

There is nothing quite like hearing a poem read by its creator, don't you agree? Since I'm such an advocate for the oral sharing of poetry, I am tickled pink to add this new feature to my blog-- and I hope to include many more clips in the future.

P.S. Congrats to Laura Purdie Salas and Jeannine Atkins-- commenters on previous postings about the NCTE conference prep. They are winners of free autographed copies of books by Pat Mora and Jame Richards. Just contact me with your mailing addresses and I'll send your books your way!

19 comments:

Donna Marie Merritt said...

Sylvia, thanks for doing this. Wonderful readings!

Debbie Levy said...

What a treat!

Sylvia Vardell said...

Thanks for stopping by. I have wanted to do this for AGES, so I am so glad to get this rolling finally. More to come...
Sylvia

Pat Kahn said...

What a gift, Sylvia! Thank you!

Jeannine Atkins said...

Sylvia, thanks for the videos and letting us have some moments of the joy in the room. And I'm happy to have won a book! Thank you!

Sylvia Vardell said...

Glad to share! Just email me your mailing address (svardell at twu dot edu) and I'll send your book out to you tomorrow!

Amy L V said...

Oh, I was waiting for this day! Sitting behind you, watching you film these, I kept wondering, "Hmmm...when will these hit Sylvia's blog?" Hooray! Thank you! I will now make a new sidebar for "audio of children's poets reading." A.

Sylvia Vardell said...

Thanks, Amy! It took me awhile to figure out the download/upload procedures-- which turned out to be amazingly easy. Now, I'm hooked and I take my camera with me everywhere! :-)

maryellen said...

Hi Sylvia,
I was sitting in the audience, too and was wishing I had a recording device. I am thrilled to listen to these poets, again. Thanks so much. I wrote a blog post about the session and added the poetry blogs to my sidebar. I am a grade 1 teacher.
http://teacher102.edublogs.org/2010/11/22/ncte-conference-in-orlando-florida/
Mary Ellen Lynch

Joan said...

Yes, Sylvia, it is always wonderful to hear poets read their own work--thank you for sharing this!
JBG

laurasalas said...

Sylvia, I received Dizzy in Your Eyes the other day. Thank you so much! This is a treat of a book, and I'm happy to own a copy--autographed, no less. Thanks so much!

Sylvia Vardell said...

Thanks, Mary Ellen and Joan, for stopping by, commenting, and the links! I really tried to bring the conference experience to others who couldn't be there.

Glad your book "prize" arrived safely, Laura. Thanks again for participating in the pre-conference buzz!

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laurasalas said...

I FINALLY got back here with a few minutes to watch the videos. These are fabulous, Sylvia. How wonderful to watch poets read their own work--it helps me see their poetry in a whole new way. And the drama, the humor, the emotion. Just lovely! Thank you!

julio fuad said...

thanks for this presentation, fantastic article!

Jame said...

Thanks Sylvia! It was great meeting you and reading for NCTE!

shelf-employed said...

Catching up on my reading since I am snowed in today, and found this post. What a wonderful selection of poets and poetry!

Anonymous said...

My kids love poetry when their Grandpa reads it. Until we got our readeo.com account, we had to drive for hours for every visit!
readeo.com is essentially a high-speed video-conferencing program rolled together with quality children's eBooks. It was a great find! I like it!

http://www.readeo.com/
http://www.readeo.com/

Akhil Poet said...

Good work Sylvia. Thanks for these wonderful readings. Keep good work coming your way.