Guest Post: Poetry PLUS by Janet Wong

I've taken a long summer break (and welcomed my first grandchild!), but it's time to gear up for the new school year. First, I'm happy to host a guest post by my friend and collaborator Janet Wong about the workshop we led last week-- along with great ideas about how to envision poetry projects. Here's our beautiful group of poets who participated:

Janet writes: Last week Sylvia and I felt honored to lead a very talented group of poets, most of whom are already published, in our #Anthologies101 workshop. Fellow anthologists and editor-friends: please let us know if you'd like us to connect you with these talented poets! 

You can see a synopsis of the workshop's content here. Over the next few weeks we'll provide a more detailed look at some of the topics that we discussed and will discuss again in our repeat sessions, such as the forthcoming October 16th workshop. Based on the tremendous praise we received, the workshop is almost full—but you can get on the waitlist and the list for future sessions by sending an email to info@pomelobooks.com.

This week I'd like to look at one of the basic topics that we covered: anthologies that are "poetry PLUS."

An important decision for poets (creating collections of their own poems) or anthologists (creating anthologies of poems by many poets) is whether there will be any content other than poems. Will there be a mix of poems, essays, stories, or quotes? Will there be supplemental text accompanying poems? If so, will you place that supplemental text on each page, or will you create front matter and back matter? 

The "PLUS" element could be creative activities and writing prompts, such as in the interactive material in our Poetry Friday Power Book series. The "PLUS" might be curricular connections, such as the social studies or STEM resources in The Poetry Friday Anthology series. Or, in the case of our most recent book HOP TO IT: Poems to Get You Moving, an anthology of 100 poems by 90 poets, the "PLUS" might take the form of poetry performance tips, picture book pairings, poetry skills, and fun facts that bring each poem alive.

These "PLUS" tidbits not only help adults who are looking for ready-made mini-lessons, but they can also deepen the enjoyment for children who are reading the book by themselves. If you are a fourth grader who is reading HOP TO IT on your own and you come across the funny poem "Wiggle Your Ears!" you might find this intriguing: scientists have found that approximately 15% of humans can wiggle their ears. (If you don't have the book yet, you can watch a 30-second video of Jay Brazeau reading "Wiggle Your Ears!" here.) Becoming aware of this fact might prompt a child to do some quick research on genetics, expanding their interest in STEM and making the book even more fun.

Here's another example: Play a 30-second video of Padma Venkatraman reading her powerful poem "At the Eye" and then share that the eye of the storm is the small area of calm in the middle of a hurricane, and the eyewall of winds around the eye is the worst part of the storm.

Or take a minute to share the video of Xelena González reading and leading us in dance with "Chair Dancing" and then talk to kids about The Rollettes, a team of wheelchair dancers who gained attention while traveling the world. They became famous for their belief that "dance is dance, whether you're walking or rolling."

There are 101 fun facts in HOP TO IT. The facts are such a key part of the content, you'll find this book on the list of nominees for the "Ages 8-12: Best Book of Facts" category of the #KidsBookChoiceAwards, a children's choice award sponsored by The Children's Book Council and Every Child a Reader.

Individual children and groups (such as classrooms) can vote right now (through September 8th) to determine the five finalists in each category. Voting takes just one minute! Click here to vote and send the message, loud and clear, that kids love Poetry PLUS!

FINALLY: be sure to join the Poetry Friday gathering hosted by Carol at TheApplesinMyOrchard. Se you there!