A Blast with Stephanie Calmenson

I took my handy dandy FlipCam with me to the 8th annual ALSC Poetry Blast and made short one minute (more or less) movies of the poets reading from their works to share with you. First up, Stephanie Calmenson.

Here's the short, lovely intro written and presented by host and poet Marilyn Singer and used with permission.

Stephanie Calmenson says: “I began my professional life as an early childhood teacher and had the pleasure of reading to children and discovering which books captivate them... Though I now spend my days at home in front of a computer instead of in a classroom, I still think of myself as a teacher, speaking to children through my books. Before beginning a book, I always ask the same question: What will this book give to a child? Will it be a love of language? A feeling of being valued? A trip to a new place? An introduction to numbers or letters? A belly laugh to ease a difficult growing-up day? When I'm satisfied with the answer, I begin to write.”



Former teacher, editor, and Director of the Parent Magazine Book Club, Stephanie Calmenson grew up in Brooklyn, NY, never imagining that she’d become a writer. Today, she’s the author of over 100 books for young children, ranging from concept books to poetry to nonfiction works about canines. Some of her popular titles are Dinner at the Panda Palace, a PBS Storytime book; The Principal’s New Clothes, a Read-Aloud Handbook favorite; Good for You!, a Texas Library Association 2002 2x2 Reading List selection; and Rosie—A Visiting Dog’s Story, about her late, great therapy dog, which has been featured in the New York Times and Sesame Street and CTW Magazines, as well as on Fox TV.


She currently lives in NYC with her husband and their adorable long-haired dachshund, Harry, the star of his own book, May I Pet Your Dog?



Here's a clip of Stephanie reading about "Rosie," her beloved therapy dog.
[There was actually a baby in the audience who cooed and hollered at all the right places throughout the evening! Baby loved Stephanie's playful and rhythmic poems, in particular!]

Image credit: 

Sylvia Vardell

Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2011. All rights reserved.

A Blast with Poetry at ALSC

I'm back from the annual convention of the American Library Association in New Orleans and eager to share the magical time we had at the EIGHTH annual Poetry Blast sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and hosted by poet Marilyn Singer and librarian Barbara Genco on Monday, June 27, 5:30-7:30pm (it's always Monday night of the ALA convention, fyi). I've attended every one of these 8 celebrations and each one is an extraordinary amalgamation of poetic voices, styles, forms, and fun. Nine poets read from their work including (pictured here from left to right) Kristine O'Connell George, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, Nikki Grimes, Marilyn Singer, Stephanie Calmenson, Mike Artell, Janet Wong, Alan Katz, Janet Wong, and (seated) Joyce Sidman, and (librarian and host) Barbara Genco.

Marilyn keeps an excellent Facebook fan page for the ALSC-- Fans of the ALSC Poetry Blast-- so be sure to check that out, too. She has kindly given me permission to borrow her well-written poet intros from there, so I can repost them along with the short film clips I made of each poet reading Monday night at the Blast-- to follow in individual postings. So, here goes...

Make a note now to attend the 9th Poetry Blast in Anaheim, California next June 25, 2012!

Thanks also to the publishers who brought the poets to New Orleans: Abrams, Charlesbridge, Clarion, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Dial/Penguin, HarperCollins, Holt/Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Zondervan.


Image credit: 

Sylvia Vardell


Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2011. All rights reserved.

ALA Poetry Blast #7

Forgive my tardiness, but Real Life has intervened and I am scrambling to catch up. But I know if I were not able to attend the annual ALA conference and the always fabulous ALSC Poetry Blast, I would want to hear all about it, so here’s my report, better late than never.

The Poetry Blast is always held on Monday evening of the ALA conference (so plan now for NEXT year’s Blast #8 in New Orleans on Monday, June 27, 2011). We had a nice crowd in Washington D.C. (200 or so?) and a terrific line up of poets. This year’s group included: Debbie Levy, George Ella Lyon, Tony Medina, Arnold Adoff, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Lois Ehlert, Heidi Mordhorst, Carole Boston Weatherford, Calef Brown, Marilyn Nelson, and co-host (with uber-librarian Barbara Genco) Marilyn Singer. All in the same room—what a terrific way to conclude the conference, don’t you agree? (I couldn’t stay for Tuesday morning’s Coretta Scott King Award breakfast which is also a wonderful event, BTW.)

I’m not sure how Barbara and Marilyn decided on the order of presenters, but it worked perfectly and the mix of voices, styles, and poetry blended beautifully. As always, Barbara and Marilyn alternated introducing the poets and provided a lovely, succinct entrée into their works, lives, and quotes. (Never underestimate the power of a well-researched, but personal introduction!)

Debbie Levy kicked off the evening with bold hilarity, donning a hot pink terrycloth bathrobe and bringing her mini-tub to the podium, complete with bright yellow rubber duckies! These were the perfect props for sharing poems from her brand new anthology, Maybe I’ll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight. Each ducky had a poem title on it’s bottom, so the poems were chosen at random via ducky—more playfulness! Her animated readings warmed up the audience and had us all ready to laugh. [FYI: Debbie is providing an original, unpublished poem to accompany my next Book Links column in October. She does funny beautifully, but also has “serious” poetry published, including the powerful book-in-verse for young people, The Year of Goodbyes.]

Next up was George Ella Lyon (who gamely participated in my blog game of Poetry Tag in April with a tender kitty cat eulogy, you may remember). She shared several lovely, thoughtful poems, full of intriguing and layered word repetitions, including “Invocation” and “Open, Open.” She revealed that she has often created homemade books of poetry as gifts for friends and family—a wonderful reminder of how to share poetry with kids and for kids to share favorite poetry with others. George Ella concluded by reading from her new book due out this fall, All the Water in the World, an evocative eco-poem.

Tony Medina followed with rousing readings from multiple works including, I and I Bob Marley, Deshawn Days, and Love to Langston. He also read excerpts from works in progress (which is always a treat), including a sampling from a biography-in-verse of Supreme Court justice Sonya Sotomayor and from a manuscript entitled, “The President Looks Like Me.” This guy is not afraid to get political and is adept at channeling a young sensibility about the world’s major players.

Speaking of political, grand master Arnold Adoff was up next reading from his first new poetry collection in ten years (he noted), entitled Roots and Blues. He described the selection as “a small suite of poems” and called his poetry “shaped speech” as he shared the staccato rhythms in his distinctive gravelly voice. He also advocated for reading any/every poem three times: first simply for information (like reading a work of nonfiction), secondly for meaning (what is the poem/poet saying), and thirdly for nuance (how does the poem work, make you feel, do what it does). Interesting strategy, don’t you agree? He also noted good poetry says something “always expected, always a surprise.” Such a wise assessment of the ying and yang of what poetry makes possible, I think.

The poet of poets, Lee Bennett Hopkins, followed Arnold and read from three of his newest works (the man makes prolific looks pedantic!). He shared the four opening poems for each of the four seasons in his anthology, Sharing the Seasons (which is gorgeously illustrated by David Diaz). I hadn’t thought of pulling those four out for a separate reading, but loved that idea. That whole collection is a complete delight and SO school and library-friendly. (More on that later). Lee also read from City I Love, the picture book collection of all his own poetry (which I adore and created a mini-guide for on March 6, 2009.) He concluded with poems (by other voices) from his new collection of “portrait” poems in Amazing Faces, sumptuously illustrated by Chris Soentpiet.

Lois Ehlert was up next wearing a distinctive “collage” jacket that looked like it came right out of one of her books. I have always thought of her works as poetry (such clever, direct, succinct rhymes) and she was every inch the poet in her wry, deadpan reading of animal rhymes from Oodles of Animals and Lots of Spots. She called her works “poems for very short people” and surprised the audience with her humor and wordplay, channeling the child’s clear-eyed pleasure in both facts and nonsense.

Speaking of jackets, poet Heidi Mordhorst said she was “reclaiming” her pink jacket, after wearing it to a disappointing school board meeting. She rocked the audience with selections from her two books, Squeeze, Poems from a Juicy Universe and Pumpkin Butterfly, Poems from the Other Side of Nature. Her smart phrasings and surprising rhythms capture the natural world with freshness and sophistication, while still accessible to the young reader or listener. (Heidi is also contributing a new, unpublished poem to my Book Links column next spring. Watch for it!)

The very brave Carole Boston Weatherford opened with singing a song as she took the stage, channeling her muse, Billie Holiday. She read “Strange Fruit” and other selections from her biography-in-verse, Becoming Billie Holiday, sharing some of the back-stories behind the writing of this amazing book. I always love hearing Carole reading from her work—she has such a rich, resonant delivery—but this was extra special. Hearing these first person “memoir” poems in Billie’s “voice” made them come alive for me. This would be such an excellent audiobook. (Talk with Live Oak Media, Carole!) I know Carole has a reading guide and more for the book on her web site, complete with podcasts, too.

Next, we were blown away by Calef Brown performing his poetry completely from memory in rapid fire, pun-filled delivery! He began with two epic political satires. My jaw was on the floor in response to his mastery of memory, amazingly witty wordplay, and outrageous skewering. It was bold and hilarious! He also shared several poems from his upcoming poem collection, Hallowilloween: Nefarious Silliness, including a special poem with a Texas connection (woo hoo!). I can’t wait to get a copy of this gem.

We switched gears to hear the grande dame Marilyn Nelson read three “narrative sequences” from three different works. She began with a sonnet from the fictional narrative, Pemba’s Song; A Ghost Story co-authored by Tonya C. Hegamin, then shared from the historical narrative, Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color, written in collaboration with Elizabeth Alexander. Powerful works! She ended with several poems from Sweethearts of Rhythm, giving voice to the persona poems featuring a WWII all-girl African American swing band. Inspiring!

Marilyn Singer ended our amazing evening by sharing selections from her six-starred-reviewed collection, Mirror Mirror. She has created a new form of poetry, the reverso, that is actually two poems—one read in the usual way, the second is a “reverse” arrangement of the same lines, but resulting in a completely different meaning. For example, in one half of “In My Hood,” we get Red Riding Hood’s point of view, and when we read the same lines in reverse order, we see the Wolf’s perspective. Clever, right? The fairytale theme runs through the entire collection, with a variety of tales and characters brought to life in this innovative approach. Marilyn has hit a home run with this collection and it was a great way to end the evening.

Look for these poets, their web sites, their works (buy them!), and perform their poetry yourself. Look for local poets in your area and plan your own blast. I love this idea so much, I moderate a similar event (called the Poetry Round Up) at the Texas Library Association annual conference. But even if you can’t arrange for actual poets, invite the kids to choose their favorite poem by their favorite poets (or share their own works) in your own poetry “blast,” party, jam, performance, or event. It’s a night to remember!

Check out the Fans of the ALSC Poetry Blast Page on Facebook to keep up with next year's event.

P.S. Lovely to see so many fellow poetry-lovers at the conference. Thanks for asking about my Mom, too, who after 10 weeks in the hospital moved to rehab last week and is finally, finally doing better.

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2010. All rights reserved.

Image credit: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/confevents/alscannual/poetryblast/poetryblast.cfm
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Poetry at ALA 2010

If you’re planning to attend the annual conference of the American Library Association next month in Washington D.C., please allow me to plug my poetry session scheduled for the conference. It’s entitled, “Celebrating The Spoken Word with Poetry for Young People” and is scheduled for Sunday, June 27 at 10:30am-12:00pm.

We’ll be featuring Mary Ann Hoberman, Children’s Poet Laureate, talking about her life, work, and the creative process. Also on the panel will be Stephen Young, Program Director of the Poetry Foundation's Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest for high school students.

It looks like this year’s Poetry Out Loud contest winner, Amber Rose Johnson, will be appearing too, and I am tickled pink to have a young person—and poetry performer—on the docket, too. I don’t know the location for our session yet, but if you’re in town, I hope you can come. [Check out the complete conference program here.]

And of course, I’ll be reporting on the annual ALSC Poetry Blast scheduled for June 28 at 5:30 in Washington Convention Center, Room 144 A-C. Hosts Marilyn Singer and Barbara Genco are introducing another amazing line up of poets for the Blast, including Arnold Adoff, Calef Brown, Lois Ehlert, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Debbie Levy, George Ella Lyon, Tony Medina, Heidi Mordhorst, Marilyn Nelson, Marilyn Singer, and Carole Boston Weatherford. Won’t that be a wonderful evening? It’s one of the highlights of the conference, in my opinion, and I never miss this “concert” of poets reading from their works. Join their “Fans of the ALSC Poetry Blast” page on Facebook, too.

Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2010. All rights reserved.

Image credit: ALA, poetryoutloud, maryannhoberman.com

Poetry Blast Report (and Blogaversary)

For those of you who were not able to attend the ALA conference or the fantastic ALSC Poetry Blast held last night at the Chicago Hilton, here is a very brief recap of the amazing, diverse line up of poets hosted by Barbara Genco and (poet) Marilyn Singer.

A very brave (no need to be nervous!) Laura Purdie Salas opened up the evening by sharing some of the poems (and backstories) from her newest collection, Stampede; Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School (which I so enjoyed and reviewed on April 26). She followed up with selections from her next work, Bookspeak, poems about books (woo hoo! I LOVE that topic!) and had the audience enthralled with her compelling acrostic poem “Diary.”'

Next the ever-charming David Harrison (who was honored—and teased—for being the only poet with a school named after him) read poems from 5 different collections, including his latest, Pirates (which I reviewed last fall, Sept. 19), Somebody Catch My Homework (he shared “Monday,” a poem that I’ve been reading/singing since 1993 when that book first appeared—it’s hilarious!), Sounds of Rain (about an Amazon river trip), Connecting the Dots (which he called “memory-based poems”), and Bugs (clever, quippy insect poems).

The effervescent Carmen T. Bernier-Grand followed with a reading of selections from her new poem-biography of Diego Rivera. This is in the same vein as her previous wonderful César; ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We can! and Frida: ¡Viva la vida! Long Live Life! all published by Marshall Cavendish. The poems pull no punches with the lives of each of her subjects and here Diego emerges warts and all as a figure who tried to “take from life all it gives you,” but sometimes fell short.

Joyce Carol Thomas then read some of the poems from her most recent Coretta Scott King honor book, The Blacker the Berry, sharing the illustrations by Floyd Cooper along the way. Her use of berry colors (blackberry, raspberry, cranberry) provided simple, palpable metaphors for treating issues of skin color and race. She shared that the book was dedicated to one of seven granddaughters, the girl with the darkest skin who was often teased by the others—but no more since this book!

Susan Marie Swanson was up next reading To Be Like the Sun, her sunflower poem picture book, then a few selections from Getting Used to the Dark (her first poetry anthology), and three poems from a work in progress in the voice of a girl named Robin (her ode to T-shirts was perfect!). She closed with a reading of The House in the Night, just honored with a Caldecott medal for the illustrations by Beth Krommes, and the audience was completely captivated to hear the words alone read by the poet who wrote them. So soothing and contemplative.

Next up was Jon Scieszka, always a hoot, especially when skewering his own poetic stature. He read from his brand new collection of Trucktown Nursery Rhymes which parody traditional Mother Goose verses infusing trucks of all kinds as the subjects acting “like four year olds.” He was bemoaning the fact that he couldn’t read as mellifluously as Ashley Bryan had in his Wilder Award speech the night before and was egged on to give it a try. The “Jack Be Nimble” spoof was a hysterical train wreck!

Bobbi Katz held her own in following his crazy lead and read her “July” poem from Once Around the Sun to get us rolling, followed by her own hilarious, witty, slightly gruesome selections from her new book, The Monsterologist, which she called a “memoir in rhyme” and claimed to have “ghost-written.” The poem, “The Verbivore,” in particular, is priceless! I picked up a copy of this book in the exhibits and the LOOK of the book is absolutely gorgeous—well-matched to the creative, clever poetry.

Rebecca Kai Dotlich was up next and read her own summer-y poems from Lemonade Sun, followed by a selection from her collaboration with J. Patrick Lewis, Castles, admitting her own fascination with beheadings and grim history! What range! Her readings from Over in the Pink House nearly had us jumping to the rhythms of these jaunty jumprope rhymes. She closed with the beautiful ending passage of her new picture book, Bella and Bean, about poetry writing and friendship, with the face of the moon like a clock turned to “forever.”

The dynamic Hope Anita Smith (who came to my Texas Poetry Round Up in April) next performed three poems from her second book, Keeping the Night Watch, capturing the angst and anger of a teenage boy whose absent father has now returned. She ended with selections from her newest book, Mother: Poems, and her powerful delivery underscored the emotions and experiences she has captured in a loving and heart-wrenching mother-daughter relationship.

The inimitable Joyce Sidman provided a transition with two poignant paired “apology” poems from This is Just to Say. Next, she read a selection from her latest work, Red Sings From Treetops, a 21st century Hailstones and Halibut Bones. I was also excited to hear a poem from her next book, Ubiquitous, Celebrating Nature’s Survivors, another collection rooted in the natural world. Here, she focuses on the opposite of endangered species, on the hardiest forms of life beginning with bacteria and ending with humans—the most difficult poem she has ever written, she says.

The Blast ended with co-host Marilyn Singer sharing lively poems from her collection, First Food Fight this Fall, about the school year from the voices of children, as well as her new rhyming poem picture book, based on two inter-twining poems, I’m Your Bus. In Barbara Genco’s introduction of Marilyn, she mentioned her view that “poetry is the fountain of youth,” comparing the openness of young children to the qualities needed for writing poetry—expressed much more beautifully than I can manage here!

It was a wonderful evening, as always, with the time flying by as the audience sat absorbed in the words, sounds, and rhythms of each of these unique poets. It was also fun to see several other poets joining the audience including Arnold Adoff and April Halprin Wayland, and Peggy Archer and Jude Mandell. I can't wait to see who's there next year. Mark your calendars now for Monday evening at the ALA convention in D.C. in 2010.

As it happens, today is also the THIRD anniversary of my blog and I wanted to pause to thank YOU, readers, for tuning in. I set out to carve out a space where people could get help in “finding and sharing poetry with children” and I have learned so much along the way. Since starting off on this journey, I’ve done lots of additional writing myself (Poetry People, the Everyday Poetry column for Book Links) and had so many opportunities to connect with poets (and added Poet Links to the blog) and then to read, review, and celebrate their work. (Thank you, poets, for connecting with me. That’s the best perk ever!)

In these few years, Poetry Friday has become a fixture in the blog world and the Cybils award has taken root (and always includes poetry—yay!). What a treat to bond with other bloggers who appreciate poetry, too, especially during our Poetry Month extravaganzas. The Web 2.0 world keeps evolving and blogs may become passé before you know it, but in the mean time, I will keep my radar tuned to poetry, scanning the book world for news, notes, and anything poetry-related, with the goal of helping you help kids (and kid readers help themselves!) keep poetry alive in all our lives.

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2009. All rights reserved.
Image credit: www.declarationsandexclusions.com;simfonik.com

ALA, Book Links & Poetry

I’m off to Chicago for the annual conference of the American Library Association. My daughter (a budding librarian herself) is joining me and I am excited to share the conference experience with her. Plus, the fabulous Poetry Blast is Monday night and I will be there with bells on. Look for a future post about that event featuring Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, David Harrison, Bobbi Katz, Laura Purdie Salas, Jon Scieszka, Joyce Sidman, Marilyn Singer, Hope Anita Smith, Susan Marie Swanson, and Joyce Carol Thomas. Won’t that be a treat?! (Are you a Blast fan on Facebook?)

In the mean time, I would also like to plug Book Links magazine and it’s final “stand alone” issue which is chockablock full of poetry goodies. (Beginning in October, Book Links will be bundled with Booklist, another ALA publication.) This July issue of Book Links includes:

A Poetry Book of their Own by Denise B. Geier (on making handmade poetry books)
Talking with Carole Boston Weatherford by KaaVonia Hinton
Talking with Ashley Bryan by Dean Schneider
Biographies of Poets by Barbara A. Ward and Terrell A. Young
Connecting Picture Books and Poems by Susan Stern
and of course Everyday Poetry: The Art of Poetry by Yours Truly

Isn’t that an amazing line up?

Here’s an excerpt from my column including a wonderful pantomime-worthy original poem by Douglas Florian that appears alongside it.

Everyday Poetry: The Art of Poetry
We know that poets create pictures with words, but some even use pictures to prompt the words or they create the art that accompanies their own poetry. Art and poetry go hand in hand and it can be fun to explore poetry books based on art, poetry books illustrated by the poets themselves, and poem picture books that feature single poems reinterpreted through art.

Ekprhastic Poetry
Poems written in response to art are called “ekphrastic” poetry, the unifying thread in Jan Greenberg’s anthology, Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art and its recent companion, Side by Side: New Poems Inspired by Art from Around the World. Greenberg includes a helpful introduction and map locating poem sources, poems in multiple languages, biographies of poets and translators, and poetry from more than 30 different countries. Other anthologies that pair fine art and poetry are also cited along with follow up activities.

Poet Artists
There are many poets who also produce the illustrations for their own poetry collections. They are known for their art, as well as their writing…. Douglas Florian creates distinctive paintings+collages that are instantly recognizable (Dinothesaurus, Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars; Handsprings).

For more examples of paintings and poetry, check out the work of Calef Brown who employs wordplay alongside inventive acrylic and gouache (Polkabats and Octopus Slacks, Flamingos on the Roof, Soup For Breakfast), or Kurt Cyrus who creates nature poems and watercolor paintings (Oddhopper Opera, Hotel Deep), or Adam Rex who produces outrageous cartoon monsters and poem parodies (Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich; Frankenstein Takes a Cake)…. and the iconic photography of Charles R. Smith, Jr., (My People, If) or the cut-paper collages of Hope Anita Smith (Mother) or the textured quilts of Anna Grossnickle Hines (Winter Lights, Pieces) and Sue Van Wassenove (The Seldom-Ever-Shady Everglades).

Poem Picture Books
Many picture books have rhythmic and even rhyming text, but a true “poem picture book” features a single poem as the book’s complete text, a poem that can stand on its own without the illustrations. This gives us the opportunity to see the poem through new perspectives and can serve as a model for homemade picture books that kids can create for their favorite poems. It can also be helpful for older students who may be familiar with a classic poem, but haven’t found it moving or meaningful until they see it as a visually rich experience. Specific examples and activities are also provided.


Summer Sports
By Douglas Florian



Puddle hopping.
Watching waves.
Belly flopping.
Finding caves.

Chipmunk chasing.
Climbing trees.
Relay racing.
Skinning knees.

Picking daisies.
Swimming laps.
Feeling lazy.
Taking naps.

Sand handstanding.
Washing cars.
Summersaulting.
Counting stars.

[Thank you again, Douglas! Be sure and stop by his Floriancafe.]

This week's Poetry Friday celebration is hosted by Jama Rattigan at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup. Go there now!

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2009. All rights reserved.

Image credit: search.barnesandnoble.com; ala

Fifth Annual Poetry Blast at ALA in Anaheim

I’m still on the road, driving home from the recent American Library Association convention held in Anaheim last weekend. It was a terrific conference, an opportunity to learn a lot, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and participate in meaningful ALA work. Much of time was spent in meetings of the Sibert committee (more on that later) which was fascinating. And the Caldecott, Newbery, and Geisel acceptance speeches were AMAZING and you’ve probably read about them elsewhere. By turns hilarious and moving, and extremely innovative in delivery—we’ll be talking about them for years.

But one of the highlights for me, of course, was the fifth annual ALSC Poetry Blast held on Monday evening. Here, 13 poets read from their works and kept us mesmerized for over two hours. Here are my “cliff notes” from the evening. Make plans now to join us for next year’s Blast. (This is the event that inspired me to launch the Poetry “Round Up,” a parallel event held at the TEXAS Library Association conference every spring.)

*First up: Joan Bransfield Graham read from her works, Splish Splash and Flicker Flash, as well as selected poems from various anthologies. She invited us to participate using echoing and sign language, as well as her magical ocean sound and thunder cloud instruments. (Scoop: watch for a future food poem collection and one illustrated by Joan herself with innovative photographs.)

*Next, Jane Medina read from her books, My Name is Jorge and The Dream on Blanca’s Wall. She described herself as “Latina at heart” and shared moving poems about hope and identity from the voices of child characters, but capturing universal longings.

*I had heard Charles R. Smith, Jr. share a “round” from Twelve Rounds to Glory at last November’s NCTE Poetry Blast and loved it, so it was a treat to hear him perform ANOTHER round. Plus, he followed with an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Black Jack, about the first black heavyweight chamption, Jack Johnson.

*You may remember that Linda Sue Park came to my TLA Poetry Round Up in Dallas in April, so it was terrific to see her again and hear her share more of her intriguing sijo poems from Tap Dancing on the Roof. I also learned that her first published work was a haiku poem that earned her $1 at age 9!

*I had never heard Monica Gunning read before, but I am a big fan of her work, particularly America, My New Home (which I so identify with). With her lilting Jamaican accent and grandmotherly gravitas, she shared poems that reflected her growing up years on the island and her observations of her new homeland.

*The work of Francisco X. Alarcón has been among my favorites for years now, so I was a bit ga ga to meet him! He began by chanting a brief thanks to the ancestors in the four directions and then shared poems from previous works, as well as from his new book, Animal Poems of the Iguazú/Animalario del Iguazú which he said was based on his travels to a rainforest in South America where he “interviewed” the animals. Don’t miss the “Jaguar” poem!

*Next up was Ann Whitford Paul who read from her girlpower collection, All by Herself, as well as from other moving and evocative works. Her poem “Word Builder” from Lee Bennett Hopkins’ anthology, Wonderful Words will appear as a beautiful poem picture book illustrated by Kurt Cyrus (himself a poet and illustrator and previous TLA Poetry Round Up participant).

*It was a treat to hear Ruth Forman who is new to children’s poetry with her book Young Cornrows Callin’ Out the Moon, but is well established in the world of poetry for adults. She shared both (all from memory) and blew us away. “Poetry Should Ride the Bus” was a particular favorite!

*Pura Belpré Award recipient Margarita Engle is also new to the children’s poetry world and has made an indelible impression first with The Poet Slave of Cuba and now with this year’s The Surrender Tree, from which she read. We also learned that she helps her husband train search and rescue dogs by “pretending” to be lost in the woods (and reading and writing poetry), but admitted she was often not pretending!

*Julie Larios was a hoot, starting off with her grown up poem created as an exercise built on using paintchip names to create a poem. She also read from her Yellow Elephant and the newly published Imaginary Menagerie—beautiful, lyrical poems.

*You know what a huge Nikki Grimes fan I am, so it was terrific to see and hear her again. She read from several upcoming works which I am eager to get: Oh, Brother, about step-siblings, First Kiss, a YA collection, and Barack Obama, Son of Promise/Child of Hope, a prose-poem picture book due out in September.

*What can I say about the ever-amazing J. Patrick Lewis? He had us groaning with laughter and quiet with sadness by sharing some of The World’s Greatest poems (don’t you love that pun?) and selections from The Brother’s War and a Horn Book featured poem. I have to admit I especially love his deadpan ironic epitaph poems!

*As always, co-host Marilyn Singer finished the evening reading from two works that are new this year: Shoe Bop! and First Food Fight This Fall and Other School Poems in the voices of kids (don’t miss that LAST poem about the LAST day of school). I also learned that one of my favorite poetry books EVER, Turtle in July, was her FIRST work of poetry and is now sadly out of print. FIND IT. It is a beautiful mesh of her lyrical and rhythmic poems and gorgeous watercolor illustrations by Jerry Pinkney. Also perfect for July!

Congratulations, Marilyn (Singer) and Barbara Genco for assembling a delicious smorgasbord of poet voices—such variety, humor, power, and wisdom. We were all moved, fed, and inspired. Look for the SIXTH annual Poetry Blast at next summer’s ALA convention. It’s always held on Monday evening and is one of the best things at the convention, IMO.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Celebrate with a poem by one of these terrific writers!

Picture credit: ala.org

NCTE and the Poetry Blast

This time last week, I was attending the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English in New York City. What fun-- I love that city! One of the highlights of the conference was soaking up the words of the dozen poets who read from their work at the NCTE Poetry Blast hosted by Marilyn Singer and Michael Santangelo. This event debuted as the ALSC Poetry Blast at the ALA convention four years ago (was that in Orlando?) and has also premiered at the International Reading Association convention and now at NCTE. The concept is simple: enjoy a “concert” of poets reading from their own poetry. There’s nothing quite like hearing poems read by their creators—it’s like seeing the actual Mona Lisa, instead of just a picture of the painting in a book. Intimate, visceral, moving. At the New York Blast, we enjoyed the artistry of Lee Bennett Hopkins, Janet Wong, Marilyn Nelson, Lisa Ann Sandell, Curtis Crisler, Joyce Sidman, Alan Katz, John Grandits, Nikki Grimes, Helen Frost, Charles R. Smith, Jr., and Marilyn Singer. What a line up! Here are a few of the highlights:

*Lee Bennett Hopkins read from his own poetry as well as moving selections from his new anthology, America at War by Georgia Heard and Rebecca Kai Dotlich who were in the audience
*Janet Wong offered her poems with her usual wry commentary and even had an audience member demonstrate a yoga pose to accompany a poem from Twist
*Marilyn Nelson shared selections from her latest work, moving poems from the voices of Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Misses of Color
*Lisa Ann Sandell read from her lyrical verse novel, Song of the Sparrow, a feminist revisioning of the tale of “The Lady of Shallot"
*Curtis Crisler wowed with his powerful words from Tough Boy Sonatas
*Joyce Sidman moved us with two emotional “dog” poems as well as the fresh perspectives in This is Just to Say
*Alan Kratz made us laugh with his self-deprecating humor and verses from Oops and Uh Oh!
*John Grandits provided visuals to help us engage in the clever and witty concrete poetry of Blue Lipstick
*Nikki Grimes introduced us to her cat, Gorilla, featured in her new collection, When Gorilla Goes Walking
*Helen Frost debuted selections from her new novel in verse, Diamond Willow, another layered, lovely work
*Charles Smith pumped us up with words from his poetic biography of Muhammad Ali in Twelve Rounds to Glory
*Marilyn Singer took us around the world with the “timely” words of Nine O’Clock Lullaby
The hours flew by as we took in their voices, poems from their recent works, and got a sneak peak on new and future releases. What a terrific event to include in a conference devoted to teaching and literature.

I love the idea of a poetry “recital” so much that I have imitated the Blast by bringing the concept to the Texas Library Association conference each spring. Next year, I’ll be hosting the fourth annual Poetry Round Up at the conference in Dallas. Save the date: Thursday, April 17, 2008 (10am-12pm). You’re all welcome. Come experience the poetry of John Frank, Juanita Havill, Alan Katz, Linda Sue Park (as a poet!), Adam Rex, and Tracie Vaughn Zimmer up close and personal. And take this idea and plan your own poetry reading event! Ideally, bring the poets to your venue, but even children can have a blast with poetry by standing up and reading their own poetry or favorite poems by poets they love. Celebrate the spoken word, the kids, and the poetry—all at once!

Picture credit: While in New York, I stayed at my best friend Susan’s home near Gramercy Park. She just moved to New York (from Texas) last spring and I am living vicariously through her Big Apple adventures. The photo is the view from her guest room—AMAZING!