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April is National Poetry month so to spice up my interviews I decided to talk to internationally renowned poet and anthologist, Lee Bennett Hopkins.
In 1989 he received the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for “outstanding contributions to the field of children’s … Continue reading →
Blogs are dead, everybody knows it, the tweet spread the news long ago. Nobody reads blogs anymore. These days it’s all Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and short, short, short.
I get it, I do. We’re all feeling the time squeeze.
But because I’m childishly oppositional, I refuse to give up my blog. And I’m keeping my 8-Tracks, too. I started this blog back in 2008, so we’ve become attached. I like to have readers, but I’m not sure I really need them. It wouldn’t stop me from writing. There’s something about the open-ended blog format that offers room to spread out and say things, however long it takes. Whether anyone listens or not.
My pal, illustrator Matthew Cordell, used to blog with enthusiasm. One of his recurring features was his monthly-ish “Top Ten” lists, where Matt randomly listed some of his recent enthusiasms. It could be a song, a book, a movie, or a type of eraser (Matt was weird about erasers). It was always fun to read.
So I’m stealing it.
Here are ten things I’ve recently loved:
THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM
I visited Cleveland with my son, Gavin, to check out Case Western Reserve University. The following day, we headed over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was spectacular in every way. (Except for: The Red Hot Chili Peppers? Really?) I’m a huge music fan, so it was perfect for me. I found the museum strangely moving in parts, my heart touched. I could see that rock music was big enough, and diverse enough, to offer a home to people from every walk of life.
CARRY ME HOME by Diane McWhorter
Amazing, fascinating, and at times brutal Pulitzer Prize-winning book that’s stayed with me long after the last page. It provides a dense, detailed account of the civil rights struggle centered in Birmingham, Alabama. Martin Luther King, the Klu Klux Klan, Fred Shuttlesworth, George Wallace, J. Edgar Hoover, Bobby Kennedy, Bull Conner, and more. One of those books that helps you understand America.
FAN MAIL . . . WITH ILLUSTRATIONS!
I’ve been ridiculously fortunate in my career, in that I’ve received a lot of fan mail across the past twenty years. But I have to admit, I especially like it when those letters include a drawing. There’s just something about children’s artwork that slays me, every time. This drawing is by Rida in Brooklyn.
BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This book has been on my list almost since the day it came out — the buzz was instantaneous, and huge — but on a tip from a friend, I waited for the audiobook to become available through my library. Here, Ta-Nehisi Coates gives a powerful reading. It’s poignant to listen to an author reading his own words, particularly since this book is essentially a letter to his son.
We’re not here to bash Jack Prelutsky. Because, after all, Jack Prelutsky is hilarious. But, but, but. There are times when I worry that too many people think children’s poetry begins and ends with Mr. Prelutsky. That a poem for kids always has to be bouncy and fast and slight and funny, i.e., Prelutsky-ish. Well, here’s a poem I came across while reading Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? and Other Disasters: Poems, unerringly edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. I admire the heartfelt, beautiful sorrow of Comora’s poem. “I thought of his last night alone/huddled in a wire home./I did not cry. I held him close,/smoothed his fur blown by the wind./For a winter’s moment, I stayed with him.” The illustration is by Wolf Erlbruch. Click on the poem if your eyes, like mine, need larger type.
EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT
I’m so grateful that I live near a cool, little movie theater that makes room for small foreign films such as this, a mind-blowing look at life on the Amazon, spectacularly filmed in black-and-white. Click here for more details.
THE AMERICANS
My wife Lisa and I don’t watch hours of TV together, but we do like to have a show we can share. We’ve been a loss for a few months, but recently discovered season one of “The Americans” on Amazon Prime. We’re hooked.
DAVID BROMBERG: “SAMMY’S SONG”
We have tickets to see Bromberg this coming weekend. He’s an old favorite of mine, first saw him in 1980 on Long Island. I’ve just rediscovered “Sammy’s Song,” which I haven’t heard in decades. What a chilling coming-of-age story, brilliantly performed. Oh, about that harmonica part? That’s Dave’s pal, Bob Dylan, with an uncredited guest turn.
JIGSAW JONES
I just finished writing my first Jigsaw Jones book after a long time away. For many years, Scholastic had allowed the series to die on the vine, with book after book slowly going out of print. It’s been a crushing thing for me to stand by helplessly and watch. But with the help of my agent, I got back the rights, and now Macmillan has plans to relaunch the series. I am thrilled. There are more than 10 million copies of those books out there in world, and it seems like every second-grade classroom in America has a ragged copy or three. Writing the new book, The Case from Outer Space, was such a pleasure. It felt like being home again.
THE DAY THE ARCS ARRIVE
For an author, it’s a special day, always, always. That book you’ve been toiling over for months, years, finally arrives in book form. Uncorrected, unfinished, but for the first time you can hold it in your hands — a book! — and think, “I did that!” Note: Arc = Advanced Reader’s Copy. The Courage Test, a middle grade novel, will be out for real in September.
BONUS SELECTION . . .
THE BARKLEY MARATHONS
I love documentaries of almost any nature, but I can’t recommend this one highly enough. A pure joy, with twinkling mischievous wit and surprising heart, too. If you like running at all — or not! — see this movie. About the toughest, wildest, and weirdest race in the world. Catch it on Netflix Instant!
Released this month, Amazing Places is a collection of original poems hand-picked by acclaimed anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins that celebrates some of the amazingly diverse places in our nation. It has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, which calls it “a broadly appealing testament to the American landscape and people.”
The gorgeous illustrations in Amazing Places are a uniquecollaboration between artist Chris Soentpiet, who created the rough sketches, and Christy Hale, who brought those sketches to life by adding color and detail. We asked Christy to take us behind the scenes and show us her process for working with Chris Soentpiet’s illustrations to make Amazing Places come to life:
Christy: I have selected the longhouse piece to show the art process used for creating the art for Amazing Places:
1. Chris Soentpiet’s rough sketch
2. The editor and art director requested modifications. Below is Chris’s tight sketch reflecting those changes.
3. The printer scanned Chris’s sketches and then I received the digital files and my work on the art began. I made some additional changes to the original sketch based on editorial suggestions.
4. I changed the pencil line to sepia to give it some richness.
5. To add color to the art I needed some reference for longhouses. I did some image research. Here are two of many pictures I found.
6. I added colors in transparent layers in Photoshop. I wanted to simulate the beautiful watercolor effects Chris is known for. Each layer was a different color. Sometimes there were multiple layers of the same color in varying transparencies for more subtle effects.
Below you see the sepia line with one color added.
7. Here is the sepia line with seven colors added.
8. Here is a screen shot showing the many layers in the Photoshop file.
9. Here is the final image with all the colors. For each piece in the book I worked with a limited palette. In the long house piece there are many, many different neutral colors in varying values. I used color value, intensity, and hue to help direct the eye in each composition.
–
Christy Hale is the author and illustrator of The East-West House: Noguchi’s Childhood in Japan, a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year selection, and Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building, winner of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor. As an art educator, Hale has written about artists for Instructor magazine’s Masterpiece of the Month feature and workshops. Hale lives with her family in Palo Alto, California. Visit her online at christyhale.com.
I so enjoyed April Halprin Wayland's interview with Paul B. Janeczko! Thank you, April!
And congratulations to Jone M, who won IN DEFENSE OF READ-ALOUD!
Continuing our celebration of poetry, here's another of my favorite poets.
morguefile.com
Cynthia Cottenis a gentle writer. Her poetry sparkles like the water on a creek chanced upon during an early morning walk. Very gentle and soothing, and unexpected. Cynthia’s poetry, like all good poetry, is an emotional exchange. The language of the poem, as Mary Oliver taught us, is the language of the particulars. And Cynthia’s language incorporates images that are at once tender and sensuous. Her rhythm twinkles, as in her Night Light, and sometimes the rhythm pops like a good smirk, as in her Ack!
But sometimes, just like that early morning creek, Cynthia's poems sends shivers up our spine, as in her poem, Missing.
Night Light
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, I know what you really are: a blinking bug in flickering flight, lighting up my yard tonight, in the treetops, near the ground, winking, flashing all around. I watch you and I'm mystified-- how did you get that bulb inside?
(from Switching on the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters. Illustrated by G.Brian Karras. Candlewick Press, 2010)
ACK!
I always know just what to say. The perfect words are there-- words that render others speechless, uttered with such flair. My comments are insightful, my wit is unsurpassed. Oh, yes, I know just what to say-- too bad the moment's passed.
(fromThe Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School - compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. Pomelo Books, 2013)
Missing
My brother is a soldier in a hot, dry sandy place. He's missing-- missing things like baseball, barbecues, fishing, French fries, chocolate sodas, flame-red maple trees, blue jays, and snow.
I'm missing, too-- missing his read-out-loud voice, his super-special banana pancakes, his scuffed-up shoes by the back door, his big-bear good night hug.
There are people with guns in that land of sand who want to shoot my brother.
I hope they miss him, too.
(from America at War - Poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008)
morguefile.com
“Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields...Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.” -- Mary Oliver
And don't forget our giveaway! Enter here to win an autographed copy of Paul's newest anthology, his 50th book, Death of a Hat, illustrated by Chris Raschka. You can enter between now and 4/22/15 (which just happens to be TeachingAuthors' 5th Blogiversary!)
Bobbi Miller
0 Comments on Three Favorite Sparklie Poems as of 4/6/2015 8:51:00 AM
April is National Poetry Month! All month long we’ll be celebrating by posting some of our favorite poems for Poetry Friday. We’re starting off the weekend with Hamburger Heaven by Lee Bennett Hopkins from Amazing Faces.
HAMBURGER HEAVEN
Lee Bennett Hopkins
He looks. She looks.
“Hi!” “Hi!”
“My name is Cam.” “My name is Kim.”
“Been here before?” “First time.”
“Kim?” “Cam?”
Heart beats. Heart beats.
Love
found
among
burgers,
French fries,
and a
mile of smiles.
-From Amazing Faces, collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Chris Soentpiet. Now out in paperback!
0 Comments on Poetry Friday: Hamburger Heaven as of 1/1/1900
Lee Bennett Hopkins has compiled fifteen poems by thirteen poets about the magical hour on Christmas Eve when all animals can talk.
After an introductory poem written by Hopkins, thirteen species—including fish and a spider—tell their story about seeing the Baby Jesus for the first time. The horse is so moved he can’t speak, the cow moos a lullaby, the spider weaves a gift of a cobweb crown. The last poem is from the second stanza of The Friendly Beasts, a folk song.
Helen Cann’s lovingly detailed artwork (watercolor and mixed media) add to the warm traditional feel of the collection, and create, with the sound of the poems, a book to carefully relish. Endpapers depicting characters from the text—like so many Eerdmans titles—add something extra to pore over after reading the book.
MANGER is a picture book that looks, sounds and feels like a Christmas classic.
Aside from my picture book review of HI, KOO, last Friday, I haven’t been very active in poetry month this year. Before May is upon us, I wanted to rectify this and highlight a poet on the blog. Today’s interview … Continue reading →
Distinguished poet, anthologist, editor and teacher, Lee Bennett Hopkins, admits that he happened to start writing poetry in the 1960's by accident. “The first poem I penned, 'Hydrants,' was written in the late 1960’s,” says Hopkins, who has written hundreds of poems since then. “It was a result of my city-living. The first person who heard it was May Swenson, the great American poet, who further
6 Comments on One Writer’s Process: Lee Bennett Hopkins, last added: 4/16/2012
I'm surprised he had the guts to read something before such an acclaimed figure.<br /><br />As for children and poetry, I think it's more the 'fear factor' than the having to memorize. Too many rules for freedom.
Part of learning to write--poetry or fiction or anything, really--is learning to take risks, so I'm not surprised at all that Lee had "the guts" to share his work early on. You never know what will inspire you to keep writing.
Anonymous said, on 4/16/2012 9:05:00 AM
from Lee Bennett Hopkins<br /><br />Truly 'acclaimed figures' are only<br />'acclaimed' by others. Most acclaimed figures I've met are extraordinarily generous; real people.<br /><br />May Swenson was as real as anyone could ever be.<br /><br />Lee Bennett Hopkins
I’ve hiked alongside a black bear, who was fishing for salmon in a stream, in Alaska. Maybe it was because I was with a group of people, but the bear didn’t scare me. Put me in the same room as an insect and I am no longer fearless. In fact, if my husband is near [...]
I know, it seems crazy to talk about the holiday season already. But this is also the point where we start putting in book orders for the latest titles and replacing old books as well. So let’s jump in and talk about some of the newest books for the holiday season:
THE HAPPY ELF by Harry Connick Jr., illustrated by Dan Andreasen (On-sale now). Based on the song by Harry Connick Jr., this comes with a CD. You can also watch the video.
A CHRISTMAS GOODNIGHT by Nola Buck, illustrated by Sarah Jane Wright (On-sale now). In its starred review, Publishers Weekly said that this book “serves special status, to be kept off-season with other holiday decorations and then brought out each year at Christmas.”
THE LITTLEST EVERGREEN by Henry Cole (On-sale now). School Library Journal calls this “a fine Christmas choice with an environmental message.”
Okay. 31 poets, 31 images and you have p*tag, 31 poems linked by tagging and repetition. It went like this: wait until you are tagged, pick an image, and then write a poem, using 3 of the words from the previous poet's poem. Ready, set, go! And we were off, under the guidance of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. This ekphrastic approach to poetry, where poems are inspired by art, fueled the poets fully. While the resulting poetry collection is eclectic, the repeated words give a notable continuity to the stream. There's an organic pulse running from beginning to end as readers witness this captured Art Happening on their e-readers.
Personally, David L. Harrison tagged me, so I was able to read his wonderful poem "Family Reunion at the Beach." Then I was off to choose a photo from Sylvia's posted images given to inspire us. The photo of a crowd, blurred by the camera's movement, caught my eye. It seemed as if spirits were leaving bodies despite the people's focus locked on the stage. I then chose three of David's words from his poem: clasping, future, and eyes, for my own haiku "Crowd." Finally, I tagged the lovely poet, Julie Larios. I would later learn she used my words: trapped, eyes, away.
All other poems were hidden from the participants until the release of p*tag. So it was a delight to download and read the stream, read how images and poems and repeated words created a complete work of art. I love how one poet responded to another, and immediately offered another point of view. You can see this particularly between Julie Larios and Michele Krueger. One writes of rising above, the other finding "peace in place." Stephanie Hemphill's' "In Praise of Luck" lifted my spirit, although I'd call it providence. :~) And oh, the delight to see one I esteem so highly, Lee Bennett Hopkins, write with few words just like me.
So here is a poem a day for the month of October while we celebrate YALSA's Teen Read Week. How perfect for the theme "Picture it @ your library."Download p*tag onto your device. Visit the website to learn more, see photos, and try your own hand at the ekphrastic approach to poetry. Thanks, Janet and Sylvia! *standing ovation*
p*tag compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong available on e-readers
A new anthology from Lee Bennett Hopkins is always cause for celebration. I Am the Book (Holiday House, 2011, illustrated by Yayo) is even more so because the poems are all about books!
This anthology feels a little younger than many of his anthologies--partially because there are more rhyming poems than usual, I think. The great thing about the really accessible feel to the 13 poems here is that everyone from kindergartners on up will be able to love and understand them.
I won't share a poem from the book, as much as I would love to, because each poet has just one poem. But the list of contributors features several LBH regulars, as well as lesser-known but spectacular poets, plus newer poets that you might recognize from the kidlitosphere. If you haven't already, get this book and settle in to celebrate books. Add a Comment
Lee Bennett Hopkins delivered an inspiring keynote address, “Writers — Real People” last Wednesday morning at the TCRWP Writing Institute. His keynote address seemed to have three parts. First, he spoke about other authors and how they struggled to get published. Second, Hopkins shared his background with the audience. Third, Hopkins talked about the gifts [...]
Professor and author Sylvia Vardell has posted a veryinformative interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins, master poet and anthologist, about the future of children’s poetry. Cut and paste the site below for thisenlightening discourse.
Hi everyone! I’m so excited my kid’s book I illustrated ‘Hear My Prayer’, by Lee Bennett Hopkins is finally available in stores. The stores websites have previews of what the book looks like inside. Here’s another preview of one of my favorite illustrated spreads from the book, which was a […]
This Poetry Friday, I'll post the answers to questions that blog readers posed to Lee Bennett Hopkins last week.
I'll also announce the winner of the drawing. Remember...the winner gets to choose any book written or compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins that is still in print.
These are the people who left questions for Lee. Their names will be entered into the drawing:
Toby Speed
Laura Purdie salas
Linda
Stella
Jeannine Atkins
Tricia
Sallye
Heidi Mordhorst
Judy
3 Comments on Note to Fans of Lee Bennett Hopkins, last added: 11/11/2010
Last November at the NCTE Annual Convention, we had a big celebration in honor of Lee Bennett Hopkins, "The Poetry Man," who became the 15th recipient of the NCTE Award in Excellence in Poetry for Children. You can read my post about our party for Lee here.
We presented Lee with a very special anthology compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong for the occasion. The book, Dear One: A Tribute to Lee Bennett Hopkins, contains poems written by children’s poets in honor of Lee.
Here’s the poem that I wrote for Dear One. The words printed in italics are titles of Lee’s poetry books.
Eating Poetry by Elaine Drabik Magliaro
Here we are sitting side by side, eating through a day full of poems, chewing on wonderful words, delicious words full of surprises— words that flit, flutter, fly from our tongues, words that taste of April, bubbles, chocolate, words with the scent ofsky magic.
Here we are sitting side by side savoring similes, munching on metaphors, rhymes dribbling down our chins, licking rhythm from our lips.
Here we are sitting side by side in the city I love eating poetry a l l d a y l o n g… Yummy!
I decided to write another poem for Lee yesterday. Lee helped whet my appetite for children’s poetry. He introduced me to the works of hundreds of poets through his numerous anthologies. He provided me with a taste of many different delicious poetic voices.
Eating Poetry, Number Two (A Poem for Lee Bennett Hopkins) By Elaine Magliaro
I enjoy eating poetry! It’s so delicious. I love the way poets’ words Taste on my tongue: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter. I favor every flavor.
I enjoy eating poetry! Some poems are smooth as silk… Slide down my throat Like melted chocolate.
0 Comments on Eating Poetry, Number Two: A Poem for Lee Bennett Hopkins as of 1/1/1900
I’m featuring poet/anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins at Wild Rose Reader this week and next week. Tricia Stohr-Hunt is featuring poet Marilyn Singer and Sylvia Vardell is featuring poets Pat Mora and Jame Richards. We’re doing this in preparation for a session we’ll all—bloggers AND poets—be participating in at the NCTE Annual Convention in Orlando in two weeks. The title of our session is Poets and Bloggers Unite: Using Technology to Connect Kids, Teachers, and Poetry.
Today, I have a poem for Lee titled The Anthologist. It's is about Lee searching for poems for his wonderful anthology Sharing the Seasons.
The Anthologist By Elaine Magliaro
SO many poems to pick from. HOW many should I use in my poetry book of seasons? WHICH poems should I choose?
This little poem paints autumn with colored leaves that blaze— cinnamon, copper, pumpkin, red— and gold October days.
This little poem shivers on the page. Its icy words send chills with images of snow white streets and frosted windowsills.
This little poem brings warm green winds, a drizzle of April showers, robin redbreasts, wiggly worms, bees buzzing in bright flowers.
This little poem shouts: School is out! It sizzles with summer fun… picnics, peaches, popsicles, a smiling yellow sun.
This little poem…and that little poem… and these little poems too— will sing a song of seasons in this book I make for you.
This is something that always amazes me - how to chose which poems for an anthology. Lee certainly is a genius about it! Thanks for gathering all these resources.
I love the line, "This little poem shivers on the page" and the way you imagined how Lee puts a book together, section by section. I often wonder he does it, and how he chooses the order. What a tribute to him! You always offer us so much with your posts. Thank you! A.
She wrote: “Really enjoyable exchange! I especially like the idea of "silent mentors"--we all have them, I guess, and they play a different role to the "talking mentors" we may also have.”
I had one very special “talking mentor”—the late David McCord. David was the first children’s poet honored with the NCTE Excellence in Poetry Award for children in 1977. I met David in the early 1980s. We became fast friends. He visited my classroom every year after his first presentation at my school. Some years, he even came twice to speak to my students and share his poetry. We had a big birthday party for him when he turned eighty-five. (Note: David and I shared the same birthday!)
My students and I—with the help of our art teacher—prepared an audio-visual poetry presentation for his birthday. My students selected their favorite David McCord poems, memorized them, and then I taped my students reciting David’s poems. The art teacher helped my students illustrate the poems. Then he and I photographed the paintings and made slides of them. David was truly touched by my class’s slide/tape presentation of his work. The party was a memorable experience for all of us.
I’ve had dozens of “silent mentors”—including the recipients of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award. My two MOST important mentors were Myra Cohn Livingston and Lee Bennett Hopkins.
I read Lee's book Pass the Poetry, Please!—both the second and the third editions. I have dozens of sections starred and underlined in the books. Through the book(s), I learned about children’s poets “From Adoff to Yolen”—and read a potpourri of poetry ideas “From Acorns to Zinnias.” I learned about ways to spark children to write poetry.
Yesterday, I posted Lee’s answer to a question I had asked him about why he put more of his creative energy into compiling anthologies than into writing his own original work. In his answer to me, Lee wrote: I do know I wanted to create anthologies so that readers would have a wide variety of voices and subject matter in their classrooms.
Lee sent m
4 Comments on Lee Bennett Hopkins: A Silent Mentor, last added: 11/7/2010
Oh, Elaine. I know how you feel. I hear Lee's voice with every word I write, be it poetry or prose, something for an audience or something just for me. "Take out that extra word! Did you leave out half of the lines? Ah, finally...brilliant!" A lifelong teacher is one who lives in and speaks to your heart always, one who loves you and calls you on your great weaknesses. From Lee, I have learned about poetry...and about how to be a teacher. How lucky we are... A.
Elaine, you've had some special mentoring of all kinds through the years. (And I like the birthday connection with David McCord.) Little by little I'm catching up on your past blog posts, taking a little silent mentoring for myself this way.
Your passion for all things poetic is a wonderful gift that you share. I too have turned to Lee's words of wisdom throughout the years. I am especially fond of Pass the Poetry, Please. In the midst of the day-to-day worries, I am forever thankful for folks like you who remind me of the type of teacher I strive to be. ~Theresa
Yesterday, I asked Lee a question that had popped into my head after I had completed my interview with him. I thought I'd post my question and Lee's answer for you today.
Once again, I encourage readers to pose their own questions to Lee by leaving them in the comments section or by emailing them to me. If you do, your name will go into a drawing to win a poetry book written or compiled by Lee--and you get to pick the book!
P.S. I'll post Lee's answers to your questions next week at Wild Rose Reader.
My Question I got to thinking yesterday about all the poetry books you've published over the years. You've written a few/several books of poems--but you've compiled about a hundred anthologies. Did you make a conscious decision years ago to put more of your creative energy into producing anthologies on a variety of subjects than on producing your own original work?
Lee's Answer Regarding your query about my work: I never thought about it before. I do know I wanted to create anthologies so that readers would have a wide variety of voices and subject matter in their classrooms. I have created more anthologies than anyone else in the history of children's literature in the United States, another thing I never thought about until someone mentioned I should be in the Guinness Book of World Records!
I always believed poetry should be an integral part of the curriculum: Read a nonfiction book about dinosaurs and read a poem about a dinosaur; play soccer-- share a poem about it; read a novel--share a poem about the subject of a book. In other words, bring poetry into children's lives all the time--not just in April!
Poetry has taught me so much. It has lead me to prose with two picture books on the horizon: Mary's Song (Eerdman's) and Full Moon and Star (Abrams). Mary's Song is about the Virgin Mary's quest to be ALONE with her baby; Full Moon...about two children who write plays for one another about the moon and stars. I'm SO excited over this new venture.
0 Comments on A Question for Lee Bennett Hopkins as of 1/1/1900
Can you tell us how and when you first got hooked on children’s poetry?
I first learned the impact poetry can have on children when I began teaching sixth grade.
When did you publish your first anthology? What was the subject of that anthology? My earliest collection was Don’t You Turn Back: Poems by Langston Hughes.
Do you have a favorite among all the poems/poetry books you have written? I still marvel at my creating Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life (Boyds Mills Press) published over fourteen years ago…so long I almost forget writing it. The book received great national attention including being an SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Book and winning the Christopher Medal which was presented to me by James Earl Jones! But – I couldn’t attend the affair in NYC due to a prior commitment to a friend who had asked me a long time prior to speak at a dinner meeting in South Carolina! As I was eating spaghetti all I could think of was Mr. Jones. My agent, the great-late Marilyn E. Marlow accepted the award for me…and never let me forget the moment!
Is there anyone in the world of children’s poetry whom you consider to be your mentor? Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg were my silent mentors. Their work spoke to me loudly and clearly.
You’ve included the work of many “new” poets in your anthologies. How do you learn out about the poetry of writers whose work is not well-known? Many ‘young’ poets seek me out. It’s not hard to find one these days!
When you were a teacher, you first began using poetry as an aid in the teaching of reading. Is that the reason you’ve compiled a series of I Can Read Poetry books for young children? No. I began the I Can Read Poetry Series because I felt there was a need for such work nationwide.
What advice would you give to educators about how to approach the teaching of poetry in the classroom? I’ve written extensively on this subject, particularly in my professional book, Pass the Poetry, Please! (HarperCollins). I learned so much about poetry from reading Myra Cohn Livingston’s book Poem-Making: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry. Unfortunately, it is now out of print. Are there other books that you’d recommend to teachers as excellent poetry-writing resources? I highly recommend Sylvia M. Vardell’s Poetry People: A Practical G
10 Comments on PASS THE POETRY, PLEASE!: A Wild Rose Reader Interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins, last added: 11/5/2010
Fabulous interview, Elaine and Lee. Thank you for sharing how you got started writing it, Lee. As many interviews with you (and books created by you) as I've read, I don't think I knew that's how you began writing children's poetry.
By the way, Sharing the Seasons is one of the most beautiful anthologies/collections I've read this year...
OK, here's my question: When you write a poem, what do you focus on first? The meaning you want to express, emotion, the word choices, rhythm, imagery, the way it sounds read aloud...something else entirely? What is the aspect you start with? Or is it all so interwoven that it comes out of a piece?
I really enjoyed the interview with Lee. I've used Pass the Poetry, Please with my students for many years. I actually wore my first copy out and had to buy a new one! : )
My question: Once you've gotten your first draft down, do you go back and think, "Hmmm, where can I add a metaphor or some other poetic element, or do you not just allow it to happen naturally?"
Thanks Elaine and Lee!
Anonymous said, on 11/2/2010 1:44:00 PM
Laura: The SUBJECT comes first - then words. Thanks for mentioning SHARING THE SEASONS. I love David Diaz' artwork in this book.
Linda: After a first draft I do back and back again and again to find the right word, phrase and cutting out useless words such as 'the' and 'and'. I think of a poem as a piece of sculpture where one has to constantly mold until it is a finished piece. A hundred words might come down to 50 or less. In poetry, less is more, I feel.
So nice to hear about your love for Langston Hughes' work. His poems captivated me from the start. The first book of poetry I ever bought was a collection of his work.
Poetry is so different from fiction and general nonfiction. I know you've been advocating that the ALA offer an annual award for poetry comparable to the Caldecott or Newbery. It seems that such an award would raise poetry's status and arouse more interest in writing high quality poems for children. Has any progress been made on that front?
Lee and Elaine, I love learning this history, and love the photo, and love the generous spirit of this q and a with everyone already asking such great questions. Here's mine: do you have a favorite writing prompt for children you're willing to share?
What a wonderful interview, Elaine. I'm thrilled that I'll finally get to meet both you and Lee at NCTE!
Here's my question. What makes a good anthology and how do you put one together? (Okay, that's really two questions.) I'd love for Lee to discuss how he approaches putting one together and how he selects the pieces that make up the final product.
Thank you for the references. I'm always in search of more to read about poetry and how to bring it alive in the classroom. I'm always looking for ways to help jump-start poetry writing lessons with first graders. Do you have any good ideas that I could try?
Really enjoyable exchange! I especially like the idea of "silent mentors"--we all have them, I guess, and they play a different role to the "talking mentors" we may also have.
I have a question about the "useless words." I too believe that less is more, but I often struggle to reconcile what you might call pithifying the draft with maintaining the rhythm that the poem calls for. I wonder how you handle that, Lee, since it sounds like you still have to go back and carve those empty words out?
On the poetry award, maybe it would help if someone enormously wealthy endowed it, like George Lucas or the Gates Foundation or JK Rowling. The winning poet would get a (relatively) fat cash award to make up for all the lean years of dedication to poetry for children!
This week at Wild Rose Reader, I’ll be featuring award-winning poet and anthologist extraordinaire (drum roll, please) Lee Bennett Hopkins—Mr. Poetry Man himself! I’ll be posting my interview with Lee tomorrow. I encourage readers to ask Lee their own questions anytime during this week. I’ll be posting Lee’s responses to your questions next week.
(Note: You may email your questions to me (edotdrabikatyahoodotcom)—or you may leave your questions for Lee in any of the posts I write about him.)
Today, I’m just posting Lee’s poetic answer to a question he’s so often asked and links to reviews that I’ve written of some of the wonderful children’s poetry books that he has published over the years. I thought by doing this I'd help help whet your Lee-terary appetites. Please come back tomorrow for my interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins.
Why Poetry? Lee: I have been asked this question so many countless times that years ago I decided to write a poem to answer it:
Lee has published so many poetry books and done so much to spread his passion for the genre for so many years that I found it difficult deciding where to begin my week featuring him at Wild Rose Reader.
It's going to be so much fun participating in this panel long-distance through your column and those of your panel-mates, Elaine. Last night I reread one of Lee's old anthologies - April, Bubbles, Chocolate - that he signed for me back in 1994 when I met him at a conference.
I'm wondering how he knows when he has an anthology idea of rich enough potential to work. What decisions does he make when widening or narrowing the lens of focus? Does he choose the poems first and adjust the theme, or come up with the theme and then look for suitable poems?
I guess that's more than one question. Looking forward to the rest of the week.
Yesterday I was frustrated. Very very frustrated. I’m a children’s librarian. Patrons tell me what they desire and I find just the right book for the right occasion. Recently a fellow walked into my children’s room with a simple request. He was going to read to a group of preschoolers and he wanted easy books on the seasons. This is one of those seemingly simple requests that can make your mind go blank faster than anything. After gaping like a fish for approximately a minute my brain started churning up a couple potential goodies from the depths. One such book was Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems. I figured that even if the kids were too young to hear all the poems, at least they’d like to hear some of them, and maybe get a little knocked out by the images. Alas, our copy was missing (grumble grumble grump) but at least I was able to conjure up a copy of Old Bear by Kevin Henkes instead. Just the same, I’ll be replacing our missing copy of Seasons and pronto. Here we have some of the finest minds working in children’s poetry today, selected for this magnificent collection of seasonal verse. It’s just the thing to welcome in a new time of year and say goodbye to the old. And the pretty pictures don’t hurt much either.
Four seasons. Twelve poems apiece. In this way, poet Lee Bennett Hopkins has culled a wide selection of poets and their poems, weaving their verses into a single book. Quotes from famous sources begin each season, as when we read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s lusty “Spring in the world! And all things are made new!” With great care and timing, a passel of poets tap into those elements in each season that speaks both to child and adult readers. “Suddenly Green” by James Hayford says that “Our trees have grown skin / And birds have moved in.” Meanwhile Rebecca Kai Dotlich admits that she is “Bewitched by Autumn”, conjuring up Halloween with its “bits of legend in a broth”. By the end, every season has had its say, the last by Sanderson Vanderbilt tying it all together, speaking of the boy who shovels the dirty snow, “helping spring come.” Backmatter includes Acknowledgments, an Index of Titles, and Index of Authors, and an Index of First Lines,
I think I got my copy of this book after a different reviewer. I say this because inside my copy was a note with individual poems listed, one by one. Poems like “August Heat” by Anonymous and “Summer Sun” by Elizabeth Upton. I’m not entirely certain what these poems have in common except that each one presents a pitch perfect tone to the season in question. But then, all the poems do that. In some kids will recognize the truth of what the poem says as when Rebecca Kai Dotlich writes that a wild rainstorm is “proud as a prank”. Othe
7 Comments on Review of the Day: Sharing the Seasons selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, last added: 9/26/2010
This might be too early for pre-school, but for pre-pre-pre-school — say, 15 months — which is, coincidentally, my daughter’s age — the Gerda Muller books on the seasons can’t be beat (they have names like “Spring,” “Summer,” “Winter,” etc).
No words. No story. Just beautiful pictures of scenes from the season. I put Lucy on my lap and we look at it together, and I explain what’s happening in every picture in my own words.
But this might be too young for what you’re shooting for…
Richard Wing said, on 9/25/2010 6:28:00 AM
This is one of the best books of poetry I’ve seen in eons. Each poem, each page,
sparkles. Reviewers got this one right with its STARRED reviews. It’s a masterful
volume.
Kate Coombs said, on 9/25/2010 6:45:00 AM
How about Charlotte Zolotow’s early reader, Seasons: A Book of Poems? And Barbara Esbensen’s Swing Around the Sun. Interesting about David Diaz’s art–I think Sharing the Seasons is gorgeous!
Elizabeth Bird said, on 9/25/2010 6:54:00 AM
Kate, you don’t know how desperately I wanted to work Zolotow’s book into the review. I had it there but eventually had to cut it out since it didn’t quite work with what I was saying. I’m so glad you’ve mentioned it yourself. It’s one of the rare books for kids I’ve purchased on my own.
James, I need to see this Muller book of which you speak. To the library!
David B said, on 9/25/2010 9:05:00 AM
Just out of curiosity- are there books about the seasons that reflect the experience of children who don’t live in climates where winter=snow, fall=changing leaves, etc.?
My wife, for example, grew up on the West Coast (and yes, they do have seasons there), and winter meant rain and the idea of a summer rain storm didn’t match with experience (she was overwhelmed by her first Midwestern rainstorm). She grew up feeling really annoyed with all of the season books that didn’t describe anything like her experience of the seasons.
Elizabeth Bird said, on 9/25/2010 10:37:00 PM
Boy, that’s a good question. Of course there’s this year’s Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke where she thinks endlessly about what snow might be. But I cannot think of a book that talks about all the seasons in that way. Not a one. Another gap that needs to be filled.
Rebecca kai dotlich said, on 9/26/2010 8:27:00 PM
I am proud as a prank myself right now.
Proud to be a part of this wonderful book
and now this review. Truly a gift.
Thank you Lee, thank you Elizabeth.
One, I just repainted our bedroom, which meant I emptied out the bookshelves, donated a bunch of books, and replaced them all on the ledge around the room. Even though I know of many new books I want to read, I'm now looking longingly at so many others that deserve a re-read.
Two, we've been going through some tough family times, and Lee Bennett Hopkins asked if I was familiar with his book, Been to Yesterdays (Boyds Mills Press, 1995). I certainly was, and had read a couple of poems from it again as I reshelved it, but I pulled out my autographed copy and reread it in its entirety that night. What a comfort and reminder that good follows bad and we survive awful things.
Here's one of my favorite poems:
WE
played baseball every spring.
He taught me every single thing I had to know--
how to bat to bunt to throw.
But since he went away that day the game will never be the same.
The bleachers, the bases, the catcher's mitt seem empty
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Lee Bennett Hopkins
Lee Bennett Hopkins & His Poetry Friends
Lee & Me at NCTE
Lee Bennett Hopkins
By: Betsy Bird,
on 9/24/2010
Released this month, Amazing Places is a collection of original poems hand-picked by acclaimed anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins that celebrates some of the amazingly diverse places in our nation. It has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, which calls it “a broadly appealing testament to the American landscape and people.”
–
Lee Bennett Hopkins
Lee Bennett Hopkins & His Poetry Friends
Lee & Me at NCTE
I think I got my copy of this book after a different reviewer. I say this because inside my copy was a note with individual poems listed, one by one. Poems like “August Heat” by Anonymous and “Summer Sun” by Elizabeth Upton. I’m not entirely certain what these poems have in common except that each one presents a pitch perfect tone to the season in question. But then, all the poems do that. In some kids will recognize the truth of what the poem says as when Rebecca Kai Dotlich writes that a wild rainstorm is “proud as a prank”. Othe
Thank you, Bruce, for your most inventive interview questions.<br /><br />My best-est.<br /><br />Lee<br /><br />www.leebennetthopkins.com
My pleasure, Lee. Thanks for helping other writers find their way into the water.
I'm surprised he had the guts to read something before such an acclaimed figure.<br /><br />As for children and poetry, I think it's more the 'fear factor' than the having to memorize. Too many rules for freedom.
Part of learning to write--poetry or fiction or anything, really--is learning to take risks, so I'm not surprised at all that Lee had "the guts" to share his work early on. You never know what will inspire you to keep writing.
from Lee Bennett Hopkins<br /><br />Truly 'acclaimed figures' are only<br />'acclaimed' by others. Most acclaimed figures I've met are extraordinarily generous; real people.<br /><br />May Swenson was as real as anyone could ever be.<br /><br />Lee Bennett Hopkins
Thanks, Lee, for the reminder to look beyond labels to see the real person. And, thanks, too, for your amazing generosity.