I'm coming to you from balmy Atlanta this week, where Mary Lee Hahn and I will be presenting later today a session called "Risking Writing," along with Dr. Shanetia Clark of Salisbury University and author Patricia Hruby Powell. At the heart of this session is the writing of a poem brainstormed by Shanetia, drafted by Mary Lee, and revised by me. Patricia will supply inspirational commentary. Do check back in to see what we came up with!
For now, here's our presentation in a nutshell:
The round-up today is with Brenda at
Friendly Fairy Tales. It's not much of a risk just joining in our friendly Fridays, but letting the poetry take you--that's riskier.
I've been having kind of a hectic day: work, laundry, doctor's appointment (with shots!) for my daughter, etc. But finally I sat down to my personal email, and found this email from Reading is Fundamental:
"A gift was given to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) in your honor. The nation’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit, RIF helps get books to kids in need. For many of the kids RIF serves, their RIF books are their only books. The books provided through this gift made in your honor can spark lifetimes of ambition."
There was an accompanying note from Mary Lee Hahn and Franki Sibberson. When I traveled to their wonderful blog, A Year of Reading, I found this post: Celebrating Jen Robinson with a donation to RIF. I had been following Franki and Mary Lee's year-long celebration of their blog's eighth birthday, in which they highlight fellow bloggers whose work has inspired them, and make donations to relevant charities in those bloggers' names. But it never even crossed my mind that they might pick me. I feel so honored and grateful that I am nearly at a loss for words.
Their post is full of reminders of my very earliest days of blogging, when those of us who discovered blogging started coming together. My lists of Cool Girls of Children's Literature and Cool Boys of Children's Literature helped lead to Mary Lee and Franki's list of 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature. And the rest is history! We all had so much FUN blogging back then. I mean, I still do, but there was such a relief for me when I first started in finding kindred spirits, other adults who cared about children's books even more than I did.
Later, when my daughter was born, Mary Lee and Franki were among a group of wonderful online friends who had become real friends who gave me a virtual book shower. Franki and Mary Lee sent me two books that remain among my favorites (though my daughter now declares them to be for babies): Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox & Helen Oxenbury and Ten Tiny Babies by Karen Katz. I have in turn passed on copies of these books to many other friends and family members in the four years since.
I've been fortunate enough to meet Mary Lee and Franki in person at a conference or two over the years, and I hope to see them in person again before too long. They have brightened my blogging experience over the years, and today they made me stop in the middle of a not so fun day and remember the value of finding kindred spirits. I hope you'll check out their post. Thanks, Franki and Mary Lee! It's an honor to know you.
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
Well, how can I not share these wonderful, insightful critiques of On the Road to Mr. Mineo's presented in such a creative way
by
Two Teachers Who Read. A Lot.
Thanks, y'all!
Some coincidences cannot be ignored. A coupla weeks ago I enjoyed a gripping performance of the poem below by Joy Acey, a fellow participant in that Highlights Foundation workshop I keep mentioning. It's one of the poems Joy uses in her workshops with children. Despite my fondness for Mary Oliver's work, it was new to me, and striking.
Then I found the same celebration of ordinary miracles (go here for the start of this thread) posted on Mary Lee Hahn's Year of Reading blog, with a whole different 84th birthday spin on it.
Today I notice that the actual title of this poem is not "The Grasshopper," or "A Prayer," or even "At last, and too soon." Instead it is "The Summer Day"--not "A Summer Day," but "THE Summer Day," and here it comes. Tomorrow our family will host our 10th Annual Summer Solstice Picnic, a loose affair involving a Ritual Unveiling of Foil and Plastic, watermelon, lightning bugs, mosquitoes, public consumption of alcohol, and quite often a thunderstorm.
Maybe this year, as we drag the picnic tables up the hill to the gazebo, there will be a grasshopper. I'll take sugar just in case.
The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day....
Read the rest at
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/133.html
P.S. More juice: my son is right now telling me that "this pineapple has two kinds of energy, even though it's not moving: heat energy, and citrus energy: the burning acid parts....It's true."
Thoughtful commentary will resume after I update my resume and prepare to find a new job. I am now officially an "involuntary transfer." *sigh* In the meantime, slam bam thank you Mr. Mali...
Discuss what YOU make this Poetry Friday at A Year of Reading with Mary Lee. She makes me laugh.
Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I featured Diane Lockward's poem,"If Only Humpty Dumpty Had Been a Cookie," and I suggested you might try writing your own cookie poem using any or several of these wordy cookies as a prompt?
Well, two exceptionally smart cookie lovers met the challenge, and I'm happy to be sharing their poems today. It was fun seeing where their cravings led them. I know you'll enjoy these tasty tidbits! ☺
Chocolate Chip Macaroon by Author Erica Rivera/flickr.
Irresistible
by Tabatha Yeatts
Alone in the forest,
Red peeked in the basket.
Chicken soup, still steamy,
crusty bread, fragrant apples,
and four coconut macaroons --
flake-perfect, taunting.
What would Granny need
with four?
Surely three would be enough.
In fact,
who needs more than two?
The wolf laughed as he saw Red
settle herself on the forest floor.
He had been ready to dash
down the shortcut to Granny's,
but now he saw there was
no rush.
--------------------------------------------
Lemon Tea Cookies (recipe here).
(Untitled) by Mary Lee Hahn
write your words
bake your words
eat your words
a sweet love story
we tell
bite by bite
-------------------------------------------
Thanks, Tabatha and Mary Lee! I have two words for you: nom, nom!!
Now, it's time to announce the lucky winner of the No Soup for You Giveaway!
As usual, there was much fighting amongst the resident bears as to who should draw the winning name, so I decided to use a random number generator.
*Drum roll, please*
The winner of a brand new copy of Temptation by Water by Diane Lockward, a signed copy of Dumpling Soup, and a No Soup for You T-shirt is:
Beverly Jean, a.k.a. Beverly Stowe McClure!
Congratulations, Bev! And thanks to everyone for entering. Now, let's all have some of Bev's favorite soup, good old fashioned chicken noodle:
♥ Today's Poetry Friday host is Ben at The Small Nouns. Enjoy some great poetry today and have a good weekend!
**Special
#12 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2010.
Apple and chocolate-covered espresso bean smiley face by Mary Lee Hahn.
Class, did you bring an apple for the teacher today?
What, your dog ate it?
Have no fear: Mary Lee Hahn is here! It's way cool to have an apple from the teacher today, especially from this teacher. Every time I read another one of Mary Lee's blog posts, I wish I could be in her class. She always seems to be cooking up such fun and interesting projects for her students. Mmmmmmm! Do I smell cinnamon?
APPLE CRISP
Sour apples,
thinly sliced.
Butter, sugar,
oats.
From hot oven,
smells entice
and titillate your
nose.
Tart is sweet now,
slightly spiced,
Add heavy cream, hear
"Oh!"s.
© 2010 Mary Lee Hahn. All rights reserved.
Don't you love the "sliced," "entice" and "spiced" tucked in the middle of each stanza? Kind of like sweet filling in a pie. ☺
Apple Crisp is one of those classic heart-and-home kind of desserts that instantly makes guests feel welcome. It's like the gift of grandma, crisp fall days, and happy school times rolled into one. It's never pretentious, easy to prepare, and always satisfying. It also allows one to be creative and experimental. Everyone seems to have his/her own version of crisp -- nuts? oatmeal? raisins? honey or brown sugar? And then, of course, is the all-important topping -- whipped cream? vanilla ice cream? warm caramel sauce? or like in Mary Lee's poem, heavy cream?
Mary Lee's recipe comes from the Pillsbury Kitchens' Family Cookbook (1979). In true teacher style, she's added some wonderful footnotes (love, love them!). Read over carefully because there might be a quiz at the end. Enjoy! ☺
APPLE CRISP
6 cups (6 medium) peeled1, sliced cooking apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup Pillsbury’s Best® All Purpose, Unbleached or Self Rising Flour2
½ cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon, if desired3
½ cup margarine or butter4
Heat oven to 375°F. Place apples in 8 or 9-inch square pan5. Sprinkle with lemon juice and water. In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over apples. Bake at 375°F. for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender. 6 servings.6
&nbs
I'm coming to you from balmy Atlanta this week, where Mary Lee Hahn and I will be presenting later today a session called "Risking Writing," along with Dr. Shanetia Clark of Salisbury University and author Patricia Hruby Powell. At the heart of this session is the writing of a poem brainstormed by Shanetia, drafted by Mary Lee, and revised by me. Patricia will supply inspirational commentary. Do check back in to see what we came up with!
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Thanks for the shout-out, and thanks for another GREAT book!
You should have heard the squeals when Franki passed the ARC on to the next reader yesterday at Leadership Academy!! Excitement is building!!