how things fit together

I'm consumed this week in finding a suitable (and yet, shall we say, practical) way to honor a grand achievement:  my parents' upcoming fiftieth anniversary.  In my search for a related poem, just as I was becoming frustrated, I found this.

The Great Order of the Universe

by Christian Bok

The notes say that it was composed in response to the fiftieth anniversary of the Lego patent, in 2008.  I suppose I could wish that the Lego anniversary coincided exactly with my parents' anniversary, but goodness! Isn't it pleasing when things fit together so variably, so neatly, so interlockingly coupled?

playing poetry catch

...or Poetry for All, part two!  I'm home again home again jiggety jig from Boyds Mills, well-fed and with a mind buzzing and exhausted from all the great poetry action.  I'd like to finish my effort to orient some of my fellow conferees in the Kidlitosphere, where I but dabble compared to some of you regular Poetry Friday participants.

We all go to Sylvia Vardell, one of the great children's poetry promoters, for the lowdown (or more like the highup) on what's happening here and abroad and for talk about new voices.  Her blog is Poetry for Children and she has many publications for practitioners and aficionados alike, besides being one-half of the Dynamic Duo Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, who have ventured fearlessly into e-book publishing in support of poetry for children.  You can always find something inspiring at Amy Ludwig Vanderwater's blogs, the Poem Farm and Sharing Our Notebooks.

Among the participants at the workshop, quite a few of us have useful and interesting blogs or websites where we'll be able to continue to connect.  In the work-and-play spirit of Poetry for All, I share this poem brought to us by new-to-me poet Marjorie Maddox, who served as guest faculty.  We were definitely not left uncoached.

Catch

Two boys uncoached are tossing a poem together,
Overhand, underhand, backhand, sleight of hand, everyhand,
Teasing with attitudes, latitudes, interludes, altitudes,
High, make him fly off the ground for it, low, make him stoop,
Make him scoop it up, make him as-almost-as possible miss it,
Fast, let him sting from it, now, now fool him slowly,
Anything, everything tricky, risky, nonchalant,
Anything under the sun to outwit the prosy,
Over the tree and the long sweet cadence down,
Over his head, make him scramble to pick up the meaning,
And now, like a posy, a pretty one plump in his hands.

Robert Francis

Here are links to all the folks--some already listed in the previous post--at our workshop this week whose  "online presence" is easy to get to.  Pardon if I have missed someone!

Cory Corrado doesn't have her own site or blog, but David Harrison has highlighted her work on his blog, Connecting the Dots.

Julie Hedlund blogs regularly and has some reflections on the welcome (wet) silence we all experienced in Boyds Mills at this post. ...simple, concrete and lovely.

I don't find a blog or website for Bill Johnson, but please enjoy this nice profile of him in a Pennsylvania magazine's round-up of local children's authors!  He gave me one of the nicest gifts of the week--a copy of Rebecca Kai Dotlich's Bella and Bean.  Thanks, Bill.

I enjoyed several conversations with Buffy (I just typed "Buggy"!) Silverman about her science writing in many forms; here's her website and I look forward to reading her poetry collection-in-progress!

Hannah Ruth Wilde uses facebook to connect and can also be found at JacketFlap. 

Cindi Kennaley is available in several different flavors--find your way to a great photo of her with the Spinellis and an atmospheric Boyds Mills poem here!

Jeanne Poland's blog is rich and regular and I'm shocked to realize I've never visited in the whole year I've known her!  Jeanne also has lots of beautiful, interesting things to look at at her Quicksilver Studios site, too.

Rebecca Shoniker's site is full of the same energy she brought to Boyds Mills--enjoy!

I'm sure we'll all help each other find the online places that will support and inspire our writing lives.  Today Katya is rounding up the Poetry Friday posts at Write. Sketch. Repeat.  Hope to see you there!

Overheard in Boyds Mills: Poetry for All!

This Tuesday I come to you from the tiny crossroads of Boyds Mills in Pennsylvania, home of Highlights Magazine founders and now writers' workshop boomtown.  Since building "The Barn," the Highlights Foundation can now host more workshops like the one I'm attending, with more participants.  The Barn is beautiful, convenient and comfortable, and the trend is for workshops to have both multiple leaders--we're enjoying the leadership and modeling of poets David Harrison, Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Eileen Spinelli--and several special guests.

Quite a few fellow participants are recent arrivals to the Kidlitosphere, so I and some other regulars, including Robyn Hood Black (whose newly refurbished blog features lots of info about this and other Founders' Workshops) and Joy Acey, (a daily-poem poster like my new friend Bridget Magee) have been letting them know what a welcoming, generous and supportive community we have here.  The Kidlitosphere site is a place to start, but it appears to be down, so try this Friday's Poetry Friday party hosted by Katya at Write. Sketch. Repeat.  Today she absolutely proves my point about this community! 

Other blogs to visit include A Year of Reading, where Franki covers the library beat and  Mary Lee keeps tabs on the hosting calendar (we all take turns rounding up all the Poetry Friday posts; Irene did it last week and it looks like this).  Steven Withrow up and established PACYA, Poetry Advocates for Children and Young Adults, and the PACYA blog, Poetry at Play, features another participant, Liz Steinglass, interviewing Cynthia Grady, a treat I missed back in April.

More of us have blogs and websites that deserve a mention as we all find each other online, but one of the glories of this retreat is a Bedtime of Your Choice, and I choose now!

OIK Tuesday: me times three

Today as I was taking MUCH longer than usual to pass out a set of May calendar papers (because of one of those slight changes of plan that you have between copying sets of sheets to go home in the morning and realizing you need only one of each set right now because it's B Week, not A Week, and you don't have a special), Camille said, "I wish there was three of you, Ms. Mordhorst."

"Awww," I thought.  "We have all been having an agreeable and productive day together; isn't she sweet to wish there were more of me?"

Camille continued, "Then you could pass out the papers at all three tables at the same time." 

Hmmm.......a practical girl, not a sentimental one!

**************************
rhythmetic
one of me
plus
one of me
plus
one of me
makes me times three

me times three makes
one of me
to tie your shoes
and one of me
to soothe your bruise
and one of me
to be amused
at all the funny things
you say

me times three makes
one of me
to teach your group
and one of me
to mop up goop
and one of me
to jump through hoops
that fill my inbox
every day

me times three makes
one of me
to calm your spat
and one of me
to find your hat
and one of me
to mourn your cat
that died because it
lost its way

me times three
times three is nine
and like your cat
I do just fine
till I forget that
you are mine
not like my own
but next in line

Heidi Mordhorst 2012
all rights reserved
Oh, I was stumped by that last line, but Diane Mayr stepped in to help (see her comment below).  I hope my sentiment is practically transparent now.

a peek into my notebooks!

Thanks to Amy LV for closing out my National Poetry Month with an invitation to share my notebooks with y'all (and indeed for reminding me that drafting, by hand, on paper in a nice notebook is one of the great pleasures of being a writer).


Please stop by http://www.sharingournotebooks.amylv.com/2012/04/heidi-mordhorst-penchant-for-notebooks.html  to find out what style of notebooker I am and to watch how a few pieces have traveled from first draft to second draft to final and even published poems.

Don't forget to click on the photos for enlarged and readable versions, and leave any comment you have to be entered in a drawing to win the entirety of Pumpkin Butterfly dismantled and laminated into two-sided poetry posters for your favorite classroom!  Hope you enjoy the post!

OIK Tuesday: what do kindergarten poets do?

I love kindergarteners.  They are just so fresh and willing when it comes to language, ideas, possibilities!  Last week, to supplement our biweekly Poetry Friday activities, we worked all week on a poetry study  called "What Do Poets Do?"  Each day brought a new poem and a new thing to notice.  I guess I need to learn how to upload a document, but here's what the cover of the booklet looks like. 

What Do Poets Do?

Dear Family,   

                                                

This week we read poems to find out what poets do.  We noticed that poets often choose to write about one small thing.  We noticed that poets choose juicy words that sound good together.  We noticed that poets choose how to arrange their words.  Then we tried writing our own small poems by choosing and arranging juicy words.  Please read all the poems with me, and when we’re done, let’s talk about which one gives us the strongest feeling.

                                              Love, ____

The poems included are "April Rain Song" (Langston Hughes), "Hey, Bug" (Lilian Moore), "My Mouth" (Arnold Adoff) and "Night Comes..." (Bernice Schenk de Regniers).  On Friday we listed some small things we could write poems about and some strong feelings we could make room for, and then off they went.

Here, without further ado, are the poems that resulted, in no particular order (a few of the twenty need a little editorial development--or just plain deciphering. I'll add them soon).  I'm so pleased that they all felt equipped to be The Boss of Their Poem, and that their work, each according to his or her means, is as individual as they are! 

Apple Pie

apple pie to ice cream

up            down

apple pie go ice cream

up           down

by Sidney L.

Griffin

something

soaring

through

the night

it’s dark and

scary

black

monster

come out

by Cale H.

hair

hair is perfect

it I love

hair is pretty

it I love

by Johanna A.

Trains

trains on the

track

trains on the

track

trains on the

track

trains on the

track go

trains on the go!

by Juan M.R.

Tea Party

my best friends

we had a tea party

with my toys

with Jasmine and Sarah

that like to do

together

with my toys

that was happy!

by Camille G.

Basketball

basketball rock

basketball roll

basketball awesome

basketball shoot

basketball miss

basketball bounce

by Ezer Y.

the sun

the sun

shines down

on us  it glimmers up

on us  it spreads

on us  it spins

out there in

space   it goes

down at sun set

it goes up at sun

rise

by Talia W.

about food

when the food

wakes up the

food is so happy

by Edwin M.

This one deserves special mention because of the detailed pencil-and-crayon drawing that shows apples and carrots with faces using tiny arms and legs to leap, wide awake, right out of the ground and their tree! 

Princesses

Me and Camille

and Sarah we are

princesses  we

are going to

the woods.

We are excited

because we are going

to the woods!

because we are going

to see

deer and birds!

by Jasmine R.

Aw man

aw man aw man

aw man aw man

aw man aw man

aw man aw man

aw man aw man

mom   what can I do?

perhaps you can

play with your

toys

aw man!

by Jordan L.

Star Wars Grand Canyon

Darth shot

the Grand

Canyon

Light sabers

Crashed

Luke grew flowers

They battled

The people grew

by Hamish D.

The camp

Camping is fun

when I go out

for a hike

I love

to camp  do you?

by Octavia S.

Sea Monsters

    Me and

    my brother

    saw the

sea monsters

    then the

monsters

vanished

    into Bernard’s

    mouth.

by Byron A.

Ice Cream

I eat ice cream

eat eat ice cream

the ice cream

truck

by Alfredo C.F.

Computers

computers

are fun you can

learn about things

like the world you

can pick whatever you

want you can pick

whatever game you

want   I say I like

this game a lot!

by Emily L.

happy

surprise

present

toys

happy

by Gloria C.

Happy indeed, the surprises and gifts of 6-year-old poets!  Which are your favorites?

************************
Meanwhile the Progressive Poem is leaping and landing and buoying towards its conclusion, with the latest addition being Renee LaTulipppe's at No Water River. I'm excited because I've been wanting to get back to Jeannine Atkins's silver slippers. 

I have really enjoyed getting to know Renee's work over the last eight weeks or so, through the March Madness Tournament and her blog.  Despite having the increasing feeling that We All Know Each Other in the KidLitosphere, this will never be true, so it's a good thing that we are so welcoming and supportive here when "new" folks explode on the scene.  (I'll skip over the part about how envious I am of the time Renee and others spend working on so many fabulous projects...we makes our choices, right?)

Poetry Friday--the last of National Poetry Month--is happening today with my "walking friend" Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference.  I just love her Fictional Favorites series, and since I haven't read so much of the fiction which is being linked with the poems, I get a double dose of goodness:  the poems, and the pointer towards what to read.  The good news is that I seem to be returning to Reading Mode after many years of resisting books out of self-preservation.  How will I ever catch up?!

Bamboozle your feet with humble dusts of coriander

It's my turn to add to the Progressive Poem launched by Irene on April 1, a prospect which is both thrilling and threatening.  To Lori, who wrote the last line and passed the poem to me, claiming to be out of her league, I say "Nay!"  You followed on Amy's line by choosing to employ that workhorse of poetic technique, repetition, and you made it graceful by returning to wine (which had not been partnered so closely with waltzes yet) and dreams.  Lovely.

I must admit I've had a powerful urge to add chocolate to the mix of wine and spices, waltzes and dreams.  Is it just me, or does anyone else see chunks of chocolate all lined up and ready to be chomped in our ProgPo badge???

But I resisted the chocolate, because the circle of our beautiful and mysterious poem seems to be turning back toward its beginning (and this is Line 20, after all.)  We who invited a wanderer in silver slippers to sit for a spell have offered comfort and nourishment, and now it's time for that wanderer to join the dance, for the music to quicken and for joy to overtake sorrow.

I feel also like the poem is ready for a little grounding in the concrete, and yet who would want to disturb the gently wafting spirituality in the air?  So I've tried to ease us towards a livelier pace without breaking the mood--which is why, I explained to my 13-year-old, the word "bamboozled" could not be included in Line 20, despite her energetic and cogent arguments.  I have suggested that she and Ruth's daughter, of "Suddenly, Ninjas!", should get together for their own partner poem project.

Now that I have completed my overthinking ritual, here's the poem.
**********************************

If you are reading this
you must be hungry
Kick off your silver slippers
Come sit with us a spell

A hanky, here, now dry your tears
And fill your glass with wine
Now, pour. The parchment has secrets
Smells of a Moroccan market spill out.

You have come to the right place, just breathe in.
Honey, mint, cinnamon, sorrow. Now, breathe out
last week's dreams. Take a wish from the jar.
Inside, deep inside, is the answer...

Unfold it, and let us riddle it together,

...Strains of a waltz. How do frozen fingers play?
How do fennel, ginger, saffron blend in the tagine?
Like broken strangers bound by time, they sisterdance...
their veils of sorrow encircle, embrace.

Feed your heart with waltzes and spices.
Feed your soul with wine and dreams.
Humble dust of coriander scents your feet, coaxing

**************************
One of my well-read daughter's critiques was about my use of the word "humble."  How can coriander be humble, she asked, and if you're trying to be more concrete, isn't personifying a spice taking you in the wrong direction?  I realized that she understood the meaning of humble only in relation to a person's station or modesty.  I explained that humble can also describe a thing, meaning plain and simple, unpretentious, and as I explained, I remembered how I learned "humble" long ago, and it made me smile.

Charlotte: HUMBLE? Humble has two meanings. It means NOT PROUD and it means LOW TO THE GROUND. That's Wilbur all over. He's not proud and he is near the ground.

Then I got concerned, because my UU daughter seems to have missed her opportunity to learn something about humble from a certain humble stable in Bethlehem.

A final note:  I adore coriander, the dried and ground seeds of the plant we commonly call cilantro, and if our wanderer has any digestive discomfort after the delicious tagine, a little coriander tea should help.

On to you, Myra--I hope my humble addition gives you something to run with!  Poetry Friday is hosted today by Diane at Random Noodling.  See you there...

OIK Tuesday: qualities of good literature

After lunch each day comes read-aloud time in the Mighty Minnow classroom.  The children prefer to sit at their tables "where there's somewhere to lean" rather than on the carpet, which means I have to become a mobile reader app, circling the classroom and training some kids to keep their eyes on me (especially those English learners for whom the chapter-book experience is challenging) while I do it.  Although it feels all wrong, I pause when there's an illustration and use the Elmo camera to project it onto my fancy Promethean Board so everyone gets a clear view.

So far this year we've read the brilliant Sea Cat and Dragon King, by Angela Carter (yes, THAT Angela Carter), My Father's Dragon by Ruth Gannett Stiles, and Rip-Roaring Russell by Johanna Hurwitz.  I hope we'll also get to Catwings by Ursula LeGuin, but we do have to have all three installments of My Father's Dragon and there are only 8 weeks left in the school year!

Last week we started Book 2, Elmer and the Dragon, and were in the middle of Chapter Two when it became apparent that the poor baby dragon would not be able to fly Elmer on its back through a violent thunderstorm.  A sad death by drowning seemed imminent for our heroes.  I paused to build understanding and predictive thinking (driving crazy the children who already listen this way as a matter of course and just want to get on with the story) and asked, "Do you think Elmer and the Dragon will sink down into the ocean and this will be the end of the story?  How do we know that won't happen here in Chapter Two?"

I was looking for someone to explain that there was too much book (and indeed series) left for our protagonists to meet their demise, but Talia cut to the chase:

"Because this is supposed to be a GOOD book!"

Mr. S. rocks

Last spring I attended a poetry workshop at the Highlights Foundation facility in Honesdale, PA led by David Harrison.  It was a great group of people which included an unassuming but very talented poet and special ed teacher from Phoenix, Ken Slesarik.(As you might imagine, I have particular respect for those who manage to teach full-time and write anything at all!)

Like many of us, Ken participated in the March Madness Poetry Tournament.  His first-round word was "thermal," and here's what he made of it...

Commander Thomas
by Ken Slesarik

I, Lieutenant Cornwall Thomas,
battle tested, make this promise;
although tantamount to treason
goin’ commando’s out of season,
so I’ll wear my thermal underwear,
concealing ample derrière
from botched cosmetic surgery
and Botox on the buttocks.

Funny, right?  But I'm not sure how middle-grade-friendly that is...so let's just test it out on Duncan, age 9.5.  Before showing him Ken's poem, I ask:  "Duncan, do you know what Botox is?"

Duncan:  Y-e-e-es...(*mischievous glint*) Well, there's BUTTOCKS (heh heh), which is your behind, and then there's BOTOX, which is a kind of plastic surgery for your face.  But I guess you could get BOTOX (heh heh heh) for your BUTTOCKS (heh heh heh), and then your butt would be less wrinkly and saggy.

Okay, then!  Perfectly middle-grade-friendly!

So, I was in Phoenix just last week and caught up with Ken, who was flying high, for very good reason.  He had just uploaded an e-book called Poetry Rocks, which both highlights his efforts to promote poetry at Esperanza Elementary School and raises funds for more poetry activities there.  Esperanza is a small Title I school, and thanks to Mr. S. now has its own Poetry Rocks Poetry Club for 3rd-6th graders.

Here's some of Ken's commentary on the project.

"In April of 2011, I came across an article by children’s author Janet Wong talking about the possibilities of e-book publishing in regards to children’s poetry. I was especially impressed by her enthusiasm for promoting the genre and it got me thinking about how I could promote poetry at my small, Title 1 school. After giving it some thought, I drafted a proposal for an after school poetry club to encourage students to write with the eventual goal of publishing an e-book. The profits from this fundraiser would be used to promote poetry in our school. My principal, Denise McGloughlin has been very supportive throughout this project and we hope to continue and refine the process in the next year(s)."

It's nothing fancy, the Esperanza Elementary poetry anthology (although the cover is certainly eye-catching), but it represents a phenomenal amount of work on Ken's part as well as a nice glimpse into the kind of poetry work that's going on, especially this month, in classrooms and schools all over the U.S.  Here are a couple of my favorites from the collection.

Horse Apples
by Hannah Jensen

Horse he likes the food
“mmm” he said.
He ate an apple big and crunchy.

Horse he likes the food
"yum” he said.
He ate a carrot big and crunchy.

Horse he likes the food
“gulp” he said.
He ate a third grader big and crunchy!

Flowers
by Nathan Bruun

Flowers on the ground
Flowers all around
Five daisies from me
Five roses from my brother
Five daffodils from my sister
A beautiful bouquet for mom to say
Happy Mother's Day!

David Harrison and Ken himself also contributed a poem, and if I'm not mistaken, a few other teachers as well.  (This could be Ken's greatest success--getting teachers to write along with their students!)  Ken's forte as a writer is his way with meter and rhyme (think Ogden Nash), and it shows up in some of the kids' work too:

Late!
by Kyra Larson

Ashley got out of bed,
she looked at the clock and said,
“Eee, I’m late! Oh dread!”
She rushed to school and her teacher said,
“Is that toothpaste on your head?”

To his credit, Ken included all the poems submitted, not just the "good" ones, giving even the least experienced readers and writers a chance to feel the thrill of publication and an incentive to continue their poetry explorations.  That means there are some clunkers, for sure, but they're charming clunkers and a regular part of the poetry landscape that we teachers and visiting authors inhabit.

I'm just so impressed by "Mr. S." and his energy and optimism, and I'm putting my money where my mouth is--I've downloaded Poetry Rocks not once but twice for use on different platforms.  I encourage you to buy your own copy and to support poetry at Esperanza too--in Ken's capable hands, your little $3.99 can add to a world of difference at one ready-to-rise school!

Poetry Friday is at Booktalking with Anastasia.  Spread the word!

exquisitely progressive

Thanks to Irene Latham, many of us in the Kidlitosphere are enjoying the first ever KidLit National Poetry Month Progressive Poem. Irene started us off with first line which is both welcoming and intriguing (I love her meditation on how she came to the important very first word, "if"), and now the poem is passing, line by line and author by author, around the community...and we can all see what's developing!

Mary Lee has today's line and says, "Right now this seems to be a poem of friendship, a poem of comfort...with the possibility of a little magic thrown in. What will become of those silver slippers?"


If you are reading this
you must be hungry
Kick off your silver slippers
Come sit with us a spell

A hanky, here, now dry your tears
And fill your glass with wine

While this may be the first-ever Kidlit NPM Progressive Poem, what we're all playing at actually has a long history, beginning with a parlor game called Consequences played during the Victorian era. Here's how the middle- and upper-classes amused themselves of an evening once leisure time was established and before radio and TV took over, from Wikipedia:

Each person takes a turn choosing a word or phrase for one of nine questions, in this order.

1.Adjective for man
2.Man's name
3.MET
4.Adjective for woman
5.Woman's name
6.Where they met
7.He wore
8.She wore
9.He said to her
10.She said to him
11.The consequence was… (a description of what happened after)
12.What the world said

Then the story is read (for example):  Scary Bob met voluptuous Alice at the zoo. He wore a giant yellow banana costume She wore a lime green string vest, & a pink tutu. He said "This is delicious," she said "Hit me baby one more time." The consequence was that they eloped to Mexico. The world said "the femme fatale will always win".

The game is traditionally played by writing the words on paper and folding the paper to hide the previous words before passing it to the next player.  You can see how this led fairly directly to Madlibs, which were introduced as a paper-and-pencil game in 1958 by Roger Price and "Honeymooners" script writer Leonard Stern. (In his little memoir, Leonard insists that the two originated the Madlibs concept, but of course in 1958 there was no Wikipedia to describe the game of Consequences for them.)

By 1925 at least, a group of artists (both visual and literary) of the Dada and Surrealist movements were using the Consequences technique, which came be known as le cadavre exquis (from one of the early playings of the game in Paris).  According to Andre Breton, "we would turn to games; written games at first, contrived so that elements of language attacked each other in the most paradoxical manner possible, and so that human communication, misled from the start, was thrown into the mood most amenable to adventure." 

From this came lines like, "The completely black light lays down day and night the powerless suspension to do any good."

The jump from paradoxical juxtapositions of words to those of drawings, especially body parts, is easy to make, and I personally learned the Exquisite Corpse game as a drawing game, with each section of the body hidden by folding as the paper passes around.   Here are some of the Surrealists' results.

It's fun to think that "my" version of Exquisite Corpse actually began as a poetry game played by the likes of Tristan Tzara, from whom comes the poem below.  In the meantime, I'm wondering how a "blind" version of the Progressive Poem would work, one in which we the adventuring authors could NOT see and follow the development of the poem as it travels from "house" to "house." 

To Make a Dadaist Poem

Take a newspaper.
Take some scissors.
Choose from this paper an article the length you want to make your poem.
Cut out the article.
Next carefully cut out each of the words that make up this article and put them all in a bag.
Shake gently.
Next take out each cutting one after the other.
Copy conscientiously in the order in which they left the bag.
The poem will resemble you.
And there you are--an infinitely original author of charming sensibility,

even though unappreciated by the vulgar herd.

Tristan Tzara

 

Enjoy some more infinitely original and charming sensibility today at Read, Write, Howl with Robyn!

poetry friday is here! object voices

Welcome to all...it's still dark out, but it's sounding like a beautiful day in Bethesda.  I know it's not quite April, but National Poetry Month starts today here at my juicy little universe.  This month I'm going to be exploring poems in the voices of the inanimate world (and I hope there will be some guest poets later in the month, also).

As humans we do a lot of talking--in my house especially!--and it's easy to imagine animals and plants finding language to express their views and emotions. But it's a little more of a stretch to put words in the nonexistent mouths of things, to hear the voices of the objects around us, and when they come through clearly it's an exciting look into another world.

Here's one from my collection of poems in the voices of folk and fairy tale objects.  I had fun trying to get the vocabulary and speech patterns to fit the station and style of things like Cinderella's glass slipper, Rapunzel's hair, and the Third Pig's bricks.

Little Bricks, Little Bricks,
Let Me Come In

We’re  thick  thick  thick
We’re  dense  dense  dense
There’s only one thing that makes sense:

We  stick  stick  stick
We  stack  stack  stack
We do not crack when wolves attack

Side to side and back to back
Our shoulders square   our faces flat
We stand  we stick  we sit  we stay

Huff and puff at us all day,                         wolf!

But bricks don’t budge
They don’t cave in
Not by the straw of our chinny-chin-chins


Heidi Mordhorst 2010
all rights reserved


Laura Purdie Salas has also played with this idea in her recent volume, BookSpeak (Clarion, 2011).   We went to the library last night in preparation for a Spring Break trip to Arizona; just listen to this globe-trotting book speaking.

VACATION TIME!


Whenever I’m checked out, it’s like a vacation.
I’m scanned and I’m packed for a new destination!


I’ve floated in airplanes. I’ve lain on the beach.
I’ve hidden in bunk beds — just out of your reach.


Been stained by spaghetti, been splashed at the lake.
I’ve shared your adventures. I’ve kept you awake.


At night in your sleeping bag — too dark to see –
you whipped out a flashlight to keep reading me.


I never quite know where my reader is bound,
and hundreds of times I’ve been lost and then found.


It’s good to get home, look around, see what’s new,
but before long I’m antsy . . .


A trip’s overdue!

Copyright © 2011 Laura Purdie Salas.
All rights reserved.

Look for more talking-object poems throughout April, and if you have a favorite, let me know. 
And now, let the wild round-up begin!

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Robyn posted early this week and features a really fun new abecedarian from Nancy Raines Day called A is for Alliguitar at Read, Write, Howl.  Go try out a tromboa, a saxofox or a wolbourine!

Jone at Check It Out has a useful little listing of National Poetry Month blog celebrations.  Our friends are serving up such richness!  Jone herself will be featuring thirty days of poems by students.

Joy's celebration is of Janet Wong's new collection Declaration of Interdependence, and she's giving away four autographed copies!  Visit her at Poetry for Kids Joy.

Amy LV has a darling (but also clever) poem about baby dreams at The Poem Farm, along with info about her plans for April both on the Farm and at her Sharing Notebooks blog.

Myra and Co. at Gathering Books are lingering in Women's History Month before leaping into [American] National Poetry Month--with the help of  Walt Whitman and a piece of Leaves of Grass I don't recall seeing before.  Wow!

At The Drift Record, Julie has an original poem from the point of view of a kite, as well as news about Sylvia Vardell's new book and words from Janet Wong again--this time calling us all to agitate for a higher profile for poetry! [This formerly incorrect link is now fixed. Sorry, Julie!]

Mary Lee is posting today at A Year of Reading on all the ways she WON in the March Madness Poetry Tournament.  We all won just by reading poems like "Saffron Harvest."

Renee hosts guest poet Miranda Paul--from the crocodile pit!--today at No Water River, and will be sharing videos and interviews with a lovely assembly of poets throughout April.

Tabatha's got the second installment of her Fictional Favorites series, featuring Irene Latham's poem picks in honor of characters from The Hunger Games.  This could be too wonderful for one post!  Go to The Opposite of Indifference to catch fire.

Irene herself at Live Your Poem has written an Ode to Mary Lee (yes, our Mary Lee!) and thoughts on her experience as a reader and writer in the March Madness tournament.  I think it has been a novel experience for many of us, and we're all looking forward to the Final Four.

Two of my favorite Lauras are posting today:  Local Laura Shovan, who shares an interesting visit with fellow Marylander Kay Weeks and her online Senryu Journal at Author Amok.

Minnesota Laura [Purdie Salas] has her 15 Words or Less results, as usual, and Janet Wong again!  (Did I miss the memo about how March 30 is Janet Wong Day?]  It's her Polar Bear poem from the e-book Once Upon a Tiger at Writing the World for Kids.

Your host will now pause to celebrate Spring Break by reading aloud pages 382-405 of Harry Potter VII and posting poetry in the halls of a certain middle school.  More round-up around lunchtime!
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What a busy Friday!   Jama's announcing her Poetry Potluck plans in honor of Mary Oliver and her own list of Poetry Month events at Alphabet Soup.

Linda's ruminating on being part of online writing communities, and I hope is not as disappointed as I am that the sun lasted approximately 15 minutes this morning in our part of the world!  Visit her at Write Time.

As usual, Diane offers a plethora of poetry at Random Noodling (a spring poem by Wm. Allingham, "Four Ducks on a Pond") at Kids of the Homefront Army (a poem called "This Close"), at Kurious Kitty (the words to "Old Salty Dog Blues" in honor of Earl Scruggs, who passed away this week), and at Kurious K's Kwotes (a quote from Adrienne Rich, who also passed away this week).

Sherry reminds us of the delights of Poe with The Raven" at her Semicolon blog.

Elaine shares her original mask poem "Trunk Talk"--go see which kind of trunk is talking at Wild Rose Reader.  She also announces her book giveaway during April...goodies, goodies!

At On Point, Lorie Ann offers "Offering," a haiku.  Nice to have you, Lorie Ann.

Violet takes us to Canada for thoughts on the demise of the Canadian penny and some nursery rhymes at Line upon line.

It's a windy end to March at The Write Sisters with Jet and "Only the Wind Says Spring."

Ed has two posts for us today, some cool miscellaneous data on the Madness and one on waking up, both at Think Kid, Think.

In a pleasingly smooth segue, at Carol's Corner Carol features Charles R. Smith, sports poet superstar and author of five books of basketball poems.  Folks, let's make sure Carol (and all the other poetry lovers who also love sports) understand that all passions are prime poetry impulses!

Katya also remembers Adrienne Rich with "Diving into the Wreck" and some links to more information about this most distinguished American poet.  Find her at Write. Sketch. Repeat.

Tamera Will Wissinger is one of quite a few authors with debut books coming out in 2012.  They're all blogging at The Lucky 13s, and Tamera's post today is on Why Poetry Matters.  Thanks for stopping by, Tamera!

Donna shares a neat little poem along with some very nice crafting related to it at Mainely Write, and another one here!

At A Teaching Life, Tara's featuring Laura Purdie Salas as well today (making it officially Janet-Wong-AND-Laura-Salas Day), again putting the delightful BookSpeak into the spotlight.

Janet returns to the timeless classic Hailstones and Halibut Bones at her All About the Books blog.  She's feeling purple today!

Ruth made me laugh with her teacher's intro to a hopeful poem with a wonderful title, "Horses at Midnight Without a Moon."  Enjoy it at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.

Linda at TeacherDance is featuring Renee LaTulippe and her awesome (and I do not use that word lightly) poetry video blog project.  I didn't quite understand what Renee is up to, rushing to round up this morning.  Please go see what a service she's providing to the community!

Lately risen to the Final Four of the March Madness Tournament, the heroic Greg is sharing his playground acrostic poem from Round 3, using the inspiring word "truce."  Enter the battle at GottaBook.

Susan wades back into Poetry Friday (how we've missed you!) with her own March Madness contribution at Susan Taylor Brown, as well as her plans for Poetry Month.  I loved this poem, not least because of its pantoumian structure. 

At bildungsroman (a fine title for a blog), Little Willow shares a D.H. Lawrence poem in honor of the recently published book Joe Golem and the Drowning City.  I think Little Willow ought to check out Tabatha's Fictional Favorites above!

Kerry froths things up with a review of the classic Barnyard Dance (4 million copies in print!) over at Picture Books & Pirouettes.  Everybody ready?

Gosh, I love Poetry Friday when I have time to enjoy it properly!  Time now for your hostess to attend to more of those mundane matters...cat-feeding, laundry, supervising "Granny Wars" on the trampoline...I'll round up any last posts much later tonight.  Thanks for stopping in, everyone!

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Our friend at Books 4 Learning joins us with a review of If Peas Could Taste Like Candy, a collection
by Crystal Bowman.  I'm confused, though...don't peas already taste like candy?  ; )

Marjorie at Paper Tigers shares photos and an interview with Dutch photographer Taco Anema. 

To close the evening, Sylvia stops in to plug what is surely a must for every poetry-loving, poetry-teaching, poetry-promoting one of us--her new Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists!  Get the full story at Poetry for Children.

That's it, everyone!  I'm looking forward to making a second round to read more carefully, and I'm grateful to be a part of this community.  Until next time, my neighbors in PoetryTown!