I've learned so much about what it takes to put together a poetry anthology by taking classes from Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. “Poetry PLUS” is one aspect of the art and craft of assembling an anthology that fascinates me as a poet and an educator. On the Pomelo...
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My poem “Moss” on a fun poetry website!
Don’t you love moss? When I’m on a trail walk, surrounded by lots of moss, it just makes me happy. I’m going to focus on that today instead of the storm-related stresses that have dominated the week here on Cape Cod! There is a delightful website all about children’s...
THINGS WE DO- a playful A to Z book of poems for children!
It’s publication day for a very special poetry anthology for young children. THINGS WE DO is an alphabetic book of playful poems bursting with children in action-- from Ask to Zoom! Each spread in this book features a vivid photo of a child doing something active,...
My poem in RHYME & RHYTHM: POEMS FOR STUDENT ATHLETES- out today!
Today is the publication day for RHYME & RHYTHM: POEMS FOR STUDENT ATHLETES! This anthology of poems is about all aspects of sports… from the joy, the sweat, and precision... to the emotional, family, and social aspects. I’m proud to have a poem in this...
My poem in the New York Times!
As writers, we get used to leaning into headwinds, persevering through all of the rejections and maybes and the waiting. Then when something wonderful happens, it’s a shock to the system! Yesterday, my poem about growing up in the Bronx appeared in the New York Times....
Teaching teachers: Poetry in the early childhood classroom
When you get to combine teaching with a topic you’re passionate about-- that’s the sweet spot! I just finished teaching one of my favorite courses at the community college, “Poetry in the Early Childhood Classroom.” In this class, we dove deep into poetry: how to...
POETRY FRIDAY- Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
This beautiful book of poems by Nikki Grimes is a revelation and inspiration. First, it allows us to discover the poems of lesser-known black women poets of the Harlem Renaissance--poets like Jessie Redmon Fauset, Gwendolyn Bennett, Effie Lee Newsome, and Alice...
BLACK LIVES MATTER: POETRY FRIDAY
Every poem is a blow against silence. ~ Carlos Fuentes *** “This is for the unforgettable… the ones who survived America by any means necessary. And the ones who didn’t.” Kwame Alexander’s book THE UNDEFEATED is an ode to the African American experience, a...
POEMS IN MANY VOICES
I love reading a poetry collection in many voices, and Walter Dean Myers' HERE IN HARLEM is a masterful example of this. In his introduction, Myers writes that he was inspired by Yeats, Synge, and Spoon River Anthology to write about his beloved neighborhood in...
Telling a Life in Poetry
I love reading biographies, and when an author succeeds in telling the story of a person’s life in poetry-- that’s magic. In honor of National Poetry Month, here are three favorites I have come across lately. RUNAWAY: THE DARING ESCAPE OF ONA JUDGE by Ray...