by Mary E. Cronin | Apr 13, 2025 | FDNY, Poetry, SCBWI
“There is something about this manuscript that cries out for publication. It may take you a while to ‘get there’ but you must.” Noted poet and anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins saw something in me and in my firehouse poems that was worth nurturing and...
by Mary E. Cronin | Mar 21, 2025 | FDNY, Poetry
Writers often talk about the long road to publication. This is one of those stories, and it isn’t over yet! I started writing poems about firefighting after my father died in 2006. It was a grief project, a way to feel closer to him. And it helped. I was so proud of...
by Mary E. Cronin | Aug 19, 2024 | Cape Cod, Community connections, Poetry
Summer is winding down! One of the sweetest treats this month was my visit to Barnstable West Barnstable Elementary School here on Cape Cod. As a Visiting Poet, I presented to a class or rising second graders in the Literacy and Arts summer program. We drummed along...
by Mary E. Cronin | Jul 5, 2024 | Poetry
As the school year was winding to a close, I had the delight of returning to P.S. 86 in the Bronx to lead a series of poetry workshops. I attended P.S. 86 as a young child. The students were all-in– welcoming, and ready to have fun! We talked about how every...
by Mary E. Cronin | Apr 5, 2024 | Poetry, Teaching
I wrote a poem about the magic of teaching a child to read, “Still.” It captures why I love what I do as a Literacy Coach in a K-3 school. It’s just been published in the latest issue of Radical Teacher! Although there are days that I wish I could stay...
by Mary E. Cronin | Dec 22, 2023 | Poetry, Uncategorized
Last week I had the delight of leading a Poetry Friday lesson in a second-grade classroom. I used my poem “Skating with Dad,” featured on the wonderful poetry website Dirigible Balloon. After reading the chart together, we had fun using highlighter tape,...