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...

The Writing Life: Creativity, Generosity, and Luck

Writing is a solitary craft. But we also need the spark and alchemy of sharing with and learning from others. I’m right in the middle of a three-week poetry forms class led by poet Georgia Heard. I am learning wonderful techniques that will elevate my writing, but I’m...

A fun poetry form: the Reverso

On this Poetry Friday, I made my first attempt at writing a reverso.  Poet Marilyn Singer developed this form. She has written three books of reverso poems! This is her definition of the form: “A reverso is a poem with two halves. In a reverso, the second half...

Poetry Friday- Christmas Eve Wishes

A friend recently sent me a photo that was a throwback to 2004… the year my poetry was first published in an anthology. She had asked me for a signed copy and I’d sent her one.   Mistletoe Madness, published by Blooming Tree Press, was chock full of poems and...

Poetry Friday- School People

The pandemic has shifted so much of life off of its axis, and schools are no exception. All of the typical conventions of school life have shifted, and as a former preschool, kindergarten, and special needs teacher, I think about the loss of relationships that the...

Poetry Friday- A Celebration of Nursery Rhymes

At my local community college, I teach a course called “Poetry in the Early Childhood Classroom.” Teachers of young children gather over poetry books, in real life or via Zoom, and we talk about how to best use poetry in a lively early literacy curriculum. One of my...