Welcome to Poetry Friday, hosted by thee capable and prolific Matt Forrest Esenwine Here. Thank you, Matt for hosting!
I simply have a short poem to share. It was inspired by the climate summit. Thank you to all the heroes who attended to work on the climate crisis.
I have always been optimistic that there are people in the world with the tools necessary to avert a catastrophe. So, when I think of the trouble we’re in, I think about past and it gives me hope.
Welcome to Poetry Friday. Our host on this first week of November is Mary Lee Hahn HERE. Thank you Mary Lee! Be sure to stop by and see what she’s sharing this week.
Today, I read a pile of picture books at my local bookstore and would like to share one by a writer who is passionate about kids and books, Miranda Paul. She is one of the founders of the WNDB movement. Her book, LITTLE LIBRARIES, BIG HEROES, Illustrated by John Parra, is a book worth adding to your library. I have. It’s not just about little libraries. It’s also about following a passion, growing an idea, generosity and public service all in one. This book is for everyone.
Several weeks ago I wrote wrote about my hometown Carnegie Library Here. But one doesn’t have to have 350 million dollars to build thousands of libraries. In LITTLE LIBRARIES: BIG HEROES, we learn that some libraries can be built for much, much less and still make a big impact.
In this true story, a young man named Todd, an “ordinary guy” who had been inspired by his mom to love books, built the first little library, like the one above. Neighbors loved it. It caught on. He told his friend about it.
Todd felt his nifty box of books had potential. He called up his friend Rick, who was always chock-full of grand ideas.
Rick thought that they could
build thousands of little boxes!
Like Andrew Carnegie,
who once built 2,510 libraries!
They could take trips!
Like Lutie Stearns, who brought
traveling libraries all over Wisconsin!
Rick liked the idea, but . . .
WAIT A MINUTE!
Andrew Carnegie had been a
wealthy businessman. Lutie Stearns
was a trained librarian. The two of
them were just ORDINARY guys.
(And they were particularly low
on cash.)
How man libraries could two
ORDINARY guys create?
How far could ORDINARY people
spread an idea?
They agreed on one thing--
they wanted to find out.
So the two “ordinary” young men decided to explore their dream of creating a Little Library movement. This is their story. The result: as of 2019, there were 75,000 official, registered Little Free Libraries in eighty-eight countries.
I was touched by this book about ordinary people doing extraordinary things and making a difference. It’s an important story.
Before I close I’ll turn your attention to the changing weather and the holidays looming with three seasonal haiku:
Happy Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Linda Baie at her blog, Teacher Dance. Thank you, Linda, for hosting! She has a ghoulish poem waiting.
I wasn’t sure what to share this week. I’ve been revising old work this week, so haven’t written a poem, at least not one that’s ready for my blog.
But this summer I was paging through my Norton Anthology of American Literature and discovered Gertrude Simmons Bonnin’s “Impressions of an Indian Childhood.” I had never heard of her. A citizen of the Yankton Sioux Nation, Zitkala-Ša was an activist who believed she could be both an American Citizen as well as a citizen of the Yankton Sioux (or Dakota) Nation.
Zitkala-Ša was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in 1938. She was eligible for burial there because her husband, Raymond, fought in WW l. He joined her later. On her tombstone is inscribed “Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Zitkala-Ša, of the Sioux’ 1876-1938.” On the reverse, a plains-style tepee is engraved, making it a symbol of both the United States and the Yankton Sioux Nation.
Reading her detailed writing about her childhood gave me a glimpse of what daily life was like then. Of course, there was much heartbreak and loss in her writing, about stolen land, murders of close relatives by white Americans and more.
But there was childhood play, too, in her work. In “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” she describes something universal to childhood, trying to outsmart her shadow. I found her writing charming and sweetly evocative of when I was seven or eight years-old.
Zitkala-Ša writes:
"Faster and faster I ran, setting my teeth and clenching my fists, determined to overtake my own fleet shadow. But ever swifter it slides before me, while I was growing breathless and hot. Slackening my speed, I was greatly vexed that my shadow would check its pace also. Daring it to the utmost, as I thought, I sat down upon a rock imbedded in the hillside.
So! my shadow had the impudence to sit down beside me!
Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Jama at her sumptuous blog, Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Thank you Jama for hosting! Stop by and check out her post for Poetry Friday.
As I write this, tomorrow, 10/22 is the the date that Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong’s new poetry anthology THINGS WE DO, for kids age 4-6, will be available on Amazon, Here. The title is on the Children’s Book Council’s list of new books for October Here.
Inside are poems contributed by well-known as well as lesser-known children’s poets. As listed in the Children’s Book Council page, the poets in this anthology include:
Beth Brody, Joseph Bruchac, Jen Bryant, Mary E. Cronin, Linda A. Dryfhout, Margarita Engle, Janet Clare Fagal, Marilyn Garcia, Nikki Grimes, Carol Labuzzetta, Marty Lapointe-Malchik, Grace Lin, Molly Lorenz, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Pat Mora, Linda Sue Park, Moe Phillips, Jack Prelutsky, Janice Scully, Linda Kulp Trout, Padma Venkatraman, Leslie Stall Widener, Carole Boston Weatherford, Janet Wong, Jane Yolen, and Helen Kemp Zax.
Those of us attending Sylvia and Janet’s on-line workshop, “Anthology 201” had an opportunity to contribute to the collection and learn about the details required in publishing work such as this.
Each poem is inspired by a photo that illustrates a letter of the alphabet.
I will share my poem here. I love this action photo. It really captures the focus and determination of a child kicking. I know others will be sharing their poems, too. From actions such as eating, to inventing to yawning to zooming, these poems are fun and it was an honor to work with Janet and Sylvia, as well as fun to be part of this creative group of children’s writers.
Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Bridget Magee, Here.
Thank you Bridget for hosting. Also, I’d like to congratulate Bridget on the release of her new poetry anthology for kids, 10*10 Celebration 10 in 10 Different Ways. In it, you will find the work of many poets who write for kids, including many Poetry Friday friends.
Two of my poems about science, about the phenomenon of surface tension, are included. One is about the Water Strider, which is, as many know, a bug that can walk on water. I found the photos below free on Pixabay. This picture actually shows visually what surface tension is. The water looks like a trampoline.
Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Irene Latham Here. Thank you, Irene, for hosting. Be sure to stop by and see what’s cooking.
Cooking?
It’s on my mind. I visited a good friend today who loves to cook. I was also thinking about cinquain poems and let food inspire me to write one.
What is a Cinquain? Five lines. Syllable count 2,4,6,8,2. Check out Kenn Nesbitt’s wonderful video Here. He recommends starting with something you like in the first line.
Considering it’s Birdtopia month, here’s a cinquain about the Great Blue Heron I wrote after reading they eat fish, frogs, turtles, snakes, insects, birds and rodents. What a menu!
Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Catherine HERE. Thank you, Catherine for hosting! Be sure to stop by to see what she has for us this week.
What is Poetry Friday? Find out more about it HERE.
Today’s Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis vaccines given together
The hesitancy surrounding the Corona Virus vaccine is discouraging as is the lack of understanding and respect towards our public health officials who are trying to get America well and out of our hospitals. No one wants to be in the ICU, but too many people end up there when they could have been vaccinated and out and about living their lives.
No one today remembers when Diphtheria was a plague in the United States. But in 1735, Noah Webster wrote, that from a town in New Hampshire, the disease “Gradually travelled southward, almost stripping the country of children . . . Many families lost three or four children–many lost all.”
“Throat Distemper” as Diphtheria was called, created a thick crust in the throat of children and slowly suffocated them as parents watched.
Having seen this horror, one day in 1894, there was shouting and applause, hats tossed in the air at a convention of Doctors in Budapest. Dr. Roux had presented certain research findings: the discovery of an antitoxin that could save the lives of children with Diphtheria! It wasn’t a vaccine, but a treatment that saved a high percentage of children.
A vaccine was later developed that would stimulate in children antibody formation against the disease toxin and totally prevent the disease.
Diphtheria was essentially eradicated in America and those who created it were celebrated. Most doctors today have never seen a patient with diphtheria, but as of 2017, children in war-torn countries such as Yemen who are who not are getting preventive health care and vaccination, die from this disease.
The scientists who, through painstaking work, developed vaccines that prevent horrible suffering and death, need to be remembered. They need to be thanked. Gratitude for those to those who risked their own lives fighting disease is appropriate. Dr. Fauci lived through several epidemics and should be listened to.
Young people today have been educated by the pandemic. I hope they might be inspired by their experience to study science and public health. I know some will.
This week I began the Anthology 201 course by poets Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. What does it take to create a poetry anthology? I signed up to find out. They are smart and generous teachers.
As and example of a well written anthology, I happened to have Sylvia’s 2020 anthology, A WORLD FULL OF POEMS. These poems are for young children, 187 in all, from almost as many poets. Many are well known, some you will recognize from Poetry Friday. But the book is not just poems. The back matter in this book is quite useful.
For parents, teachers, and curious children, you will find:
1) Poetry activity suggestions, such as reading aloud, ending each day with a poem and more.
2) Poetry Activities such as a treasure hunt tips on reading out loud.
3) Easy tips on how to have a conversation about a poem.
4) How to begin writing poems.
5) Different kinds of poems such as list poems and haiku.
6) How to add art.
7) How to get better as a poet.
8) It also includes clever ways for a family to put poetry into daily life. For example, keeping a book of poems in the car, ending each day with a poem and more.
A WORLD FULL OF POEMS is a beautiful book, an anthology full of wonderful poems, and a useful resource for all ages.
Thank you, Laura Purdie Salas for hosting. Have a good weekend everyone and stay well!
Welcome to Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Denise HERE. Thank you, Denise, for hosting!
What is Poetry Friday? Find out more about it HERE.
I learn so much from reading the Poetry Friday blogs each week, about poetry forms, about poets I have never read, and more. Last week, I learned about the ghazal.
What is a ghazal? It’s a poetry form that is not easy to write. The Poetry Foundation describes it HERE. And Catherine Flynn, and others have recently written and posted ghazals.
The form isn’t easy, and my first attempts failed. Actually, it seemed impossible, but poetry writing requires feeling stumped. I needed the right subject and I stumbled upon . . . .fried chicken.
My ghazal is about my mother who was the chief chef at our family restaurant. I think if she were here she might like it. The restaurant is long gone, and this is one of the few photos I have. Here I am in the 1990’s with my two boys, Phil and Matt.
When this photo was taken, my brother owned Scully’s and my sons thought it was cool to visit Uncle Mike in the kitchen.
When the restaurant opened in the fifties, the first item on the menu was fried chicken. It looked like this:
Scully’s fried chicken looked just like this.
Hungry yet? My mother cooked a tons of it. She’d roast huge pans of chicken halves in tomato juice sprinkled with Alamo seasoning then batter, bread and fry the roasted chicken in a deep fryer, sprinkle it with a touch of celery salt and serve. Here’s my Mom in the kitchen.
The ghazal poetry form is described on the links above. I can’t claim this follows the form perfectly. But here it is. There were days when Mom would have have surely referred to our popular dish in derogatory terms.
Stay well, everyone. My thoughts are with all the brave teachers, children, and health care workers. Thanks, Denise, for hosting. You will find a list today’s Poetry Friday blogs on her blog, HERE.
Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week we are hosted by Tricia Here. Thank you, Tricia, for hosting.
Driving back to Syracuse from the Jersey Shore Friday afternoon of Labor Day weekend, I visited the town where I went to school, Port Jervis, on the Delaware River. I lived three miles away in the small town of Sparrowbush.
I hadn’t been to either place for several years and drove through town to see the Carnegie Library where I had discovered books. What was it like now? I wondered. On the outside it looked exactly the same.
Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish American capitalist who made his fortune in steel, felt the rich had a moral obligation to distribute money in ways that help the common man. He spent 350 million, which was a large portion of his wealth, on philanthropy. He helped build 2,500 public libraries world wide and much more, including Carnegie Hall. You can read more about Andrew Carnegie here.
THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY IN PORT JERVIS, NY
Inside my Carnegie Library, it seemed the front desk was frozen in time, unchanged in fifty years. Two librarians were behind it, and the library was otherwise empty that Friday afternoon. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures inside because I think the librarians sensed my disappointment at seeing the drab, and frankly, threadbare carpet and the furniture they claimed with pride was “original.” Their funding is through the school and I sensed there is little money available for frills.
Yet, thanks to them, there was an exhibit on Stephen Crane that included a walking tour they were enthusiastic to share. I now know that author Stephen Crane lived in Port Jervis for many years. In fact his relationships with Civil War Veterans there in the 1880’s inspired THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, which I loved as an adult. It turns out that much of his other writing is loosely based on people and places in Port Jervis. I didn’t have time to take the walking tour, so maybe I’ll have to return. I also hope to read more of Stephen Crane’s writing. Maybe I’ll recognize Port Jervis in his lines.
STEPHEN CRANE
Here’s a quote I found on the above link. (Hartwood was a nearby town, I think.)
“My idea is to come finally to live at Port Jervis or
Hartwood. I am a wanderer now and I must see enough
but – afterwards – I think of P.J. and Hartwood.”
Stephen Crane’s October 29, 1897 letter from London, England, to his brother William in Port Jervis, New York.
As my husband and I had arrived in to Port Jervis as school had just let out. Busses were lining up. Middle school kids were laughing and chatting on sidewalks. I wondered if any would stop at the library. I hoped so.
