Paul B. Janeczko
reading from Requiem
Thanks for visiting my website.
The performance of the poems in my newest collection, Requiem:
Poems of the Terezin Ghetto, was a great hit with audiences last
weekend. The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine was a perfect
venue for the poems. Lucy Rioux, the director of the Open Book Players,
got moving and dramatic performances from the cast of ten adults and students.
It was especially neat to see that a few of the players had parts in the
OBP performance of my poems in Worlds Afire a few years ago.
Lucy and I have already had requests to take the show to other venues
in the state, as word spreads about the powerful production. Well done,
OBP. It was a pleasure to see you make my words come alive.
I spent the week before the performances
in Aroostook County, Maine’s
largest and northern-most county. I worked with students in five schools,
from elementary to high school. I finished my time in the County with
a teacher workshop in which we explored the possibilities of poetry. I
always enjoy going to the County, and this trip was no exception. Thanks
to all the teachers and students who welcomed me to their schools. I hope
to return.
J. Patrick Lewis, the current Children’s Poet Laureate, selected
Requiem as his November
2011 Book Pick. If you’ve not yet gone to
the Poet Laureate’s page, this is a good time to do just that. And,
with a click, you can see a list of all the poetry books that he has chosen
to this point. On the same page are the picks of Mary Ann Hoberman,
the previous Children’s Poet Laureate. You’ll see some classics—e.g.,
The Bat Poet by Randall Jarrell and The Complete
Nonsense of Edward Lear—as
well as new titles—e.g., The Hound Dog’s Haiku by Michael
J. Rosen and X.J. Kennedy’s City Kids: Street and Skyscraper
Rhymes. The
site is a great place to start if you’re looking for poetry that
will appeal to kids.
Don’t forget to check out the dynamic electronic book poetry anthologies
created by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. The children’s book is
called Poetry Tag Time (Kindle, Nook),
while the just-released YA book is called P*Tag (Kindle, Nook).
Thirty poets are included in each anthology. I had a blast writing for
both books, which are available in Kindle and Nook versions.
Check out the Heinemann
website to find samples from my
new book, Reading Poetry in the Middle Grades: 20
Poems and Activities That Meet the Common Core Standards and Cultivate
a Passion for Poetry.
You can still get a 20% discount on the cost of the book if you order
it through their site. I have had a couple of teachers who have asked
me about offering a teacher workshop that implements the approach to reading
and writing poetry that I explore in the book. I always look forward to
working with teachers who are interested in making poetry a bigger part
of their content area classes, so let me know if you’d like to talk
about arranging such a workshop for the teachers in your school.
That’s
the story. At least for now.
