Links
Wordswimmer is the blog
of Bruce Black, and it thoughtfully deals with the writing process, something
that is near and dear to the hearts of writers and many teachers. In addition
to offering his own thoughts on the subject, Bruce includes advice from
other writers of prose and poetry, as well as substantial lists of helpful
links, resources for young writers, and author sites. Bruce is a writer,
editor, and teacher whose stories for children have appeared in Cricket
and Cobblestone. His new book for adults, Writing Yoga, will appear in
April, 2011.
If you’re on the lookout for a source that offers a new poem on
a daily basis, try Verse
Daily. The simplicity of the site reflects
the goal of the hosts, “to increase exposure for good poets and poetry
publishers . . . [with] a certain level of uniqueness.”
Shelley Sommer wears three hats when it comes to books: director of a
school library, middle school language arts teacher, and author of nonfiction
books for young readers. No wonder she puts so much energy into this blog http://sommerreading.wordpress.com/,
which is rich with suggestions of books to offer students who ask, “I
don’t know what to read.” It’s easy to get lost in the
many links and posts that she offers, including, of course a section of
poetry books.
If you are despairing because National Poetry Month is nearly over, fear
not. Instead, go to http://wildrosereader.com,
a thorough and practical blog created and maintained by Elaine Magliaro,
who currently wears a Writer-of-Poetry-for-Children hat. However, Elaine
has worn other hats—elementary school teacher, school librarian,
university instructor—and it shows in her blog, which is crammed
with poems and suggestions for cultivating a love of poetry among young
readers. Be warned, however. Once you visit this blog, it will tough to
tear yourself away from it.
Being a fan of the poetry as a spoken art led me to compile A Foot
in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout. If you like the spoken
word, you might be interested in Poetry Out Loud, a national competition
sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation.
You can learn about it at http://www.poetryoutloud.org/ and
watch a short video about last year’s program.
I’m not sure how long “American Life in Poetry”-- will
be available online. It was a project of Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate
for 2004-2006, which provided newspapers and online publications with a
free weekly column featuring contemporary American poems. The site offers
an archive of about 250 poems, as well as the chance to have a poem delivered
to your email inbox every week. http://www.americanlifeinpoetry.org
This PBS site for Poetry Everywhere with Garrison Keillor presents
23 short video presentations of poets--including Ted Kooser, Naomi Shihab
Nye, Lucille Clifton, and Robert Frost--reading their work. And if that's
not captivating enough, there is a link at the bottom of the page that
will take you to another video site containing films created by students
based on poems by contemporary poets. These students worked with docUWM,
a documentary media center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and
in the University creative writing program. 34 vids on this page. Enjoy! Poetry
Everywhere
If you visit Candlewick Press — www.candlewick.com — you can find all sorts of information about its authors and their books. You can also sign up to receive two bi-monthly e-newsletters: Candlewick Circ, for public and school librarians, and Candlewick Classroom, for teachers. In addition, you can visit the Resources section, which is filled with downloadable extras, links to information, fun things to do, and more!