Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
This week was Wonder Week in my classroom as we explored Welcome to the Wonder House by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard. Each day I let a student choose which “room” we would visit. In this book, there are rooms you would not expect to find: The Room of Ordinary Things, The Room of Imagination, The Room of Wishes. Each page contains poems by Rebecca and Georgia. Each poem invites the reader to think, feel, wonder.
After I read aloud the poems, we notice things like structure, metaphor, imagery. Then they write in their notebooks.
Georgia talks about creating a space for poetry every day. It doesn’t have to take long. I believe in the power of poetry to teach, but also to inspire and somehow settle into you and become part of you.
I write alongside my students every day. We’ve been using markers, colored pencils, washi tape to make our pages pop and please us. Here is a page of my own notebook.
Our notebooking is not perfection which is something I model. Some pages are messy. Some pages do not come out like we want them to, but the practice of playing with poetry, following a line, stealing a metaphor, making an acrostic from a single word, satisfies the imagination and fills the soul.
If you are interested in participating in the Kidlit Progressive Poem in the month of April, the sign up is here.
Poetry Friday is hosted today by Linda at Teacher Dance.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Hello, March! If I’ve counted right, this is my eleventh year to participate in the Slice of Life Challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers. I’ve challenged myself to write a post every day in March. I will also write every day in April because that’s National Poetry Month. I’ve learned that a daily writing practice enriches my life, connects me with others, and makes me a better writer. Thanks to all my readers. You inspire and encourage me.
Today I’m the challenger of my writing group, the Inklings. We each take a turn at creating a prompt for the first Friday of each month. I asked my friends Molly Hogan, Mary Lee Hahn, Catherine Flynn, Linda Mitchell, and Heidi Mordhorst to write persona poems. Persona poems are written in a different voice. The author can speak through an object, another person, an emotion, etc.
I attended a workshop led by Babalwa Tetyana (link is to the YouTube recording) sponsored by Narrative 4. She guided us to write persona poems. I chose to write from the perspective of a portrait of myself at age 12. I sent my draft to the Inklings. They were confused about who the speaker was. Me or me? Yes, it was me. Tricky.
Sign up here to add a line to the National Poetry Month Kidlit Progressive Poem. In the comments, select your date and leave your blog link/ URL. I’ll update every day until the calendar is full. Be sure to make note of your date. On the day before, go to the blog link before yours and copy and paste the poem. You can choose to write about your process. Remember this poem is for children. The first person will set the topic and tone. It’s fun to see how the poem develops, so follow it and comment. Thanks!
This photo was posted by Kim Douillard with the comment, “Full moon snowshoeing? Yes, please.” Taken in Mammoth Lakes, CA.
Last week’s full moon was a beauty. I had a tug of envy when I saw Kim’s amazing photo on Facebook. What a capture of the forest trees pointing to full moon. The snow is clean and untouched. I felt a sense of calm and peace, all the while knowing that for the Creator to make snow, it must be cold. But this scene is deceptively warm.
Elfchen have become my go-to form this year. I am attracted to using one word to start a poem, one word to send me out on the slope of where a poem wants to take me. Sometimes I go the way of description, sometimes toward a deeper wisdom. My student has created two words for these kinds of poems, a quotem or a quoem. Quotem is a quote that sounds like a poem. A quoem is a poem that sounds like a quote. I hope you feel inspired to write something, be it quotem or quoem. Share it in the comments and encourage other writers along the way with your responses.
Slope slides toward a hungry moon lighting my way to Poem
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
Having a safe space to imagine and dream and (re)invent yourself is the first step to being happy and successful, whatever road you choose to pursue.
Ashley Bryan, We Rise We Resist We Raise Our Voices foreword
Hope, a mark of hope, a small piece of washi tape from a student now in my notebook reminding me that I am in a safe space.
Creating a safe space for writers is my top goal as an ELA teacher. When I hear a student read aloud their most fresh and vulnerable words, I am honored. Sometimes they don’t want to share; however, they will hand me their notebook to read. They are watching my eyes for the glow of adoration. I do adore what they write. They are confident children. I need to remember, though, that they are children. They need my validation. My words of encouragement. A sign of hope.
A mark of hope a place to be A dream to dream a road to see you see in me a hand with a gift a mark of hope a place to be
Have you seen the beautiful poetry collection by Kate Coombs Today I am a River? In each poem, the author takes on the “mask” or “persona” of something in nature.
Wind I am the wind. Sometimes I rage! I slash through forests, stamp over mountains. I am a giant, an ogre, a troll– I kick the treetops, yell, bellow, and roar!
1st stanza of “Wind” from Kate Coombs book “Today I am a River”
This is a book students can access easily. It taps into pretend play. What if I were the wind today?
On Tuesday afternoon, I attended a workshop at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. We wrote poems to art, ekphrasis. One of the areas held two stained glass pieces of the same tree image. One tree was surrounded by clear glass, the other in dark blue. I took on the persona of night speaking to dawn.
Next week is my turn to challenge our Inklings for the first Friday of the month. I challenged them and now you to write a persona poem. Here are a few links to persona poems: Mother to Son by Langston Hughes, The Piano Speaks by Sandra Beasly, and an essay from The Poetry Foundation by Rebecca Hazelton.
I am Night I am night I feel ordinary light listening to noisy killdeers chattering in my mind. I seek dawn– open the shades, hopeful a new day will come. I twitch at the backdoor, mew like hungry cats waiting to be fed. Will you come walk with me? Turn toward the east. Watch sun rise in pink and purple above the trees. Will you seek my shadow for comfort or rise?
Yesterday afternoon I went to a workshop at the Acadiana Center for the Arts led by my mentor and friend Darrell Bourque. In the large gallery space was the show In Medias Res: How One Story Becomes Another, a collection of paintings from his collection accompanied by the poems he wrote to them. Darrell first introduced me to eckphrastic poetry years ago. This piece of painted canvas was among a pile of canvases in a writing station within the gallery.
The instructions read “Mystory: Turn no to yes”.
I love how the smashing of my and story looks like the word mystery. What mystery is hiding your true story? What story in your life turned a no into a yes?
During the workshop, I received an enticing text invitation to an Argentinian dinner complete with tango lessons. I said yes without even asking my husband. I knew yes would be his answer, too.
Today we imagine an eager sunrise spinning a new story Tango
daily elfchen, Margaret Simon
What mystery/mystory do you have waiting to expose? What emotions does the abstract painting stir for you? Please leave a small poem in the comments. Remember to write encouraging responses to other writers.
Where do your prompts come from? Are you inspired to write without them or do you need a little push? Inspiration? Motivation?
I’ve been participating in The Stafford Challenge as well as Laura Shovan’s 12th Annual February Challenge, so I should not complain about needing or wanting a prompt for writing. My complaint, I suppose, is that there are too many prompts, too many things to write about. How do I choose the one? Not to mention, how do I keep up with it all?
I am lucky to be teaching ELA to different groups of children. We begin each class time with notebook writing. My students are loving this quiet, sacred writing time. I recently bought a collection of washi tapes and throw them out on the table for their use. My students are making color-coded pages, drawing, and writing, and embracing their creativity. They inspire me every day.
My student Sadie inspired this notebook poem. She came in singing. My heart drawing became a love poem I didn’t know was inside of me. The surprise of writing is addictive.
Dreams in my heart fly over the waves crashing onto the shore of your love. I am yours. You hold me like sea glass, soft and crystal, a gem, a gift from a broken world.
Margaret Simon, draft
Here is a page from Marifaye’s notebook. I marvel at her patience to write in two colors. She loves writing acrostics. Her notebook pages are beautifully created. She inspires me. She inspires her classmates. Maybe she will inspire you.
Photo credit by Kevin Nusser, “I took the photo while visiting Elijah Bond’s grave in the green mount cemetery in Baltimore MD”
I saw this photo on Facebook in The Stafford Challenge group. I was struck by the way Kevin Nusser caught the sun atop a steeple. This photo mused him to write on an old typewriter. Here is a photo of his poem.
I often think about how poetry begets more poetry. Billy Collins points this out in his poem “The Trouble with Poetry”. Can you find inspiration in the photo, the words? Perhaps steal a line and write a golden shovel. I believe the world can never have too much poetry.
How many times will we face death, wonder who are the ones we’ll lose? If I’m lucky, I won’t lose all my people before I go. As long as living keeps you here, I won’t have to carry our losses alone. I can live a wild life.
Margaret Simon, draft
Please join me and write. If you choose, share your draft in the comments. Please leave encouraging responses to others.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
I started this 2024 year off as I’ve always wanted to, by writing every day. I haven’t missed a day yet. And I’m saying to my self, “This is easy.” I receive a newsletter each week from poet Maggie Smith. Hers is the only Substack I actually subscribe to. Her letter this week encouraged us to keep going. She has a just do it attitude about writing. It doesn’t matter if it’s any good. Just keep doing it, every day.
“If anyone has tried to stop me, it’s been that little voice in my head that says I’m not good enough, or no one will care what I have to say, or my idea isn’t very interesting. And my job is to turn down the volume of that little voice—the ‘inner critic’ we sometimes call it—and believe in myself and keep going. And I hope you do that, too.”
I’ve tried The Artist’s Way morning pages, but there are too many page requirements (3). I’m doing only one page. That’s it. That’s enough.
Keeping a notebook nearby is important to this practice. That and a good pen that feels smooth, flows easily. I’m not a brand snob about it. Sometimes the best pens are ones I’ve found at a doctor’s office.
To be writers, we have to give ourselves permission to write badly. Revision is our friend. I hold my breath whenever I send a poem or two to my writing group. How can I be so tender after all these years? I’ll always be vulnerable when it comes to writing, but that shouldn’t stop me.
Are you writing every day? If you’re not, are you feeling guilty about it? What would help? A new pen? A new notebook? Indulge in those things, but don’t wait for ideas. Ideas are those sparks that happen only if you ARE writing. They don’t happen unless you open the clean page and scribble a bit. Maybe one day what you scribble will look like a poem. Maybe one day your scribbles will speak to others. But today, scribble, play, bounce words around.
I am participating in Laura Shovan’s February Challenge on Facebook. It’s a small community of people like me. Some are more published. Some are not. We are all throwing words out and looking at how they land. I can write long or short. This year the topic is games, but I’m enjoying how loosely this topic has been interpreted. Today’s prompt was “games animals play” and I couldn’t help but think of my dog Charlie and his faithfulness to the tennis ball.
Charlie the schnoodle learned early in his life to relate to strangers with the toss of a ball. Anyone would throw it; he would retrieve again and again–offering his love & attention by way of a yellow tennis ball.
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. She is a retired elementary gifted teacher who writes poetry and children's books. Welcome to a space of peace, poetry, and personal reflection. Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 