Poetry is a tool to unlock magic in the ordinary.
I spent the weekend in Columbus, Ohio at the NCTE conference. What a whirlwind of feelings! Anxiety over my presentation, awe when seeing and hearing Jacqueline Woodson and Tom Hanks, and pure joy hobnobbing with my fellow wizards. Now that I’ve had a few days to download and process the experience, I am feeling gratitude and inspiration.
The sessions I enjoyed the most were those in which an invitation to writing was given. Georgia Heard, the 2023 winner of the Award for Excellence in Poetry, led us into a community writing about wonder. She asked, “What does wonder mean to you?” and “Where do you find wonder?” Each of us wrote our response on a sentence strip and then gathered together to make a group poem. I want to take this idea to my schools. I imagine strips flowing down the hall creating a community poem.
the forest floor with white blossoms.
The coyote who crossed my path
In an egg in a nest in a quiet place
In the voices of children
In the depth of memory that pop like champagne bubbles
on my heart’s surface.
Wonder leads me down the rabbit hole
in search of more.
Reflections on the Teche 