Poetry Friday: No, Thank YOU

May 22, 2015 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday, and I’m a little weary after three full days at a young writers’ festival at Rosalie Primary School in Perth. But, while I am weary (I drove up and back each day, making for loooong days), I am also feeling really inspired, after three days of talking to young readers and writers about what I do. It really is one of the best parts of my job, and I am blessed to do what I do.

So, last night, after I got home, I jotted down this little poem, for the kids of Rosalie and for the audiences everywhere I go, who keep inspiring me to write.

No, Thank YOU

Before I leave

You clap

Thank me for coming

Say nice things like

‘You’re the best author in the world.’

I tell you it was my pleasure

But I’m not sure

You’ll ever know

How much visiting your class

Reading my books

Telling my stories

Sharing what I know

Gives me

The drive

To keep doing what I do.

Have a great Friday. For more Poetry Friday goodness pop over to Matt Forrest’s blog where, a little later today, he’ll have the round up of everyone’s posts.

Poetry Friday: The Owl and the Pussycat

May 15, 2015 by Sally

I was very spoilt on Mother’s Day last Sunday: with company, with phonecalls, with flowers and chocolate and gifts. And, of course, if I had to pick a favourite out of those, I couldn’t: except I guess that my favourite thing about Mothers Day is remembering how very blessed I am to have six such wonderful children.

But I did want to share a picture of one of my gifts today, because today is Poetry Friday. Here is what my daughter, Emily (otherwise known as Murphlet 2) made for me:

Aren’t they simply divine? And isn’t she both clever AND thoughtful?

In honour of my magnets, I wanted to share the poem they of course represent.

The Owl and the Pussycat

by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat:

They took some honey, and plenty of money

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,

What a beautiful Pussy you are,

You are,

You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl!

How charmingly sweet you sing!

Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried

But what shall we do for a ring?”

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bong-Tree grows

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose,

His nose,

With a ring at the end of his nose.

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

Edward Lear’s original illustration. Source: Wikipedia

Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”

So they took it away, and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon,

The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

Almost 150 years since it was first published, this poem still makes people young and old smile. Pretty good, huh? And, it occurred to me as I wrote that last sentence that there is a lovely link here: not only have I shared this poem with my daughter and she with me, but also my own mother shared it with me, and probably her mother shared it with her. So an appropriate way to celebrate mother’s day.

Poetry Friday this week is being hosted by Random Noodling, where you will find a round-up of all the Poetry Friday goodness.

Poetry Friday: Post It Note Poetry

February 6, 2015 by Sally

Welcome to Poetry Friday. I’m really enjoying being part of this poetry celebration, connecting with poets and poetry lovers from around the world. I hope you’re enjoying it, too!

February is looking to be a busy month for me. Who am I kidding? With six kids, doctoral studies and a writing career, every month is a busy month. But February marks the release of my newest novel, 1915, and the busyness of celebrating and promoting means an extra level of busy. (By the way, if you’d like to join in the celebrations, you can leave a comment on the virtual launch below, and go in the draw to win a copy of the book.)

Another thing keeping me busy this month is a poetry challenge. I’ve blogged before about how participating in a writing challenge can be both fun and productive. When I heard about the Post it note Poetry Challenge, I had to give it a go.

The rules of the challenge are simple. Every day in February – or on as many days as you are able – you write a poem on a Post It Note (any size, any colour), take a photo and tweet it with the hashtag #postitnotepoetry. The poem can be any form and on any subject, the only limitation is in keeping it short enough to fit on the post it note.

Here’s one of my efforts: Embedded image permalink

And here’s another:

Embedded image permalink

It’s not too late to join in with your own poems. The confines of space but can be a good way of condensing your thoughts, and the temporary nature of a post it note means you can use the exercise to draft something that you might rework later.

Poetry Friday today is being hosted by Elizabeth. You can see a round up of all the wonder that is Poetry Friday at her blog.

See you next week!

Poetry Friday: A Happy Poem

January 30, 2015 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday – hooray! I’m having a busy week, the last one before school goes back here in my part of the world, but I didn’t want to let a Friday go by without sharing a poem that always makes me smile.

I’m Glad the Sky is Painted Blue

I’m glad the sky is painted blue,

And the earth is painted green,

With such a lot of nice fresh air

All sandwiched in between

(Anonymous)

Have a great Friday. Poetry Friday this week is being hosted by These4corners. Head there to see a round up of all the poetry-goodness that is Poetry Friday.

Poetry Friday: A Poem about Writing a Poem

January 23, 2015 by Sally

I went for a walk last week, and was reflecting on how wonderful exercise is for prompting new writing ideas, or for solving an issue. And right on cue, my brain starting working out how to put what I was thinking about into poetry.

At home, I wrote down those first few lines, and left the paper on my kitchen bench. Later, another stanza came, and later still, a third. I love the way that the barn works like this sometimes. And the poem? Here it is:

You Might Think

You might think I’m walking the dog

or, perhaps, he’s walking me

but in my head, while my legs pace,

I’m writing poetry.

You might think I’m in the shower

singing loud, off-key

but as I soap and warble

I’m writing poetry.

You might think I’m working hard

when at my desk I sit

but often times I simply scribe

the words my head has writ.

Do you have a favourite non-writing activity that leaves you inspired to write?

Have a great Friday – and if you’d like to see more posts about poetry, pop over to A Teaching Life and check out the Poetry Friday round-up.

Poetry Friday: Brown Girl Dreaming

January 16, 2015 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday, and this week I want to talk about a poem I love, in a book I love, even though I only read it for the first time this week.

Perhaps the book first. I bought Brown Girl Dreaming as a gift for myself for Christmas, because I’d heard so many wonderful things about it. Since Christmas I’ve been busy and hadn’t got around to reading it until Myra at Gathering Books shared her responses last Friday, which reminded me to make time to read it for myself – and boy am I glad I did.

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson is an autobiographical verse book cover novel. Woodson allows us to grow up with her, sharing the story of her childhood and what it was like growing up as an African American child in the 1960s. Through the eyes of a child we see the civil rights movement, feelings of difference and a search for identity – as well as good times with family and friends. As an Australian reader I learnt a lot about the time period, and about Woodson’s life, but I also felt that this was not just a book about the United States, or about that particular time period. By connecting with Woodson’s story we also have the opportunity to connect with the experiences of people the world over. It is a universal story just as much as it is a very poignant personal one.

Onto the poem. As well as the themes and subjects I’ve mentioned above, Brown Girl Dreaming also traces Woodson’s early development as a writer – from being given a composition book before she could write, to the joy of being able to write her own name, to her early attempts to write poems and stories. From a young age, she knew she wanted to be writer. My favourite poem of the book, I think (though I bookmarked a dozen) is called ‘When I tell My Family’, and tells of how Woodson’s family react when she tells them she wants to be a writer:

It’s a good hobby, we see how quiet it keeps you.

They say,

But maybe you should be a teacher,

a lawyer,

do hair …

I’ll think about it, I say.

And maybe all of us know

this is just another one of my

stories.

(Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming, 214, p. 229)

I love the way Woodson shares this moment (I suspect there were many of these moments) through the eyes of her child self. She doesn’t editorialise or tell us that the adults were wrong. She doesn’t say that she was hurt or angry by the adult responses.

Like Woodson, I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a writer, and I had moments like these, too. When I read this poem, I marvelled at how Woodson manages to show us her response so eloquently in those last three lines.

If you haven’t read Brown Girl Dreaming, you are missing out on a beautiful verse novel.

Want more poetry? This week’s Poetry Friday roundup is at Live Your Poem.