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Sally Murphy, Australian author

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Poetry Friday: Winter is Here

June 3, 2022 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday and it’s also, here in Australia, the first Friday of Winter. And boy have I been complaining about winter. I really do not like being cold. Or wet. (Unless it’s the kind of wet that comes from swimming and visiting my fishy friends, or standing under a hot shower).

I have been trying to practice gratitude and remember the good things about winter:

  1. It does not last for the whole year.
  2. It brings rain, and we need rain for life.
  3. It is part of the great cycle of life.
  4. Coats and boots. I do like wearing warm coats and nice boots.

In the midst of shivering and whinging, I had an email from the convenor of a  poetry workshop I gave last week which was a wonderful, warm opportunity to share my love of poetry with passionate literacy educators on the other side of Australia. In her email, she shared  of her favourite childhood poems. And suddenly I was warm right though – because it was an old favourite I had completely forgotten.

And, since it’s a winter poem, it’s an apt one to share today.

The Elf and The Dormouse 

by Oliver Herford

Under a toadstool crept a wee Elf,
Out of the rain to shelter himself.

Under the toadstool, sound asleep,
Sat a big Dormouse all in a heap.

Trembled the wee Elf, frightened and yet
Fearing to fly away lest he get wet.

To the next shelter—maybe a mile!
Sudden the wee Elf smiled a wee smile.

Tugged till the toadstool toppled in two.
Holding it over him, gaily he flew.

Soon he was safe home, dry as could be.
Soon woke the Dormouse—”Good gracious me!

“Where is my toadstool?” loud he lamented.
—And that’s how umbrellas first were invented.

Written in  1894, this is still such a lovely poem.  I’m glad my new friend reminded me of its existence.

Now I’m off to warm my heart a little more, by dropping in my Poetry Friday friends. Today’s round up is hosted by Karen , who, funnily enough, is excited about summer!

Poetry Friday: The Science of Poetry

May 6, 2022 by Sally

Last week’s post was a bit of a passionate rant about how important it is to share poetry, and to do so in ways that are pleasurable.

All week I have been wondering why I didn’t mention a little piece of research that I came across during my doctoral studies and which I often cite. So, here it is: reading poetry does magic stuff to your brain that reading prose doesn’t.   In short, a study using fMri (a brain scan technology) found that when participants read their favourite poetry the parts of their brain related to memory and physical reaction (like shivers down the spine) were activated. For a better explanation, you can see this news report here or, if you want the more detailed scientific paper, you can search an academic library  for the full article by Zeman, Milton, Smith and Rylance (abstract here) .

 

I love it when science proves what we poetry lovers already know – that poetry is a whole body, whole self activity. Because while we don’t need scientific proof, that evidence is great for sharing with poetry doubters.

And, while I must confess that I have not written a poem of my own this week, I figure this is a good time to share a poem which definitely gives me all the feelings.

A Quoi Bon Dire

Beautiful Sa Pa.

by Charlotte Mew

Seventeen years ago you said
Something that sounded like Good-bye;
And everybody thinks that you are dead,
But I.

So I, as I grow stiff and cold
To this and that say Good-bye too;
And everybody sees that I am old
But you.

And one fine morning in a sunny lane
Some boy and girl will meet and kiss and swear
That nobody can love their way again
While over there
You will have smiled, I shall have tossed your hair.

 

Why this poem? It is  a little sad, but, for me, it warms my heart with its observations (even celebration)  of love, and how we can hold that love long after someone has left our lives. It may be a romantic love, but in my case, this week marks anniversaries of two losses – my sister and my father – and it doesn’t matter that are gone six years and one year respectively – I love them just as much now as I did when I could see them.

I’m off to read more poetry and more thoughts about poetry because today is Poetry Friday. The roundup is being hosted Jama  So if you want to activate your  brain, head over there and do some reading of your own:)

 

Poetry Friday: Some thoughts on poetry

April 29, 2022 by Sally

In my dayjob as a lecturer in literacy and education,  the two key messages I constantly try to impart to these future teachers is that if you are going to teach reading, you need to be a reader yourself and if you are going to teach writing, you need to be a writer. Sometimes I think my students get sick of me repeating these messages, but I also try to model what that looks like in every class, by reading to and with my students, and writing with them too.

The unit I am teaching this Semester is an elective called Creative Literacies, and it is all about teaching literacy, and the subject English, in creative ways and to develop creativity in students.  Each week we look at different aspects of the curriculum – reading, writing, nonfiction, visual arts and more. But this week’s topic is my favourite one: Poetry.

I love teaching this class – although one two hour block seems to go past sooooo quickly. It’s less of a lecture and more of impassioned call to action, beginning with an explanation to my students of my own love of poetry and how that love was almost quashed by high school English and the dreaded exercises in Practical Criticism (or Prac. Crit. as they were always called).

If you are not familiar with a prac. crit, don’t worry. What this involved was being given an unseen poem, and then having to write an essay about it. That was pretty much the guidance I remember receiving. And I had no idea how to do it. I was, apparently, required to read the poem, see past the words to all the hidden layers and then write eloquently about what it meant and how the poem imparted that meaning.

I remember feeling dumb.

Every

single

time.

It seemed my classmates could see those layers. But I just felt dread. Was I getting the ‘right’ meaning? And was this meaning imparted through iambic pentameter? Trochaic something-or-other?

Amazingly, I managed to pass English Literature in my final year 12 exams, but it was my worst subject. Luckily I also took regular English, and that was my best. And somehow, in spite of that experience, I still loved poetry – just not in the classroom. And ended up studying literature at university and, eventually, completed a PhdD focussing on children’s poetry – though there was not a prac. crit. in sight. [Side note: On my very first teaching practice as a student teacher, an English teacher called Ron taught his students how to write a prac. crit. It was the first time I had heard it explained in a way I understood. And I have never forgotten that lesson – and I used his method to teach my own students for many years In fact, if I do say so myself, I could write a pretty mean prac. crit these days, if I wanted to. Which I don’t.]

Anyway, back to this week’s class. As well as telling my own poetry journey as an introduction, we spent our class looking at brilliant examples of poetry, including verse novels, some simple writing exercises and lots of talk about poetry. By the end of the class I could see that my students were enthused about poetry – partly because of the class, and partly because they are bright individuals who already have deep interests in reading and writing which will make them fine teachers.

If you are reading this and are a teacher, or future teacher, this is the takeaway I want to offer:

  1. Don’t be scared of poetry. If the layers are too obscure, it’s the wrong poem.
  2. There is no right answer for any poem – and, in writing, no right answer in form either.
  3. Use more poetry in your classroom! It doesn’t have to be siloed into a two week unit at the end of term 2. It can be a daily offering – present in your class library, adorning the walls of your room, written and read alongside any other form. And if you are stuck for ideas, hit me up!

I’m going to finish with a poem (of course), not freshly written, but which seems apt to share today.

Now I’m off to enjoy more poetry because it’s Poetry Friday! The round up is over at Jone’s blog. There is always plenty of poetry goodness on offer – and no one expects a prac. crit. to be written afterwards 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Poetry Friday: A Definition

April 1, 2022 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday and it’s also April 1, which means it’s the start of National Poetry Month (NPM) in the United States. Here in Australia, our Poetry Month is in August – but I choose to think that EVERY month should be poetry month, so I am going to celebrate in April AND August, as many other months as I can – even Octember!

I thought I might start the month by considering what poetry is. Having completed a Doctorate in children’s poetry, it is probably surprising that I find it hard to give a simple answer tot his question. But, if youlvoe poetry, you’ll understand: poetry is different things to different people.

So, for me, I find it easiest to define by using a poem. I have given this definition in workshops and classrooms for quite some time – and was delighted to then be able to include it in my book Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose last year. And now, here I am sharing it with you to celebrate  NPM.

 

A Poem

(by Sally Murphy)

A poem

is a whole lot of words

a plethora of words

a smattering, a scattering

a shattering of words

thrown on a page

in carefully created

chaos

to make you wonder.

 

It’s not a definite answer – but the best poems aren’t – they leave you with something to ponder – maybe a depth of feeling, maybe a sense of joy, or maybe even just a giggle.

I’m off to wonder at the other offerings for Poetry Friday. The roundup is being hosted by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe.

Poetry Friday: Seaside Me

March 25, 2022 by Sally

As I left the beach this morning I smiled at another swimmer who had also just got out.

‘Don’t you feel like a new person?’ she asked.

‘Absolutely!’ I replied. ‘I’m a much nicer person when I’ve been to the beach’

We chatted a little more, and I filled my new friend in on the names of the some of the fish she had seen, and I left smiling.

Back home, I pondered what I’d said though. Maybe it’s sad that I’m not always nice, but I also think it’s worth celebrating when we know what our happy-place is, and we seize opportunities  to go there.  Because if it makes me happy, makes me feel nicer, then chances are it also benefitting those around me.

And, of course, this generated this poem draft:

The Many Faces of Me

Before I head to the beach

I am cranky-me

Busy-me

Overloaded-with-thoughts-me

 

When I reach the beach

I am  breathe-in-salty-air-me

Rush-to-get-in-water-me

Slightly-awkward-landbound-me

 

In the water

I am look-at-this-me

Look-at-that-me

Wonder-awe-and-peaceful-me

 

When home time comes

I am happy-me

content-me

Feel-like-a-new-person-me.

Hope-this-feeling-lasts-me.

(copyright Sally Murphy, 2022)

 

and this, in turn, generated a further thought – I’m also a nicer person when my creativity is flowing. Any day with a swim and a chance to write is a great day.

If you don’t have the chance to immerse yourself at the beach today, here’s a video from a few weeks ago that might help.

And, when I went looking for that video I remembered this one – made when it was too cold to swim, but when I was happy just to dunk my toes:

I hope you have happy toes. In fact i hope you’re happy all over.

The thing that is going to make me happier today is visiting all my poetry loving friends. It’s Poetry Friday and 0 is hosting 0. I’m off to 0, and you can swim along.

Poetry Friday: Metamorphosis Poems

October 1, 2021 by Sally

It’s Poetry Friday which means it’s the day when bloggers from all over share poems and poetry fun. I started 2021 very keen to do this every week – and have not done very well at that goal. But today is the day to try to get back on  track.

One of the reasons I have been so busy this year is that, in the space just a few months, I was asked to create a resource for teachers to teach poetry, then wrote and compiled that resource and – voila – it was published.  A big rush to get there, but I am really happy that schools all over Australia have now got this book, and hopefully are finding new ways to share poetry in their classrooms.  If you haven’t yet admired the beautiful cover, here it is again:

(You can find out more about this book, here at the PETAA website)

One of my goals for this book was to share a range of poetry forms which can be used in the classroom. Some of the forms are new but others are better known – with my own little twist.

One of those forms is the diamante – a commonly known form using seven lines (explained by Kenn Nesbitt here).  I started with the diamante, changed the rules and created Metamorphosis Poetry. Here’s an example:

Frog

Tadpole

fishy tail

swim wiggle squirm

growing legs and lungs

climbing onto land

hopping free

Frog

(copyright Sally Murphy, 2021)

Can you see why I called  it a metamorphosis poem? That’s right- because it follows the transformation (metamorphosis)  of a tadpole into a frog. It doesn’t follow the strict form of the diamante – which  specifies word classes for each line (nouns, then adjectives, then verbs and so on). Instead the pattern here is only around numbers of words – except for the first and final line, which move from juvenile to adult:

Line one: one word – the juvenile form

Line two: two words

Line three: three words

Line four: four words

Line five: three words

Line six: two word

Line seven – one word – the adult form

This could be replicated with other animals which metamorphose (caterpillar/butterfly; grub/beetle,; larva/salamander. BUT, you could equally move outside of the animal world  to write about  other transformations. Like this:

Poem

Thought

tickling mind

forming phrases, patterns

demanding my writerly attention

lines, verses, stanzas

pencil flying

poem

(copyright Sally Murphy, 2021)

Other pairs that come to mind are story/book, bricks/house or tune/song – but I’m sure you can come up with others. I challenge you to have a go!

And, if you want to try another form,  Catherine, who is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday roundup  is sharing an amazing example of the Abecedarian. Go check it out!   Happy Poetry Friday!

 

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