Who will be my next guest reader?

REMINDER: Tonight at 10:00 CST is the cutoff for posting June Word of the Month poems. Don’t miss out!

I’m so pleased to have already featured three poets in the brief time since I invited guests to post a poem and picture with me. My thanks to Amy Ludwig VanDerwater from New York,

Charles Waters from Florida,

and,
Mary Nida Smith from Arkansas

for stepping up right away and showing us how much fun this can be.

So? Who’s next? Your fans await!

David

Mary Nida Smith today

Mary Nida Smith

Today it’s my pleasure to introduce as my Guest Mary Nida Smith from Arkansas, a Word of the Month Hall of Fame Poet. I’m delighted to show you Mary Nida’s picture and the poem she selected to share with us. Thank you, Mary Nida!

 

WINDOWS

© Mary Nida Smith

 

I am not lonely
when I stay inside
my bedroom window
brings the outside
inside to me

A small green worm
came down from a tree
one link at a time
on the line it created
high in the tree.

A small bee buzzed
by my window
it had a nose like a hippo.
It buzzed again
its wings fluttered
now, it appeared
as a flying hippo.

A large cotton tail rabbit
came running by.
While twitching its ears
it nibbled white clover

I heard a plane
I looked up to see
a stunt plane
flying back and forth
turning summersaults.
What a sight to see!

Gosh! Windows
are important.
Windows bring
the world to me.

Mary Nida says, “This is a non-fiction story poem. It happened to me all in one day.”

I’m grateful to Mary Nida for sharing her experience-poem as a reminder of what we see when we take time to observe. Please post your comments in the boxes below.
David

 

 

More about our adult poets

BULLETIN: Tricia Stohr-Hunt features me today on her blog site at http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/ Each day all month (Poetry Month you know) Tricia is featuring a different poet. If you want to see more, be sure you visit Tricia’s great site.

Yesterday I updated you on our young poets and urged more teaches to get their students involved in the Word of the Month Challenge.Today I thought you might like to see the entire list of adult poets who have been sharing their work with us over the past six months and so far in April.

The totals are becoming impressive. We have sixty-two poets listed below. Steven Withrow and Mary Nida Smith have participated in all seven months from October 2009 through April 2010. Three others — Jan Gallagher, Tricia Stohr-Hunt, and Liz Korba — have appeared six times and still have plenty of time to post poems in April.

Each month we see new poems by a number of poets who routinely join the group to share their latest efforts inspired by the one-word exercise. And every month we are joined by first timers as word of the Word continues to spread.

My thanks to you all — poets and readers alike — who are making this project seem more and more worthwhile.

Poet

Rosalind Adam
Jamie Adoff
Reta Stewart Allen
alohasara
Amity
Geradine Baugh
Melanie Bishop
Susan Taylor Brown
Ashley Burns
Stephen Clay Bush
Beth Carter
Cassandra
Mimi Cross
Datsme
Marjie DeWilde
drj3kyll
Gay Fawcett
fiveloaf
Jan Gallagher
Genia Gerlach
V. L. Gregory
catgirlslovehaiku
Jennifer Harrison
Jane Heitman Healy
Yousei Hime
Tricia Stohr-Hunt
Jackie Huppenthal
Darlene Beck Jacobson
Jaymie
Andromeda Jazmon
ishabelle
jingle
Liz Korba
Becky Kruger
Linda Kulp
lyndonu
Claire McBride
Erin McMullen
Diane Mayr
Brian Miller
Delane Parrott
Valorie Provenzano
Laura Purdie Salas
Vera Jane Goodin Schultz
Lynne Smith
Marilyn Smith
Mary Nida Smith
Terry Smith
Ken Thomas Slesarik
souldose
Kathy Stump
Sydney Sullivan
Melanie Szymborski
Kathy Temean
Barbara Turner
Euleta Usrey
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Adrienne VanderPloeg
Judith Lachance-Whitcomb
Fahad Witchking
Steven Withrow
Patricia WoodwardIf you have comments, corrections, or suggestions, please post them below. Thanks!
David

Announcing Rob Shepperson

If you want to see a creative mind at work, look at the illustrations of Rob Shepperson. Rob and I collaborated on bugs, poems about creeping things, and Vacation, We’re Going to the Ocean. When I think I’m being funny, Rob makes the situation still funnier. His quick wit and finely tuned sense for what makes kids of all ages smile make him an ideal partner. There’s a lot to know about Rob and it will be my pleasure to introduce him to you in an upcoming guest blog.

As of yesterday we have already received a dozen poems by adults who have accepted this month’s challenge to write a poem inspired by a single word: road. Thanks to all of you for sharing your work. I know your poems will inspire others to join the fun. We’ve been visited by many readers, several of whom have left comments, and you can be assured that your poetry will be seen by a growing number of friends and fans before the month is over.

 

I had the pleasure of introducing Word of the Month Poetry Challenge during my presentations in Denver at the Colorado Council of International Reading Association, one of the truly fine conferences in America. I asked teachers who attended my sessions what they thought of this project and the feedback was strongly positive. I hope to see students in Colorado sharing their poems with us in the near future.

My thanks to Mary Nida Smith for her response to my query about what you think good, bad, or indifferent about this blog. The question is still before the house for anyone who wishes to offer constructive advice.

 

For those who check the monthly Teaching Tools on the Teacher page, the February addition is up, thanks to Kathy Temean. Also thanks to Kathy, the new word puzzle is up on the Kids page. It’s one of the best yet so check it out.

David

Talk among yourselves

REMINDER: THE WORD THIS MONTH IS ROAD. IF YOU’RE TUNING IN LATE, TIME WAS THE WORD FOR LAST MONTH. WE’LL GET THE OFFICIAL CHANGE MADE SHORTLY.

Okay, I’ve run out of time. I need to gather my thoughts before leaving for Denver tomorrow. I’m working on a set of poems. I haven’t packed and I have a lot of last minute preparations to make, including making sure that my mom, now 97, has everything she needs while I’m out of pocket for four days.

We’ve already seen six good poems posted by adults in the first two days of the month. I’m in awe of the energy and talent we’re seeing here. And I’m grateful that so many of you are taking the time to come here to visit, comment, and share.

I’ll do my best to get something new and interesting up while I’m in Denver. You already know that Laura Purdie Salas is my guest this Friday. We have the journal question on the table and so far only Mary Nida Smith has contributed to that.

In the meantime please make yourself at home. Visit among yourselves. If someone makes a comment that appeals to you, follow up and keep it going. The door is unlocked.

David