Reading to your kids? Try reaching for a book of poetry during this National Poetry Month. We have loads of kids poetry books, from whimsical to poignant – and our friends at Brightly have offered even more selections, with their list of diverse poetry books.
From the Brightly blog: “I love poetry because it’s so universal, unique, and accessible to kids. The compact, songlike nature of many poems can make learning language feel almost effortless to children. They don’t even realize how much they’re retaining by reciting a simple nursery rhyme or short poem.” – Charnaie Gordon
Visit our children’s poetry display; you’ll find all sorts of poems – lyrical , funny, imaginative, nostalgic, and silly.
Pick up something poetic to share with your little ones, such as Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems. Happy Poetry Month!
…Resistance is futile.
move & roll on to this poem
do not resist this poem
this poem has your eyes
this poem has his head
this poem has his arms
this poem has his fingers
this poem has his fingertips
-Excerpt from “Beware: Do Not Read This Poem,” by Ishmael Reed
Whether you are a poet and ya know it, or have nightmares of analyzing poetry in high school, it may be time to approach the subject anew: you may just be surprised at what speaks to something within. Here are some ways to dip your toe back into that poetry pool….
Continue reading Feed our Brain and Soul: April is National Poetry Month
April 23, 2016 is the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, and the 452nd anniversary of his birth.
“No longer mourn for me when I am dead
than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
give warning to the world that I am fled
from this vile world with vilest worms to dwell:
nay, if you read this line, remember not
the hand that writ it, for I love you so,
that I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
if thinking on me then should make you woe.”
From Sonnet 71
Continue reading William Shakespeare: 400th Anniversary of his death
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
What do these titles have in common? They and many other books take their titles from lines of poetry.
Of Mice and Men is from “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,
(usually translated as Often go awry) Continue reading Poetry Surrounds Us
TERENCE, this is stupid stuff: …
Pretty friendship ’tis to rhyme
Your friends to death before their time
Moping melancholy mad:
Come, pipe a tune to dance to, lad.’
A.E. Housman from “Terence, this is stupid stuff”
That is A. E. Housman referring to his own writing of poetry.
As I wandered around the library taking pictures of staff and their favorite poetry books for a poetry video at least 2 staff members said, “I hate poetry”. Continue reading Liking Poetry