poetry – Page 10

Visiting poet: Edel Wignell

Posted on August 5, 2013August 4, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Welcome to Edel Wignell, who is visiting today as part of the Soup Blog Poetry Festival. Edel has had 110 poems published and awarded — the most popular ones have been published up to five times! (We’ve published some of Edel’s poems in Alphabet Soup magazine, too.) As well as writing children’s poetry, Edel has written lots of novels, chapter books, plays, picture books and nonfiction books.

She’s a very busy writer!

—

When did you first start writing poetry?

When I was a kid at rural school. Poetry was important. We read it in our School Readers every day. Recitation was a subject for every age, so we all learnt to recite.

What sort of poetry do you like writing best of all?

Funny rhyming verse is my favourite.

What sort of poetry do you like reading best of all?

Humorous poetry.

Where has your poetry been published/distributed?

My poetry has been published in magazines (including Alphabet Soup) and on-line, and read on radio in Australia, the US and the UK. It has also been included in poetry anthologies in Australia and overseas.

Where can we find your poems?

Here’s one of my poems. A poem in this format has a special name. (What is it?)

RUTH’S TOOTH

There was a young lassie called Ruth,

Who wriggled a little looth tooth,

She hitched and she twitched

Like a goblin bewitched,

Till that tooth came looth from her mooth.

(Ruth’s Tooth was first published in Puffinalia, 1982; read on ABC Radio 3LO, 1991; also published in Annette Kosseris, Here We Go Again: New Poems for Children 3-10, 1999, Kindamindi Publishing, Sydney.

You can also read several poems on my website.

How often do you write?

Every day.

Do you prefer to write with a pen and paper or straight onto the computer?

I learnt to touch-type when I was thirteen, so I prefer to create on the screen. I power-walk early every morning, so I often create a poem in my head while I’m out. Then I write it when I arrive home.

What’s your number one tip for budding poets?

Write every day — a short session or a long one — free or rhyming verse. You don’t have to show it to anyone.

—

Edel’s Poetry Prescription

IF YOU’RE HAVING A SPOOKY DAY — read the following poem:

‘A Ghost with the Most’ in Bill Condon’s poetry collection, Don’t throw Rocks at Chicken Pox, illustrated by Kerry Millard. [It’s out of print but you might find it in your local library.]

—

Bilby Secrets — a nonfiction book by Edel Wignell

Learn more about Edel Wignell, her books and poetry by visiting her website.

Interview with Edel Wignell © 2013 Edel Wignell and Rebecca Newman https://soupblog.wordpress.com

Time for a poem – The Months

Posted on August 2, 2013August 6, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

The Months by Sara Coleridge

January brings the snow,
makes our feet and fingers glow.

February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.

March brings breezes loud and shrill,
To stir the dancing daffodil.

April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daises at our feet.

May brings flocks of pretty lambs,
Skipping by their fleecy dams.

June brings tulips, lilies, roses,
Fills the children’s hands with posies.

Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.

August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne.

Warm September brings the fruit,
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.

Fresh October brings the pheasant,
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.

Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are whirling fast.

Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.

—————————————————————

Sara Coleridge lived in the northern hemisphere in the nineteenth century — snow in January sounds strange to us! We’re sharing this poem as part of the Soup Blog Poetry Festival. Until the end of August we’ll be posting poems, interviews with children’s poets, tips for reading and writing poetry, and Poetry Prescriptions (poetry is good for the soul!).

poetry

Tuesday Challenge – Magnetic poetry

Posted on July 30, 2013July 27, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Last week we talked to Sally Murphy about writing poetry and she mentioned that she likes playing with magnetic words to write poetry. Today’s challenge is to use magnetic words to write your own short poem.

Here are some ways you could go about it:

If you have your own set of magnetic words — use them on a fridge or table top to write a short poem. (Or try this extra challenge — scoop a large handful of words and only select words from this handful when writing your poem!)
Try an online magnetic words site like Magnetic Poetry. This site gives you the equivalent of scooping a large handful of magnetic words. You can choose words from that handful to write your poem. Note: check with a parent or teacher first to get permission to visit the website.
If you have an iPad, ask your parents’ permission and check out the free Word Mover app (recommended by The Book Chook!)
If you don’t own magnetic words and you don’t want to use an app or an online site — ask family or friends to call out words and write them down on slips of paper. When you have a small pile, use these like magnetic words to write your poem.

You might make some extra rules for yourself — will you limit yourself to the words in front of you? Will you be allowed to change words slightly (like adding an ‘s’ or ‘ed’ to a word)? Can you add conjunctions (like ‘and’ or ‘because’) if they are not already in your pile of words? You decide!

Here’s one I wrote, using words at the Magnetic Poetry site. I didn’t allow myself to change or add words when I wrote my poem.

Under tiger sun

they go

balloon in hand

whispering

—

Your turn! If you write a poem using magnetic words, we’d love you to leave it in the comments. (Grownups are welcome to take part too, but please note we are G-rated!)

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Poems for National Tree Day (poetree!)

Posted on July 28, 2013July 28, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Today is National Tree Day in Australia — community groups and schools get together to plant and care for native trees and shrubs to help the environment and the planet.

We’ve gathered some tree-themed poems in honour of National Tree Day. (Make sure you ask a parent before you visit these websites!) Do you know any other tree poems?

Tree Australia Tree by Libby Hathorn (from The ABC Book of Australian Poetry) Hear Libby Hathorn reading the poem aloud on her blog, too.
Foreign Lands by Robert Louis Stevenson (from A Child’s Garden of Verses)
Plastic Bag Tree by Michael Rosen
Trees by Harry Behn
Twinkletoes by AA Milne
The Quangle Wangle’s Hat by Edward Lear
Poems about trees (by third grade students, Wisconsin, USA)

If you want to know how you can be a part of National Tree Day, visit the official website (you can take part at a later date if you’ve only heard about National Tree Day today … ).

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Visiting poet: Sally Murphy

Posted on July 25, 2013July 24, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Sally murphy

Today have a talented visitor — Sally Murphy, writer of children’s books and poetry. You might have read some of her poems in Alphabet Soup magazine and she also has two verse novels published. Her latest books include Meet Mary MacKillop and Do Not Forget Australia (these aren’t poetry books but they are good reads!). Sally is visiting today as part of our Poetry Festival.

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When did you first start writing poetry?

I don’t remember — it feels like I always wrote poetry. I loved playing with words and making up stories from when I was really little, and as soon as I learnt to write I wrote them down. In primary school I wrote poetry in class, and also entered writing competitions and wrote poems for my family. My first published poetry was in school magazines and I remember also being published in the local paper as part of writing competitions.

What sort of poetry do you like writing?

Most of my poetry is what you would call free verse — unrhymed, almost narrative poems. But I also love playing with rhyme.

What sort of poetry do you like reading?

Good poetry. I don’t care what the structure is, I just like to read a poem that makes me go “ooooooh”. Usually it does that by saying something almost perfectly in a way that makes me think.

Where can we find your poetry?

In books — I’ve had two verse novels published by Walker Books (Pearl Verses the World and Toppling), a rhyming picture book (Pemberthy Bear) and a collection of performance poetry (Assembly). I’ve also been published in magazines including The School Magazine and the wonderful Alphabet Soup.

Here is a poem I wrote about writing a poem:

WRITING A POEM

Kids crying

kids sighing

kids chewing pens

or writing.

Giggling

and wriggling

and impatiently jiggling.

Passing notes

scrumpling and crumpling pieces of paper

as the clock tick tock ticks

and Miss Imms paces the room

waiting for our poems to appear.

See how I wrote the poem (and maybe write one of your own) here.

How often do you write?

I try to write every day, though I will confess it doesn’t always happen. But I carry a notebook wherever I go, and try to snatch even just five minutes to write whenever I can.

Do you prefer to write with a pen and paper or straight onto the computer?

Pen and paper, when writing poetry. I think it helps to connect with my creative side, and allows me freedom to just write it all down without worrying about spelling or anything. Then I can cross out and rearrange and experiment. I also have sets of magnetic words which I like to play with to create poems.

Your number one tip for budding poets?

Write a lot. Don’t worry if it isn’t all perfect — have fun messing about with words. The more you write the better your writing will get. Oh, and I know you only asked for one tip, but it goes hand in hand: read a lot. If you want to write poetry, read a lot of poetry.

Sally’s Poetry Prescription

IF YOU’RE HAVING A CRANKY DAY — read the following poem:

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed — and gazed — but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

—

The language is a little old fashioned (it was written in the nineteenth century!) but the image of thousands of daffodils always makes me smile.

You can learn more about Sally Murphy, her books and poetry by visiting her website and by checking out this earlier post on Soup Blog.

Interview with Sally Murphy © 2013 Sally Murphy and Rebecca Newman https://soupblog.wordpress.com

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Time for a poem: Seal Lullaby

Posted on July 22, 2013July 21, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Seal Lullaby by Rudyard Kipling

Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us
And black are the waters that sparkled so green.
The moon, o’er the combers, looks downward to find us
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.

—
Where billow meets billow, there soft be thy pillow.
Oh, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee
Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas.

—————————————————————

We’re sharing this poem as part of the Soup Blog Poetry Festival — until the end of August we’ll be posting poems, interviews with children’s poets, tips for reading and writing poetry, and Poetry Prescriptions (poetry is good for the soul!).

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Visiting poet: Jackie Hosking

Posted on July 11, 2013July 20, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Today we welcome Jackie Hosking who is visiting as part of the Soup Blog Poetry Festival. We’re big fans of Jackie’s poetry and you might remember reading some of her poems in Alphabet Soup magazine — like ‘Paperwork’, ‘The Moon’, ‘Butterfly Kisses’, and ‘I Wish I Were a Dragon’.

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I wrote my first poem when I was 17 years old. It was called ‘Consequence’, a rhyming nonsense poem that made the use of opposites. It began …

A Christmas tree stood on the beach

Within my grasp but out of reach

What sort of poetry do you like writing?

Best of all I like writing rhyming and rhythmical poetry. I’ve tried to write free verse poems and I’ve enjoyed the process but rhyme and meter suit me best of all.

What sort of poetry do you like reading?

I like to ready any poems that make me go aaaahhhhh …

Where could a reader find your poetry?

My poetry has been published in magazines, anthologies, websites, on a train, educational texts and next year in a picture book titled The Croc and the Platypus.

You can read some more of my poems on my blog.

How often do you write?

Not as often as I should probably — but when I do I’m so absorbed that many hours can pass without me realising it. It’s really exciting when this happens.

Do you prefer to write with a pen and paper or straight onto the computer?

Straight onto the computer, though I will record ideas if I’m out on a walk with no computer in site. Love my phone for this!

Your number one tip for budding poets?

Write about what moves YOU. There is nothing more compelling than reading a piece that was written with passion.

Jackie’s Poetry Prescription:

IF YOU’RE HAVING A GRUMPY DAY — read the following poem! (I wrote ‘The Quarrel’ as it’s perfect for stamping your grumpies out.)

THE QUARREL

The giants are moaning

And mumbling and groaning

They’re grumbling with all of their might

They’re stamping and stomping

And ranting and romping

They’re all in the mood for a fight

—

The giants are raving

And whining and waving

They’re snatching the clouds; every one

They’re howling and wailing

And flapping and flailing

And heaving the clouds at the sun

—

The giants are lurching

And stumbling and searching

For weapons to settle the score

They’re ploughing and plunging

And digging and lunging

For dinosaur bones from before

—

They’re kicking and thrashing

And slicing and slashing

Electrical tension is frightening

They’re whacking and whizzing

And static is fizzing

Exploding the sky with its lightening

—

The giants are jumping

While jeering and thumping

The dinosaur bones as they plunder

And the flash in the night

Well might give you a fright

But just wait for the crack of the thunder

—

Thank you, Jackie! If you’d like to learn more about Jackie Hosking and her poetry, check out her website and this earlier post on Soup Blog.

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Time for a poem: Old Man Platypus

Posted on July 8, 2013July 6, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Old Man Platypus by AB (Banjo) Paterson

Far from the trouble and toil of town,
Where the reed beds sweep and shiver,
Look at a fragment of velvet brown —
Old Man Platypus drifting down,
Drifting along the river.

And he plays and dives in the river bends
In a style that is most elusive;
With few relations and fewer friends,
For Old Man Platypus descends
From a family most exclusive.

He shares his burrow beneath the bank
With his wife and his son and daughter
At the roots of the reeds and the grasses rank;
And the bubbles show where our hero sank
To its entrance under water.
Safe in their burrow below the falls
They live in a world of wonder,
Where no one visits and no one calls,
They sleep like little brown billiard balls
With their beaks tucked neatly under.

And he talks in a deep unfriendly growl
As he goes on his journey lonely;
For he’s no relation to fish nor fowl,
Nor to bird nor beast, nor to horned owl;
In fact, he’s the one and only!

—

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Today is the first day of the Soup Blog’s Poetry Festival — until the end of August we’ll be posting poems, interviews with children’s poets, tips for reading and writing poetry, and Poetry Prescriptions.

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Soup Blog Poetry Festival

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Alphabet Soup

Have you already been enjoying your winter school holidays? Here in WA we are JUST STARTING our school holidays this afternoon. It’s great holiday weather in Perth. As I look out my window I can see blue, blue skies.

In addition to being in a holidayish mood, I am very excited to announce that we are holding a poetry festival right here on Soup Blog. For the rest of July and all of August we will be celebrating poetry and poets. Bring all your friends! Bring your teachers! Bring your grandparents! Bring your dog!

What will be happening during our poetry festival?

I’m so glad you asked. We’ll have tips for reading poetry, we’ll be sharing some poems we love (oldies but goodies), talking to a number of Australian children’s poets about their writing, and every Tuesday we’ll offer you a tiny poem challenge. We’ll also feature Poetry Prescriptions from our visiting children’s poets — poetry is good for the soul!

When does this festival start?

On Monday 8 July 2013! Be sure to check back then. We’ll be launching the Soup Blog Poetry Festival with the very first poem we published in Alphabet Soup magazine. (I wonder if any of you can remember what it was?) On Tuesday we’ll have our first tiny poem challenge for you. And on Thursday we’ll have a first of our Australian poets visiting — Jackie Hosking.

See you then!

~ Rebecca (Soup Blog’s editor)