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!
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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.
© Edel Wignell
(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.
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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.]
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Learn more about Edel Wignell, her books and poetry by visiting her website.
alphabetsoup.net.au 