Poetry Friday: Learning Roundup
Ruth at There’s No Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town is our host for the week. Hop on over there for the roundup.
News and Links
It’s been a busy few weeks, and I thought I’d share about things I’ve enjoyed doing.
- Listening—I stumbled on a great interview with Austin Kleon on creativity. I’m a big fan of his books and his newsletter. If you also enjoy his work, be sure to catch this podcast episode.
- Reading—I’ve been following Grant Snider’s Substack and his absorbing his new book, Poetry Comics. I highly recommend the book and all of his word nerdiness and how-to’s on his Substack.
- Learning—I took Laura Shovan’s recent 2-part mini from Highlights on “Breaks, Blank Space, and Gaps: Poetic Gutters in Novels in Verse and Poetry.” I learned so much and now have many next steps I’m excited to trip in my current WIP. I really appreciate workshops that help me think about my work really deeply and give me concrete things to try. If you ever get a chance to listen to Laura teach this class again, I’d really encourage you to. Here’s some information about the class.
- Teaching—I got to do a mini-haiku workshop with some of Margaret Simon’s students last week. What a delight to chat with students and hear their ideas! Many thanks to Margaret for having me. She wrote about it here.
- Upcoming Events—I recently heard that I’ll be presenting on two NCTE panels in Boston in November.
- “The Poetry of Nature: Instilling Awe, Wonder, and the Gift of Language for Sharing and Exploring Our World” with Teresa Robeson, Debra Shumaker, and Tanya Konerman, and me!
- “Finding Hope in Harsh Times: Using Verse Novels to Explore Challenging Topics in History” with Kip Wilson, Jeannine Atkins, Nadine Pinede, Barbara Krasner, and me!
Poetry Month Project
I’m in the home stretch of the poem-a-day for my Poetry Month Project.
Science inspiration for this poem: Why Save Bats? and Amazing Facts about Bats
In Praise of Bats
Praise the bat
as it wings through night—
noisy without annoying humans
echoes that that guide its way to food.
Praise the dark
embracing the nocturnal—
lighting the night garden
mimicking the moon.
Praise the flowers
shy in the sun
unfurling in moonshine
luring in bats.
Praise the bat
gulping its weight in insects
gorging on fruit
and seed-spreading by moonlight.
©Draft 2024 Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Haiku of the Week
Easter Sunday
even the trees dress
in new outfits
Photo Taken: March 31, 2024 in our neighborhood
Haiku Written: April 3, 2024
Poem as Picture Book
Written and Illustrated by Maciek Albrecht
Cameron Kids, 2021
This is a 235-word picture book that is told from the point of view of the river.
Poetry Connections
- Personification
- Mask/Persona Poem
- Vivid Verbs
Links
Grow
This week has been full of lots of learning for me. It’s been fun to learn new things and see how that might impact my writing.
14 Comments
Mary Lee Hahn
Three cheers for the bats!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Bat, bat, hooray!
Rose Cappelli
Thank you Marcie. Your bat poem makes me appreciate them and the job they do.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you, Rose!
Susan T.
“Praise the bat” is a great line and title. This is a good reminder to look for the bats we see here each summer; I’m not sure they’re here yet. They’re fun to watch.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
They are fun to watch. I used to see them a lot where we lived before.
Linda Baie
I love Grant Snider’s work and books, Marcie, glad you like him, too! And I love your haiku, brings back memories of looking, then wearing, pretty Easter dresses! Have a great week ahead!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
A teacher shared Grant’s mindfulness comics. They were amazing too!
PATRICIA J FRANZ
Can’t wait to check out CALL ME A RIVER.
And I so so wish I could sit in on your NCTE presentations!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
We should do a Nevermores proposal!
Karen Edmisten
I really enjoy Kleon’s work too! And I’m on board with praising bats, as long as they remember they don’t need to live in my attic. 😀
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
No bats in the attic!
Denise Krebs
Marcie, wow, so much here, as usual. Congrats on your NCTE proposals being accepted. Those trees dressed in their Easter finery are just lovely! Nice bat poem – I love all the first lines…”Praise the bats” “Praise the dark” “Praise the flowers” So many interesting facts included.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you, Denise!