Celebrating Poetic Writing

How often do poets and writers praise the writing of the masters and strive to use their voice and the magic of word play to bring verve to their own work? I am excited to share information about two poet friends who have exciting news.

Buffy Silverman's poetic book On a Gold-Blooming Day Finding Fall Treasures, made it's debut on September 6, 2020, National Read a Book Day. I recently found a special mailing from Lerner Publishing Group, a copy of Buffy's poetic book to publicize.

The hardbound book that will delight both children and adults is

a stunning one to display on a coffee table.

When reviewing Buffy's book, I fell in love with both the gorgeous nature photographs and the accompanying descriptive words, like a sun-dazzling day. Since I started decorating for the autumn season, I plan on leaving Buffy's book on display as a welcome-to-my-house treasure. When my little grandgirls come to visit, they will spot the book, take it in their hands, and be mesmerized by the beauty within each photographic page amidst a flow of poetic thought.

Hopefully, my grandgirls will lift their voices in celebration of Buffy's

pre-school to grade 3 book.

Another poet-teacher-publisher friend living in Switzerland, Bridget Magee is celebrating her one-year book anniversary of The 10*10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways this October. Bridget single-handedly edited and compiled her first anthology of 87 poems. I am happy to say that I am one of the 10*10 writers celebrating alongside Bridget. 

Bridget writes that in the past year, her "humble wee words inaugural poetry anthology earned Five 5-star Amazon reviews and multiple bloggers have sung collective praises". I was particularly impressed by a wonderful review by Karla Wendlin of Poetry Studio.

Bridget Magee focuses on the number 10 through clever use of language, humor, and heartfelt sentiment. The 87 poems are dived into 10 sections, each with an introductory quote that sets up intention (nod to Bridget!) of the poems that follow (e.g., "The qualing of strength lined with tenderness is anunbeatable combination..." Maya Angelou).The 10 topics address vocabulary (tentative, tenacity, tension), common phrases (take ten, I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole), and more. The poems, written by established as well as debut poets, reflect a wide variety of poetic styles. Brief biographical sketches of the poets are appended. Keep a copy of this book handy, as students will want to reread selections and read aloud their favorites, and possibly use poems as models for their own writing. The entire book might be an inspiration for a class writing project, celebrating a different number, such as "one" (e.g., one-sided, one-up, one of a kind, we're number one, one-hit wonder, etc.

Stay tuned to the month of October when Briget will put the spotlight on the 10*10 writers. Don't miss Bridget's wee words for wee words blog and business Facebook page. 

Below you find my poem that was written with my 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter Aurora in mind. I like to sing the poem to her instead of just reading it out loud. We laugh when I sing because I use gestures and movements to make Aurora giggle. Thank you, Bridget, for all the work you put into this wonderful poetry anthology. 

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Join me for the Poetry Friday Roundup hosted by my Australian poet friend/kidlit author, Kat Apel. Before reading the array of poetic goodness linked to Kat's blog, pause to read her post. She is sharing her successes and summer poem swaps (with beautiful haikus and nature poetry), along with her new books and presentations .

Featuring "On a Gold-Blooming Day"

In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous. ~ Aristotle

I fall in love with fall all over again each year. It's a golden feast of brilliance and rich colors. Mother Nature lays down the red carpet to celebrate the season's natural delights. In anticipation of fall, my friend, poet Buffy Silverman captures the vibrance of the season through the combination of photos and words in her new publication.

Published by Lerner Books

“With hashtags like #NaturePhotography, #Fall, and #NatureWalk, Twitter will light up on September 6, 2022, when Buffy Silverman's book, On a Gold-Blooming Day - Finding Fall Treasures, is published. This stunning book combines poetry and photography to create a visual feast for young readers, parents, and teachers. 

As a poet and photographer, Buffy's keen eyes spot nature scenes that want to become a poetic expression. Verbs combine with nouns for the creation of new words, rhymes flow, like rattle and skedattle, and photos share the limelight with nature herself. 

In addition to  the richness of the photo-poem book, Buffy adds back matter that enhances the reading experience for young children who are growing their vocabulary. Nonfiction descriptions of rhymed words and scenes provide content for young researchers to expand their knowledge. A glossary and further reading resources are also a bonus feature for explorers, writers, and readers. 

There is an artistic quality to the book that should not be overlooked. The visual choices of what to include are inspiring. Color photographs enhance each page. 

I recommend post-reading activities, like collage-making, narrative writing, researching  fall around the world, or creating photo books of class or individual walks, as creative endeavors. Introducing the next season through Buffy's previous book, On a Snow-Melting Day, provides students with a journey through winter as opposed to fall. 

Considering that nature photography is the art of capturing earth's beauty, Buffy excels as a writer of children's nonfiction books on seasonal beauty with this publication. In a conversation with Buffy I offered several inspirational quotes to ponder. She chose Ralph Waldo Emerson's: "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."

This quote resonates with me most.  It's easier for me to be patient with a camera in hand, watching bees buzzing in goldenrod or waiting for a crab spider to emerge from its hiding place, looking more closely as I click away. I think the appeal of photography for me is that it reminds me to slow down and observe closely.-Buffy Silverman

Buffy also mentioned that was thrilled Millbrook included a few of her photos in On a Gold-Blooming Day.

It just so happens that September 6, 2022 is not only the publication of On a Gold-Blooming Day but also National Read a Book Day. Perhaps, you will  read this book to a child or another book in anticipation of fall.

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Today is Poetry Friday and children's author and poet Tanita S. Davis is hosting the event. Join me at her blog to celebrate poetry goodness this week.

She and the Poetry Sisters wrote a Bop poem for this month's challenge. Not sure what that is? Find out at Tanita's blog. Her poem is very interesting in content and context. Perhaps, I will try out this format when I have more time.