Thursday, May 30, 2019

May DMC Wrap-Up Celebration + Giveaway


Megan Lynnette

At the beginning of the month, Elizabeth Steinglass challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. The challenge was based on her poem "Instructions for the Field" from Soccerverse: Poems about Soccer (WordSong, 2019). Read her sample poem HERE, or as part of her Spotlight interview HERE. Look for Soccerverse at your local bookstore on June 4th!

With more than 50 responses including several student poems . . .

Leicester City Football Club

this challenge was an all-around winner!

Poems were mostly inspired by everyday objects in and around home or school, or out and about in our local neighborhoods. Our shared familiarity with these objects probably had a lot to do with the success of this challenge. It was so much fun seeing these common objects portrayed in a fresh new light.

Many thanks to everyone who participated, and especially to Liz for inspiring this eclectic collection—


Martha Heinemann Bixby

and be amazed at our poetic menagerie!


Scroll through the poems below, or for best viewing, CLICK HERE.

Made with Padlet

Is there an inanimate object you'd like to write an instruction poem about? If so, you'll need to be quick—this challenge ends TODAY (Friday, May 31, 2019). Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet by the end of the day and I will add it to the wrap-up presentation.




Participants in this month's challenge will automatically be entered to win a signed copy of Soccerverse: Poems about Soccer by Elizabeth Steinglass, illustrated by Edson Ikê (Wordsong, 2019). One entry per participant, not per poem.

Alternatively, you may enter the giveaway by commenting below. Comments must be received by Tuesday, June 4th. If you contribute a poem and comment below, you will receive two entries in total.

The winner will be chosen randomly and announced next Friday, June 7th, when we reveal our next Spotlight ON interview and DMC challenge!


This week the Poetry Friday community is celebrating and sharing the work of Naomi Shihab Nye, our new Young People's Poet Laureate. Read my interview with Naomi HERE, my poem "Letters" inspired by "To Manage" from Voices in the Air (Greenwillow Books, 2018), and our wrap-up celebration for her challenge to write poems with questions HERE.
Mary Lee Hahn is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup with many more Naomi Shihab Nye offerings at A Year of Reading.





DMC: "Instructions" by Michele Krueger




INSTRUCTIONS

Seed,
tucked in soil,
freed of hull,
weathered shell,
slowly swell.
Accept your fate.
Germinate.
Take root.
Be firm.
Introduce yourself
to worm.
Take stock.
Learn to navigate
around mole,
over rock.
But beware,
Don’t linger there.
Travel up towards light,
heat.
Be nourished.
Burst forth
and flourish.
Drink, quench.
Avoid flood.
Unfurl leaf,
Burgeon bud.
Give the world
a fragrant scent.
Flower’s sweet
accomplishment.


© 2019 Michele Krueger. All rights reserved.


Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration tomorrow, Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Wednesday, May 29, 2019

DMC: Instructions for the Sun and a star, by Isabella and Ani




Today I'm delighted to feature two students from Rebekah Hoeft's 3rd grade classroom. As you can see with these celestial poems, her young poets really do shine! Read more of Mrs. Hoeft's students' poems on the May 2019 padlet.


SUN INSTRUCTIONS

Shine real bright.
Don't come at night.
Don't come close to Earth.
When Winter comes, knock him back to
Aunt Artica.
Be the star of the show.
Let everybody know:
you shine bright.
 

© 2019 Isabella, 3rd Grader. All rights reserved.


STAR INSTRUCTIONS

Star in the sky,
shine so bright.
Only come
out in the night.

Be sparkly
and shiny
when you glow.

© 2019 Ani, 3rd Grader. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Tuesday, May 28, 2019

DMC: "Instructions for Cinnamon Toast" by Penny Parker Klostermann




INSTRUCTIONS FOR CINNAMON TOAST

Invite me to breakfast.
Begin as a simple slice of bread.
Color yourself buttery yellow,
staying within the crusty lines.
Pen words with generous swirls
of cinnamon-brown
and sugar-white.
(I’ll understand the message)
Tuck yourself in an oven-envelope.
Send out your irresistible aroma.
Relax.
Enjoy the warmth.
Go ahead—fall asleep.
I’ll take it from here.

© 2019 Penny Parker Klostermann. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Monday, May 27, 2019

DMC: "Instructions for a River" by Cheriee Weichel




INSTRUCTIONS FOR A RIVER

Acquiesce to the seasons.
Satiate yourself on snow melt and spring rain.
Rescue runoff from rivulets and streams.
Tumble white and wild over boulders and rocks.
Careen screaming over cliffs, and then
Ease off and etch oxbows onto plains.
Keep within your banks.
Flood only when necessary.
Slow down in summer, even rivers need a rest.
Gorge yourself on autumn storms and then,
Come winter, rest, encased in ice.

Acknowledge your importance, but
Remember, you are part of a larger cycle.
Share some of your cargo with the sun.
Hydrate the plants that grow near your shores.
Vanquish the thirst of animals congregating there.
Replenish oceans and lakes.

Be mindful of your responsibilities.
Harbour insects of all kinds.
Calm your whirlpools around nesting fowl.
Be gentle with amphibians and reptiles.
Mind your manners around mammals,
but keep those beavers in check.
Nurture fish of all species.
Guard their eggs til they hatch.
Tend the fry till they are ready and then,
Show them the way to ocean and lake.
Welcome them home when they return.

Provide for your people.
Cradle canoes and kayaks.
Float flies and fishing lines downstream.
Scrape out swimming holes.
Rehabilitate yourself when you are desecrated.
Be kind to us, even when we are undeserving.
And fierce when you must, but
Please don’t take our loved ones from us.
Let the rumble of your passing be a persistent lullaby.


© 2019 Cheriee Weichel (draft). All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Thursday, May 23, 2019

DMC: "Instructions for My Mirror" by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes


[K]ua


INSTRUCTIONS FOR MY MIRROR

Love what you see
Be patient and kind
Keep expectations in check

Reflect my best self
Reject my objections
Cast no doubt or shadow

Focus my light
Frame my true beauty
Remind me that I am enough

© 2019 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.


This poem does not give instructions to just any mirror, I wanted the poem to be in the voice of a struggling teenager addressing their own mirror. It was inspired by my daughter Miranda's Girl Scout gold award project, "The True Face of Teenage Beauty"—a photography-based project dedicated to increasing awareness of the inaccurate media representation of teens.

As a parent of one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet, it's rather shocking when your daughter responds to the interview question, "Why do you feel like you need/want to do something like this project?" with this:

To put it simply, it’s because I’m a teenager, 
and my friends and I hate ourselves.


Gioia De Antoniis
It's heartbreaking, actually. I may not agree with her self-view, but I'm not going to argue—she feels what she feels and I need to respect that. (Read her entire interview with Christine Boatwright at See Mama Read.)

When I think back on my own pressure cooker years, I, too, remember the need to look perfect, to do everything right, to become an individual while still trying to fit in. At some level I still struggle with self-esteem issues, though at this stage of my life it's probably got more to do with my own expectations than society's expectations of me. I don't know. It's all pretty confusing.

What's not confusing, however, is my determination to help Miranda get the word out about this cause that is so near and dear to her own heart. If you have (or know) a teenager, would you please share Miranda's website with them?

https://mbarnes03.wixsite.com/teenagebeauty

She has a nifty slider app on her About page that perfectly demonstrates the impossible standards of media misrepresentation, as well as an eye-opening Profiles page, and an excellent Gallery of teenage portraits. Miranda would love help in spreading the word about her project. If at all possible, ask the teens you know to get involved—to send in a photo and/or message with their thoughts on the topic so that Miranda can publish them on the site.

Is it only media representation that makes teenagers feel "ugly" or "invisible"? As adults (parents, educators, etc), what can we do to help?


We're entering into our final week of this month's challenge from Elizabeth Steinglass to "write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job." Daily ditties this week included poems by Rosi Hollinbeck, Donna JT Smith, Margaret Simon, and Dianne Moritz. Carol Varsalona, Catherine Flynn, and Buffy Silverman posted instructional poems on their own blogs this week. Is yours on the May 2019 padlet? All poems on the padlet will be included in next Friday's wrap-up celebration!

The winner of last week's giveaway for a copy of There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth by B.J. Lee, illustrated by David Opie (Pelican Publishing, 2019) is...


MARGARET SIMON
Congratulations, Margaret!

Thanks to Dani at Doing the Work that Matters for hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

DMC: "Instructions to a Camera" by Dianne Moritz




INSTRUCTIONS TO A CAMERA

Find good light,
perfect angles.
Blur your focus,
soften scars,
furrows of frowns,
deep crow’s feet.
Catch a dazzling
twinkle of mischief
in sunlit eyes, bright
smile on pouty lips.
Pause a moment.
Ready…
set...
click your shutter.

© 2019 Dianne Moritz. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Wednesday, May 22, 2019

DMC: "Instructions to a Bird's Nest" by Margaret Simon




INSTRUCTIONS TO A BIRD'S NEST

Hold
     leaves,
         twigs,
             snake skins
woven into
the shape of a bowl
perfectly sized for
      three
          small
                eggs
laid in late spring
in the crepe myrtle tree.
Do not sway
          lean,
              loosen
in the wind.
Stay
still & quiet
waiting patiently
to watch wild birth. 


© 2019 Margaret Simon. All rights reserved.




Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Tuesday, May 21, 2019

DMC: "Instructions to Nail Clippers" by Donna JT Smith




INSTRUCTIONS TO NAIL CLIPPERS

Be shiny and sharp,
Be quick,
But not on it.
Be smallish to
Carry around in
a pocket.
Hang around feet,
Hang around hands,
Where toesies and fingers
Have trimming demands.
Make a snippy-ish sound,
Remain cool under pressure.
Cut pointy, or round,
Then file for good measure.
And when you are done,
Slip back in the deep
Of pocket or purse,
For that’s where you’ll sleep
Until the next need
To clip and make neat
An ugly hangnail
Or unpedicured feet.

© 2019 Donna JT Smith. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Monday, May 20, 2019

DMC: "Instructions for a Lawn Sprinkler" by Rosi Hollinbeck




INSTRUCTIONS FOR A LAWN SPRINKLER

Keep your head down
and perfectly still.

Patience.

When you feel the pressure,
hold your head up high and

Squirt! Squirt! Squirt! to the left.

Turn back.

Squirt! Squirt! Squirt! to the left.

Turn Back.

A perfect arc.
Every time.

Squirt! Squirt! Squirt! to the left.

Turn back.

Head down.
Rest until tomorrow.

© 2019 Rosi Hollinbeck. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Thursday, May 16, 2019

B.J. Lee: The Poet and the Picture Book Writer


B.J. Lee's author signing at Barnes & Noble, Clearwater FL

Many of us poet-types also engage in other writing projects, like picture books, nonfiction, or novels. But are we always consciously aware of the changes we go through to make that happen? For me, the writer's transmutation—how we adapt one skill set to accommodate a different genre—is complex and mysterious.

How, for example, are the processes of writing poetry and rhyming picture books similar or different?
 
Purchase at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble
or via Indiebound.org.

I posed this question to TLD contributor B. J. Lee, and she was kind enough to address the matter for me.

B.J. Lee is our resident expert on poetry forms, but with her debut rhyming picture book released from Pelican Publishing earlier this year, I asked if she might talk about how a poet who excels in poetry forms transformed into a picture book author.


So here she is, hungry readers— 
Chomp down on this appetizing article by B.J. Lee!



The Poet and the Picture Book Writer

This poet and this picture book writer are different artists. As a poet, I struggle with story structure. It used to be far easier for me to write an entire poetry collection of 20 or so poems than it was for me to write one picture book. Fortunately, picture book writing is getting a smidgen easier for me and it’s a good thing because poetry is a very hard sell. I still write lots of poetry but picture books call out to me as well.

So what is the difference between writing a poem and writing a picture book? The first and probably most important difference is arc. A poem needs no arc. A picture book relies heavily on arc.

Because I struggled with picture book writing, for the Gator character I had in mind, I was drawn to a form with a built-in arc. So how did I turn the structure of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly into a picture book with my character, Gator?

I followed the built-in arc of There Was an Old Lady...which gave me rising action.



As Gator unwisely swallows a succession of hapless animals, he becomes increasingly uncomfortable. Something has to happen – a climax of some sort.

Text © 2019 by B.J. Lee. Illustrations © 2019 by David Opie.
From THERE WAS AN OLD GATOR WHO SWALLOWED A MOTH (Pelican Publishing)


I chose to change up the climax and not have Gator die. There is a trend in modern There Was an Old Lady... parodies, including those by Lucille Colandro, Jennifer Ward and Penny Parker Klostermann, to not have the main character die. I didn’t want Gator to die either. How did I set it up so Gator didn’t die? With my first stanza, and the moth/cough slant rhyme. Without including spoilers, perhaps you can guess how I used this rhyme pair to produce a better fate for Gator.

The other difference between poetry and picture books is that a poem it is about capturing one thing, with the exception of narrative poetry, but more on that later. A poem is about one moment, one feeling, one image. This begs the question: can you turn a poem into a picture book? While one moment, one feeling, one image, can be the start of a picture book, and perhaps a very good start, it will somehow need to be expanded into a story with an arc.

Here is an example of a poem about one thing.

Recently published in the Savannah Morning News.                                    



















I don’t believe this story is expandable into a picture book. It captures one moment in nature. It doesn’t go anywhere story-wise. Got story? No.

The following poem, on the other hand, might be able to be expanded into a picture book because it has a narrative. I have no plans currently to turn this poem into a picture book but, now that I think about it… hmmmm. I guess time will tell! Got story? Maybe.

Highlights, June 2018


So if you have a narrative poem, which includes the ballad, as I previously discussed in a TLD post, you can explore it to see if you can make it into a picture book. I have several narrative poems I did this with, including one ballad. Of course, it usually has to be expanded greatly. There are other considerations when writing picture books such as pacing. How do you spread a story over 32 (or more) pages. It’s also important to think about page turns.

Very rarely we do find existing poems that have been made into picture books, but there are a few. One that comes to mind is A Fairy Went a-Marketing. This is an older poem by Rose Fyleman, originally published in her collection, Fairies and Chimneys (a wonderful collection, by the way, if you are partial to fairies...and who isn’t?).

Some songs have been made into picture books, and I consider songs to be poems set to music, such as Octopus’s Garden by Ringo Starr. Incidentally, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly was originally a song and it has been published as a picture book by writers such as Simms Taback and Pam Adams.

In conclusion, you might check to see if you have any poems that spark picture book ideas, particularly narrative poems. While Gator didn’t start with a poem, I was inspired to use a poetic cumulative rhyme structure to capture this larger-than-life character.

I feel very lucky to have had THERE WAS AN OLD GATOR WHO SWALLOWED A MOTH accepted by Pelican Publishing. When using cumulative rhyme as a picture book story structure, one really has to do something unique with it, because so many adaptations have been written. I had success with my version because it was regional and thus appealed to Pelican Publishing.

On my journey to picture book publication, the classic cumulative rhyme, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly inspired me to understand arc. I hope something in this post inspires you on your picture book journey.

Picture book publication has been such a blessing and I love how people are falling in love with my unfortunate character, whose appetite gets the best of him. My community is rallying around me and Gator in the form of a fabulous book launch.

"Gator Day" at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, March 10, 2019.


Thank you, B.J., for another fabulous visit to Today's Little Ditty!
Read B.J.'s other TLD contributor posts: The Roundel and The Ballad.

AND thank you to Pelican Publishing for sending me a copy of There Was an Old Gator who Swallowed a Moth for one lucky TLD reader.

To enter, leave a comment below or send an email with the subject "Gator Giveaway" to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com by Tuesday, May 21, 2019. The winner will be randomly selected and announced next Friday.


B.J. Lee is a former college music librarian turned full-time writer and poet. Her debut picture book, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth, released January 28, 2019 from Pelican Publishing. She is an award-winning children’s poet with over 100 poems and stories published/forthcoming. She has written poems for children’s anthologists Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, Kenn Nesbitt and others, and appears in anthologies by such publishers as Bloomsbury, National Geographic, Little, Brown, Otter-Barry and Wordsong. Magazine credits include Spider, Highlights, and The School Magazine.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to "write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job."  This week's daily ditties included poems by Tabatha Yeatts, Diane Mayr, students Chloe and Madison, and Cindy Breedlove. Also don't miss the original instruction poems shared today by Molly Hogan, Mary Lee Hahn, and Christie Wyman. Add yours to the May 2019 padlet by the end of this month!
At Reflections on the Teche, Margaret Simon and her students are celebrating nature with "pi-ku" poetry. Never heard of it? Discover pi-ku and many other poetry wonders at this week's Poetry Friday roundup!





DMC: "Binoculars" by Cindy Breedlove




BINOCULARS

Hang light around my neck,
ready always on my trek.

Zoom quick, and stabilize.
Focus sharp before it flies.

Don't fog, so I can see
that flighty little chickadee.

© 2019 Cindy Breedlove. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Wednesday, May 15, 2019

DMC: Instructions for a Merry-Go-Round and a Notebook, by Chloe and Madison




Margaret Simon introduced her gifted students to this month's challenge to show them "how we can write about the most ordinary of things in a very extraordinary way." Not surprisingly, she got some extraordinary results! Read more of her students' poems on the May 2019 padlet.


INSTRUCTIONS FOR A MERRY-GO-ROUND

Make me dizzy
Go round and round
Blow a soft breeze
Shhhhhhh Shhhhhhh
Create a tornado of sand
Spinnnnn Spinnnnn
Don't let me fly off

Ouch!!!!!!!
I hit a bushhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
 

          © 2019 Chloe 3rd grader GT. All rights reserved.


INSTRUCTIONS FOR MY G.T. NOTEBOOK

Your vertebra must stay strong,
Your spindly blue ribcage holds beating words and breathing doodles.
You must stay a well-functioning organism, doing your job efficiently.
Hold together until you grow weary and old and begin to weather.
When you fall apart, let your destruction become recycled into the next generation.


          © 2019 Madison, 5th Grade G.T. student. All rights reserved.


Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Tuesday, May 14, 2019

DMC: A cherita terbalik by Diane Mayr





a directive to the tissue
box is in order

this pollen season

always stand at hand
ready to face nasal expulsions
with three-ply gentle strength

© 2019 Diane Mayr. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:





Monday, May 13, 2019

DMC: "Instructions for a Stop Sign" by Tabatha Yeatts




INSTRUCTIONS FOR A STOP SIGN

In a shifty,
Shifting world,

Be sincerely
Single-minded.

Greet everyone
You see with

Recognizable red—
Offer an

Unmistakable
You.

Be clear
And direct—

Draw our attention away
From everything else

Onto this
One thing:

Becoming
Still.

© 2019 Tabatha Yeatts. All rights reserved.



Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.

Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong: