Thursday, March 29, 2012

Meet Renée LaTulippe - A Wonderful Plan for Poetry Month-#30

The March Slice of Life Challenge is hosted by Stacey and Ruth at their blog,
Two Writing Teachers. - next to last time!  See you on Tuesdays!
and

It's Poetry Friday!  Get Over To Heidi's blog, My Juicy Little Universe, and jump into poetry!  Time for Poetry Month!




      Two more days and it’s time! It’s Poetry Month. I know you know this, but just wanted to say it again, and hopefully you heard the squeal in my words. The March Slice of Life challenge has been awesome and I will miss the community, and I hope many will continue blogging, right into April, perhaps writing poetry, and maybe linking to some beautiful sites that are all about poetry. My post today introduces one of those sites with a plan for poet visitors on Mondays, Fridays and an occasional Wednesday. 

       I met Renée LaTulippe and found her kidlit website, No Water River, the picture book and poetry place, when I began reading the writers who linked to the meme group, Poetry Friday. I do love poetry and this became one fabulous day during the week that I could just sink into it and read all the ideas about poetry and poems from others who love poetry too. 

       When I went to Renée’s website a few weeks ago, I found her wonderful poem Pen and Pencil—A Composed Love Story. Among certain other ‘themed’ poetry, I collect poems about writing, so this was a wonderful surprise when I found it.

                        With Renée’s permission, here is the poem:


Pencil and Pen: A Composed Love Story

Said Pen to Pencil, casually:
What do you think of you and me?

Said Pencil, in a righteous huff:

You? You’re too indelible!
I really couldn’t deal.
You put things down on paper
that then you can’t repeal!

I find that irresponsible!
Take heed of this one phrase:
You’ll never, ever win me
till you mend your inky ways.

Said Pen to Pencil, low and gruff:

And you, my dear?
Irresolute!
You clearly can’t commit.
You hem and haw, then turn around
and rub out what you writ!

You can’t be trusted, fickle one,
your word is a disgrace,
so any thoughts you had of love
you might as well erase.

Arrogant!
Ambiguous!
Imperious! You cad!

Ambivalent!
Impertinent!
Precarious! You’re mad!        

…………….

Said Pen:
I find you irresistible,
you gorgeous graphite girl.
He drew a heart around her
in an everlasting swirl.

Said Pencil:
I think you might be lovable;
I think it’s you I choose.
Then she colored in his heart
with a million subtle hues.

They’ve been together ever since,
their lives one long embrace,
and raised eight little scribbles
in their blissful, cozy case.

     And here is the video of Renée reading that same poem.  Delightful!



       Renée says her love of children’s poetry, and her belief that poetry must be heard to be fully appreciated, led her to create her video blog, No Water River. She already had a bunch of her own kids’ poems lying around, and thought, Why not record them and put them online? So she did. And that led to asking other poets to do the same. In each post, you’ll find a related intro (sometimes in rhyme), a video of the day’s poem being read by Renée or the guest poet, the text of the poem, a fun interview (which she calls “snickerviews”) with the guest poet, and extension activities for kids. The guest poets often go above and beyond, like the recent poet who read her poem about crocodiles while sitting in the midst of a crocodile pond in Africa! That’s dedication to inspiration!

         Renée wanted to do even more, so she sent out emails to dozens more poets, asking them to join her and add their voices and poems. Now it has become a goal to create a vast online video library of children’s poets reading their own work—a library that she hopes becomes a poetry resource for teachers, parents, and kids. She also plans to add links to more in-depth info about each poet and lessons or activities for each poem so that teachers have support to help use the videos in the classroom. I can imagine students choosing one of the poets and their poem as an author study during poetry month, or any other month! 

          For Poetry Month, Renée has invited ten notable poets and authors to contribute videos to the library, and we can look forward to hearing and seeing the following poets during April:

Michael Rosen (UK Children’s Laureate 2007-2009)
J. Patrick Lewis (current U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate)

       Please be sure to visit this site during Poetry Month on those special days of Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so you can enjoy all the beautiful words.

45 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this awesome resource. Will miss reading your posts...see you on Tuesdays?

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    1. Glad you like the site, Amy, and hope you find it useful.

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  2. Linda,
    What a great slice. I loved the information. I plan to send it out to other friends. You always make such wonderful connections.

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    1. Thank you for passing on the info about No Water River! I hope it eventually reaches lots of kids and teachers.

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  3. What a great poem by Renée LaTulippe! Thank you for sharing the poem and the resources! Looking forward to exploring poetry in April.

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  4. Ooo... what a great resource! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Dana and Maria - So glad you like the site. I hope you find it useful as a resource for teaching poetry!

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  5. I've been trying to read more poetry this year but I haven't really jumped in wholeheartedly. This looks like fun, I'll have to check out your links. I love the pen and pencil poem. :)

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  6. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this excellent resource! I just love the poem. How fun.

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    1. Thank you, Jen and Cindy! Stop by in April to see some amazing poets doing their thing!

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  7. I am so excited about poetry month. Thanks for this great resource. We are on break next week, then have state testing, so I cannot start poetry month until April 18. I think it'll go on into May! Will you take the 30 Day poetry challenge? Check it out on Facebook.

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    1. I will continue to post my own poetry videos and to invite guests all year round! Never too late for poetry!

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  8. Great poem from Renee! I'll check back in April for everything of course. I'm doing the April A-Z challenge next month with a poem a kids poem a day. There is something just so much fun about kids poetry.
    Poetry:
    try
    to
    type
    prety...see Elsie for the explanation.

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    1. Thank you, Donna. And good luck with the challenge. Kids' poetry is a joy to write and to read!

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  9. Oh my gosh. I never knew about this site! Can't wait for April. What a special month it will be! P.S. you and your family continue to be in my prayers!

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    1. I do hope you'll stop by and see what we're up to at No Water River, Carol!

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  10. I am so glad you posted this. What a wonderful addition for Poetry Month. Thanks so much!

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  11. Does April really start in two days? Thank you for sharing the resources that you find. I put No Water River on my Google Reader.

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  12. Thank you Julie and Terje! I do hope you stop by to see the amazing poets I've lined up for April!

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  13. Leave it to you, Linda, to create another rich and awesome post. I love the exuberance of Renee's poem - perfect for getting at the joy of the writing process. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you so much, Tara! I hope you stop by during April, too!

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  14. No Water River is such a joy. Love the blend of videos with interviews with lessons/activities at the end. Truly a wonderful resource for poetry lovers of all ages -- not just for Poetry Month, but year round.

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  15. So much to look forward to in April - thanks for featuring No Water River and the terrific, resourceful Renee!

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    1. Aw, Jama and Cathy -- I'm all warm and fuzzy!!! Thank you so much for spreading the news, too.

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  16. Linda, thank you for this wonderful post that captures so well what I'm trying to do at No Water River. Here's to a wonderful month - and year - and lifetime - of poetry! :)

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    1. I've been out most of the day, but am back now for a while. You are very welcome, Renee. I love what you do on & with your site, and am thrilled to show you off. Thanks for doing replies. I bet everyone is happy to hear from you personally. Looking forward to April!

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  17. Linda,
    Thanks for the resource! I will definitely check it out!

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    1. I'll check in with you later Robin. I know you'll love Renee's site.

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  18. I have enjoyed the No Water River website too. I love being able to hear the poets read their poem while looking at the text at the same time. It is a brilliant idea. I have subscribed to the site and look forward to the Poetry Mondays!

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    1. Isn't it great? I think April will be awesome with all those poets reading for us & for students!

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  19. hahahaha, LOVE the pencil/pen poem! So cute! The videos would be great for ESL -- thanks for sharing! :-)

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  20. Enjoyed this post immensely. I have subscribed to two of these and put the other on my Favorites. Poetry is just grand in spring!!! Thanks.

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    1. Jennifer - it's true! Pencil and Pen is probably my most "non-children's" poem, but all the others are definitely for kids and use pretty simple language. ESL students could follow along with the text for both meaning and pronunciation. :)

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  21. Thank you for the wondeful resource - I'll be sending people over myself!

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  22. Poetry is meant to be read aloud. This is great! You are so amazing with the blogs you keep up with and participate in. Incredible!

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    1. Anita, that's great! I really appreciate the help getting these poems in front of teachers and kids!

      Elsie, I'm glad you agree that poetry is meant to be heard. It's music! (And yes - Linda is one of the busiest bloggers I've come across!)

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  23. Hi Jennifer, Tam, Anita & Elsie. Did you know Renee lives in Italy so I imagine she's asleep right now, & it's late for some of you, too. Thanks for coming by & finding out about Renee. It's a lovely sight, always fun for me, and I think it would be for children too.

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  24. I also put No Water River on my Google Reader. Now maybe I won't go through withdrawl if many of the same people are involved! I know we still have Tuesdays! April here we come - I'm really looking forward to the poets that are lined up! Thanks! I'll get to continue refining my craft of poetry. :)

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    1. It looks great, doesn't it, Jen? I'm glad you've liked it so far.

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    2. Thank you, Jen! I've already learned a lot just reading these poets' poems - especially the charming Pat Lewis - so I think it's great if you find them useful for your own craft too.

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  25. What great inspiration to have as we head into poetry month.

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  26. This is great news. Thank you!

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  27. Oh Linda, you have such a generous soul for linking this to us. Renee's site is also a favorite of mine, and I've seen this particular poem that you just shared. So many lovely events happening this April! Can't wait.

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    1. Kristi and Cathy, glad you like the site, and hope to see you there!

      Myra - big hello! And thanks for your kind words. :)

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  28. I'm a big fan of No Water River and Renée. So lively and fun. I'm glad the word is getting out there.

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Thanks for visiting!