Today is Great Poetry Reading Day. And, apparently, Kiss-Your-Mate-Day, (but do you really need me to blog about that in detail in order to understand what the intention is)? I love poetry. Growing up, my Dad read to us from poetry collections after dinner, just as often as he read great books.
With its rhythm, expression, emotion and meter, music is poetry without words. Just like poems, music expresses the thoughts and feelings of the composer. In fact, lyrical poems are the form of poetry set to music. (Some of the best at that were Lennon and McCartney.)
A couple of days ago, I asked our Studio3 staff and some good friends of mine from all over North America (who are also musicians) to tell me what their favorite authors were. Were they ever passionate! And prolific in their answers! Which is a great thing.
By far, their number one pick for kids’ poetry was Shel Silverstein. Which was not surprising. This beloved writer has “the official site for kids”, so check it out.
Jack Prelutsky was a new one for me, but I wish I’d found him sooner! He was born in Brooklyn, NY, but lives right here in Washington State. In his bio on the Scholastic website, he says, “I have always enjoyed playing with words, but I had no idea that I would be a writer. There was a time when I couldn’t stand poetry! In grade school, I had a teacher who left me with the impression that poetry was the literary equivalent of liver. I was told that it was good for me, but I wasn’t convinced.”
He also is a musician, and on the audio versions of his anthologies, he sets his poems to music, often singing and playing his guitar. In 2006, the Poetry Foundation named Prelutsky the inaugural winner of the Children’s Poet Laureate award.
He’s written more than 50 collections. Here’s the name of just a couple to get you started at your library: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep, The Mean Old Hyena, Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems.
One of my favorite poets (when my sense of humor grew slightly more sophisticated) was Ogden Nash. He’s a lover of puns, and witticisms. Take his “Song to Be Sung by the Father of Infant Female Children”, for instance.
Poetry is good for grownups, too! Poetry can help us to slow down, think, appreciate, and express our own emotions more clearly.
Here is a list of favorites I collected (they were often mentioned my multiple people):
ee cummings, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Louis Stevenson, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Lewis Carroll, John Keats, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Naruda, Bob Dylan, John Lennon
Some of Robert Frost’s poetry was set to music by Randall Thompson in a collection called Frostiana. Worth a quick search on YouTube.
Love Poems From God is a translation by Daniel Ladinsky of great saints and mystics from both western and eastern religious traditions.
Ten Poems to Open Your Heart, compiled by Roger Housden.
Heartsongs, by Mattie Stepanek. Mattie was an American poet who had six books of poetry published before he passed away just before he turned 14. All six books reached The New York Times bestsellers list. He suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, and all three of his siblings also died from the disease. He started writing poetry at the age of three when his older brother died. My friend said his poems always warm her heart with his innocence and belief in humanity.
Not sure where to start? Pick something new. Poems are generally shorter than novels, so it won’t take you long to decide if you like a particular poet. (And you’re not in high school AP English anymore – you get to read strictly for enjoyment!) Someone suggested the website www.poemhunter.com. When you choose a specific poem, the site suggests others you may enjoy as well.
-posted by Miss Analiisa, who suggests to go kiss your mate, and then have some fun with poetry today. She leaves you with this short ditty from Odgen Nash – “God in His wisdom made the fly, and then forgot to tell us why.”
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