Hands-On Poetry for Kids!

(I debated with myself whether or not to post this today.  After the horrific and cowardly act of terrorism in Boston, Mass. yesterday, I wondered if the light and breezy topic of kids learning to read and write and enjoy poetry seemed a bit out of place. Only living a couple of hours away, I have numerous friends and family in the Boston area, so the tragedy struck especially lose to home for me.

But then I realized: in times like these, giving your kids as much time as you can give them is one of the most important things you can do.  I hope you find something positive in this post, and that you’ll keep the victims of the Boston bombing in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers. Thank you.)

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As you probably know by now, this is National Poetry Month, so I’ve been dedicating each of my blog posts to the craft.  Today I wanted to share three ways that kids (and grown-ups, too, for that matter) can enjoy poetry without necessarily realizing they’re learning!

#1) Play with your food

This is a fun and easy project perfect for family gatherings where there will be several kids around, looking for things to do.  Glazed cookies with words written on them can be combined to form sentences…and the fun & learning comes from both the creating and the playing!

You’ll need:

1 box of vanilla wafers
2 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
2 1/2 - 3 Tablespoons water
Food colouring, if desired
Edible marking pens, like FooDoodlers or Wilton FoodWriters

Make a white glaze for the cookies by combining the sugar with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water. If it’s too thick, add a little more until it’s spreading consistency. You don’t want it too thin, though – so be careful. It’s easier to add more water than to add more sugar, so having it a bit on the thick side is preferable - especially if you’re going to add food colouring.

Once the glaze is made, divide it into 2 or 3 bowls, if you plan on colouring it. Add just a little food colouring, as you’ll want to keep the colours light.  Be sure to cover the bowls to keep the glaze from drying out!

Now, frost your vanilla wafers with the glaze and allow to harden (depending on its thickness, this could take 10-15 minutes or more than an hour). Once dry, write words on each of the cookies with the pens!  For the batch of Easter cookies in the photo, I made the nouns pink, verbs yellow, and adjectives blue, just to keep them organized. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to buy the markers, so I used dark food colouring and water with some corn starch to create an edible paint and painted the words on with a fine (clean!) paintbrush.

Kids not only enjoy making these, but they love being able to play with their food…and who can blame them??

#2) Finding found poems

If you don’t know what a ‘found poem’ is, that headline’s grammar may seem a bit off. But found poems are a great way to get children to read their books – or read anything, really – in a totally different way.

A found poem is a poem that one ‘finds’ inside another written work – a poem, a story, a news article, even a catalogue or advertisement. You simply scan the words and lines, searching for an element, a phrase, a theme…by which you can tie together other words and phrases within that written work.

In this case, a child can find found poems inside the books they already read and enjoy! Take, for example, the classic “The Cat in the Hat.”  Pulling lines from pages 1, 2, 8, 11, 40, 54, and 58, I came up with this rather dark and not-too-kid-friendly poem:

The sun did not shine.
I sat there with Sally;
Mother, out of the house.
He should not be here.
Run down the hall,
shut the box,
and he was gone.

Sheesh, I think I just spooked myself with that one. But you get the idea. One never knows what kinds of images or connections can be made by tying together words and phrases that at first seem disparate.

Sometimes the poem you create summarizes the main text; other times, you find yourself heading off in a totally different direction, as I just did.  Even for younger kids, simply searching for and combining similar rhyming words helps them recognize sounds and reinforces spelling. And for someone like me who loves word puzzles and wordplay, it’s a fun exercise!

#3) ‘Nothing’ is really something!

This is a good classroom activity; it’s something I often do when speaking to a class about creative writing, and it invariably impresses half the kids and bums out the other half.  It’s a simple way to show that we never do nothing, and it’s interesting to hear what words come up during this conversation…

Very simply, I ask who in the classroom has ever done nothing. Hands go up. I ask specific children, “So, when you were doing nothing, what were you doing?” Answers range from sleeping (which, of course, is something) to watching TV (which is also something) to being dead (which, while morbid, is incorrect; I explain that if you’re dead, you’re decomposing – so you’re still doing something!).

Once the kids get an idea of where this heading, I write down “Nothing” at the top of the blackboard and have them all do the same on a piece of paper.  I ask the children to shout out words that come to mind when they think of ‘nothing,’ and I write 3 or 4 responses below. I then ask them to give me words that come to mind when they think of these words and write down 2 or 3 words for each of the previous words…and then do the same for each of those words.  It only takes 4 levels of words before you have a good 35-40 words on the blackboard.

I then proudly announce that, the next time they tell their teacher they have ‘nothing’ to write about…take a look at their paper!

As I said, some of the kids think the concept of this ‘word-tree’ is cool. But the ones who are used to trying to get out of doing their work don’t seem to like it as much. Go figure!

“Poetry can be fun…really!”

That is the message I try to get across to kids – and adults, for that matter. So many people have the impression stuck in their mind that children’s poetry is simple, repetitive, and boring while adult poetry is all big words, incomplete sentences, and baffling subject matter. That’s not true! There’s so much good poetry out there – and so varied – that one is bound to stumble upon a poem(s) that speaks to them.  It’s just a matter of understanding what poetry is, then finding the type of poetry that you like.

Google your favourite topic and the word ‘poetry’ and you just might be surprised at what pops up. “Pizza” + “poetry” yields 9,570,000 results.  “Baseball” and “poetry” yields 40,300,000 results.  And “Love” + poetry” yields 289,000,000 results - but we could have all guessed that would be off the charts. (Speaking of baseball poetry, be sure to check out Ed Decaria’s work at The Hardball Times - good stuff)

I hope you’ll take some time this April – National Poetry Month! – to read a little poetry, write a little poetry, and enjoy the experience as so many of us do!

Remember, Irene Latham’s 2013 ‘Progressive Poem’ (at Live Your Poem) is now halfway completed! This is a poem that started with one blogger April 1 and is travelling from blog to blog each day, with each blogger adding a new line to the poem. (By the end of the month, we’ll have a completed poem!) Here’s the complete list of all of this year’s participating bloggers, including Yours Truly, so you can follow along:

April 1  Amy Ludwig VanDerwater 2  Joy Acey 3  Matt Forrest Esenwine 4  Jone MacCulloch 5  Doraine Bennett 6  Gayle Krause 7  Janet Fagal 8  Julie Larios 9  Carrie Finison 10  Linda Baie 11  Margaret Simon 12  Linda Kulp 13  Catherine Johnson 14  Heidi Mordhorst 15  Mary Lee Hahn 16  Liz Steinglass 17  Renee LaTulippe 18  Penny Klostermann 19  Irene Latham 20  Buffy Silverman 21  Tabatha Yeatts 22  Laura Shovan 23  Joanna Marple 24  Katya Czaja 25  Diane Mayr 26  Robyn Hood Black 27  Ruth Hersey 28  Laura Purdie Salas 29  Denise Mortensen 30  April Halprin Wayland

Of one-armed strollers and turkey dinners

How often do you do things without thinking about why you do them?

Recently, I took my 3-year-old son out for a walk. He doesn’t usually need the stroller for these little jaunts, but today he felt like riding.  After awhile of relaxing and enjoying the scenery, he asked to get out and push. I obliged. He got behind the stroller and started pushing as best he could. The stroller veered to the right and careened to the left and got stuck in the ruts of the road. It was tough going.

I kept telling him it would be easier if he’d use both hands.

But, no – he insisted on using his right hand, and his right hand only.

Why? I wondered.

Then it occurred to me:  he was doing it the way I had taught him.

Immitation ≠ Flattery

You see, I’m a fairly tall fellow, and pushing the stroller with both arms is uncomfortable because I have to hunch my back slightly to reach the handlebar. But I found that by standing upright and just using my right hand – positioned near the left side of the handlebar – I could control the stroller fairly easily and still walk normally.

He had seen me do this, and figured that was the way it was done…and no amount of exhortation to the contrary was going to change his little steel bear trap of a mind.

This was the way dad does it, he probably reasoned, so this is the proper way to do it.

This rationale, however, is not only the bailiwick a 3-year-old.

Doing something just because someone else did it?  You’d never fall for that…

I was reminded of a (supposedly true) story I heard several years ago about a young wife who was preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. When the turkey was about to be carved, several guests were surprised to see the bag of gizzards (liver, kidneys, etc.) inside the bird.  Rather than take the bag out and cook them separately, she had roasted the bag right there where it was when she bought it.

When asked why she did that, she said it was the way her mom had always cooked it. But since her guests seemed taken aback at the concept, she decided to ask her mom a few days later.

Her mom’s answer? Because that was the way her mom had always done it.

So the young wife went to her grandmother and asked again: why cook the bag of gizzards inside the turkey, instead of taking it out of the bird and cooking them separately? Her grandmother laughed and explained that it had only happened once, when the young woman’s mother was just a child – the grandmother had accidentally forgotten to take the bag out. The experience, however, had stuck with the child, and that was how she subsequently prepared every Thanksgiving turkey.  Consequently, that was how her daughter, this young wife, had learned to do it. Like mother, like daughter.

Two generations of families,preparing their Thanksgiving meals based on a mistake.

Don’t accept the premise

Don’t always accept things at face value. Some things are exactly as they seem – speeding on a highway and spitting into the wind rarely yield positive results – but there are many circumstances we come across every day that could use a closer look:

Do we speak a certain way because that’s the way we were told to? Are there processes or systems where we work that seem cumbersome? Are there family issues that might be resolved by trying something different?

If you’re a voice actor, do you always position your mic the same way? Is it hanging down or standing up? Do you speak to the top, to the front, to the side, which side? Do you get so close you’re eating it, or do you back off 10 inches or more?

If you don’t like poetry, is it because you can’t understand it? Is the poet writing above his/her audience? Does the poetry use antiquated language? Or do you feel like you could write the same kind of thing? Then find poetry you can understand, find poetry that’s more contemporary, or write your own!

When confronted with an issue, ask yourself why…consider an alternative…and then ask, why not?

If I’m told a client always runs a particular type of commercial, I question why I can’t completely change it around the next time.  If I’m told that something has to be done a certain way, I ask why. If I’m told, ‘that’s just the way it’s done,’ I look for answers.

Sometimes they’re good answers. Sometimes I need to come up with new ones.

Don’t settle for the answers you’re given. Don’t assume there’s only one way to do something.

And don’t roast your turkey with the giblet bag.

The Importance of Doing

While sitting in church this past Sunday, something occurred to me:  “how” we do something is not nearly as important as actually doing it.

Let me explain…

No matter where you go in the world, one of the most – if not the most – important parts of a Christian mass is what is termed the ‘Celebration of the Eucharist,” or, as most people refer to it, receiving Communion. As part of this ceremony, each member of the congregation takes a piece of bread (or, as Catholics call it, a ‘host’) as a symbol of the bread that Jesus Christ shared with his Apostles on the night before he was arrested, and eats it in remembrance of that Last Supper.

But it’s not so simple, you see.

Breaking bread can get complicated

Some Christian religions, like the Catholic faith, perform this ritual during every mass – whether it’s a regular Sunday morning, a wedding, a funeral, a Holy Day of Obligation…you name it. While some Protestant faiths do the same, many only do it on Sunday, or even just one Sunday each month.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, in fact, only do it once a year, during what they call The Memorial, which is their version of an Easter mass.  Yet, although all congregation members are offered the ceremonial bread, only a very select few actually partake of it.

There are other differences, too. Some churchs serve traditional unleavened bread; others prefer leavened.  Some churches only allow the priest to serve it; others allow ordinary folks designated as ‘lay ministers’ to serve it. While one church may require you to stand, another may have you kneel, while another has you sit.

Some churches are quiet during the ceremony; some play music.

No matter how Christians do it, though, the important thing is…they do it.

What’s keeping you from doing?

So as I sat there in the pew, I began thinking about all the variables we encounter
in our lives, and all the roadblocks we put in front of ourselves. When we fall in love, we wonder if we should tell the other person our feelings. After a date, we wonder whether we should call or text the other person back too soon, or not soon enough. We see a job position available that we’d really like to apply for…but we doubt we’re qualified.

Parents worry they don’t spend enough time with their kids. Actors and voice artists question whether we should audition for a gig. Poets agonize over which adjective is best to describe a mountain.

It feels like we all spend so much time debating with ourselves over whether we should do something, or how we should do something…that we end up never doing.

In fact, as I write this post, it’s 10:16pm EST on Monday night, and the reason it’s so late is because I spent the last two days wondering if I should use this idea as a blog post!

“Worry is a misuse of the imagination.” – author Dan Zadra

I’m not sure why so many of us, myself included, come up with so many reasons to not do something we want to do. Perhaps it’s because of fear of failure. Perhaps it’s the fear of the unknown.

Perhaps it’s because maintaining the status quo is also the path of least resistance.

Whatever the reason, it seems to me that there’s a lot more worrying in this world than there is doing. Granted, if you want to skydive, you can’t just go jump out of a plane. If you want to quit your job to spend more time with family, you need to assess your finances. If you want to be an author, you need to learn how to write.  (Although these days, it seems that requirement is sadly becoming less and less necessary)

But if you’re not doing anything to achieve these goals – why worry or complain about your lack of ever reaching them?

“If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying?”  -Śāntideva, Buddhist monk

Bottom line: worrying, debating, and stressing are not doing. The Christian churches don’t worry about whether they should sit during Communion or stand, whether they use unleavened bread like Jesus did or a loaf of regular whole wheat, or whether they should do it daily, weekly, or monthly.

They just do it.

Why don’t you? If you want to have a particular career, don’t just talk about it – do something to get yourself there. Parents, leave the dirty bathroom for another day and go outside and play with your kid. Poets, write the damn line about the stupid mountain and then go back and revise.

If you love someone, tell them! It’s time for all of us to get things done!

I, for one, am going to stop worrying, debating, and analyzing every decision I make. And that’s something I know I can do.

Poetry Friday: Christmas cookies – and “Christmas Cookies”

For today’s edition of Poetry Friday, I had first thought I would simply refer folks to the adult poem I posted this past Tuesday.  It then occurred to me that, although I’m proud of the poem and the reasons for its inspiration, it might be a bit too depressing to lead into the joyous Christmas weekend.  Nothing against depression, mind you – poets like me thrive on it, of course - but I’m not the kind of morose individual who is constantly in a state of perpetual melancholy, so I decided a swing in the opposite direction for today might be appropos.

Around here, I do most of the baking; doubly-so this time of year.  My wife is a great cook, but she knows that if I weren’t doing what I’m doing, I’d probably be a chef somewhere.  Or a sous-chef.  Or a line cook.  Or just prepping salads at Ho-Jo’s.  Fact is, I love to cook, so the holidays give me all the reasons in the world to go overboard in the kitchen.

In the past two weeks, I’ve made 3 gallons of chili, a batch of homemade ham and potato cream soup, 5 different types of muffins, 6 different types of cookies, and a pumpkin-rum swirled cheesecake with a gingersnap-pecan crust.

This is all in addition to normal day-to-day cooking.

Did I mention I love this time of year??

Anyway, I thought I’d share a recipe for a traditional Swedish spice cookie called pepparkakor…along with a poem about Christmas cookies.  First, the recipe…these are cookies I bake every year, and although the recipe should make about 4 dozen cookies (depending on how big your cookie cutters are), I usually have to make two batches because I give so many away!

If you like gingersnaps, you’ll love these.

In Sweden, animal shapes are often used, but I use whatever I’m in the mood for.  Pepparkakor are so simple to make, they’re a great cookie to bake with your kids; you almost can’t screw them up!  In fact, my 2-year-old loves to help me cook, and it takes a small army and an act of Congress to get him away from the batter long enough for me to cut them out.

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (salted or unsalted), softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (dark or light)
1/4 cup molasses (dark corn syrup will do, but molasses is better)
1 T. each ground cinnamon and ground ginger
2 t. ground nutmeg
2 t. ground cloves
and heck – while you’re at it, throw in some allspice, if you’ve got it!
1 t. baking soda
1 T. orange zest (optional)
2 T. cream or milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white chocolate, for decorating

Directions
In a large bowl, beat all ingredients – except the cream and flour – together with an electric mixer.
On low speed, mix in the cream, then flour, just until well blended (dough should be slightly crumbly, but even-coloured).
Wrap dough and chill until firm enough to roll, at least 30 minutes, but can also be stored overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
On a lightly-floured surface, roll dough out in small batches to about an 1/8-inch thickness and cut using cookie cutters.
Place at least an inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets (this is where I LOVE parchment paper) and bake 5-7 minutes, depending on their size, until firm.
Let rest for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To decorate, simply melt the white chocolate in the microwave or double-boiler and dip portions of the top of each cookie; top with sprinkles, if you’d like.
Let stand at room temp to harden, and enjoy!

So there’s my traditional Swedish Christmas cookie, direct from the old country.

(Full disclosure: like many Americans, I’m a mutt: Swedish, German, Scottish, and English – with a weeeeeee bit of French you’d have to travel back nearly 300 years to get to.  So although the ‘old country’ is Sweden today, it might be a different country tomorrow.)

On to the poetry…

Unlike the other poems I post here, that have been revised, edited, revised, critiqued, revised, revised, revised, revised…this is only a second draft.  I don’t think it flows as well as it could, and I’m not sure if the last line has the punch of a typical poem of mine, so it probably has plenty of work ahead of itself – but considering the occasion, it was the obvious one to feature.  Hope you like it (such as it is), and be sure to pop over to My Juicy Little Universe for all the Poetry Friday offerings!

Christmas Cookies

When Christmastime is getting close,
We grab the cookie sheets
And dad and I start baking
My favourite kinds of treats!

We fill our bowls with flour and eggs,
We mix and stir and beat;
I try to hide the little bites
Of batter that I eat.

We cut out shapes of every kind
And cover them with sprinkles;
I make a tree of red and green
With one big star that twinkles.

Then put the cookies in the oven,
Let them slowly bake…
Before they’re done, I’m asking dad
What others we can make!

- © 2012 Matt Forrest Esenwine

Merry Christmas!

Poetry Friday: “I Can’t Fall Asleep Now!”

I started off my Poetry Friday posts a couple weeks ago with a sonnet dedicated to my wife.  I then followed that with a two-stanza poem inspired by my two daughters.  I suppose it’s only fitting that I now feature something I wrote for my 2-year-old son!

Greyson was only about 4 months old when he started sleeping through the night,; however, up until that point, he was like most babies, crying every couple of hours for milk or comfort or both.  One evening, while mom was breastfeeding, I was at the computer thinking about all the reasons why a little boy might not want to go to sleep.  With the kind of imagination I have, it didn’t take long to start coming up with the most preposterous of circumstances – and so I began writing them down and seeing if I could come up with a narrative for a poem.  I completed almost three verses that night!

It was a very late night.

Over the course of the next few of weeks, I revised those three and added one more, then took it to my SCBWI critique group where I was told it might make a good bedtime picture book, if I could add another couple of verses.  So I sat down and worked on it…and worked on it…and worked on it.  I came up with a completed poem/manuscript that is long enough for a heavily-illustrated picture book, but may still need one more stanza.

And if I can ever figure out how to write that stanza, I will. 

Here’s to you, my little dude!

“I Can’t Fall Asleep Now!”

If I fall asleep now, I might miss something good,
Like a giant parade in our small neighborhood
With free candy and loud bands, like all parades should.
I can’t fall asleep now – I might miss something good!

If I fall asleep now, I might miss something cool
Like a pink-spotted platypus out in our pool
Or a UFO landing on top of the school!
I can’t fall asleep now – I might miss something cool!

If I fall sleep now, I might miss something neat
Like a two-headed tiger with seventeen feet
And a licorice tail, heading right down our street!
I can’t fall asleep now – I might miss something neat!

If I fall asleep now, I might miss something fun
Like a tap-dancing elf on a cinnamon bun
Or a rainbow-striped dinosaur dressed like a nun!
I can’t fall asleep now – I might miss something fun!

If I fall asleep now, I might miss something wild!
Hey, who knows…I could be a werewolf-dragon-child –
Sporting fangs, flames and wings (and hair slightly re-styled).
I can’t fall asleep now – I might miss something wild!

If I fall asleep now, I might miss something weird –
What if Dad sprouts some antlers or Mom grows a beard?
If I’m snoring, I’d miss out – just like I had feared!
I can’t fall asleep now – I might miss something weird!

Then again…if I did start to fall asleep now,
When I dream, things get even more crazy, and how!
They’re way cooler and neater and weirder and –
Wow…
Guess I wouldn’t miss much, if I fell asleep now…

- Matt Forrest Esenwine

And so it begins…

Why a blog?

There are already quite a few out there.  There are blogs, but then there are websites about blogs, experts on blogs, providers of blogging domains and templates…in fact, if you Google the word “blog,” you’ll get nearly 13 BILLION results in just .17 seconds.  It’s a big, blogoshperical world out there, with blogs on every topic, every interest, every bit of minutae known to humankind.

And here’s little ol’ me.  With the myriad of blogs already dedicated to writing, poetry, and radio & advertising, what could I possibly add??

I thought about this for quite awhile.

I’ve been writing ‘stuff’ nearly all my life.  When I was a child, my father introduced me to some of the classic radio programs of the Golden Age, like “Lux Radio Theatre,” “Fibber McGee & Molly,” and “The Shadow.”  At barely 10 years old, I became a fan of entertainer/comedy writer/satirist/advertising mad man Stan Freberg and the voicework of his cohorts, Daws Butler and June Foray.  All of this, along with my love of reading, got me started writing short stories and skits that I would record onto dad’s old Panasonic cassette recorder, sound effects and all.   I suppose it was only natural that I’d eventually fall in love with live theatre and acting.

And now here I am today.  I’ve spent 25+ years writing, voicing, and producing radio commercials, on-hold messages, and other voiceover projects.  I’ve shown up on-camera a few times as well, in corporate videos.  And ever since I discovered iambic pentameter in my 9th grade English class (thank you, Ms. Jencks!), I’ve been writing poetry.

I feel I have a unique perspective on children’s poetry, having devoted so much time doing radio production and voiceover work.  The two are not entirely disparate subjects, really.  Both need to draw the listener or reader into the message or story, both need to keep the listener or reader interested by telling a compelling message in a compelling way, and each needs to provide a payoff – whether that’s a solution to a problem with a call to action (in the case of the advertisement), or a satisfying ending to a poem that is neither contrived nor cliche.  And as the father of three, I have a near-endless stream of inspiration for said poetry.

The way I envision it, I’ll post new entries at least twice a week, probably on Tuesdays and Fridays; some days will be dedicated to radio advertising and sales, some days will focus on creative writing, specifically children’s poetry.  I especially hope to support Poetry Friday  and all the poets and readers that enjoy it so much.

So I thought it was about time to get this blog up and running.  If all goes according to plan, you’ll find jewels of wisdom, humour and insight in every post, and won’t be able to wait to share it, link it, and tweet it with everyone you know.

Or, at the very least, you’ll come back in a month or two and see if anything’s improved.

What can I possibly add to what’s already out there?

I guess that remains to be seen!