I admit, it seems like an odd subject for a blog post…but hear me out.
While I was contemplating what poem to share today, I realized I hadn’t updated my Pinterest page in a couple of months – and I had shared a lot of news & poetry! So I began combing through my blog posts, making sure everything since late April (did I mention I was a bit behind?) had been pinned to my Writing/Poetry Board.
Out of curiosity, I thought I’d scan through my board to see if I could find the first poem I had pinned…and when I found it, I realized I had picked the poem I should share.
Originally posted on my blog May 17, 2013, the poem just felt right for today:
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Summer Frost
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It was unexpected.
Deep, deep in July, all humid, torrid,
when blushing Brandywines, full and ripe
hang heavy, tearing from their vines
and dragonflies dart between empty rows…
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(you can read the poem in its entirety HERE)
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If you’d like to connect on Pinterest, I promise to try to keep myself updated! And 
for more poetry, be sure to head on over to My Juicy Little Universe, where Heidi Mordhorst is hosting Poetry Friday today with a review of Chicago’s Summer Poetry Teachers’ Institute and a poem she wrote following one of the sessions!
And by the way, if you’re in the New Hampshire area tomorrow (Sat., July 21), I’ll be at Toadstool Bookshop in Keene, NH for a special Author’s Open House with Vermont author Jessie Haas! Starting at 2pm, we’ll be discussing publishing and marketing children’s books, read a couple of our own, and then hopefully sign a few. For more details, check out their web page HERE.
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Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
(coming Sept. 25, 2018!)
You can purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly ALL of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH a note requesting the signature and to whom I should make it out to. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it for you, and then they’ll ship it. Try doing that with those big online booksellers! (Plus, you’ll be helping to support local book-selling – and wouldn’t that make you feel good?)
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Thank you to everyone for your support!
- NY Public Library’s “100 Best Book for Kids 2017” AND “Staff Pick!”
- KIRKUS Starred review!
- Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Books!
- “Best Reads of 2017,” Unleashing Readers
- Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017
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- “Rollicking rhyme!” – Booklist
- “A wild romp!” – Parenting NH Magazine
- “Rhythmic…funny and informative” – Unleashing Readers
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Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 
I love these opening lines, Matt. The link to the rest led me to an error page 😦
Off to follow you on Pinterest – and to update my own Pinterest boards which are verrrrrry neglected.
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Thanks for letting me know, Sally – the link should be working fine now!
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So many books. Love looking at that display! Your poem is a delight but when I clicked on read the whole thing I got “page not available”…maybe it is just me. I haven’t ventured much into the Pinterest world of poetry. Can you maybe give a brief explanation for the uninformed? How does it work? Also do you worry about posting poems you might later want to use for publication? I find that to be a mixed issue. I would like to write and post more, but worry that I could then not submit them. Can you sometimes in your blog, maybe, address that issue, too? Well, if you have time. I do know you are really busy!! Happy Friday!
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Thanks, Janet – the link should be working now! As for Pinterest, I use it primarily as another way people can find me & my blog. Most of what I pin are my blog posts, although if I had more time, I’d probably create other boards related to different subjects and do a better job of connecting with others that way.
I don’t worry about my poetry being posted. Everything that’s on Pinterest has already been shared on my blog, anyway. When I first started the blog 6 years ago, some folks asked me the same thing you did – am I worried about sharing poems I might want to submit later – and my response was that I needed to get my name and style in front of people, and this was the best way I knew how to do that. And if I decide to submit to a magazine or book, I’ll just write more poems! 😉
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I haven’t gotten into Pinterest yet. I have a hard time keeping up with all the social media. I’m going to take a look at your page, and maybe it will motivate me to create my own. Thanks, Matt!
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As I mentioned to Janet, above, I don’t spend as much time on it as I probably should, but it’s a good way for people to find you and connect with common interests.
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A summer frost seems so unlikely in these times of extreme heat!!
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I know – this year has been incredible!
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I find Pinterest inspiring! I don’t pin on it very much, but I love seeing what other people collect and share.
Enjoyed “Summer Frost” — thanks for bringing it back!
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Thank you, Tabatha! I keep wishing I had more time to devote to Pinterest, but it IS a great venue for discovery!
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Ooo that poem has a bite at the end, I hope the frost finds it’s home in the later months of the year–moving poem Matt. I have a Pinterest account but don’t spend much time there–I’ll try to stop by and check your pins out, thanks!
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Thanks so much, Michelle!
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I’ve tried to see what all the Pinterest fuss is, and for whatever reason it is anti-intuitive to me, although beloved of many teachers. Your poem, on the other hand, is deliciously, ominously intuitive. Love these lines:
hang heavy, tearing from their vines
and dragonflies dart between empty rows
where sunflowers were to grow (thank the crows)
I also like seeing the lineup of all your books at the bottom these days. It’s been fun to see you deliberately and methodically create your career as a children’s author. I’d be right alongside you if it weren’t for that pesky fulltime dayjob… ; )
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Thank you, Heidi…I have the luxury of being a stay-at-home dad, so although my time is extremely tight, it does allow me to not have to worry about that full-time employment shadow hanging over my head. 😉 I appreciate your support…and I hope to be better able to build my career once the almost-5-year-old starts kindergarten this fall!
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