Poetry Friday: Early spring haiku AND the 2019 Progressive Poem is coming!

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I was thinking of how long winter’s been hanging on (it barely got over 40 yesterday and probably won’t go above 45 today), and thought I’d write something about a late spring…but then I came across this photo of Lake Tahoe from Photobucket entitled “Tahoe Early Spring” and changed my mind!

Well, it’s that time of year again – National Poetry Month arrives in just a few days, and so does Irene Latham‘s annual Progressive Poem, an opportunity for 30 bloggers and children’s writers to come together and create a poem over the course of the month. Each year Irene organizes this, and each year it’s a treat to see how the poem begins and grows and develops – and of course, how it ends!

This year, I’m excited to once again be a part of it (the only guy in the entire group – how did THAT happen??) and I’m especially honored to be given the opportunity to BEGIN the poem on April 1. What, pray tell, will be the opening line? I have no idea…although I have been kicking around several possibilities in my head. Be sure to check in Monday morning, when it all begins!

2019 Progressive Poem schedule:

April

1 Matt @Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
2 Kat @Kathryn Apel
3 Kimberly @KimberlyHutmacherWrites
4 Jone @DeoWriter
5 Linda @TeacherDance
6 Tara @Going to Walden
7 Ruth @thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown
8 Mary Lee @A Year of Reading
9 Rebecca @Rebecca Herzog
10 Janet F. @Live Your Poem
11 Dani @Doing the Work that Matters
12 Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
13 Doraine @Dori Reads
14 Christie @Wondering and Wandering
15 Robyn @Life on the Deckle Edge
16 Carol @Beyond LiteracyLink
17 Amy @The Poem Farm
18 Linda @A Word Edgewise
19 Heidi @my juicy little universe
20 Buffy @Buffy’s Blog
21 Michelle @Michelle Kogan
22 Catherine @Reading to the Core
23 Penny @a penny and her jots
24 Tabatha @The Opposite of Indifference
25 Jan @Bookseestudio
26 Linda @Write Time
27 Sheila @Sheila Renfro
28 Liz @Elizabeth Steinglass
29 Irene @Live Your Poem
30 Donna @Mainely Write

WINNER, WINNER!

Congratulations to the winner of a copy of Laura Purdie Salas’ new children’s poetry collection, In the Middle of the Night: Poems from a Wide-Awake House (Wordsong, 2019)…REBECCA HERZOG!! Out of all the folks who left comments on my post a couple of weeks ago (where I interviewed Laura’s “stuff!”), Rebecca’s name was drawn at random. Thanks for visiting, Rebecca, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the book!

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Madness!Poetry is down to the wire…my former adversary in the competition, author Lori Degman, has made it all the way to the final round and is up against my former fellow Poet’s Garage member, William Peery! Their poems will be posted soon, so don’t forget to vote in this all-important Final. And if you’re looking for more poetry, head on over to Carol’s Corner for today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup!

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Ordering personalized signed copies online?
Oh, yes, you can!

  Coming July 2, 2019!

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
• Positive reviews from Horn Book, School Library Connection, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and Shelf-Awareness
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  • “Rollicking rhyme!” – Booklist
  • “A wild romp!” – Parenting NH Magazine
  • “Cute…intriguing…4 out of 5 stars”     – Tulsa Book Review
  • “Rhythmic…funny and informative”     – Unleashing Readers

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