We’re celebrating not one, but TWO new poetry anthologies published this month – and they are both blessings, in a manner of speaking.
As I’ve mentioned here before, Bless the Earth (Convergent/Penguin, 2024), the newest poetry anthology from Nancy Tupper Ling & June Cotner is officially out, and is absoutely beautiful!
This past weekend, several of the book’s contributors got together to celebrate its official launch at author-illustrator Peter Reynolds’ bookstore, The Blue Bunny in Dedham, MA. And what a fantastic time!
Nancy, Charlotte Sheer, Amanda Smith, Keri Biron, Cathy Stenquist, and I all shared the poems we contributed (like my “The Snow Clouds Know,” which I shared here a few weeks ago) as well as some other contributors’ poems including one by my friend, Charles Ghigna.
And a VERY special thanks to Nancy for bringing along book-themed cookies, including one based on my poem, “Honeybee!” What a surprise!
I was going to take a photo of the entire basket with all the different cookies – but alas, I was too late and all that remained were crumbs.
We signed multiple copies, and I even got to sign a few of my own books like Flashlight Night and The Thing to Remember about Stargazing, which were also available.
In other poetry news…
One of the final poetry anthologies from the late, great Lee Bennett Hopkins was also published this month! Bless our Pets: Poems of Gratitude for our Animal Friends (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2024) has been a long time coming – but it’s worth it!
The fact that it was one of a handful of anthologies Lee was working on before he passed in 2019 is bittersweet – but the fact that my friend and fellow New Hampshire-ite Lita Judge was tapped to do the illustrations makes the book EXTRA-sweet.
From dogs and cats to gerbils and goldfish, fourteen favorite pets are celebrated by some of our country’s most esteemed children’s poets like Kristine O’Connell George, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Charles Ghigna, and many others.
The poems range from thoughtful longing, such as in Darren Sardelli’s “Guinea Pig,” about a child away at summer camp who misses their pet, to the tender caring of Lois Lowry’s “Mouse Dreams”:
(Click to enlarge)
This particular poem is especially touching for me personally, because I know Lita still misses her own pet mouse, Pan, who passed away last year. He was such a cute little guy, and everyone who knew him loved him.
Lita also appreciated the opportunity to portray her very first bird for the poem written by our fellow New Hampshire creator, Ralph Fletcher:
Bless our Pets is truly one of the most beautiful and beautifully-worded books you will see all year. And I’m not just saying that because so many of the contributors are friends of mine! (Nor am I saying it because Eeerdmans will be publishing MY very first anthology next spring – hint, hint) You can see for yourself right here how much love was poured into this project.
And what a wonderfully perfect poem to end the book, from the man who brought all these poets together:
Lee will be missed, but his spirit lives on in each of us whom he touched. Hard to believe it’s been nearly five years since he passed in Aug. of 2019. He would be so proud of this.
And by the way, Lita’s bird and mouse aren’t her only family members to grace these pages! Prince Redcloud’s “Old Calico” features the cat Lita grew up with as a young girl, and another long-lost pet of hers, Wilbur, is the star of Sarah Grace Tuttle’s “Hamster Hoping.”
You’ll also find her giant fluff-monster of a kitty, Willow (a Maine Coon Cat), on the back cover!
This may be Lee’s poetry anthology, but it’s Lita’s family album – and I couldn’t be happier for either of them.
Hold on! There’s MORE poetry news…!
I’ve just received word that a proposal I submitted with Charles Waters and Laura Purdie Salas for the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of Education) Convention this fall was ACCEPTED – which means I’ll be heading off to Boston, MA in November!
Our panel presentation, “Poems and Picture Books as Writing Prompts and Conversation Starters,” will offer suggestions on how students can use what they read and learn – from any book, poem, or story – to better understand themselves and the world around them. An educator friend of mine, Joanne Tranchemontagne, will then offer her perspective on how teachers can implement these suggestions in a classroom setting.
When I first learned last year that the 2024 NCTE Convention was taking place just two hours from me, I was determined to attend in some way, shape, or form – so I’m thrilled that I’ll be able to do so as a presenter. If you decide to attend, please track me down!
For more poetry, head over to There is no such thing as a God-foresaken town where Ruth – who is living in Uganda now – is hosting today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup with a heartfelt poem about the country in which she used to live, Haiti.
~~ 2024 SCHOOL VISIT dates still available! ~~
I still have a few dates still available for author visits for the 2024 spring semester! If you think your school might be interested in having me visit, check out all the presentations I offer, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud!
It was just a little over a year ago that author Lydia Lukidis stopped by to visit, and share her book DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023).
Lydia is the author of 50+ trade and educational books for children including the Cybils Award-nominated THE BROKEN BEES’ NEST (Kane Press, 2019) and NO BEARS ALLOWED (Clear Fork Media, 2019). A science enthusiast from a young age, she now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books.
Congratulations on the new book, Lydia, and thank you for coming back to visit again! Tell me about DANCING THROUGH SPACE and why you felt it needed to be written.
DANCING THROUGH SPACE features two of Dr. Mae Jemison’s passions: science and dance. It’s written as a dual narrative and as the story unfolds, the two worlds merge, illuminating how art and science are both essential parts of our world.
Lydia Lukidis
The journey to publication was really long and really bumpy. While editing this manuscript, I went through three, yes, that’s right, three agents (and I’m overjoyed to now be represented by Miranda Paul), multiple pitch festivals, and multiple editors expressing interest.
The turning point was finding my hook. I was a newbie when I started out on this path and I naively thought simply writing an interesting, compelling nonfiction book was enough. But it’s not, as I learned. You need a strong hook, among other things.
And an editor who connects with the story, too.
I finally found an editor who loved it and wanted to acquire it but asked for revisions, I took my time and sent her the new draft a few months later. But, oh no! It turns out she left that publishing house. I subbed another editor there but no dice.
Luckily, it finally found its home with Albert Whitman. It took ten years and 42 drafts for the book to come to fruition but it’s worth it!
I do have to say, the fact that Dr. Jemison’s childhood love of both dancing and science was surprising – but it was also very familiar to me, as I have a young daughter who has very different interests! Was it difficult figuring out how to showcase these two sides of this person?
It flowed organically once the intersection of dance and science became the hook. It was my first time attempting a dual narrative, so yes, it was a bit tricky. But when you finally find the right structure and focus, it’s easier to write. Crafting the hook was the hardest part of this process, it literally took years of research and slews of rejections. In my research, the fact that Mae likes to dance and appreciates the world of the arts fascinated me.
I felt strongly about this book because it mirrors my own perspective, having studied both science and the arts.
I think we’re kindred spirits in that respect, as my favorite subjects were always writing/poetry, astronomy, and microbiology! Now, the last time you were here we were discussing your book DEEP, DEEP DOWN which was about the Mariana Trench. This time we’re talking about outer space! How do you select the topics of your books, or do the topics select you, so to speak?
You nailed it there, I feel like the topics pick me. I do keep a document with various ideas I tend to jot down, but when it comes down to it, I work by intuition and gut. I just “feel” it. It’s a fun but also frustrating process, because I can’t always write on demand. I need to feel inspired and usually, when I get into a good flow, it carries me through (sometimes to the point of obsession where I find myself scrutinizing every word!)
I love writing nonfiction because of my own curiosity. I always learn during my research so it’s a journey for myself too, not only the readers. The deep sea and outer space are topics I love, so you’ll definitely see more on these topics from me in the future. That can be tricky because many authors like to write about those themes, so I need to make sure my work is distinct and sets itself apart.
DANCING THROUGH SPACE is written in prose, more so than the lyrical, poetic sort of style of DEEP, DEEP DOWN. How did you decide upon the style that was right for this book?
I figure out what works best through the writing. As I “dove” into my research, I came to see the Mariana Trench as a poem when I wrote DEEP, DEEP DOWN. A beautiful, mysterious and remote setting with graceful, slow moving and strange creatures. It seemed fitting for the text to mirror that sense of awe and poetry.
For DANCING THROUGH SPACE, it felt like too much to use lyrical language in a dual narrative. It flowed better as prose, to get the story across.
Any surprises along the way, as you were writing? Either about the process or Dr. Jemison herself?
This manuscript was difficult to write, primarily because I started writing it in 2014, when I was newbie. I obviously had no idea what I was doing. But I remained open to learning and bettering my craft, and I used the critiques I got (one was pretty brutal) to improve the book.
Learning how difficult writing was and how challenging the publishing industry can be were hard lessons I learned along the way. This book was a huge stepping stone and introduction into the world of kidlit. I was stubborn and never gave up and eventually, it found its home.
Well, thank you for taking the time to chat, Lydia – and best wishes with this fantastic book!
Want to win a FREE copy of Lydia’s book? Just leave a comment below and I’ll pick one name at random! Winner to be announced here on April 19. Good luck!
REMINDER: If you’re in the Boston area next month, I hope you’ll join me along with Nancy Tupper Ling, June Cotner, Padma Venkatraman, and several other contributors as we celebrate the official launch of “Bless the Earth” at Peter Reynolds’ bookstore, The Blue Bunny in Dedham, MA on April 21!
~~ 2024 SCHOOL VISIT dates still available! ~~
I still have a few dates still available for author visits for the 2024 spring semester! If you think your school might be interested in having me visit, check out all the presentations I offer, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud!
In it, one can find poems about all sorts of celebrations, from Passover and Ramadan to Daylight Savings time and National Pet Week!
National Cereal Day, which I’m sad to say I missed, was on Thursday, March 7 this year – but that’s not going to stop me from sharing my poem about it: .
Picky Eater
I love my Froot Loops, love my Trix, love Cheerios and even Kix. I also like my Apple Jacks – but please don’t give me Sugar Smacks, or stars or squares or flakes you’ve found – I only eat, you see, what’s round.
This was actually one of the poems I shared with the 6th-grade students at Dunbarton Elementary School in New Hampshire this week. I had been invited to do a day-long series of presentations about creating books, the writing process, and why imagination is so flippin’ cool – and I focused on a different book and aspect of writing with each grade.
Everyone loved the brilliant artwork of Sonia Possentini in my book THE THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT STARGAZING (Tilbury House, 2023)
For the 6th-graders, it was a poetry workshop!
I showed them different poetic styles and forms, and explained why I love the tight, compact genre of poetry itself. We even wrote a crowd-sourced poem in just 10 minutes, which I hope to share here next week.
By the way, if you think you might be interested in having me visit YOUR school, scroll down a wee bit for more details – or just send me an email!
IN OTHER NEWS…
I have two new board books out!
From Rainstorm Publishing, the publisher of my very first board book, Elliot the Heart-Shaped Frog, we present:
Don’t be surprised if you don’t find my name on the covers – that’s ok! These were works-for-hire, and they were so much fun to write. These books will be perfect for First and Second birthdays, so I hope you’ll check them out.
ALSO: If you find yourself in the Boston area next month, I hope you’ll join me along with Nancy Tupper Ling, June Cotner, Padma Venkatraman, and several other contributors as we celebrate the official launch of “Bless the Earth” at Peter Reynolds’ bookstore, The Blue Bunny in Dedham, MA on April 21!
For more poetry, head on over to Imagine the Possibilities, where Rose Capelli is hosting today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup with a blog post devoted to Birds, Birds, Birds!
~~ 2024 SCHOOL VISIT dates still available! ~~
I still have a few dates still available for author visits for the 2024 spring semester! If you think your school might be interested in having me visit, check out all the presentations I offer, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud!
Last weekend I spent 2 1/2 days in the White Mountains in Jackson, NH with several of my fellow authors and illustrators here in the state – including Lita Judge, Adi Rule, and my Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (POW! Kids Books, 2018) co-author, Deb Bruss – at a writer’s retreat hosted by another of our members, author Emilie Burack and her husband, Tom.
It was a wonderful opportunity to relax and focus on craft, as well spend time catching up with friends. That Sat. night, the New Hampshire Literary Awards were taking place 3 hours south, in Manchester, NH, and I was pleasantly surprised when I received notification that my picture book I Am Today (POW! Kids Books, 2022) WON in the “Children’s” category!
What was extra-nice was that I tied with my friend and critique partner, Tom Tosi, who also won for his picture book, Squashed – AND he won in the Young Adult category for his middle grade novel, 6,000 Doughnuts!
Moreover, my friend and former Portsmouth, NH Poet Laureate Tammi Truax won the People’s Choice Award for her children’s book, The Pearl of Portsmouth.
(Tom also took home People’s Choice Award honors for 6,000 donuts, so a BIG night for him!)
But that was only the beginning of a looong week ahead…
Because in addition to finally putting the wraps on a new picture book biography manuscript I’ve co-authored with the wonderful Helen Wu, I was invited to be the keynote luncheon speaker at yesterday’s conference of the Children’s Librarians of New Hampshire, the children’s/youth services branch of the NH Library Association.
And what fun that was!
I shared my journey as an author, from writing poetry as a child to now having 8 books out with 5 more on the way, and about my process of writing. I also talked about why I write the way I do and what I enjoy most about picture book creation. No one was throwing rotten tomatoes at me by the time I was stepping down from the podium, so I guess they liked it.
One of the poems I shared was the very first poem of mine ever published, anywhere. I wrote it when I was a junior at Weare High School in NH, and it was published in the local college’s literary magazine.
Looking back on it, it reads like a poem written by a high school student! Although I like the premise, I would definitely spend some time revising word choice – I’ve fortunately grown as a writer over the years. But overall, I still like the poem for what it represents. It begins:
The Situation
Nothing. Absolute nothing. As not even the immense vastness of space can compare. Such is the setting; such is the situation at hand. Waiting solemnly, something is going to happen…
(if you are so inclined, you can read the rest at my original post HERE)
And now, dear reader, it’s time to announce a WINNER!
(c) 2023 Wordsong, all rights reserved
Last Friday I welcomed my two friends Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard to share the news about their new poetry collection, Welcome to theWonder House (Wordsong, 2023), and we had a number of folks enter the giveaway for a FREE COPY! Out of all the names, one was chosen at random. That winner is…
BRIDGET MAGEE!
Congratulations, Bridget! I’m sure you’ll love the book as much as I do.
And since it is Poetry Friday, there’s plenty more poetry around the kidlitosphere! Carol at The Apples in My Orchard is hosting the roundup today with a celebration of her birthday AND International Bat Week! (The week before Halloween – coincidence? I think not!)
AND…I’m booking author visits for the 2023-24 shool year!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or origami sea turtles!
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
My newest picture book, The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House), illustrated by Sonia Maria Luce Possentini, just arrived in the world a little over a week ago, and I’ve already discovered more incredibly positive reviews!
As an author, I cannot begin to tell you what it means to hear people say this about something you’ve created.
I was also pleasantly surprised earlier this week to learn that my picture book I Am Today (POW! Kids Books, 2022) has been nominated for a New Hampshire Literary Award!
The other finalists in the “Children’s” category include:
Pearl of Portsmouth by Tammi Truax
Squashed by Megan and Thomas Tosi
R is for Rainbow by Kim Ferreira
Both Tammi and Tom are friends of mine, so I’m honored that we’re all on the same list!
For today’s poem, I thought I’d offer you a sample of what’s in store for you NEXT Friday, when I welcome two incredibly talented, award-winning, highly-esteemed friends to the ol’ Triple-R: Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard.
Georgia and Rebecca’s new poetry collection, Welcome to theWonder House (Wordsong, 2023), just came out this summer and I’ve been wanting to have them visit to share the news and celebration – so I’m very happy that they will be joining me next week!
The book is designed as a house full of rooms, and each room is a different subject of “wonder.” One of the things I asked them prior to the interview was to pick a poem they each considered their favorite, written by the other, and Georgia said she loved Rebecca’s poem about paper, specifically the line about “wrinkling out a language of ancient trees.”
And I do have to agree, that’s a beautiful, thought-provoking conceit. So I thought I’d share the “Praise” room spread here today, to give you a sneak-peek, so to speak, of what we’ll be offering next Friday:
(c) 2023 Wordsong, all rights reserved (click to enlarge)
There’s something about Rebecca’s line, “Rain is everything to a worm” that I really love, as well – its simplicity in form belies a strong, deeper observation on life and nature. And the fact that Georgia considers spiders “quiet as air, patient as monks” is just inspiring.
So be sure to stop by next Poetry Friday, Oct. 20, for our interview! For more poetry TODAY, however, head on over to the Poetry Friday roundup at Reading to the Core, where Catherine celebrates Irene Latham’s new book The Museum on the Moon (Bushel & Peck, 2023) with an original poem of her own!
AND…I’m booking author visits for the 2023-24 shool year!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or origami sea turtles!
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
Welcome to the Poetry Friday roundup! I’m so happy to be hosting the festivities today because I not only get to see the complete, vast, and unadulterated range of poetry blog posts, but I get to celebrate this week’s publication of my eighth children’s book – which is also a poem.
The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House), illustrated by award-winning Italian artist Sonia Maria Luce Possentini, was officially introduced to the world this past Tue., Oct. 3:
All images (c) Tilbury House and Sonia Maria Luce Possentini, used with permission.
And I can’t thank these four highly-esteemed folks enough for their kind words:
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Would you believe I can be in two places at once? Well, I can!
In addition to my Poetry Friday roundup hosting duties, I’m very honored to also be guest-blogging at WritersRumpus today with an in-depth look at why it’s so important to rewrite/revise/recycle and be open to change – because Stargazing wouldn’t exist had I not been willing to alter my plans.
(Click to enlarge)
(But wait, there’s more!) I hope you’ll check out some of the following posts as part of Stargazing‘s blog tour:
The very first commercial radio station I ever worked, NH Talk Radio WKXL AM/FM in Concord, NH, was kind enough to invite me to chat about the new book, my writing, and a statewide StoryWalk® event! (details below…)
As with any launch, I’m looking forward to signing books! I’ll be at our local indie bookstore, MainStreetBookEnds.com, this Saturday during our town’s annual Fall Foliage Festival, and next month I’ll be co-signing with my friend and fellow author Deb Bruss at GibsonsBookstore.com in Concord, NH.
The super-big news, however, is a statewide StoryWalk® event coordinated with the Children’s Librarians of New Hampshire. Nearly TWENTY libraries throughout the state are featuring Stargazing on their StoryWalks® this autumn! (some of the local papers have been sharing the news, so please check out my Facebook post for more details on this unusual project!)
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All right, time for today’s poem!
As I mentioned earlier in this post, Stargazing began as a poem nearly 10 years ago. I wrote “A Beginner’s Guide to Stargazing” for Paul Janeczko’s anthology, The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-to Poems (Candlewick, 2019). Unfortunately, he passed away before I had a chance to learn why the poem never made it into the book.
Thankfully, our mutual friend Rebecca Kai Dotlich loved the poem and suggested I consider fleshing out the poem a bit and turning it into a picture book manuscript. Good thing I did, too, because even though the poem was never published, I got not one, but TWO picture books out of it! (How is this possible? Check out my WritersRumpusguest blog today and find out how four books and a poem can be all interconnected!)
Here is the first part of the poem that started it all: .
A Beginner’s Guide to Stargazing
It’s important the conditions be just right.
Wait for a cloudless, moonless night or one with just a silver sliver or even a full moon, ……….round and glowing. Come to think of it, even a few clouds aren’t a problem.
So let’s say any evening that features at least a few stars is perfect.
Go outside with someone special ……….or a pet ………………..or no one at all and find a patch of grass to lie upon ……….or bring a blanket ………………..or chair or you can even stand there with your head craning toward the sky, and begin counting the stars… …..
I hope you like the poem enough to consider checking out the book – it’s been a long time coming, and the fact that the book is a poem unto itself is very comforting and reassuring to me; after all, I got into children’s writing through poetry, so it’s gratifying to know my poetry is being published and enjoyed by readers of all ages.
The book is available everywhere, but if you want a PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy be sure to order through Main Street Book Ends, our local indie store. (details below)
And since it’s Poetry Friday, drop your links in the comments and I’ll round them up, old-school style! Thanks for visiting, and enjoy the poetry…
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Irene at Live Your Poem has constellations on her mind, too – but not exactly the same kind!
Jone Rush MacCulloch is “playing with pantoums” and helped her 4th grade class to write one.
Meanwhile, Catherine at Reading to the Core is playing with the “laws of motion” with the Inklings and shares a touching original draft.
Linda Mitchell also tackles the Inklings’ challenge by putting her “gears” in motion to create a sonnet at A Word Edgwise.
At Nix the Comfort Zone, Molly Hogan came up with two poems for the challenge and chose the road “more” travelled!
Mary Lee, who gave the Inklings their challenge, comes up with three poems – a haiku, a type of found poetry, and free verse – that you can read at A(nother) Year of Reading.
And at Reflections on the Teche Margaret Simon responds to the Inklings challenge by showing how she has been “juggling” life.
There is beauty even in the images we may at first think are dull or bland, and Alan J. Wright shares an ekphrastic landscape poem that is anything but dull or bland!
At Alphabet Soup, Jama shows us what happens when you write a tale about an English garden with language that is very decidely British English!
Linda Kulp Trout has a new book out (I did NOT mean to rhyme that, ha!), and today she shares one of its poems.
I might have been inspired by the stars, but Michelle Kogan was inspired by the October moon and offers an original poem at More Art 4 All!
Linda Baie, who posted a wonderful review of Stargazing earlier this week, has had stars on her mind at Teacher Dance and shares a beautiful poem.
Friends, beauty, darkness – these sound like elements from my book, but they are actually elements of a new poem from Kat Apel at Kat’s Whiskers!
Sally Murphy wrote a poem to one of her verse novel characters – and he wrote back!
Libraries can be full of inspiration, and at Wee Words for Wee Ones, Bridget Magee shares a poem that was inspired by a doll and a scooter – in a library!
Mary Cronin is feeling the beat – and the love – as a local school’s music teacher used one of her poems as part of a project on percussion.
At The Poem Farm, Amy has a new poem about foxes and fire and all the colors and images of autumn!
My poem was inspired by the nighttime, and that – along with a poem by Kate Baer – is also the inspiration behind an original poem by Rose at Imagine the Possibilities.
At BookSeedStudio, Jan shares a portion of a new YA novel by Han Nolan that, through the use of creative enjambment, reads beautifully as a poem!
“Diminishing verse” is a fun – if not challenging – form of poetry, and Laura Purdie Salas shares a draft she’s working on, along with her process of writing it.
Patricia Franz is “painting with words” by creating a concrete poem about something that was “hanging around!”
Tracey at Tangles & Tails has October on her mind and shares an original poem as well as one from Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first African American poets to become popular nationally.
Also for October, Anastasia Suen kicks off a “small poem challenge” for the month.
And October is on Donna JT Smith’s mind, too, as she shares an original autumn poem at Mainely Write.
Carol at The Apples in My Orchard is on a 15-day river cruise through Europe (how cool!) and decided that a castle poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would be very apropos for a Poetry Friday post.
At Chicken Spaghetti, Susan Thomsen has swimming on her mind and shares a wonderful poem from Susan Browne.
Last but not least, our ‘other’ Carol (Varsalona) is celebrating autumn at Beyond Literacy Link with a Golden Shovel that praises those wonderful autumnal moments that mean so much to us as the seasons change.
AND…I’m booking author visits for the 2023-24 shool year!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or origami sea turtles!
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
It’s been TEN YEARS in the making, but the day is finally here:
The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House), illustrated by the amazingly talented Sonia Maria Luce Possentini, is out in the world! Sonia is an award-winning artist and teacher from Moderna, Italy with more than a dozen books to her credit.
Stargazing, my eighth children’s book, is a spare, lyrical, ironic sort of book that answers the question: what is the most important thing to remember about stargazing? Is it when to do it, who to do it with, what to look for? (Hint: It’s none of those!) And yes, it’s taken a LONG time to get here – ten years and TWENTY FIVE rejections!
Incredible illustrations from Italian artist Sonia Maria Luce Possentini
You see, it started off as a poem written back in 2013 for Paul Janeczko’s anthology, The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-to Poems (Candlewick, 2019). And through a series of ups and downs and trials and errors, my friend Rebecca Kai Dotlich suggested I consider fleshing it out and turning it into a picture book manuscript.
So I did! I’ll share more about this coming up this Friday when I host Poetry Friday, and wil also be going more in-depth on why it’s important to rewrite/revise/recycle our work when I guest-blog at WritersRumpus later this month. (see below for the bog tour schedule!)
I need to thank my friends and fellow authors/poets/bloggers for all their support! Stargazing has been picking up some wonderfully positive reviews. Betsy Bird at School Library Journalhad some kind words for Stargazing in her preview of upcoming titles, and BlackRaven at Cannonball Read loved the book, saying, “the poetic, wonder-filled story is contemporary with feeling and emotional.”
And of course, my immense gratitude for these comments from four highly-esteemed folks:
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If you’d care to learn more about the book, the story behind it, or simply my process as a writer, I hope you’ll check out some of the following posts as part of Stargazing‘s blog tour:
Oct. 2: Linda Baie features the book at TeacherDance.
Oct. 3 (today!): Maria Marshall features an interview/review at The Picture Book Buzz.
Oct. 3 (also today!): Jama Rattigan includes a sneak peek at Stargazing on her weekly “9 Cool Things” list at Alphabet Soup.
Oct. 4, 8am: I will be interviewed at the very first commercial radio station I ever worked, NH Talk Radio WKXL AM/FM, in the capitol city of Concord, NH!
Oct. 24: I will be a guest blogger at WritersRumpus, with a in-depth look at why it’s so important to be willing to rewrite and revise, and be open to change – because Stargazing wouldn’t exist had I not been willing to alter my plans.
Sending out StoryWalk(R) copies to two dozen libraries across the state!
The official launch for Stargazing is a three-part sort of thing. I’ll be signing copies at our local indie bookstore, MainStreetBookEnds.com, during our town’s annual Fall Foliage Festival, when thousands of people from around New England arrive. I’ll also be co-signing with my friend and fellow author Deb Bruss at GibsonsBookstore.com in Concord, NH, next month.
The REALLY BIG part, however, is a statewide StoryWalk® event coordinated with the Children’s Librarians of New Hampshire, who have invited me to deliver a luncheon keynote at their upcoming October conference. As of right now, nearly TWO DOZEN libraries across the state will all be featuring Stargazing on their StoryWalks® during Oct. and/or Nov.!
It’s hard for me to imagine my book being displayed on nearly 24 different StoryWalks® throughout New Hampshire, but I will look forward to seeing the photos, I can tell you that!
I hope you’ll consider checking out the book – it’s been a long time coming, and well worth the wait. It’s available everywhere, of course, but remember that if you want a PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy, the only way to do that is to order through Main Street Book Ends, our local indie store. (more details below)
AND…I’m booking author visits for the 2023-24 shool year!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or origami sea turtles!
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
My 8th book will soon be available everywhere, and today you get an extra-special glimpse inside!
My upcoming new picture book, The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House, 2023) will be published on Oct. 3, and I’m so grateful to Julie Gribble and the good folks at KidLit.TV for agreeing to premiere the official book trailer TODAY! I hope it gives you a good sense of what the book is like in text and artwork. (Click HERE to watch it!)
(Oh, and if you’re wondering where I’ve been all summer, I answer that question in last week’s post, in case you missed it!)
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I’m currently booking author visits for the 2023-24 shool year!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or origami sea turtles!
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
Technology can be really funny. I don’t mean funny as in “ha-ha.” I don’t evenmean funny as in “strange.” I mean “funny” as in “mind-boggling infuriating.” You see,I published this post just a few weeks ago – but it came to my attention that not all my readers knew about it because they never received it!
Not sure what happened, but I really enjoyed this interview with my friend Ryan G. Van Cleave –poet, author, editor, and root beer connoisseur – and I wanted to make sure all of my subscribers had the opportunity to read it. If you did happen to read it when it was originally published, I apologize for sharing it with you again; but if you have not seen it, I do hope you’ll check it out!
For more poetry, head over to Salt City Verse where Janice Scully is hosting today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup with a spotlight on Laura Purdie Salas’ new book, Zap! Clap! Boom! and Charles Ghigna’s new The Father Goose Treasury of Poetry.
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I’m sorry – I’m not really here. It’s all just a trick of the mind, smoke & mirrors and that sort of thing. You see, I’m actually attending the annual New England SCBWI Spring Conference in Springfield, MA this weekend. The first in-person conference since 2019, it’s going to be an exciting and fun event, to be sure!
I’ll be presenting a 2-hour intensive workshop on free verse poetry titled “No Rhyme, No Rhythm, No Problem!” as well as taking part in a poetry panel discussion Sat. afternoon with my friends and fellow authors Jane Yolen, Heidi EY Stemple, Padma Venkatraman, and Valerie Boling.
Ryan G. Van Cleave
So today, let’s just pretend I’m here because I have a special treat for you! Another friend of mine, author, poet, and editor Ryan G. Van Cleave is joining me today for a chat about poetry, the craft of writing, and his ability to teach 32 different college courses, if necessary!
Welcome to the ol’ Triple-R, Ryan! We initially met last year when we were part of the PB22Peekaboo picture book marketing group of about 20+ authors and illustrators. Now here we are with a new year and a new group – the PB23’s – and you have two new books coming out! The Illustrated Edgar Allan Poe: 25 Essential Poems (Moonshower, 2023) just came out April 18 and next month, The Witness Trees (Bushel & Peck, 2023) arrives May 9. These are such incredible books, I can’t wait to share them with my readers! Ryan, can you feel the excitement in the air? I mean, to me, it’s palpable.
I’m glad you’re feeling it, Matt. Here in Florida, we’ve had apocalyptically high grass pollen for a long time, so I’m mostly just feeling sneezy. But I very much appreciate the chance to talk about books and not allergies! I’ll try not to ACHOO overly much onto the screen.
Trust me, we all appreciate that. By the way, I’ve actually always wanted to use the word “palpable” in a blog post, so thank you for helping me check another off the old bucket list.
Now, before we get too far into the interview, I have to say how interesting I thought it was that we share so much in common: we’re both authors who love poetry, we’ve both had the pleasure of working with the wonderful Jane Yolen, and we’re both ardent defenders of the Oxford comma. Of course, the question on everyone’s minds is, why is the Oxford comma even an issue??
As a poet, editor, and teacher, I believe clarity is job #1. So, yeah. I have a hard time understanding why otherwise reasonable people opt for grammatical willy-nillyness when it comes to commas. Baffling!
I saw you sneaking that Oxford comma in there. You know, I’m thinking of creating cool red baseball caps with an acronym for Make Oxford Great Again. I’m sure they’ll be a hit.
Indeed, it’s a great, wise, and humorous idea for a hat. Put me down for one.
By the way, you’ve done several Essential Poems books for Moonshower, Bushel & Peck’s poetry imprint. It must be fun, if not brain-wracking sometimes, to sort through a classic poet’s catalog to find their best, most “essential” poems.
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve worked with “adult” poetry, so the excuse to do as you’ve suggested has been a real treat—no doubt about it. Part of the fun is going through the list of potential poets and reading through their body of work to see if it’s a fit (not too long, not too gratuitous for kids, not so complex as to require oodles of glosses, etc.). There’s so much out that’s well worth reading, even if I’m not going to use it in this series. In many ways, poetry is its own reward.
So let’s talk books, poetry, and craft. (There’s that Oxford comma again) First of all, as someone who has written about everything from trees to video games to Robert Frost – and even textbooks on writing – you seem to refuse to be tied down to one genre. Was there a particular intention or direction you had intended for your career, or did you just get into it and see where it took you?
I tell my students that I made a few career choices along the way that in retrospect might’ve been considered a mistake by some people. For example, just check out two of my grad school writing buddies who went a far more focused route. Todd James Pierce has cornered the market on books about Disney with an emphasis on the early years of animation and theme park design. Stephen Graham Jones might be the #1 horror writer working right now.
I followed my interests, and it took me all over the literary map. I’ve written poetry, illustrated humor, writing how-to books, and fiction (for adults and kids). I’ve created magazine work, newspaper work, advertising and marketing copy, and lots of B2B things.
Let me put it another way. I run the Creative Writing program at Ringling College of Art and Design, and I can teach all 32 courses we offer because I’ve worked in every one of those areas.
Would I have been more financially or critically successful had I specialized in one or two areas and had the clear brand/theme-recognition of Stephen King (scary!), John Grisham (lawyery!), N.K. Jemisin (magicky!), or Nora Roberts (romancey)? Maybe. But I had a lot of fun along the way, and it almost never felt like work. That’s not nothing. So, was it a mistake? Not in my mind, but I do tell students to make a conscious choice about such things instead of just wandering about, which is perhaps the best way to describe how I managed my career for the first decade and a half.
Ha! As someone who worked in radio for 25 years before realizing that my first love, writing, could actually be a career, I totally get that. In fact, a Maori friend of mine who used to hang out with folks like Russell Crowe and Lucy Lawless back when he was living in Australia still questions his decision to stay in radio! But getting back to writing: not everyone who enjoys reading and writing becomes a lover of poetry. What was it that drew you to that genre?
I’m convinced that everyone loved poetry as a child thanks to the magic of picture books. Maybe I got a triple helping of Shel Silverstein as a kid or maybe I was just lucky enough to have avoided middle school and high school English teachers who strip poetry of all its music, beauty, and fun with lackluster assignments that miss the point. Who knows?
I’m a fan of poetry because it’s high-octane language that packs a huge punch while allowing us to communicate, connect, and explore the vastness of the world and our place within it. And, quite often, it’s delightfully dazzling along the way.
Do you consider yourself a poet, or someone who writes poetry?
I have a Ph.D. in poetry, so I better go with the former.
>makes mental note that I should be referring to my guest as “Doctor”<
So how do you decide if something you write is going to be prosaic or poetic? Trial and error? Or do you just have a sense about it? For me, it’s a little of each sometimes!
The longer I’m in the writing game, the quicker I’m able to recognize when something’s not working in my own writing. I can tell withing a page or two whether I’m on the right track with a new piece. If it’s not working, I toss it or try another tactic. So, trial and error is part of it, sure. But I usually know the poetry/non-poetry thing at the start. It’s usually embedded into the core idea.
So tell us about The Witness Trees. A question I always ask fellow authors is, why did you feel this book needed to be written?
Many of us live in a fairly myopic world, whether it’s living paycheck to paycheck or ignoring the effects climate change will have on future generations. One of the ways to help people think more broadly about their lives and the world is to give voice to those with the perspective of centuries if not millennia.
Plus, let’s just be real here—trees are cool.
No argument there. Sharing a beautiful, poetic journey of world history through the eyes (limbs?) of trees that have witnessed world history is a fantastically unique premise. How did you come up with the idea, and how different – or similar – is the end result? Any surprises along the way?
In the back matter, I share this story.
When I was ten, my father took me to California to seek out a hidden 4,800-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine called Methuselah. We searched but didn’t find it, though we did see plenty of towering redwoods in Hendy Woods State Park—some of them were 2,000 years old. Ancient, but not by Methuselah’s standards!
I never forgot the sense of history embedded within their gnarled trunks. Those trees were tangible historical memory. Even at my young age, I felt their awesome power.
I don’t think that idea ever went away, so it was just a matter of time before it emerged in book form, which it did a few years back. The surprise of the yearlong writing process was twofold. (1) I didn’t realize how many witness trees there were when I began this book. (2) A lot of those amazing trees have been destroyed in recent years, as often by the hands of humans as not.
Honestly, I had no idea Methuselah was so hard to find! As for your book, it’s about the size of Methuselah – 52 pages, wow! That’s a significant size for a picture book. Considering most are 32 or 40 pages long, readers are definitely getting their money’s worth. Since you’re Bushel & Peck’s editor, who made that decision? I have a hard enough time writing a manuscript without second-guessing and over-editing myself – I can’t imagine you edited yourself, did you? Or are you just that awesome?
Before I started working at Bushel & Peck, they bought a lot of picture books from me, including this one. Plus, we create some of our books in house, so I’m almost always working on one book or another for the press. When that happens, we loop in another editor or sometimes even bring one in from outside, as we did for this project.
As The Picture Book Whisperer, I’ve been coaching and ghostwriting for celebrities for years, though it’s only recently that I’ve started putting my name on these books. When I casually talked about Nancy’s story one afternoon with Bushel & Peck owner and Publisher David Miles, he just totally got it (which makes sense, because he’s brilliant). While most of my celebrity books end up with Big 5 houses, I’m deeply interested in working with brilliant people who get a story and have an exciting vision for it. Of course, David did—both for The Witness Trees and this book.
He handles most of the design work, so it was David’s call to go with the page count and trim size for The Witness Trees.
What’s your favorite part of the book, and why?
The cover. That shade of blue just grabs me even before I notice Honest Abe there doing his thing.
Before we wrap up, I do have to ask about your collaboration with our mutual friend Jane Yolen, Body Music: Poems about the Noises Your Body Makes, which is also being published through Moonshower. I know Jane has said in the past that collaborations are twice the work and half the pay (which is true!), but as someone who himself has collaborated with numerous authors and poets, I can state they are also very rewarding, with each author feeding off the other’s creativity. How did this project come to be?
Jane and I have been buddies for years, and we just got to talking one day about ideas for books of poetry, and we each had one book idea we loved. After we talked through individual poem ideas, we were both energized enough to give it a go. So, we wrote them and, like chocolate and peanut butter, brought each of our poetic contributions together to make something more delicious than the combined parts. Or so we hope!
We wrote that second book too, and that led to a third (which is done as of last month) and possibly a fourth poetry collaboration. We’ll see. It helps that we have the same agent—she’s shopping poetry book #2 in the coming weeks. Perhaps if Body Music does well enough, it’ll make our other project simply too tantalizing to pass up. It IS Jane Yolen, after all. 😊
What’s on the proverbial horizon for you? What new books can we be looking for?
I just finished writing The Interactive New Testament and am working on three more of the Essential Poems books (Whitman, Shakespeare, Rossetti). I’m also skipping summer teaching at my college this year, so I’ve picked up a few work-for-hire projects to pay the bills.
Beyond that, I’ve got two other celebrity book/series projects in various stages of completion. Here’s hoping that those find their way into the world soon enough. It’s fun helping someone tell the story they’ve always wanted to tell, but there’s a big difference between getting it onto paper and getting it into the bookstores (or, if all goes well, onto the small screen).
Well, thank you so much for joining me, Ryan! I really appreciate you taking the time to chat – and be sure to let me know if you need help with TheIllustrated Matt Forrest Esenwine: 25 Essential Poems. I’ll do what I can.
Thanks for having me here, Matt! I quite appreciate it.
I’m still booking author visits for the 2023 Spring Semester (in-person AND virtual)!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how one’s imagination and creativity can lead to a fantastic career! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or origami sea turtles!
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
Create an account to add books to wishlists and be notified of special deals and dates…create custom collections…and discover and follow your favorite authors & illustrators!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!
Last weekend the annual New England SCBWI Spring Conference was held in Springfield, MA – and what a joy it was to be back in-person, seeing friends I’d not seen in three years and making so many new ones, as well.
Last year’s conference was online, but 2020 and 2021 were completely devoid of any kind of gathering like this, so it was an event I was really looking forward to.
(By the way, if you didn’t have a chance to check out last Friday’s interview with author, editor, poet, and root beer connoisseur Ryan G. Van Cleave, I hope you’ll do so – it’s an eye-opening look at the process of putting together a 52-page poetic picture book and how developing your career in a non-focused sort of way can be of surprisingly great benefit!
With workshops, keynotes, and plenty of opportunities to share conversation and food, it’s a busy 2 1/2 days. For me, it was extra-busy because I not only hosted the Friday Night Open Mic as I have for several years now, but I also took part in several other events:
A poetry panel discussion Saturday afternoon with my author/poet friends Jane Yolen, Heidi EY Stemple, Padma Venkatraman, and Valerie Boling
A faculty book signing that immediately followed
A Sunday morning 2-hour intensive (a workshop that included writing practice) about free verse poetry
Throw in a Faculty Dinner Friday night, a Volunteer Dinner Sat. night, and plenty of down time to simply chat with friends and acquaintences, and it’s a pretty jam-packed weekend:
From top to bottom: The poetry panel, taken right after we’d wrapped up our discussion in the main ballroom; the ongoing slideshow featuring all the members’ book from the past two years was a hit; I had a chance to get pics with two of my PB2023 partners, Mary Munson (with the heart glasses) and Katie Mazeika; I also got to hang out with New Hampshire friends from our loose-knit creators group KidLit603: Rebecca Smith-Allen, Lita Judge, and Emilie Burack; in the lower left, I enjoyed Sunday breakfast with my friend Jane Yolen and Kimberly Venturi Yavorski; several faculty membersdonated books to be given away as door prizes, and all my publishers came through in a BIG way – the NE-SCBWI ended up giving away 26 copies of my various books! Wow!
The poem I wanted to share today is a powerful one from Padma Venkatraman, and one I shared with my free verse poetry workshop attendees:
. “Undone” by Padma Venkatraman .
They ignored the new boy, snickering behind his back.
In silence, I stayed safe. My lips pressed together.
Growing bolder, they pierced him with arrow-sharp words.
There is actually a LOT going on in this poem: Padma uses columns and white space and point of view very specifically and to great effect. For example, the white space represents the silence that is the theme of the poem, the three columns represent the three people taking part in the poem (speaker, the boy, the reader), and both the first and third columns could potentially be their own poems, if read vertically. I could go on, but please check out the complete poem at the link and enjoy it.
I’m already eager to return to the spring conference in 2024, but for now I’ll catch my breath by checking out all of today’s Poetry Friday links and fun at Linda Baie’s Teacher Dance, where she is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup with an ironic poem from Danusha Laméris – ironic considering when it was published (shortly before the pandemic shutdown) and subject matter (small kindnesses, which seemed less and less common the longer the shutdown dragged on).
BY THE WAY: I’ll be in St. Albans, Vermont this Sunday, May 7 for the annual Book Fair at the Town Hall!
If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by, say hi, and perhaps pick up a signed copy of one of my books!
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I’m still booking author visits for the 2023 Spring Semester (and Fall 2023, too)!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how one’s imagination and creativity can lead to a fantastic career! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or origami sea turtles!
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
Create an account to add books to wishlists and be notified of special deals and dates…create custom collections…and discover and follow your favorite authors & illustrators!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
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Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 