Oh, you have no idea how much excitement I’ve been trying to contain.
You see, my next picture book, The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House, 2023) is scheduled to be published this October, and TOMORROW, Sat., May 27, is the day of the official COVER REVEAL!
I hope you’ll check it out at The Backstory, a feature of author Andrew Hackett’s blog. Italian artist/illustrator Sonia Possentini provides some amazingly beautifu artwork, and I can’t wait to share the book with the world when it arrives Oct. 3. So be sure to head over to The Backstory tomorrow – because this book actually has not one, but TWO backstories!
Considering the subject of the book, I’ve naturally had stargazing on my mind lately, and a few nights ago our local middle school hosted an astronomy night. Several telescopes were set up so that students and parents could get close-up views of the moon, Venus, and stars like Arcturus and others.
Early in the evening, around 8-8:30pm, my son decided to try to get a photo so he held my iPhone up to the eyepiece of a large telescope focused on the moon. Just at the right moment, he snapped – and captured this. So of course, I had to write a haiku to go with it!
(Click to enlarge)
. sea-blue face poses for her close up; dusk’s crooked grin
While I’m celebrating the cover reveal of my next book, Patricia Franz is celebrating her 40th wedding anniversary with a cento she created using a Doobie Brothers setlist! You can find that along with today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, Reverie.
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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?)
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!
I hadn’t planned on sharing a five-year-old poem, but sometimes the poem asks to be shared – and I have no choice but to oblige.
Case in point: I had been searching for springtime poems a week or so ago and came upon the one I’m sharing today. I had written it back in August 2018, but when I searched my blog I could find no sign I’d ever shared it here. Likely, because I’d originally written it as a prompt on a friend’s blog.
That friend is Irene Latham, and in August 2018 she had published a post encouraging her readers to pick five words from a poster filled with verbs, and write a poem using all five. Knowing that just because a word might be a verb doesn’t necessarily mean that word is always a verb (does “march” mean to step in time, or is it a group of people stepping together? Or is it a month??)
So I took on her challenge and was quite happy with the result; granted, it’s four short lines, but I packed as much internal rhyme as I could into those four lines!
. March sweeps in to slowly wring the melt of winter; welcome, Spring.
The other thing I’m proud of is that considering the poem only uses 12 words, that means that nearly half the poem consists of words I needed to include for the challenge! I hope you like it. Since it’s Mother’s Day weekend, Robyn Hood Black is hosting a special Poetry Friday roundup today at Life on the Deckle Ege with a haiku she wrote for her grandchild, Sawyer.
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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?)
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!
.
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?)
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!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my recent National Poetry Month reviews and interviews with Laura Shovan and Bob Schechter – and I’ve got ONE MORE on the way, too, next week, with my friend Ryan G. Van Cleave: author, poet, editor, and root beer connoisseur!
Today, though, I wanted to share a poem I wrote for Carol Varsalona’s “Springsations Gallery of Artistic Expressions,” an upcoming feature she will publish on her blog, Beyond Literacy Link.
Carol has asked me a couple of weeks ago if I had any spring-related poems I might be willing to share, and as I looked through some of my April/May photos I happened upon the one that inspired me to write the poem I ultimately sent her. You can view the poem along with a few others at her blog. I hope you like it! (Thank you, Carol!)
For today’s complete Poetry Friday roundup, head on over to Karen Edmisten’s blog where she is celebrating National Poetry Month with the Ted Kooser poem, “A Spiral Notebook.”
.
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?)
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!
Wow, halfway through National Poetry Month already, are we?
Well, today I have another children’s poet in the spotlight – Robert Schechter, whose debut poetry collection The Red Ear Blows Its Nose (Word Galaxy Press, 2023) has been garnering all sorts of wonderful praise since its release – including three starred reviews!
Bob, thank you so much for joining me here at the ol’ Triple-R. I can’t tell you how absolutely thrilled I am for you, finally having your own poetry collection published! I know you’ve been striving for this for years – having individual poems published in various magazines and anthologies like Highlights for Children, the Cricket family of magazines, and even The Washington Post – but a collection of your own has been a long time coming. You must feel a huge sense of satisfaction, especially with the praise The Red Ear Blows Its Nose has received so far! To what do you attribute this accomplishment?
Thanks, Matt. Yes, I’m thrilled to have a collection at last, but you might be surprised to learn that I had not been shopping the manuscript to other publishers. In fact, the manuscript didn’t even exist when Alex Pepple of Word Galaxy asked me one day if I had anything I would care to submit, and it was in response to that solicitation that I put together the manuscript that eventually became The Red Ear Blows Its Nose.
I’ve always felt you had an excellent sense of style, wit, and command of the language, so I’m not at all surprised this book is receiving such a positive response from Kirkus, Booklist, and SLJ, among others!
Thank you for the compliments, Matt. While you may not be surprised that my book has received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and SLJ, for me it was a huge surprise. I truly had no idea how the poems would be received.
Critics don’t review individual poems in magazines, so having a book was the first time I faced their judgment. I was greatly relieved at the positive reviews, and especially that the reviews were “starred,” which editors reserve for a small number of books they consider exceptional.
Your poems consist of a wide array of poetic forms, rhyme schemes, and subject matter. I know that when it comes to poetry collections, editors love the first two – but they’re not always keen on the “multiple subjects” concept because marketing loves having a “hook,” like ‘poems about the ocean,” or ‘poems about family,’ or ‘poems about transcendental meditation.’ But in this book, you cover a wide range of subjects, from a first snowfall to a champion bee, from Moon Cheese to livestock salesmen! Was the multi-subject format an issue when you were submitting the manuscript? Any feedback?
No other publisher had a chance to offer feedback, since I only submitted the book to Word Galaxy, but I suspect you are correct that most large publishers appear committed to the poetry/picture book model, with a relatively small number of poems (maybe 12-15) on lavishly illustrated spreads with a consistent theme.
I hope my book will help remind publishers that the good old-fashioned miscellaneous poetry collection still has appeal. Frankly, I have no idea why they need reminding, since we all know that the best selling children’s poetry books over the last 50 years have not fit the poetry/picture book model, but have been miscellaneous collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends. Indeed, between Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, more than 50% of what you find in the children’s poetry section of most bookstores consists of miscellaneous collections.
Given that literally every single children’s poetry blockbuster in history has been an unthemed collection, I am mystified why so many publishers seem to seem to regard such collections as a non-starter.
Well, I’d say it’s primarily due to marketing departments feeling the need for a “hook,” so to speak – although you are correct that quality poems in and of themselve should be the hook!Speaking of varities of forms and rhyme schemes, one of the poems I wanted to spotlight is “It’s All Me,” which to a normal reader may seem simple and cute, but to a fellow writer of poetry, it’s anything but simple! Ten, two-line stanzas, and each of the two lines rhymes with the others – so you basically have only two rhymes (using multiple words) in the entire poem. How difficult was it to write, and how did you nail down the rhyme scheme in the first place?
I didn’t set out to write a poem with that many repeat rhymes. It just happened. For me the typical process of writing a poem is first getting some words down on paper (for me, “paper” is usually a screen) and then trying to sustain whatever sort of energy those words may trigger. In the case of “It’s All Me”, I believe that I just started with a couple of rhymes and somehow got the impulse to keep going and see what happened.
As I recall, I kept going and cranked out maybe a dozen or more stanzas that fit the rhyme scheme, then fiddled with the order of the stanza to try to give a sense that the thought was developing. I also cut a few of the stanzas that seemed to interfere with the flow. The biggest challenge was to find a way to end the poem that didn’t just feel like I ran out of steam, but somehow gave a feel of closure.
“It’s All Me” was “highly commended” by Naomi Shihab Nye when she judged the Caterpillar Children’s Poetry Contest.
You follow a slightly similar rhyme scheme with the ingenious wordplay in the following poem, “Winning,” as well as the poem “A Chorus of Doris,” so you obviously enjoy these extremely tight rhyme schemes. Do you find poems like these easy to write, or are you just a sucker for punishment?
It’s a mixed bag. On the one hand, such poems are hard to write because they narrow your choices moving forward, and you may find that none of the choices are satisfying. But the narrowing of your choices also makes your task easier, since you don’t have as many options for what to write next. You’re forced to write something that makes use of the words that your formal choices require you to use. Often that means saying something that you never intended to say when you started writing, but that’s perfecly fine with me since I’m generally not trying to say any one thing in particular, but to write a poem that people will enjoy even if it means saying something I never intended to say.
As AE Stallings put it in her Presto Manifesto, “Rhyme frees the poet from what he wants to say.”
Of course, this approach doesn’t always yield fruit. Sometimes you might commit to a rhyme scheme and find that you can’t sustain it. But that’s true of any technique you might use to write a poem. Only now and then, if you’re lucky, does it work out.
Ok, get ready because I’m now going to ask you one of the questions I hate answering the most. (You’re welcome!) And that is, where you get your ideas from. I mean, I get my ideas from everywhere – and half the time, I don’t even know where that is! It’s such a hard question to answer. So I’ll word it a little differently: what is your process for coming up with ideas that aren’t a result of sheer serendipitous inspiration?
No, it’s a great question. For me, poems usually don’t start with idea but with a line or two that I write down without any particular follow-up in mind, and then as I continue writing the poem I try to sustain whatever energy I might have baked into those opening lines and to just let the thought develop as best I can while adhering to any formal requirements I may have set for myself. While sometimes I know in advance roughly how the poem will end, my best poems tend to be the ones where the idea developed simultaneously with the writing, and perhaps arose thanks to the happenstance of a given rhyme being available or not.
Two-part question for you: What is your favorite poem in the book, and can you share a poem you wish you could have included, but didn’t?
Bob Schechter
I honestly don’t have a favorite poem in the book. Remember, the book contains my best poems written over a twenty year period, which makes it hard to narrow down to just one. However, off the top of my head, I will single out “Thank You, Nose,” a poem that originally appeared in Highlights for Children. What pleases me about the poem is that despite its amusing tone and comical monorhyme, the poem is funny without being jokey or saying anything silly or untrue. The poem is based on the “stop and smell the roses” cliches, but somehow (I hope) it manages to strip the triteness from the cliché by merging its sentiments with a humorous execution. In short, I’m pleased with how the poem in just eight lines manages to be funny about noses while also giving them their proper credit and due regard.
Having been writing so much poetry for so much of your life, is there any particular poem or award of which you’re particularly proud?
When it comes to children’s poetry, I’m proud that I have had poems “highly commended” in separate contests judged by Roger McGough, Naomi Shihab Nye, Brian Moses, and Carole Bromley. In adult poetry, I have won the XJ Kennedy Parody Award as well as the Willis Barnstone Translation Prize.
I’m also proud to have been a “featured poet” in Light. And I was once “Rookie of the Year” and “Loser of the Year” (that’s a good thing, believe it or not) at the Washington Post Style Invitational, the wonderful weekly humor competition that was recently, to the sorrow or its many fans, discontinued after decades of being a regular feature.
By the way, you’re not Robert Schechter, the sculptor from New York City, and you’re also not Robert Schechter, attorney with the New Jersey law firm of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman. Did you ever realize how many of you there are, and is there a poem in there somewhere?
There’s also Robert Schechter the veteranarian who just released a memoir, and a few other namesakes pop up from time to time in my Google Alerts. At least I have the consolation of knowing that “The Red Ear Blows Its Nose” is a phrase you’ll find online exclusively in the context of my book. My name may not be unique, but my title is.
Well, thank you again for joining me, Bob – I truly am happy for you!
Thank you!
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Learn more about Bob and find purchase links at his website HERE. For more poetry, visit Jone Rush MacCulluch for the Poetry Friday roundup AND a Classic Found Poetry Palooza! (Sounds fun!)
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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?)
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!
I’ve been extremely busy since the year began, with writing, submitting, and doing more school visits than ever! It’s a good thing to be this busy, true – but then suddenly I’m into the fourth month of the year and I realize the first quarter of 2023 is behind us and I’ve still got so much to wrap up before summer!
I need to finish final prep work for my free verse poetry presentation (a 2-hour intensive, no less!) at this year’s New England SCBWI Spring Conference at the end of the month along with a panel group I’ll be taking part in along with friends and fellow authors Jane Yolen, Heidi Stemple, Padma Venkatraman, and Valerie Boling; I’m helping my wife, a Nurse Practitioner at a local Hospital, with her pet-sitting business she does on the side; and I’m trying to get our tax paperwork together and submitted to our CPA before April 15.
Whew!
So imagine my surprise when I looked at the calendar a couple of weeks ago and saw April staring at me!
Fortunately, I had made plans. Later this month I’ll be interviewing both Robert Schechter about his debut poetry collection, the multiple-starred reviewed The Red Ear Blows its Nose (Word Galaxy, 2023) aswell as fellow PB2023 member (and editor) Ryan G. Van Cleave about his new poetry books from Bushel & Peck.
Laura Shovan
But first up, it’s my friend Laura Shovan, whose latest book is a collection of poems is a bit of a departure for her.
While Laura has published several middle grade novels (learn more about her by reading my interview with her HERE) and has had numerous poems published in various anthologies over the years, Welcome to Monsterville (Apprentice House Press, 2023) is her first children’s poetry collection.
If ever there was an example of a book coming together via serendipity, this is it.
Laura’s friend, poet and Monsterville illustrator Michael Rotherberg, sent her a few pictures of monsters he had drawn while trying to pass the time with some art therapy during the Covid pandemic shutdown. She responded to him by writing poems for each monster – and sharing their stories. As this process continued, they realized that a poetry collection written as a way to cope with social and emotional anxiety was exactly what young children could use to help with their own anxieties – and Welcome to Monsterville was born.
The nice thing about this is, aside from the wonderfully playful and thoughtful poems, the monsters are never shown as scary or things to be feared – they are as friendly, quirky, and unique as every child who reads the book! Take this, for example:
The variety of poem styles (some rhyme, some are free verse) as well as the variety of monsters makes each page new and surprising for a young reader. And hopefully, that young reader will glean something positive from Laura’s words!
Learn more about laura and catch up on her blog posts about Monsterville at her website. For more poetry, head on over to the Poetry Friday roundup at Reflections on the Teche with Margaret Simon, where she is hosting the 2023 Progressive Poem.
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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?)
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!
This post was originally published four years ago on March 22, 2019. Wow, everything pre-Covid seems like ancient history, doesn’t it? But since New Hampshire is finally melting away the winter snow and ice and we’re actually starting to see real ground (I saw the first butterfly of the season two days ago!), I thought it was apropos to share this again. Hope you like it! And for all of today’s poetry and links, head over to (A)nother Year of Reading, where Mary Lee is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup with a Poetic Quadfecta!
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(click to enlarge)
REMINDER: You have less than one week to enter my drawing for a FREE copy of Laura Purdie Salas’ new book, In the Middle of the Night: Poems from a Wide-Awake House (Wordsong, 2019)! This children’s poetry collection imagines what the inanimate objects inside a home are doing after the lights go out…and between neckties and hair combs and cap-less markers, the house is a much busier place than one might expect. So check out my blog post featuring Laura (well, actually, it’s an interview with Laura’s inanimate objects!), and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.
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I’m booking author visits for the 2023 winter/spring semester!
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!
.Student presentations include:
The Making of a Picture Book
How a Child Saved a Book
“Once Upon Another Time”
The Most Imporant Thing about Writing Poetry
“I Am Today”
“A Beginner’s Guide to Being Human”
“Everybody Counts: Counting to 10 in Twelve Languages”
If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library,or other organization, please email meat matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!
I’m very happy to be part of the BOOKROOfamily!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!Find out more about BOOKROO here!
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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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Thank you to everyone for your support!FLASHLIGHT NIGHT:
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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!
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!
I hadn’t really planned on sharing anything like this, but when you get an idea, you have to either seize upon it or write it down somewhere so you can seize upon it another day.
I chose the former.
I was simply sitting at my desk, looking at some of the many books I have in front of me, and a couple of book titles caught my eye. I immediately began scouring for any other titles I might be able to combine – and voila!
When thunder comes before morning in the middle of the night voices the gods, themselves, in the woods
If you’re unfamiliar with spine poetry but like to learn more, please check out this video I made a few years ago, during the pandemic, from inside my pillow fort! And for all of today’s poetry fun – and a celebration of spring – head over to Rose Cappelli’s home on the web, Imagine the Possibilities, for today’s Poetry Friday roundup!
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I’m booking author visits for the 2023 winter/spring semester!
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!
I will once again be a performance judge for the Poetry Out Loud New Hampshire State Finals at the NH Statehouse in Concord. Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation competition among high school students, and the winners of the state regional finals are meeting this evening to find out who is the best in the state!
So today I wanted to share another poem from the Poetry Out Loud catalog, this time by the incredibly gifted poet Gwendolyn Brooks who, at 33 yars of age, became the first black writer to receive the Pulitzer Prize in 1950.
In addition to her poetry for adults, she also published a collection of poems about (and for) children in 1956, titled Bronzeville Boys and Girls. It was titled as such because it was more or less a follow-up companion book (well, sort of) to her highly-acclaimed A Street in Bronzeville, which had been published in 1945.
Think about that for just a minute. A woman. Who was black. Writing for children. Being published in the ’50’s. When you consider how rare it was in that culture for someone like Brooks, with so much against her, to be published and receive that amount of recognition – well, it was something pretty special.
Fortunately, Poetry Out Loud offers several of Brooks’ poems for students to choose, including this gem:
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a song in the front yard
I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life. I want a peek at the back Where it’s rough and untended and hungry weed grows. A girl gets sick of a rose.
I want to go in the back yard now And maybe down the alley, To where the charity children play… (continue reading HERE)
. In other news…I have a Korean translation of one of my books!
How cool is this?? Last year, the publisher of I Am Today, POW! Kids Books, hired a Korean company to pick some of their books to translate and market overseas, and mine was selected as one they felt would be successful. I have no idea how the rhymes would translate to another language, but I’m dying to track down a copy and find out!
For today’s Poetry Friday roundup head on over to my friend Laura Purie Salas’ little home on the web, Small Reads for Brighter Days, where she is celebrating her multiple pring book releases and gearing up for National Poetry Month by “digging” for poems!
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I’m booking author visits for the 2023 winter/spring semester!
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!
This post was originally published four years ago on March 22, 2019. Wow, everything pre-Covid seems like ancient history, doesn’t it?
But since New Hampshire is finally melting away the winter snow and ice and we’re actually starting to see real ground (I saw the first butterfly of the season two days ago!), I thought it was apropos to share this again. Hope you like it! And for all of today’s poetry and links, head over to 
