Look around outside. What do you see? A bird? A flower? A sunset? A tree? Each one would make a great haiku — for you! The Japanese haiku, one of the oldest forms of poetry, teaches us much about the art and craft of poem-making. The entire poem consists of only three short lines, […]
Poems About Poetry for National Poetry Month
Have you ever read a poem ABOUT poetry? Have you ever written one? All it takes is a metaphor (comparison) and your imagination! Here are some poems with metaphors that compare poems to lots of different things. What’s a Poem? A whisper, A shout, Thoughts turned Inside out. A […]
Inspiration: A Different Road Home
Want to write a poem, a story, a memoir? Need a jump start on some new inspiration? Try surrounding yourself with something new. Change is good. The Muse loves change. Turn off the computer and TV. Put away the iPhone. Go out to eat. Go to a live play or concert. Attend a sporting event. […]
Touring that Place Like it was 1999
The title of this blog comes from a line in a story my 9-year-old daughter wrote recently. It’s funny, right? My daughter is not so good with capital letters or commas or periods (not yet, at least), but she does have a way with language that gives me great hope that she will be a […]
10 Things I’ve Learned as a Children’s Poet
Children have the best imaginations. Children look at the world from the inside out. Children love lyrical language. Daydreaming is a highly underrated art form. When you write for children, don’t write for children. Write from the child in you. It is better to show, than tell. Style is not how you write. It is […]
The Poetry of Life
We are all poets. Each one of us sees the world in our own special way. Whenever we look up at the passing clouds and see long tail dragons and sailing ships we are poets. When we share our visions and dreams we are poets. We are poets whenever we tell the world who we […]