Writing about Writing & a Poetry Peek

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Photo by Amy LV

Students - One of the best parts of my days is when I have the opportunity to visit classrooms wtih writing workshops.  This week I had the chance to visit a third grade and a kindergarten classroom, both humming with writing and love.  At home here, I write all alone, but I, too, look for people to be a part of my writing circle.  You are these people.  The teachers and students I visit are these people.  My poetry friends are these people.  It really does feel "almost like a hug" when one has the chance to write and share with others.

Receiving a kind note from Jen Westervelt (you'll read words from her in a moment) reminded me that I have written about writing several times, so her note got me searching the files to see what I could find. This draft was a scrap written over a year ago, and I found it in my files. 

This short verse felt worth finishing, even with that weird little last nonsense line.  I didn't want to finish it in the spring of 2013, but this week I did.  So, thank you to Jen and to Lillie and Willow and all of the students in this class for inspiring me - through your words - to comb through my digital files.  I was happy to find today's small poem and hope that others in writing workshps know the feeling I describe.

Being a writer-packrat can be very helpful.  Don't throw those notebooks away or erase those files.  Someday, down the line, you might find a scrap that you wish to revisit.  Look through your old notebooks sometime, maybe even today.  Surprise your new self with the interesting thoughts of your old self.  Take an old piece and make it new.

Today I am very happy to host sixth grade English teacher Jen Westervelt, from Sherburne-Earlville Middle School in Sherburne, NY.  Many grateful welcomes to Jen as she introduces her students.

As part of Scholastic's TRAITS WRITING PROGRAM, my sixth grade students have been exploring the connections between the Writing Process (Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing...) and the Writing Traits (Ideas, Organization, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Voice, Presentation, and Conventions).  Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's poem,"Writing Time," served as inspiration for these poems.    

Poems

Poems are like Paintings

Except telling a story through words

You might stare and be waiting

For great inspiration to come

You might get an idea one day

While walking down the street

It might start “hello” or  “far far away”

Or even great George the giant

Use transition, organization, ideas, and voice

These are all important in poems

There might be a sentence like “there is Boise”

Or “Hi my name is Bob”

This is all about you

The poem you write

And the ideas you use

If you do what you like

Could be poems about bikes

There’s no way you’ll  ever fail

Lillie Ashton

Writing is Life

Writing is life, It's naturally nice to write about life.

Like when your kindhearted friend sends you a letter, so 

you can feel radiant and beautiful and somewhat better.   

Writing is a source of showing you 

care about your friends that are everywhere and anywhere.So,

writing is life,

you can write to anyone even if he/she lives in the 

middle of nowhere.

Willow Austin  

Thank you very much to Jen, Lillie, and Willow for joining us with these thoughtful words and lines.  It is a joy to have you all here at The Poem Farm today.

Students are often our best teachers, and I continue to be thankful for the young writers from the Western New York Young Writer's Studio who are currently sharing their notebooks over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks.  If you have not yet taken a look at these students' notebooks, I encourage you to come on over and get some new ideas for your own notebook.  Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in a giveaway of a book and a notebook too!

Jama is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at the delicious Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Head on over for tea, croissants, and poems.  What could be better?

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