Our Dear One, Lee Bennett Hopkins

Mini Monster, Black Eyed Susans, Tattoo

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Lee Bennett Hopkins was a husband, a poetry great, a writer, a teacher, an anthologist, and a loving, wise, funny friend to so many people. Numerous poets found their way by the light of his thoughtful lamp, and children of all ages will forever be delighted by the lines of poetry he left us all. 

After Lee's death two weeks ago, Poetry Friday Friend Jone MacCullough suggested we celebrate his life by writing poems from lines of his own works. So today, many of us have read Lee's poems, have lifted lines, and have written poems inspired by his words. Many others will be thinking about and celebrating Lee in different ways.  And in doing so, we all hope to honor his life and his brilliant legacy.

Last Saturday, I did really get a tattoo inked on my right forearm as a way of keeping Lee's words nearby. You can find the poem Good Books, Good Times! in his anthology of the same name, and you can listen to him recite it at Renee's place, No Water River. By wearing Lee's lines on my arm, I hope to remember his generosity every day, writing as well as I can to earn what he taught me.

Lee Bennett Hopkins

1938 - 2019

Photo by Lee's Husband, Charles Egita

Rebecca Kai Dotlich, one of Lee's dearest friends and a writer whose poems open and close so many of his anthologies, kindly shared these beautiful words and pictures about their friendship. 

Please Click to Enlarge

How lucky we have been to travel the Earth at the same time as this love-and-laugh-filled man. As others have said over the past days, may he rest in peace and poetry. 

To read more about Lee, you may wish to visit these places:

Website of Lee Bennett Hopkins

Spotlight on Lee Bennett Hopkins with Sylvia Vardell at No Water River

Guinness Book of World Records - Most Prolific Anthologist of Poetry for Children

Autobiographical Book of Poetry - Been to Yesterdays, 1999

Surprise Party (80 in 2018!) at Robyn Hood Black's Place - Life on the Deckle Edge

Obituary in The Washington Post

Obituary in The New York Times

Obituary in News-Press

Obituary in Publishers Weekly
8/23/19 School Library Journal Piece about Lee

I am grateful to WordSong/Boyds Mills & Kane, one of Lee's publishers, for offering five copies of one of Lee's recent anthologies, School People to five commenters on this post. In the August 13, 2019 Publishers Weekly obituary, Rebecca Davis, Lee's editor at WordSong, said this of Lee, "I keep thinking he was joy poured into human form. I will miss him and his joy for the rest of my days."

If you would like to be entered to win a copy of School People, please leave your contact information in your comment, and I will draw names next Thursday, August 29 to share next Poetry Friday, August 30.

And as you stroll around the Kidlitosphere today, through this week, and through your life, may the lines of Lee's poems and books fill you up and help you grow. If you wish to find these links or link in yourself...here you go!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

A Color for My Teacher

Please note that on Poetry Friday August 23 we will celebrate the life of Lee Bennett Hopkins here at The Poem Farm. At Jone MacCulloch's great suggestion, I invite everyone who wishes to write and share a poem inspired by or including a line from a LBH poem. Tag with #DearOneLBH. Thank you. xo, Amy

Cotton on Linen

Photo by Amy LV

Sky Over Barn Over Thistles

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Poetry Great Lee Bennett Hopkins died yesterday after living a rich, beautiful, word-filled, generous life.  I am thankful to call him my teacher as he was teacher to so many.  And while I grieve and mourn today, my work is to continue to write the best I can...the way Lee taught me to do.

As I told my children last night, when you wish to learn something deeply, seek a mentor. And my wish for you is that you will be as fortunate as I was in finding one so giving, so funny, so wise.

One day when you are filled with tears, remember that you can turn tears into words. It helps a little.  I liked stitching these stitches today, finding the thistles, looking for words and remembering.

Please read about and celebrate Lee's life here at his website and here in yesterday's news.  Read one of his books!  And suddenly, you may find yourself reading 120 of his books!  (Did you know he is in the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS for having edited the most poetry anthologies for children?) 

Lee Bennett Hopkins

1938 - 2019

Photo by Charles Egita

May he rest in peace and poetry.

xx

Molly is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Nix the comfort zone with a post about writing from titles and two lovely poems with the same title - Lost in the Milky Way. Please know that we gather each Friday, sharing poems and poemlove, and all are always welcome.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

A New Anthology & A Grand Mentor

Published July 2, 2019

Charlesbridge

From I AM SOMEONE ELSE: POEMS ABOUT PRETENDING

Charlesbridge, 2019

(Click the image to enlarge)

Students - Sometimes people ask how authors and illustrators got started in their work.  For me, it began with a lifetime of reading and writing love, an English major, a few years of teaching fifth grade, a year studying teaching writing with Lucy Calkins, time at home reading aloud to three toddlers, and meeting my poetry teacher, Lee Bennett Hopkins.

When I was pregnant with our daughter Georgia (now 19), I attended an SCBWI conference session led by Poetry Master Lee Bennett Hopkins.  He was incredibly wise, funny, and generous. He wrote his snail mail address in my notebook when I asked if I might send him a few poems.  And after several months (I was nervous), I did send those poems, typed and folded neatly into an envelope that I probably kissed.

Many months letter, I received an invitation from Lee, an invitation to try to write a poem for one of four I CAN READ holiday books published by Harper Collins.  Lee accepted one of my poems into his book CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. It was a poem about reading by the light of a Christmas tree, one of my favorite childhood memories and activities.

Published September 27, 2005

Harper Collins

Time went by as it always does.  And now, here in 2019, that baby Georgia who was in my belly when I met Lee is a college student (English major). Over the past several years, I have written a few books and have shared many poems here at The Poem Farm and in anthologies edited by Lee and others. Many more poems cuddle up in my notebooks, likely never to be read.

Along with many many poets, I have Lee to thank.

Lee Bennett Hopkins

Photo from Lee's Website

Lee has won and established many awards for writers, and you can even find him in the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS as the most prolific anthologist of poetry for children with over 113 titles to his credit. One might imagine that such a busy and accomplished man would not have time for others, but Lee has mentored many poets, always with truth, kindness, and a twinkle in his eye. I consider him a member of my family, and I consider myself fortunate.

Remember this - life is full of teachers, both in and out of school.  If you wish dearly to learn something, do whatever you can to learn on your own, but too, seek out teachers in the world of that subject. Do your part, do not complain, work hard, do your own research. And know that there are teachers who care to give a hand to people who are doing the work and working to do it as well as they can.

Poems have given my life a layer of beauty and richness, a layer of enchantment and surprise. I love my poetry friends, and I love reading and writing poem lines, always seeking new understandings and new combinations of syllables. I am grateful, and today I send a big hug to Lee for all of this, and too, for believing in me.

For more news about I AM SOMEONE ELSE, this latest book by Lee, read an interview with him and talented illustrator Chris Hsu over at Matt Forrest Esenwine's place, Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme.  You can read Matt's poem there too...and read Michelle Heidrenrich Barnes's poem over at her blog Today's Little Ditty.  Find Michelle's interview with the book's editor Karen Boss here. And read a review of I AM SOMEONE ELSE by Paul Hankins at Goodreads.

GIVEAWAY! I did offer a giveaway of this book on Twitter on the book's release day, and here is another one. If you comment on this post by 11:59pm on July 11, you will be entered into a random drawing to win a copy of I AM SOMEONE ELSE. Please just leave a way to contact you should you win, and I will announce the winner here next Friday, July 12.

At Sharing Our Notebooks, my other online home, I could not be happier to welcome Art Educator Matthew Grundler. Please visit his post about visual journals...and be inspired! (There is a giveaway there too.)

Tricia is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at The Miss Rumphius Effect with a charmer of a triolet that began with a line she lifted from an old family letter. Please know that we gather each Friday, sharing poems and poemlove, and all are always welcome.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Christmas Night and Books

from CHRISTMAS PRESENTS 

Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Melanie Hall

Students - Today's poem takes me back to my childhood. And while the setting for this poem is Christmas night, it could be about any busy time followed by a quiet time.  I do love busy-ness, and I also cherish the quiet after busy-ness. Quiet time to curl up with a book and maybe a pet.

When I was a little girl, I loved to curl up near our Christmas tree with a book, to sit in the glow of those colored lights and read the night away.  

This year, I find myself inspired by the literary tradition of Iceland, a country of readers and of book-givers at Christmas time.  Curious?  You can read about the Christmas Book Flood here at npr.

A book and quiet.  A tree and a cuddly pet.  These are some things I look forward to this week.

Today's little poem is the first poem that I ever had published in a book - ten years ago!  CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Melanie Hall, is a lovely book for this season, and I love owning the original painting for this page.  My husband Mark gave this piece of artwork to me ten years ago, and it was a fantastic and wonderful surprise.

Over at Sharing Our Notebooks, I am still happy to have Tanny McGregor with her superneat notebooks.  Please stop by and leave a comment to be entered into her generous drawing.

The very kind and wise Irene Latham is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Live Your Poem.  There you will find all of this week's poetry offerings, all around the Kidlitosphere.

I wish all of you wonderful surprises, happy busy-ness, kindness, art, and magical quiet time for reading and snuggling.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

SPARKing Again - Collaborating with an Artist

Last week, I participated in Spark once more.  It had been a while since I had taken part in Amy Souza's brainchild where perfect friends or strangers swap art, music, or writing and are given ten days to make new art, music, or writing inspired by what they have been given.  I was so happily paired with artist Tora Estep.

Here you see the painting I received on the first day, and right after, you will see the poem that it inspired.

The Magpies

by Tora Estep

Below is the poem I gave to Tora on day one of our collaboration.  Right after, you will see her painting that grew from it.

Trees

by Tora Estep

Students - it is great fun to be part of this kind of collaboration, and this is why I have taken part in Spark several times. (If you wish, you can see all of the Spark collaborations I've been a part of here.)  And as I always say, try it!  Consider getting with a friend and swapping art or music or writing.  Give yourself a handful of days by which you must each create something new from what you have received.  If you do try it, please let me know...if it's poetry, I'd adore featuring you here.

We are so much more together than each of us can ever be alone.  Collaborating is a joy.

Speaking of collaborating, this week we celebrated a baby poetry book birthday! So many congratulations to Lee Bennett Hopkins and Alyssa Nassner for their new snuggly board book, LULLABY AND KISSES SWEET.  I am honored to have a poem in this book - it's cuddling with poems by so many of my poetry friends.

Available at Your Local Bookstore

Robyn Campbell is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at her site, Robyn Campbell.  Visit there to learn about all of the poetry goodies being passed around all day, all night, all week long!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

I Am the New Kid - and a New Book Too!

New Kid

by Amy LV

Students - I have been the new kid, each of our children has been the new kid, my friend Rosie is the new kid this year, and well...here at the start of school, I am just thinking about that feeling of being new.

When I was the new kid (a few times as I went to three elementary schools and then studied as an exchange student after high school), I especially remember not knowing where to look.  Other people were laughing and talking, but not me.  Where should I look?  Each time, that new-kid-feeling went away in time, but during that new-kid-time, I was uncomfortable.

This poem is to honor all of the new kids in new classrooms this year.  And it is also to remind all of us not-new-kids to reach out, say hello, be a welcoming force in this world.

When you sit down to write today, you might try to remember a feeling you once had.  It may be a feeling you have not had in a while, but you remember it clearly.  You might even think of someone you know who has been having a big feeling lately, try to imagine how that person feels.  Close your eyes and feel a feeling.  Then, maybe, try writing in that feeling-voice.  See if you can call it back with your words.

Did you notice how I repeated the line:

Will someone say hi?

at the beginning and the ending of the poem.  Sometimes using such a circular structure, or ending where you began, can be a great way to help a poem hold together.

And now...a new book on the scene!

  Available through

your Independent Bookseller

or through Amazon

I am so happy to announce a book birthday, this September 1, of MANGER, the latest stunner of a poetry anthology by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Helen Cann and starred by Kirkus.  The poems in the book are described as follows:

There is a legend that describes how, at midnight on Christmas Eve, all creatures are granted the power of speech for one hour. In this rich collection, Lee Bennett Hopkins and a dozen other poets imagine what responses they might offer. The poems represent a diverse group of animals, but all come together with one singular purpose: celebrating the joy of the miraculous event.

This collection of graceful poems provides readers with a Nativity story unlike any other -- at times gently humorous, at times profound, but always inviting readers to appreciate the wonder of Christmas. This book is a perfect gift for the holiday season.

I am honored to have written the sheep poem for this book.  When Lee asked me to do so, it felt completely right as we then had a flock of sheep living in our yard.  Here is the poem I wrote from a sheep's point of view.

from MANGER by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Art by Helen Cann, Sheep Poem by Amy LV

Image from Helen Cann's Website - Click to Enlarge

Much later, when Lee shared the gorgeous and tender illustrations by Helen Cann, I was astounded by how the sheep Helen imagined for Lee's book looked exactly like our oldest and most loving ram, ReRa, the first ram of our flock, now gone after a long life.  Of course Helen and I never communicated about this sheep, yet perhaps - magically - we did.

Mark Trims ReRa's Hooves, 2011

Photo by Amy LV

from January 18, 2011 Post

MANGER is on my Christmas list as a book to give this year, and I highly recommend it for all who love books about Christmas, animals, poetry, and love.

Laura Shovan is hosting this week's Poetry Friday party over at Author Amok.  There you will find a delicious buffet of blogs to visit...all celebrating poetry!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Puzzles - Poem #23 and 2014 Progressive Poem

LIVE!

Learn about this, my April 2014 Poetry Project, HERE!

Puzzles and Games

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today was time for another toys poem...and puzzles it is!  I do not have a longhand draft to share with you because right before cooking dinner, I sat down at the computer to "just type a first line"  and I stayed drafting at the computer, playing with listing as many imaginary puzzle pictures as I could dream up.

Today's poem is simply a list poem, each new line (sometimes every other line) offering a new possible puzzle picture.  In my earlier typed draft, the lines included "can" as in "I can snuggle piles of kittens..." but as always, I reread to weed out unnecessary words, and the "can" in each line evaporated with the magical computer backspace.

I was curious about what I'd write today, because one of my favorite (alliteration-filled) poems I've written is actually titled "Two Puzzling" - a poem about two different people putting together the same jigsaw puzzle in different places. This poem appears in Lee Bennett Hopkins's fantastic anthology, INCREDIBLE INVENTIONS.

Shop Indie Bound

And now, what many of you have come here for today...the...

Today is a special day at The Poem Farm.  It is my turn to host Irene Latham's wonderful annual Progressive Poem, a potluck tradition in which everyone who signs up is given a day to add a line to our group poem.  Today I offer our poem so far, up to line 23, which is my line for today, in bold.

Of course I have been following the Progressive Poem, blog to blog, all month, wondering each day, "Where will we be on April 23?  What will happen? What will I be given in the few lines before my day?  I loved the sapphire eggs, the beasts and birds, their refusal, and the push to go...

And so we are off!

2014 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem

Sitting on a rock, airing out my feelings to the universe
Acting like a peacock, only making matters that much worse;
Should I trumpet like an elephant emoting to the moon,
Or just ignore the warnings written in the rune?
Those stars can’t seal my future; it’s not inscribed in stone.
The possibilities are endless! Who could have known?
Gathering courage, spiral like an eagle after prey
Then gird my wings for whirlwind gales in realms far, far away.
But, hold it! Let’s get practical! What’s needed before I go?
Time to be tactical— I’ll ask my friends what I should stow.
And in one breath, a honeyed word whispered low— dreams —
Whose voice? I turned to see. I was shocked. Irene’s
“Each voyage starts with tattered maps; your dreams dance on this page.
Determine these dreams—then breathe them! Engage your inner sage.”
The merry hen said, “Take my sapphire eggs to charm your host.”
I tuck them close – still warm – then take my first step toward the coast
This journey will not make me rich, and yet I long to be
like luminescent jellyfish, awash in mystery.
I turn and whisper, “Won’t you come?” to all the beasts and birds,
and listen while they scamper, their answers winging words:
“Take these steps alone to start; each journey is an art.
You are your own best company. Now it's time to depart!"
I blow a kiss.  I hike for days, blue eggs pressed to my chest

Tomorrow Linda carries us through line 23 of the Progressive Poem over at her most warm and welcoming blog, TeacherDance!

If you would like to follow the 2014 Progressive Poem back and forward in time, you can do so, starting with April 1, here:

1 Charles at Poetry Time
2 Joy at Joy Acey
3 Donna at Mainely Write
4 Anastasia at Poet! Poet!
5 Carrie at Story Patch
6 Sheila at Sheila Renfro
7 Pat at Writer on a Horse
8 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
9 Diane at Random Noodling
10 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
11 Linda at Write Time
12 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
13 Janet at Live Your Poem
14 Deborah at Show--Not Tell
15 Tamera at The Writer's Whimsy
16 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
17 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
18 Irene at Live Your Poem
19 Julie at The Drift Record
20 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
21 Renee at No Water River
22 Laura at Author Amok
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Linda at TeacherDance
25 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
26 Lisa at Lisa Schroeder Books
27 Kate at Live Your Poem
28 Caroline at Caroline Starr Rose
29 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
30 Tara at A Teaching Life

There is only one week left of this joyous and introspective collective poem. Keep following to see where we end up on April 30.

Today you can also find me over at Nerdy Chicks Rule, chatting a bit with author Kami Kinard (THE BOY PROJECT and about-to-launch THE BOY PROBLEM) about poetry.

Tomorrow is Poem in Your Pocket Day!  Which poem will you put in YOUR pocket?

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Baby Cereal and Fourth Grade Poets

Yum!

by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Today's poem is an older one, and it's from a whole collection of baby poems that I have written.  Since Mark and I have three children, we have lots of baby stories, and for a time, I thought that I might join my baby poems together into a book.  Now I don't think so.  I am working on different projects, and so the baby poems are sitting and waiting for another day, another month, another year.

You may have noticed that every line of today's poem begins with the same word.  I got the idea to try this from a poem titled Good Books, Good Times!,  from a book by the same name, by Lee Bennett Hopkins.  There's another interesting technique to notice too, another idea I learned from Lee's poem.  Can you find it?

To write this little poem, I used Lee's great poem, "Good Books, Good Times!" as a mentor poem.  This is a great thing to do.  Find a poem you love, notice something you find interesting about the writing, and then try that interesting thing yourself!  Stand on that poet's shoulders to attempt something new.

Today I am happy to host fourth grade teacher Nathan Monaco and his students from the Arcade Elementary in the Pioneer Central School District.  I thank them for sharing their poetry unit journey.  Welcome, Nathan and students...

This year my 4th grade classroom had fun with an author study unit about poetry using Amy VanDerwater’s writing.  She was generous enough to allow me to use her poetry and her artwork from The Poem Farm as freely as I wanted.  The unit wound up being 3-4 weeks long, and I combined Amy’s poetry with other themes I had learned about through writer’s workshop.

Aiden's Notebook

At the beginning of the poetry unit, my students were less than enthused to say the least.  They shared their malcontent about poetry in general and basically summed it up as boring.  I let them know that they had not been taught poetry by me yet and that they were going to be learning about a poet who they had never heard of.  Each student received a bound copy of a book that my teaching assistant and I had made.  This book contained some of Amy’s poetry split up into sections according to the "technique" sections (line breaks, question poems, mask poems, personification, etc.) on The Poem Farm website.

Before delving into the different types of techniques, my class spent one week learning about the 5 Doors of poetry by Georgia Heard, using each door to think about poems by Amy.  If you have never heard of Georgia Heard, she has a book titled Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School where the idea of the 5 Doors comes from.  

Available through Heinemann

I spent one day on each of Georgia Heard's doors:

• The Heart Door – things that you love, things that are important to you

• The Memory Door – memories from your life: happy, sad, funny, etc

• The Wonder Door – things that you are wondering about, questions you have

• The Observation Door – things that you observe in the world around you

• The Concerns About the World Door – things that concern you, or things that you are thinking about for the world, issues in the world.

One could also invent/introduce all kinds of other doors such as a humor door, but I decided to leave that out as 4th graders can take that too far and ruin the whole mojo of taking poetry seriously.

Day 2 - The Wonder Door

by Evelyn

Day 2 - The Wonder Door

by Gabbie

After the week of comparing Amy’s poetry to the 5 Doors, we were ready to explore her techniques as described in her website.  We read her poetry aloud, discussed why her poems were organized in such a way, patterns the students saw, and of course we talked about the importance/unimportance of rhyming in poetry.  Only one technique was talked about each day, but we kept track of the different techniques on poster boards in the room.  If students were compelled to continue working with one technique, I allowed it, and as the unit went on there was always a technique that a student felt comfortable worked with.  The class spent one week on the different techniques as well.

Week 2 - Personification
by Cheyenne

Our  last week of this unit was spent publishing through a company called Studentreasures, a company that binds student work in hardcover for free.  The actual publishing process for the company is a little tedious, (it took a whole week to publish poetry), but it was completely worth it.

Published Book Cover
by Andrew

Published Inside Book Page
by Marissa

We completed our unit in late March/early April.  Now, in the beginning on June, I still have students choosing to create poetry during writer’s workshop time.  Some students have even created poetry journals, and I would be very confident saying that all students thoroughly enjoyed the poetry unit.

Thank you again to Nathan and his fourth graders for sharing their journey today.  I feel lucky to have had my poems included as part of their study.

All best to all of you for a beautiful week full of poetry and adventure!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!

L is for LIVELY & L is for LEE!

LIVELY

Photo by Amy LV

Happy Birthday!
by Amy LV

Happy birthday to Lee Bennett Hopkins!

Students - Today's poem is a celebratory poem for the birthday of my teacher and friend.  Throughout history, people have written verses and sung songs to commemorate special days.  That's what I have done today, written to celebrate!  In time, I hope to put a tune to this little poem, to make it a birthday song.

Lee Bennett Hopkins, interviewed yesterday at Poetry For Children, holds the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS record for the most children's poetry anthologies.  If there were a record for the most poets nurtured, he would win that as well.  Generous as usual, Lee offered to answer a few questions about his work today.

How did poetry first come into your life?

Poetry came into my life when I began teaching elementary school in Fair Lawn, NJ, in 1960.  Using verse with reluctant readers became magical. Poems are usually short, vocabulary simple, and often more could be said and felt within 8 or 10 or 12 lines of poetry than sometimes an entire novel could convey.

As the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS holder for number of children's poetry anthologies, what do you consider when putting together an anthology such as your latest, NASTY BUGS?

The first consideration was to give readers a look at true problems various bugs can bring into our lives.  Then, I had to research the many, many types of bugs, narrowing the list down to include bugs children would be familiar with...head lice, flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, et. al.

NASTY BUGS was a delight to compile. Not only are the poems diverse, but they pack a lot of scientific information within them.  Another wonderful aspect of NASTY BUGS is that every poem is new to readers: none had been published before.

What makes you fall in love with a poem?

I fall in love with poems that make me say aloud: "Oooh" or "Ah".  It is the oooh/ah factor that causes me to know a poem is truly great.

Do you have any advice for child writers?

Read.  Read lots of poems.  After your fill of silly and humorous, steer to more serious works.  Light verse is fine...but it is light -- it gets boring after a while. Read poems that say something to you, have meaning in your life.

One question that Lee is often asked is, "Why poetry?"  Here is his answer, reprinted with permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.

Why Poetry?

by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Why poetry?

Why?

Why sunsets?

Why trees?

Why birds?

Why seas?

Why you?

Why me?

Why friends?

Why families?

Why laugh?

Why cry?

Why hello?

Why good-bye?

Why poetry?

That's why!

Happy happy birthday, Lee!  Thank you for all you have done for poetry and for children and for poets. Many thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group for donating 2 copies of NASTY BUGS for today's giveaway.  Please just leave a comment on today's post by Sunday at 11:59pm, and you may win a copy of this book.  There will be two winners!  

Available through Amazon

Anastasia is hosting today's Poetry Friday over at Booktalking.  Head on over to read all of today's goodies... It's April and the buffet table is full!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for poemlinks, articles, and quotes!