Poetry « April Halprin Wayland – Children's Book Author & Poet

Hi there, poets and poetry devourers (yum, yum!)

To your right are links to my annual Poem-A-Day Challenges. Starting in 2011, I include a poetry prompt at the end of each poem, so you can write your own poem…or use them in a lesson plan.

In 2012, all the poems are DOG poems…followed by a poetry prompt.

Peruse these interviews…I usually give a writing tip or exercise.

And here are some handy-dandy POETRY REMINDERS from WHEN YOU ARE ALONE/IT KEEPS YOU CAPONE by my mentor, Myra Cohn Livingston (emphasis is mine):

Poetry doesn’t have to rhyme.
Anything in the world can be the subject of a poem.
You can’t write a meaningful poem without feeling strongly about it.
You don’t have to worry about spelling until after your poem is written and you want to share it.
Poetry is more than a series of facts or statements.
Word pictures are the art of poetry.
Every word counts in poetry.
Poetry is imagination and imagery.
You can communicate an idea or feeling by comparing two things.
Poetry is “the best choice of words.”
Rhyme is a tool of poetry to be used properly, not artificially.
Punctuation is for the purpose of making a poem easier to read.

You, too, can make yourself a poet’s hat!

See also Myra’s marvelous book, POEM-MAKING.
This book is written for perhaps a ten-year-old reading level—which makes it perfect for me. I’m not kidding!

As my very smart friend and amazing poet Joan Bransfield Graham reminds me,

“Look at the chapter on “Rhythm and Metrics” in Myra’s book POEM-MAKING. There are some excellent examples of poems using iambs, anapests, trochees, and dactyls. She used to have us write five to ten sentences using each rhythm. (Not a poem, just ten trochaic lines, etc.)”