2 for 1 Giveaway: A Set of Metaphor Dice and a copy of the Poetry by Chance Anthology

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? See this page for info.) 

Today we have a special treat for all our followers who are fans of metaphor and/or poetry, and especially for those of you who teach writing.

I mentioned in my June 16 post that we'd be hosting a giveaway of Poetry by Chance: An Anthology of Poems Powered by Metaphor Dice edited by Taylor Mali (Button Poetry). Well, Taylor surprised me by sending not only a copy of the book autographed to "a fan of TeachingAuthors" but by also including a set of Metaphor Dice for the giveaway.

I include instructions on how to enter the giveaway for this fun prize duo at the end of this post. But first, I want to share a bit about the anthology and give you a sneak preview of my poem that appears in it.

As it says in the book's description: "Poetry By Chance is the first collection of poems that were all prompted by different rolls of Metaphor Dice, featuring submitters from the inaugural Golden Die Contest." But that description fails to note that the anthology includes poems from young people, ages 10 and up, as well as adults. The book also contains a section devoted to Lesson Plans using Metaphor Dice to inspire writers of all ages. 

Poetry by Chance will be released Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Taylor Mali will be celebrating with a free book launch the following Friday, July 14, at Brooklyn Poets, 144 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY. If you're in Brooklyn, I hope you'll attend in person. If not, you can participate virtually instead. But either way, you must register in advance to attend, which you can do so here. 

Even though the book isn't officially out till next week, I have received permission to share my poem with you today. As I mentioned last time, the poem was inspired by these dice:

 Here's the poem:

     WHAT IT MEANS TO FORGET

      For some,
      forgetting is a gentle blessing
      providing absolution
      and forgiveness of sins.

      For me,
      forgetting is a harbinger of death,
      bearing the image of my grandmother—
      her brown eyes blank, blinking—
      unable to remember my name.

© 2023 Carmela A. Martino, Published in Poetry by Chance: An Anthology of Poems Powered by Metaphor Dice edited by Taylor Mali (Button Poetry). All rights reserved.  

In my last post, I mentioned that I first learned of the anthology from a Poetry Friday post by Heidi Mordhorst, and that my poem follows one of two of Heidi's that appear in the book. I neglected to say that the Lesson Plan section in the back of Poetry by Chance includes a contribution by Margaret Simon, another Poetry Friday regular. Margaret shares a fun way she uses Metaphor Dice to teach students about figurative language. It's lovely to have my poem in such great company!

Speaking of Poetry Friday, after you enter our giveaway below, be sure to visit this week's Poetry Friday round up hosted by Marcie Flinchum Atkins. 

And now for our giveaway!

. . . . . .

To enter the drawing to win a copy of Poetry by Chance: An Anthology of Poems Powered by Metaphor Dice edited by Taylor Mali (Button Poetry) AND a set of Metaphor Dice, use the Rafflecopter widget below. (Note: if the widget doesn't appear, click on the link at the end of this post that says "a Rafflecopter giveaway" to enter.)

You may enter via up to 5 options. The more options you choose, the better your odds!

If you choose option 4, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY’S blog post or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven’t already “liked” our Facebook page, please do so today!

If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA RAFFLECOPTER BELOW.  The giveaway ends July 15, 2023 and is open to U.S. Residents only.

If you’ve never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here’s info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway.  And a second article explains the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

Good luck!

Carmela

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2018's Progressive Poem is HERE today!

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Howdy, Campers ~ And yikes!  The Progressive Poem is HERE today!

The Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem began in 2012 as a way to celebrate National Poetry Month (April) as a community of writers. Here's a three-way conversation between this poetry game's originator Irene Latham, Heidi Mordhorst, and Liz Steinglass just before 2018's poem sprouted.

This year, 30 poets signed on. Our mission: to grow the poem, one line at a time.

A few days ago, I posted a poem about my mixed-up feelings leading up to this momentous day. ...aka, the day I add a line.

This year, our instructions were: "take a minute to record your first impressions of how the [first] line strikes your imagination and what you think the poem might become."

So...I read the first line, by Liz Steinglass: Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.

Like so many others on this 30-day most excellent adventure, I was very happy with this first line because I like concrete, accessible images. I wrote:
Okay, a personified seed. Let's see...by nearly-the-end of this month, our seed will be
s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to the max. Will she be a vine who crawls along the tops of walls? A tree who ages with each generation?

And my, my, look how our small seed has grown!  I loved Jan's line #5: invented a game. It grounded me; I couldn't wait to learn the rules of the game which Jasmine, Owl and Moon would play.  And then...off we veered! As Matt wrote: "the seed has invented a game, but she’s not playing it – which is a conundrum as far as a narrative goes." And as Heidi wrote:"you poets, you really know how to turn a ship with a well-chosen word!"

I liked Donna's prethinking of possibly including a sound, a texture, a smell...or perhaps, why be serious?  Donna jokingly toyed with the idea "that Jasmine slipped out of the owl's talons and fell to the ground and the owl ate her, The End..."

I was grateful for Sarah's grounding Jasmine on a trellis ("made of braided wind and song"~ such a pretty line) so that I could see her as a vine once more. I need images I can hold on to. (My favorite earrings are monarch butterflies. I also wear tiny bicycles, a little girl in a red dress, and big juicy slices of watermelon. My sister said: "I figured it out: you like to wear nouns.")

So, in order to be clear about what was going on in this poem, I printed it and added little drawings along the margin:

My notes. Star jasmine on the left, poet's jasmine on the right.
And boy, is its aroma intoxicating!

Along the way, Christie discovered that poet's jasmine is a real plant (which curls up the posts of our home--but I didn't know it was poet's jasmine! Thank you, for this, Christie!) According to one website, "give [this plant] heavy support [e.g., a trellis, etc.]." Isn't that what our warm community of poets and readers does?

Another site says, "this jasmine grows quickly and has a strong resilient root system." And that was my way in. I thought about what a young person could take away from our poem, especially in light of the fast-growing, newly awakened, resilient power of this generation.

So here's the poem thus far (I added a period after Kat's line):

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.

Oh, what wonderful dreams she had had!

Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with

the pulse of a thousand stars, sweet Jasmine

invented a game.

“Moon?” she called across warm honeyed air.

“I’m sad you’re alone; come join Owl and me.

We’re feasting on stardrops, we’ll share them with you.”

“Come find me,” Moon called, hiding behind a cloud.

Secure in gentle talons’ embrace, Jasmine rose

and set. She split, twining up Owl’s toes, pale

moonbeams sliding in between, Whoosh, Jasmine goes.

Owl flew Jasmine between clouds and moon to Lee’s party!

Moon, that wily bright balloon, was NOT alone.

                                         Jas grinned,

                                                stretched,

                                                      reached,

                                                          wrapped

                                                        a new,

                                around           tender

                                         rootlet

a trellis Sky held out to her, made of braided wind and song.

Her green melody line twisted and clung.

Because she was twining poet’s jasmine, she

wiggled a wink back at Moon, and began her poem.

Her whispered words floated on a puff of wind,

filled with light and starsong. “Revelers, lean in –

let’s add to this merriment a game that grows

wordgifts for Lee. He’s a man who knows

selection, collection, and wisely advising

these dreamers, word-weavers, and friends.”

Jas enfolded Moon-Sky-Owl into the cup of her petals,

lifted new greens to the warming rays of spring. Sun

smeared the horizon with colour, as Jasmine stretched.
She felt powerful. She felt fresh. She bloomed and took a breath

The Progressive Poem is a kind of poet's relay race isn't it?

 So it is with a deep breath of relief, that I hand it over to dear Doraine...

  who takes us to the finish line!

Thanks for creating this, Irene ~ and thank you to every member of this year's team!2018 Progressive Poetry Contributors:

1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass

2 Jane at Raincity Librarian

3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids

4 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty

5 Jan at bookseedstudio

6 Irene at Live Your Poem

7 Linda at TeacherDance

8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem

9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page

10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme

11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales

12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink

13 Linda at A Word Edgewise

14 Heidi at my juicy little universe

15 Donna at Mainely Write

16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle

17 Ruth at There is no such thing asa Godforsaken town

18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering

19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan

20 Linda at Write Time

21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge

22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference

23 Amy at The Poem Farm

24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading

25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge

26 Renee at No Water River

27 Buffy at Buffy's Blog

28 Kat at Kat's Whiskers

29 April at Teaching Authors

30 Doraine at Dori Reads 

posted with love by April Halprin Wayland, with help from Eli and Monkey

Monkey and Eli share a favorite poem

from Louis Untermeyer's The Golden Treasury of Poetry 

Wednesday Writing Workout(S): THINKING WITH INK!

Welcome to the third Wednesday Writing Workout created by Sheboygan, Wisconsin author, educational consultant and veteran elementary and middle school classroom teacher Michael Leannah. It’s one of four from his recently-released book WE THINK WITH INK (Brightside Publications, 2016) that makes our TeachingAuthors month of May even merrier.

As I shared in my introduction to the first WWW that offered Get Acquainted exercises and the second WWW that shared Daily Practices, Michael writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. Tilbury House releases his picture book MOST PEOPLE in August.  Two other picture books are soon to follow: GOODNIGHT WHISPERS (Familius) and FARMER HUCKINSHUCK’S WILD RIDE (Splashing Cow Book)  His stories have appeared in U.S. and Australian magazines. He authored the award-winning SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: MEMORIES OF LAUERMAN BROTHERS DEPARTMENT STORE and is the editor and contributing author of WELL! REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE AND CAREER OF JACK BENNY.

WE THINK WITH INK is a trove of lessons, projects and activities designed to increase reading and writing skills in the classroom…and beyond.  It’s an ideas book for elementary and middle school teachers seeking to merge writing instruction into science, social studies and math classes.  It’s a guide for teachers looking to help students increase self-confidence and self-esteem.  It’s also a book for students working independently on creative writing skills as well as a manual for learners young and old – i.e. me and you, our TeachingAuthors readers - who aspire to be good – even published – writers.

“The WE THINK WITH INK approach relies heavily on the sharing and
critiquing of stories,” Michael shared.  “Our goal is publication, which means that people other than those in the classroom or group will read what we write.  Booklets are put together and made available on the shelves of the school library.  Story collections are sent home for families to read.  Our writing is distributed to local coffee shops and doctors’ waiting rooms.  Our booklets/anthologies are given as gifts to friends and family.  And yes, we write with the goal of someday sending our very best work to magazine and book publishers.”

Check out today’s WWW and try your hand, then be sure to return next Wednesday to do the same.

Thank you, Michael, for sharing your smarts, your passion for writing and WE THINK WITH INK writing workouts with our TeachingAuthors readers!  Oh, and for making yourself available at contactmichael@gmail.com, should our readers wish to share their appreciation.

Enjoy thinking with ink!

Esther Hershenhorn

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


LETTERS, WORDS AND SENTENCES

In We Think With Ink, the teacher’s most important task is to engender in her students a love for words and writing. From Day One, the teacher demonstrates and encourages playfulness with words and sentences. That means occasionally using outrageous puns and repeating such refrains as “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” The teacher’s enthusiasm for word play is essential.

To motivate our students, to make them eager to be creative with their writing, we point out the interesting aspects of our language at every opportunity. We demonstrate how the building blocks — the letters, words, and sentences — go together to create all the stories and poems we love so much to read…and to write.

Take every opportunity to generate interest by pointing out the quirks of our language:

• Why does the letter “c” even exist? If we want its hard sound (“car,” “corn,” “cut”) we could use a “k.” 
• If we want its soft sound (“celery,” “city,” “century”) we could use an “s.” Why do we need “c”?
• Why don’t “singer,” “finger,” and “ginger” rhyme?
• Why must some words — “mint,” for instance — be shared? A mint is a building where coins are made. A mint is also a candy flavored with wintergreen. One of them must have come first, so when the second one came along, somebody should have said, “Wait a minute. The word ‘mint’ is already being used.”
• Some words — like “bamboozle,” “sassafras,” and “ramshackle” — are just plain fun to say. 

The way some sentences are put together makes them confusing. “The batter hit the ball off the pitcher’s leg and it rolled to the shortstop.” “The fish are biting off the coast of Maine.” “Lisa’s grandmother died when she was only six years old.”
Single words are easy to understand, but you’d better watch out when you put them into sentences. Said quickly, “some ice” and “some mice” sound exactly alike, so if you say to someone, “Please bring me some ice,” you might not like what happens next.

Some of the letter, word, and sentence games in We Think With Ink can be played five minutes here, ten minutes there, during the “cracks” in the day while the class is waiting for stragglers to come in in the morning, or while waiting for the lunch bell to ring. With the time that we have, we can model the fun of using letters, words, sentences.

Fill in the Blanks

The teacher (or leader) makes a deck of cards with a key word on each. Only she will see the words on the cards. She begins by saying, “I have a four-letter word that starts with ‘s’ and ends with ‘p.’ What is the word?”
Each student writes a guess. The teacher reveals her word. “The answer I have is ‘soap.’ What is yours?” Any student who has written “soap” gets three points. Players who have written a different word (snap, stop, soup, etc.) get one point. If a student cannot think of a word with the given letters, he gets no points and will wait for the next example.
Four-, five-, or six-letter words work best for this game. (Try “melt,” “past,” “again,” “first,” “soccer,” and “packed.”)

 
Change a Letter and Mix ’em Up

Start with a five-letter word (example: SPEAR). Player #1 changes one letter and now uses the letters to make a new word (SUPER). Player #2 now changes one of the letters in “SUPER” to make a new word (PAUSE). The players “win” if they can each make five different words in this manner. (To make this a competitive game, play continues until one player cannot produce a new word.)
This game could be played with longer or shorter words. It could be played with groups of three, alternating in a triangle pattern. Many individual games of “Change a Letter” can be played in the classroom at once.

Hide and Seek

On a piece of paper, each player writes a passage from a book, “hiding” parts by leaving blanks where key words belong. Partners are challenged to “seek” words to fill in the blanks so that the story or poem makes sense. In the end, the real stories and poems are revealed and the players compare the guesses to the words of the real authors.