I am continually adding to my collection of poetry titles. The books that catch my poet's eye are an eclectic collection of works. That's what is so exciting about conducting these ongoing searches through the poetry zone. Fascinating discoveries await. Writers are collectors, after all. I must continue to feed my need. You cannot be a writer unless you are a reader. Here are some treasures I recently added. I commend them to you as worthy of your consideration: Khaled Hosseini, widely read author of 'The Kite Runner' presents the hauntingly beautiful Sea Prayer, a poem across many pages. It is a poem of longing for a life lost to bombs and conflict and the need to take a perilous sea journey. The best books make us think... Jacqueline Woodson's verse novel was delight to read. It celebrates poetry and rejoices in the power of resilience as witnessed by young Lonnie Collins Motion better known as 'Locomotion' as...

This poem by Australian poet Bruce Dawe epitomises the unique connection sporting tragics have to their preferred football teams, -an almost tribal allegiance. Each season supporters stare down the twin imposters- victory and defeat. They remain both loyal and hopeful of eventual triumph. This poem refers specifically to Australian Rules Football, but it's themes are universal. I share this poem on the eve of the 2017 Grand Final to decide the Premiership for this football season. My team, the Richmond Tigers have reached the play off to decide the ultimate victor. They have not contested the Grand Final match for 35 years. My hopes fly with them. This poem links two of my great loves -football and poetry... Life Cycle When children are born in Victoria they are wrapped in club-colours, laid in beribboned cots, having already begun a lifetime’s barracking. Carn, they cry, Carn … feebly at first while parents playfully tussle with them for possession of a rusk: Ah, he...

Poetry at Brighton Primary School, Adelaide, South Australia Recently I had the special treat of working with Year 7 poets from Brighton Primary School in Adelaide. During the day we closely examined a range of poetic structures and devices and applied them to our writing of poetry. With one group I introduced Suzanna Marshak’s  powerful book ‘I Am The Ocean’ to alert these enthusiastic poets to the potential power of writing through a mask and using personification. Another group looked at personification through their connection to things in the world around them.  Pre-writing discussion followed by intensive writing. Using the poem,  ‘I Am These Things And More’  as a model.  Students were challenged to think about these important connections. A particular focus of the writing was to try to incorporate effective use of repetition, line breaks, simile and white space in their composed pieces. These young poets talked in groups and ident...