Poets have long called upon the topic of animals to focus their thoughts upon. Meaning is directed towards animals, turning them into symbols or caricatures and linking them directly to the confines of human culture.  Animals have their own unique identities, and these traits have always proven irresistible to poets. Poetry through its great variety of forms and its broad scope has willingly embraced the notion of animals to cross, blur, and reimagine these interconnected worlds. Occasionally poets write individual poems concerning animals and sometimes animals fire imagination sufficiently for poets to create an entire anthology of verse related to animals.  An enduring favourite of mine since childhood is 'Five Eyes' by Walter de la Mare. I love how the reason for the title is revealed in the final line. The poet expertly captures the contest between the cats and the mice. Five Eyes by Walter de la Mare   In Hans' old Mill his three black cats Watch the bins for th...

There are many ways pictures and photographs can be conscripted to support the writing of poetry. Allow me to share a few ideas with you: Old photographs are a great source of inspiration. Cynthia Rylant explored this idea with great success in her book 'Something Permanent' where she employed the Depression era photographs of Walker Evans to add a new voice to the starkness to the lives of people experienced under extreme circumstances. I have used this strategy to spark many individual poems. In ' I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon,' I used a photo I had taken in 2004 while living in New York to inspire a poem. The poem was based on a story related by a friend who grew up in New York.  I regularly combined poetry and pictures in my writer's notebook, drawing on inspiration from the photograph and my personal memories. We can also utilize existing cartoons and illustrations to create ekphrastic poems. I frequently use the illustrations of Jim Pavlidis to co...

  So, yesterday I spent my writing time in our small garden. It was the perfect morning for writing outdoors. Quiet, balmy air, sunshine, no traffic humming in the distance, no machine noise, solitude in the garden. I also took time to wander about and take photos. If my illustrating skills were better, maybe I could have indulged in some drawing as well. I had an idea... Maybe the photographs could spark some short little poetry pieces.  That way I could share with others, how the place we find ourselves located, can be quite an inspiration -if we sit still and observe closely. If we make a mindful effort to look around at what's in our immediate view. Ideas are all around us waiting to be discovered. ‘Sometimes the easiest way to start writing is not to try to think something up, but simply to write something down- and what better place to begin than with what’s is right in front of your eyes.’ Andy Griffiths, 'Once Upon A Slime' So, post...

It's World Poetry Day, on 21 March. This day recognises the unique ability of poetry to capture the very essence of humanity.  In every culture there are poets who feed the soul of their nation and present as advocates for the arts.  For those of you not yet completely comfortable teaching poetry, or for those looking to freshen up their current poetry resources, Here are some possibilities to explore.  Poetry Ideas Across the Curriculum • Invite students to organize a collection of poems relating to their own culture. You could organize them around such categories as celebrations, families, food, holidays. • Collect photo essays, newspaper and magazine articles, informational books, and historical fiction and invite students to use them as source material for poetry • Make weather poems using weather reports as the basis for ideas. • Encourage students to tell their own stories/experiences in poetic form • Use a science activity to launch a poetr...

During that intriguing journey from kindergarten through to high school we lose so many of those fans of poetry, and the answer is simple. It happens because we move away from writing, reading and performing poetry and focus way too much on dissecting and analyzing it. We chop it up into pieces. It becomes reading by autopsy! No longer can hear the rhythm and rhyme. No longer do we rejoice in the wordplay.  We lose the pleasure that comes with performance. The quest is focused upon hidden meaning and obscure symbolism. We become obsessed in second guessing the poet's motives. Poetry in such an environment becomes dull and tarnished. The fans begin to wander away… We have lost sight of the fact that we learn to write by reading, listening thinking and writing –and by writing we arrive at understanding.' I learnt from American poet, Ted Kooser - 'You have to read at least one hundred poems before you write one.' I interpreted this as meaning I had to immerse ...