Who can tell when inspiration might strike and what may prove to be the catalyst. We just have to be ready and willing to respond when it comes calling.  A recent chance sighting of a goat was all it took to bring a memory flooding back from a much earlier time in my life.  A memory not to be denied. And so I began to nourish words and memories  in my mind, and a quite unexpected poem emerged.  The One And Only Lionel When my father astounded the whole family And purchased a goat It signalled the end of his lawn mowing desires. For several years  I had dutifully fulfilled the role of lawn mower man for the family plot. -But now,  I was moving away to study teaching and my father made a sudden decision  to replace me with Lionel, -as my father referred to the goat Lionel came with certain obvious advantages -he cost little to feed -worked longer hours And generated less noise. Lionel had to be tethered, of course To save my mother’s hydrangea and...

A new school year has commenced here in Australia. Schools, nationwide, are facing enormous challenges, confronting the headwinds of this continuing pandemic. No doubt young learners are keen to find themselves in the social setting of the classroom once more, so we must hope that all goes well for school communities everywhere. Fingers crossed.  Bravo to teachers world-wide, who continue to display incredible professionalism and commitment in the face of the continuing need to adapt their delivery of vital education. Here are some fresh, new school poems, a small gift of sorts. Some poetry to launch into the start of the year. A year wrapped in hope for lighter, brighter times.   We Start Out, Fresh And Shiny The sun comes up On the first day Of a new school year We walk through the school gate School shoes tight,   shiny and new Uniform fresh and clean Our faces full of smiles And kissed by the summer. Friends greet us Stories swapped The corridors...

  In my search for suitable text examples to share with teachers for shared reading, I found myself returning yet again to Valerie Worth's wonderful collection of short poems about everyday items- ' All The Small Poems and Fourteen More. '  Poetry along with other text types deserve to be represented in the texts chosen for shared reading. Valerie Worth's  poetry possesses much to inform young readers about writing and the ways in which poets play with language and structure. Valerie's poem 'Backyard' sets up a pattern of unrhymed couplets, where initially the first line is long and the second line short. This pattern continues through five successive couplets, at which point she reverses the order.  The poet demonstrates total control here, deciding when to flip the line length. We can infer from the poet's clever pattern change that she has done this to signify a change in the prevailing weather in the backyard, resulting from the hanging out of washin...

 I am both proud and humbled to be invited to deliver the Annual Donald Graves Address at the Australian Literacy Educator's Association (A.L.E.A) National Conference in Darwin, in July this year.  Rare air indeed, to follow in the footsteps of previous presenters,  Mem Fox, Ralph Fletcher and Robyn Ewing among others. I feel duly honoured by the special opportunity  afforded me. Most importantly, it presents as a highly valued opportunity to honour the incalculable global contribution Donald Graves' research and publications made to the teaching of writing, as well as his personal impact on my teaching and writing life. My heart sings... Donald Graves was a mild-mannered, writing revolutionary who impacted pedagogical approaches to writing, globally. I very much look forward to celebrating his incredible legacy -past, present and future.  Diving back into the life and times of Donald Graves as part of my preparation, I have been reminded of his strong and abidi...

I recall being super imp ressed with Molly Hogan's wordplay poem 'Splat.' Molly's poem placed this delightful onomatopoeic word under the microscope and revealed it in all its dimensions.  I pasted Molly's poem in my writer's notebook in order to more fully appreciate its powerful use of language.  I promised myself I would try to write in the style of a poet I admire. After much rummaging about in word-land, I settled on the word 'twang.'  It is a well known truism of writing- ' First we imitate, and then we innovate .' It is always best to write under the influence of those you admire. So, here is T-w-a-n-g! Twang Twang, I hear you- What a word, Word, Word. -Cousin of bang Quieter, but you hang around,  -somewhat longer. You, twang Are a reverberating rebel. I hear what you have to say, A little nosy at times, Constantly returning, As sound, To my ears. You only stop, When you are good and ready. Twang, you are a musical soul, It’s clear to me....

Poets are frequently attracted to the notion of wordplay. It can be an irresistible force at times. I am happy to admit, I find wordplay compelling. I give into its call quite frequently. Furthermore, I never tire of its allure... It also explains why I enjoy the poetry of  Michael Rosen, Brian Bilston, Roger McGough, Shel Silverstein, Pam Ayres, Jack Prelutsky, Roger Stevens, Max Fatchen and Brian Moses.  Elements of their poetry radiate with language contortions and a fair degree of fun and humour.  Brian Bilston employs wordplay masterfully in his book , 'You Took The Last Bus Home.' Word play Defined A witty or clever form of verbal expression, meant for fun and amusement.  Commonly used in literature, poetry, and spoken word genres. It involves the exploitation of the meanings and ambiguities of words. There are many forms of word play techniques, e.g., pun, spoonerism, slang, acrostic, euphemism, and oxymoron, just to name a few. So, here are a couple of e...

  We have all experienced a host of things 'just once' across our various lives. The poem presented below grew from a list I compiled in my writer's notebook concerning things I have only experienced once.  My initial quest was to create a list of things and then see what emerged. I did not know, at that time, a poem would rise up and out of my list.  Lists are important to writers/ poets. They stimulate thinking and ideas, and each listed item holds potential as a future writing topic or focus. Our 'Once' lists are not only fun to create, they can reveal hidden treasure... Once upon my time Once, Just once, In a lifetime -My lifetime to be exact I bought a small red car, -because it was all I could afford I had my haircut in Mooloolaba, -a somewhat spontaneous act Owned a cat named, Alice -who suffered strange fits Bought a goat herder’s hat on the recommendation of George Harrison well, through an advertisement to be accurate. Visited Halifax Nova Scotia and met a...

The word unique is often abused and misused. Some people think it needs a qualifier as in - 'quite unique, somewhat unique, or very unique.'   Unique is a word that can clearly stand on its own. Something is either unique- or it isn't. End of discussion! Sometimes we experience events in our lives that present as unique. As writers and poets, we frequently search for our unique experiences, our unique observations. We search for those things that set us apart. We celebrate the uniqueness of our life events.  I consistently encourage young poets to search the realms of their experience to uncover their own unique events. I have at least two- maybe three. Things that have either happened to me, and me alone,  or things I have witnessed.  They are stories for another time, perhaps... It is said we tend to tell our stories many times before we write them down. It is very much the case for the following poem. I have related this event frequently across the years as part ...

Many years ago I read a wonderful and quite clever poem by Spike Milligan. It was a rather short poem, and it has stuck with me ever since... Said Hamlet To Ophelia Said Hamlet to Ophelia, I'll draw a sketch of thee. What kind of pencil shall I use? 2B or not 2B? Spike Milligan I have always enjoyed the challenge of writing short, pithy poems, ever since encountering Spike's poem. Here are a few examples of short form poetry. They are no less challenging than a longer poem. The economy of words means you have to make sure every single word pulls its weight. There's nowhere for any words to hide.  I encourage anyone holding, within, a desire to write short, pithy poetry to join in and have some fun with this short form poetry... You Have Risen In My Estimates You have risen in my estimates You are now at 37 That’s a significant improvement -You started at 11 Alan j Wright Haiku Huffiness Haikus get huffy When you don’t play by the rules Watch… Alan j Wright Mov...