Search results matching tag 'poetry'

Celebrate National Poetry Month with Howl

LemmyCaution@evpl — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:22:00 GMT

Celebrating National Poetry Month normally begins by reading or listening to poetry, but one recent film which distills the vivid imagery conjured by poetry into a distinct and celebratory narrative is the film Howl. Howl tells the story of the famous poem created by Allen Ginsberg and the following obscenity trial which was brought against the poem's publisher. In the film James Franco, from 127 Hours and Pineapple Express, plays the famous poet Allen Ginsberg who recounts his inspiration for the poem while the movie cuts back and forth between an animated sequence, which illustrates the narrative of the poem, and the obscenity trial brought against City Lights publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Every word in the film was taken from actual interviews and court transcripts, and provides Mad Men's Jon Hamm with enough rousing dialogue as the publisher's defense attorney, to communicate the importance of Ginsberg's use of language in the poem. While the animation feels unnecessary due to the potency of the poem's language, the film still provides an important testament to the power of poetry. You can check out the original Allen Ginsberg poem from our library here, along with a reading of the poem by Ginsberg, or see if the film is available here.

Interested in poetry?

SeeJaneRead@evpl — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:36:00 GMT

Then the Poetry Writer’s Workshop is for you!

Instructor Shawna Rodenberg, local poet and Creative Writing MFA candidate, will lead this two part workshop on poetry. Participants will explore traditional poetry styles and forms and learn techniques to develop their own work.

For teens and adults. All abilities welcome!

Wednesday, February 16 and 23, 6:30-8pm

Preregistration for both sessions is required! You can register online at

http://www.evpl.org/events/search/event.aspx?id=24908

Or by calling (812) 428-8246.

Hope to see you there!

Bread, the Bard, and the Pack

E-Ville Librarian@evpl — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:34:00 GMT

A Snack Attack Sonnet

Alas! Snack Attack where have ye gone!!!

We broke bread, we listened to song

We cracked jokes, we celebrated in style

And regaled one another with tales

of heady times bearing imagination's sails.

Around the world, we traversed the miles

From China and its explosive New Year

to Mardi Gras Stuffing and Roux

all the way back for Persian Nowruz

then ending with the English Bard adding another year.

And even if diversity isn't your cup of tea

Something tells me, you'll love this recipe.

Celebrate Poetry Month!

mrsweasley@evpl — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:05:00 GMT

98 young poets in grades K-12 submitted 130 poems to McCollough Branch for our first (annual?) Poetry Month celebration and contest. Subjects ranged from the African Plains to a humble Hoosier mushroom, from love and friendship to the wisdom of starting over. We hope that all those who participated enjoyed writing their poems and will keep on writing.

Everyone is invited to our Poetry Awards Reception on Wednesday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. Winners of the contest will be announced, prizes awarded, and light refreshments will be served. Anyone who submitted a poem to our contest is invited to read one poem aloud at the reception.

Make plans to celebrate with us on April 29.

Say That Fast Three Times!

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:06:00 GMT

Jon Agee has a new book called Orangutan Tongs, and the subtitle is a perfect description -- Poems to Tangle Your Tongue. I found myself wanting to read them out loud. Here's the beginning of a real tongue twister:

A three-toed tree toad tried to tie/ A two-toed tree toad's shoe. / But tying two-toed shoes is hard /For three-toed toads to do, /Since three-toed shoes each have three toes, /And two-toed shoes have two.

It goes on from there. I think my favorite, though, is "Purple-Paper People." I just like the idea of there being people "who use paper /That is colored only purple. /They are in the Purple-Paper People Club."

Agee illustrates each poem, and that adds to the fun. As for my favorite illustration, I'm torn between the Purple-Paper People and the picture of the unkempt camp.

Jon Agee obviously likes to play with words. One of his earlier books is Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog!And Other Palindromes. But for several years now I have been partial to his Milo's Hat Trick, in which a bear saves a down-on-his-luck magician by jumping out of his hat.

Can you Haiku? Could you Dogku?

bookchick@evpl — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:56:00 GMT

If I had discovered a book like this when I was in the fourth grade trying to write all different kinds of poetry for school assignments life would have been a whole lot easier. And more fun.

Each page of this delightful book is an independent haiku. Taken together the haiku form the complete story of a dog who finds a new home. How could you not fall in love with this adorable face? This is a face that inspires poetry.Take him home, curl up on the couch and enjoy the simplicity of the haiku.

The author, andrew Clements, says it best:

In the wide garden,

I am dizzy with flowers.

I choose a small vase.

"That's what haiku is like - like a small vase, a small container. Choosing a small container can help you pick the perfect words and arrange them just right. And why did I write this picture book using haiku? Because a picture book is also a small container - not many pages, not many words.

Adorable dog + haiku = Dogku.

Simple."

I never saw a purple cow. I never hope to see one. But I can tell you anyhow, I'd rather see than be one.

kiya@evpl — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:44:00 GMT

That poem by Frank G. Burgess might be the first one I ever learned, and I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. At least until I turned 8 or so.

I don't think of myself as much interested in poetry, and certainly don't write any. (Well, except for when I write new words for familiar tunes and drive my kids crazy with them. But that's hereditary. My mom used to do that to me.) Every now and then, though, some poem or poet really catches my interest, and for a little while, I'm really into poetry, or that poet, or performance poetry. And then I forget until next time.

So while I'm thinking about it - here are some of the poets, poetry, and links that have caught my fancy in the last couple of years.

1. Bryan Owen, who will be here, in Evansville, at Central Library, on Sunday, March 8^th. He will be presenting a poetry workshop at no charge to the participants. More info here! Below is one of his poems that I really like:

She said I'm like an onion -
I had so many hidden layers.
I told her that
if she stopped peeling
she wouldn't cry so much.

"Onions" was recently published in chicago writer Sean Chercover's novel Trigger City in which Bryan's collection Blue daffodils and other poems becomes part of the plot.

2. Taylor Mali writes and performs poems. For many years, he also taught school, and while I enjoy nearly all of his poems, the school poems are really terrific.

"Like Lilly Like Wilson", about a recovering "like" addict, was the poem that brought Mali to my attention.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

"Labeling Keys" is funny and poignant.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

"How To Write A Political Poem" is just one of Mali's poems that you can read on his website. I had a hard time choosing one to post...

3. The power of Audre Lorde's poetry always resonates with me.

4. Ted Kooser and Billy Collins, both former poet-laureates, intrigue me.

I had a teacher who made us memorize Robert Frost's poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," swearing it would come to mind each and every spring for the rest of our lives. She was right. I wish now I had memorized more poetry when I was younger, and could learn it easier. I guess it's not too late.

What's your favorite poem?

Sherman Alexie is One Fine Poet!

Bufkinite@evpl — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:59:00 GMT

Another post to this blog mentioned Sherman Alexie's book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, which I checked out, read, and thoroughly enjoyed.

"I want more," I said to myself, and set out to discover more about this writer.

Wow! I didn't realize I'd already crossed paths with Alexie's writing when I saw the movie Smoke Signals. Alexie wrote the screenplay to that movie, which was adapted from his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. I thought Smoke Signals was one of the most refreshing and honest looks at life on "the rez" that I'd ever seen.

Then, just last week, I stumbled upon another book of Alexie's while looking up another poet answering a reference question, and decided to check it out and take it home. The book is called One Stick Song, and is a mixture of poetry and short prose, and is well worth the hour it'll take you to read it from cover to cover. The short prose piece that begins the book, "The Unauthorized Autobiography of Me," made me realize just how much of the longer book The Absolutely True Diary...etc., was autobiographical, even though the book is called a novel. The title poem really does read like a song, and I could hear men playing the Big Drum in rhythm with the poem. Part sad, part funny, part melancholy, all beautiful - even when dark, gritty, and awful. Quite an accomplishment.

There are a number of books in the EVPL collections that are either by Alexie, or include contributions by him. Check them out! I'd love to see Sherman Alexie come to Evansville!

Jack and Miss Stretchberry are back.

kiya@evpl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:54:00 GMT

Miss Stretchberry loves poetry, and makes it part of her classroom every day. In Love That Dog, we meet Jack, who thinks poetry isn't for boys, and that he can't understand it. The story is told through Jack's poetry assignments. As the year unfolds, he finds that poems do have something to say to him. Meanwhile, the reader learns a lot about Jack.

Now, we have Hate That Cat, and find out that both Jack and Miss Stretchberry have been promoted to the next grade. Once again, a story develops as we read Jack's assignments, and learn about his family.

Sharon Creech includes the text of some of the poems Jack and his classmates study in school. Both books are touching, funny stories, even as they arouse the reader's interest in poets and poetry.

Love That Sharon Creech.