Love Letters to Poetry | Advocating for Poetry All Year Long
Carl Lennertz, Executive Director of The Children’s Book Council (CBC), recently asked me to write a short piece to celebrate a brand-new award, the Eloise Greenfield Children’s Poetry Advocate of the Year Prize, an award created by CBC and HarperCollins with the support of Steve and Monica Greenfield (children of Eloise Greenfield). The first winner of this award is Tamara Shiloh, the owner of the Multicultural Children’s Bookstore in Richmond, CA, who also is an author and local literacy leader. This is what I wrote for Carl:
Poetry is a one-minute welcome party, a 15-line ode to yourself and whatever you want to be. Poetry comforts and nourishes. Unlike candy, unlike a sandhouse at the beach, a poem lasts forever; later you will say, "Still got it."
Children understand the power of poetry when they have a chance to hear it. Problem is, there are too many children who hear poems only once a year, during Poetry Month, and never again at any other time of year.
This is why poetry advocates are so important. Teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, caregivers, families: we need you to ask for more poetry. Let's put poetry in front of more eyes. Let's look for more anthologies bursting with diversity and share more favorite poets. More, more, more! This week. Next week. Every week.
Next time you read a poem aloud, try this: read it again. Read each poem twice. Bring kids "into the poem" on the second reading by asking them to repeat your words. Kids love listening to their favorite songs over and over; the same goes for poems. Years later, when those kids find themselves in a rough spot, the music of those poems will pop into their heads. And the comfort that comes with knowing: "Still got it."
I’m wondering how we can boost and reward poetry advocacy in the schools.
In addition to the honor of receiving the Eloise Greenfield award, Tamara Shiloh is receiving a $1,000 honorarium from the CBC as well as a selection of 100 children’s poetry books from HarperCollins (donated to a school, library, or literacy organization of Tamara’s choice). Can we use this as a model and urge local businesses to sponsor something similar for their school districts? Instead of a cash award, how about a month of “Poetry Friday Fruit Baskets” for the Poetry Advocate of the Year? (Kids in that classroom will forever think of poetry as fresh and sweet.) Can we encourage parent volunteers to brainstorm ways to put more poetry into their children’s lives—maybe creating Poetry Snack Suitcases full of poems and edible props for each classroom?
Let’s use the momentum we’re building during Poetry Month to do things to benefit poetry—and children—all year long.
