Are you using How to Write a Poem yet? We want to extend a great invitation that could result in your poems or stories being shared.
Get Featured
Keep Poetry Alive
Literacy doesn’t end with invitations, nor maturity. To keep literacy alive, we can use The Growth Model of Education.
Featured Posts
Fun Reading Activities: Color & Trace “Molly, Bread and Butter”
Early readers Molly and Joe want to help a child learn to read. Learn fun facts about butter and write a buttery good limerick with this fun reading activity coloring page.
Tales of the First Age: “Beren and Luthien” by J.R.R. Tolkien
“Beren and Luthien” by J.R.R. Tolkien is the latest story edited by his son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien, and one of the earliest he wrote.
The Family Table: Poetry Prompt
Pick your chair, have a seat and write some poetry with us about life around the family table. There are plenty of stories to share.
The Wild 100 Summer Book Challenge
What do you think is beautiful? What is wild about the color yellow? Join Callie Feyen and her kids in a summer challenge to read 100 books and find out.
The Grandfather Stories: Goldilocks and the Three Brothers
Reading to our grandsons has taught us that the “social time” of reading is just as important as the reading itself — reading tells them they matter.
Fun Reading Activities: Color & Trace “A Buffalo and Joe”
Meet Molly and Joe, two wide-eyed early readers who can help a child learn to read. With this fun reading activity coloring page, meet the mischievous buffalo, too. Then use the “buffalo fun facts” to pen a limerick!
“The Whole Harmonium: The Life of Wallace Stevens” by Paul Mariani
In “The Whole Harmonium,” biographer and poet Paul Mariani tells the story of Wallace Stevens, poet, philosopher, insurance executive, and family man.
Motherhood: Family Ties Poetry Prompt
There are no deeper family ties than that between a mother and child. This week’s poetry prompt invites you to read poems from the perspective of an adult child yearning to be rocked to sleep once again; and the perspective of a mother with grown children, enchanted by memory. Let these poems inspire you to write your own poetry about the family ties of motherhood.
Life Notes: The Secret to a Happy Marriage Is Not What I Thought It Was
The secret to a happy marriage might have something to do with cartwheels. Or not. Find out the real deal in this humorous Life Notes, from Megan Willome.
Chinese Lanterns: Art by Day, Magic by Night
Stumbling onto a colorful Chinese lantern festival while out on a bike ride may hold a key to answer Mary Oliver’s question about your one wild and precious life.
Regional Tour: Borrowed Time at the Maui Ocean Center
A trip to Maui Ocean Center’s vast aquarium offers opportunity for Laurie Klein to contemplate how a place can envelop as well as imprint itself on the soul.
Poets and Poems: Mischa Willett and “Phases”
Filled with flashes of deep insight, “Phases” by poet Mischa Willett covers subjects as diverse as classical antiquity and old girlfriends.
Fatherhood: Family Ties Poetry Prompt
Our fathers are an important part of who we have become. This is not lost on poets, as many have written poems on fatherhood. Come along with us and read some poetry about fathers, then write your own heartfelt or hilarious poem.
How to Read a Picture Book—With a Pirate as Your Guide
At-risk literacy specialist Callie Feyen shows us how to read and enjoy a picture book—with a pirate as our guide—from pre-reading to post-reading! And our hearts are touched along the way.
Applying to College in the Fall? Do These 7 Things this Summer
Getting ready to apply for college? Tania Runyan has 7 things you can do to get yourself ready to choose a college and write your application essay.
Tea Quest: Silver Tips Tea Room, Tarrytown, New York
Laura Brown’s tea quest takes a detour into New York for a stop at the Silver Tips Tea Room in Tarrytown where the river is astonishingly wide, the egg souchong delicious.
The Surprise of “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens
Surprisingly, “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens isn’t one of his best works, but it contains elements of the genius for which he’d become famous.
Birth Order: Family Ties Poetry Prompt
Siblings have their own system of organization and some argue that it shapes many of their characteristics. Consider this an opportunity to have fun and write some silly sibling poetry. We won’t tattle on you.