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Take Your Poet to Work Day: Poet Treasure Hunt in the Library (Callie’s Story)

By Callie Feyen 36 Comments

Red Dress Wooden Staircase Library Treasure Hunt
How did you spend Take Your Poet to Work Day? We want to know. If you write something up that’s a good fit, we might even ask your permission to reprint. Like this, from Callie Feyen. What a marvelous, ticklish, soul-jazz way to spend Take Your Poet to Work Day!

Tweetspeak Poetry arrives in my inbox every Saturday morning, and while I prefer to read things I love on paper, I eagerly delve into the website’s newsletter. Each weekend morning, writers share possibilities for playing with words, telling stories, and ways to notice all that shimmers (or perhaps look at a thing until it does shimmer). It’s like recess.

Last week I read that Wednesday, July 16 was Take Your Poet to Work Day, and the website offered a free coloring book filled with different poets that we can color, cut out, stick on a popsicle stick (or maybe one of those cool hipster red and white straws…are those hipster?), and go to work with a poet.

Emily Dickinson paper dolls

I printed out the coloring books for Hadley and Harper, then added a few blank sheets of paper for them to add pictures or favorite phrases of poets on, then slipped the pages between two pieces of card stock and tied it up with yarn. We headed to the library for a poetry hunt.

children's poem hunt in the library

We found a bunch of books with Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes in them and thought we’d start with those two.  Hadley also found some books of poems on Frankenstein.  I’m pretty sure Mary Shelley would roll over in her grave if she knew about these.

children's poems at the library

The girls colored their pictures of Langston Hughes and flipped through some of the books with his poems in them. Harper was very concerned about getting his blazer color correct. I told her that probably, he wore a variety of colors.

“Did he wear sparkly blazers?” my child, who has decided to wear fairy wings wherever she goes, asked. I told her I didn’t think he had blazers with sparkles on them, but I wasn’t 100% sure.

I read some of his poems, then asked which words the girls liked. Harper loved the words, “sweet silver trumpets, ” from Hughes’s poem, “When She Wears Red, ” allegedly written by a gal he once knew in high school. Hadley loved “Low….slow/slow…low-/stir your blood./Dance!” from “Dance Africane.”

slow slow slow stir your blood Hughes poem

Here’s Harper’s picture of the girl with the red dress on.

Take Your Poet to Work Day Langston Hughes Red Dress

We also took a look at Emily Dickinson’s poetry.

Take Your Poet to Work Day Emily Dickinson

Harper had a hard time understanding her poems. She likes to look at the pictures that accompany the words. It’s always interesting to me to see how much more she grasps (and grapples with) when there are pictures on the pages. But since she is still learning how to read, it was hard for her to focus on Ms Dickinson. I think she’ll like her in no time, though.

Hadley thought this poem was nice:

“There is no frigate like a book./To take us to lands away, /Nor any coursers like a page/of prancing poetry./This traverse may the poorest take/without oppress of toll;/How frugal is the chariot/That bears a human soul!

She made this picture after she read the poem:

Take Your Poet to Work Day There is No Frigate

After Hughes and Dickinson, we decided we were getting a little hungry, so we walked back home for lunch. As we walked, we heard Motown coming from a nearby restaurant and as she always does, Hadley began to stomp her feet and shake her hips to the beat (that girl’s hip shakin’ are going to be the end of me, I swear it).

“How’d that poem you liked go again?” I asked Hadley as she danced. “Slow, low, boom, what was it again?” I’d completely forgotten.

“It went like this, Mama, ” Hadley began and she clapped as she said: “Low, ” clap, clap, clap, “Slow, ” clap, clap, clap, “slow, ” clap, clap, clap, “low.” She turned around and said, “Stirs your blood.” Then she jumped in the air and exclaimed, “Dance!”

I think she tested Dickinson’s theory about words living the moment they are said today.

Featured photograph by Emilio Labrador, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post and inside photographs by Callie Feyen. Reprinted with permission.

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Callie Feyen
Callie Feyen
Callie Feyen likes Converse tennis shoes and colorful high heels, reading the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the Twilight series. Her favorite outfit has always been a well-worn pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, but she wants hoop skirts with loads of tulle to come back into style. Her favorite line from literature comes from Sharon Creech’s Absolutely Normal Chaos: “I don’t know who I am yet. I’m still waiting to find out.” Feyen has served as the At-Risk Literacy Specialist in the Ypsilanti Public Schools and is the author of Twirl: my life with stories, writing & clothes and The Teacher Diaries: Romeo and Juliet.
Callie Feyen
Latest posts by Callie Feyen (see all)
  • Poetry Prompt: Courage to Follow - July 24, 2023
  • Poetry Prompt: Being a Pilgrim and a Martha Stewart Homemaker - July 10, 2023
  • Poetry Prompt: Monarch Butterfly’s Wildflower - June 19, 2023

Filed Under: Blog, English Teaching Resources, Libraries, Take Your Poet to Work Day

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About Callie Feyen

Callie Feyen likes Converse tennis shoes and colorful high heels, reading the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the Twilight series. Her favorite outfit has always been a well-worn pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, but she wants hoop skirts with loads of tulle to come back into style. Her favorite line from literature comes from Sharon Creech’s Absolutely Normal Chaos: “I don’t know who I am yet. I’m still waiting to find out.” Feyen has served as the At-Risk Literacy Specialist in the Ypsilanti Public Schools and is the author of Twirl: my life with stories, writing & clothes and The Teacher Diaries: Romeo and Juliet.

Comments

  1. Maureen Doallas says

    July 17, 2014 at 9:08 am

    Love what you did, Callie! This is where the magic of poetry begins.

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 17, 2014 at 9:38 am

      Thank you very much, Maureen! We had a great day!

      Reply
  2. L. L. Barkat says

    July 17, 2014 at 9:16 am

    Callie, I am envious! I wish this was how *I’d* spent the day. Oh, to go on poetry hunts, and get poetry into our feet, all with a red dress in the mix.

    Happy sigh 🙂

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 17, 2014 at 9:42 am

      Thank you! And thank you to Tweetspeak for providing ways to get poetry into our feet and in our days. Now if only I had a red dress….:)

      Reply
  3. Elizabeth W. Marshall says

    July 17, 2014 at 9:38 am

    Callie,

    How perfectly delightful. I want to be as a child, always hunting for the beauty and the poetry. This is a gift, perfect and precious and poetic. Welcome, officially to this poetry community.

    elizabeth, poetry barista, Tweetspeak

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 17, 2014 at 9:44 am

      Thank you, Elizabeth! I’m very thankful for Hadley and Harper as they show me how to “look again” with fresh eyes. It could be the best part of motherhood. Thank you for your kind welcome. I am quite happy to be here!

      Reply
  4. SimplyDarlene says

    July 17, 2014 at 11:00 am

    Oh, yes, indeed.

    Like a I often say, “Let there be dancing!”

    Thank you for sharing this poetical whimsy with us.

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 17, 2014 at 11:28 am

      I find that allowing dance (and poetry!) into our days makes for lots of shimmer. I’m thankful Hadley provided me with that reminder.

      Reply
  5. SimplyDarlene says

    July 17, 2014 at 11:03 am

    I reckon you already know, but Emily and I fended off a rude reporter (who smelled of bacon). 😉

    http://simplydarlene.com/2014/07/16/take-your-poet-to-work-reporter-on-the-scene/

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 17, 2014 at 11:29 am

      I’m going to check out this link, now. Thanks!

      Reply
  6. Kerry says

    July 17, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    Oh what a wonderful day with your girls! When I saw the picture of your little fairy browsing the poetry books, I thought

    “Come away o Human child!”

    But now I can’t get the image of your little one dancing to a Langston Hughes poem out of my head. I love it and think that Langston would be very happy to see how his poetry connected with your little one!

    Reply
    • L. L. Barkat says

      July 17, 2014 at 12:28 pm

      Kerry, that is one of my all-time favorite poems. When I read it to my girls, I can’t get through it without my eyes getting teary.

      Reply
      • Callie Feyen says

        July 17, 2014 at 4:32 pm

        Thank you for your lovely comment, Kerry. I couldn’t get through reading this comment without my eyes tearing. 🙂 Thank you!

        Reply
  7. Charity Singleton Craig says

    July 17, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    What a wonderful celebration of poetry and life and family. The dancing was a great ending.

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 17, 2014 at 5:22 pm

      Thank you, Charity! I loved watching the girls dance, too. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Will Willingham says

    July 17, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    Of course, it always makes me happy to see how people spend the day. This just took it up about 12 notches.

    In fact, I think I’d say it “stirs the blood.”

    Thank you so much for sharing your day with us. 🙂

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 17, 2014 at 8:42 pm

      Mr. Willingham, I believe you and Hadley would be fast friends after reading this comment. And are you the one who created the coloring book? I owe you many, many thanks. You provided the three of us with a splendid day. Thank you.

      Reply
  9. Sandra Heska King says

    July 22, 2014 at 8:15 am

    Simply awesome!

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      July 22, 2014 at 8:35 am

      Thank you, Sandra! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Kristi Campbell says

    August 9, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    What an incredibly magic day, Callie! Seriously awesome. I love that you are already involving your girls with the awesomeness of words and drawing and well LIFE. Well done!!!

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      August 10, 2014 at 10:31 am

      Thank you, Kristi! You’re the best!

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    Reply
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    July 6, 2017 at 8:32 am

    […] Callie Feyen loves to do library treasure hunts with her kids. She’s done them for Newbery Awards books and Caldecotts. But our favorite is the poet hunt she did one July, for Take Your Poet to Work Day. For the full, adorable recap of how one treasure hunt turned into a full-fledged story, art, and writing time, check out Take Your Poet to Work Day: Treasure Hunt in the Library. […]

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  4. 10 Totally Fun Ways To Keep Your Kids' Summer Reading in Swing - News Project says:
    September 5, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    […] Writer and teacher Callie Feyen loves to do library treasure hunts with her kids. She’s done them for Newbery Award books and Caldecotts. But our favorite is the poet hunt she did one July, for Take Your Poet to Work Day. For the full, adorable recap of how one treasure hunt turned into a full-fledged story, art, and writing time, check out Take Your Poet to Work Day: Treasure Hunt in the Library. […]

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    September 7, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    […] Writer and teacher Callie Feyen loves to do library treasure hunts with her kids. She’s done them for Newbery Award books and Caldecotts. But our favorite is the poet hunt she did one July, for Take Your Poet to Work Day. For the full, adorable recap of how one treasure hunt turned into a full-fledged story, art, and writing time, check out Take Your Poet to Work Day: Treasure Hunt in the Library. […]

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  6. 10 Totally Fun Ways To Keep Your Kids’ Summer Reading in Swing | PrimesNews.Com says:
    September 11, 2017 at 2:50 pm

    […] Writer and teacher Callie Feyen loves to do library treasure hunts with her kids. She’s done them for Newbery Award books and Caldecotts. But our favorite is the poet hunt she did one July, for Take Your Poet to Work Day. For the full, adorable recap of how one treasure hunt turned into a full-fledged story, art, and writing time, check out Take Your Poet to Work Day: Treasure Hunt in the Library. […]

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  7. 10 Totally Fun Ways To Keep Your Kids’ Summer Reading in Swing | Newsrust.com says:
    September 15, 2017 at 10:13 pm

    […] Writer and teacher Callie Feyen loves to do library treasure hunts with her kids. She’s done them for Newbery Award books and Caldecotts. But our favorite is the poet hunt she did one July, for Take Your Poet to Work Day. For the full, adorable recap of how one treasure hunt turned into a full-fledged story, art, and writing time, check out Take Your Poet to Work Day: Treasure Hunt in the Library. […]

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  8. 10 Totally Fun Ways To Keep Your Kids’ Summer Reading in Swing | thedusknews.com says:
    September 18, 2017 at 2:36 am

    […] Writer and teacher Callie Feyen loves to do library treasure hunts with her kids. She’s done them for Newbery Award books and Caldecotts. But our favorite is the poet hunt she did one July, for Take Your Poet to Work Day. For the full, adorable recap of how one treasure hunt turned into a full-fledged story, art, and writing time, check out Take Your Poet to Work Day: Treasure Hunt in the Library. […]

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  9. 10 Totally Fun Ways To Keep Your Kids’ Summer Reading in Swing | youngmudy.com says:
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