Celebrating Young Writers Since 2016
These two stunning poems by 13-year-old Kim show a thoughtful way of looking at the world.
They move from rivers and forests to friendships at school, reminding us that small choices can make a real difference. The images are simple, striking, and honest, and that’s what makes these poems so memorable.
We would love to see more, Kim!
These three poems from Sylvie show a big imagination at work.
There’s a wonderful sense of magic and mood in each one: from a glittering night sky to a powerful question, to a lonely ruru calling for a queen.
Sylvie has a great ear for rhythm and really knows how to create a feeling with just a few words.
More please, Sylvie!
We have a treat for you! Check out the poetry written by the students at St Kentigern Girls’ School in Auckland. What a creative bunch!
Are you feeling fierce and tiger-like? Are you full of energy like a bolt of lightning?
Whatever mood you’re in, turn it into a poetic comparison. If you’re happy, perhaps you’re a sky full of stars. If you’ve had a bad morning, maybe you’re a storm on a grey beach. Write down your comparison at the top of your page; this is now the title of a poem. It’s time to push that comparison further. Give us an action. If you’re Storm On A Grey Beach, what do you do? Do you surge, roar, and smash?
If you’re looking for inspiration, check out this wonderful poem by Holly, aged 9.
In another poem, Holly became a flower. The line ‘above me, I see the light blue sky’ is particularly good. It helps put the reader in the scene. Well done, Holly!
Recently, I visited St Kentigern Girls’ School with fellow poet, Gus Simonovic. Gus and I had a wonderful time working with the junior school students and their teachers. Between breaks in the rain, we dashed outside for several poetry walks. While adventuring, the students drew on their senses to come up with original, striking, and imaginative observations. Gus and I scribbled at high speed, gathering their thoughts and poetic comparisons. Back in the classroom, the students, teachers, Gus, and I all worked as one giant poetic brain to turn our adventures into class poems. Gus and I were blown away by the girls’ enthusiasm and love of language.
You’re going to enjoy reading their work!
Caroline
Looking for inspiration? Grab some dice, counters, and paper, and print out the gameboard below.
Instructions:
This game works best in pairs.
Each player throws the dice. The player with the highest total starts the play:
Place your counter on the space marked “GO,” throw the dice, and move your counter to the number of spaces indicated by the dice.
Each space contains a prompt. Use that prompt to write a line of poetry. If you land on a space with 3 words, include at least one of those words in your line.
If you land on a space containing a prompt followed by an ellipsis, use that prompt at the beginning of your line of poetry.
When both players have arrived at the end of the game, they will have the bones of a poem!
Next week, we will focus on reworking and polishing the poetry from this game.
It’s been a fierce winter in New Zealand with weather bombs, numerous floods, and the odd atmospheric river or two. Yet, fortunately, amidst the chaos, poems brewed.
Before spring moves onto the scene, it’s fitting that we celebrate winter with a few stunning poems from our star writers:
Check out this outstanding poem by Jacob Birks from Belmont Intermediate. The writer and activist Audrey Lorde said, ‘Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence.’ Poems like Jacob’s prove this point. Well done Jacob. We hope to see more of your work!
Here’s one of my favourite poems of the year. I particularly like the line, ‘even the ant steals’. It was written by Saskia Nyhoff from Belmont Intermediate. Well done Saskia!
Here’s a stunning poem by Selena Wang. See if you can spot the wonderful metaphor in the first stanza (that’s the name for a paragraph in a poem). It will create a lovely image in your head!
The power of poetry was unleashed in August for Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day. There were more than 100 events, workshops, and competitions happening all over NZ. Acclaimed poets, new voices, young writers, and poetry enthusiasts were involved in the celebrations. There was slam poetry, sonnets, poetry on stages and pavements, and more. Poetry was created and enjoyed in cafes, bars, schools, university campuses, community centres, retirement villages, marae, libraries, and theatres – as well as on buses, trains, and ferries.
It was like Christmas for poetry lovers!
Paula Green, Gus Simonovic, and I had a blast at our Children’s Poetry Party in west Auckland. It was a real treat to listen to young poets reading their work. Paula’s interactive poetry was fantastic and inspiring.
Here’s a few pics from the day…
Gus, Diane Blomfield and I popped down to Titirangi Village on Sunday for more poetry fun. Children wrote poems on the pavement and read their work to promote the wonderful Going West Festival.
I met another talented group of poets last week.
They joined me for a workshop at the wonderful Titirangi Library. We started off the afternoon with a little warm up and the poets wrote some fantastic lines…
What a creative bunch! I was really impressed with their poetry. Here are some of my favourites…
Thank you so much to Titirangi Library for hosting us!
A poem is a place to explore your ideas. You can show the reader how you see things:
What do you love? What’s important to you? Is it a favourite place?
If you could change anything about the world, what would it be?
Perhaps you have something a little cheeky to say…
Write a poem about what matters to you. Don’t worry about rhyme, rules, or structure because that’s not the point. The point is to fully explore an idea. When you do this, you’re also letting the reader see the world through your eyes.
Meet Lucy, our fabulous Poet of the Week.
Here’s a bit about her…
Hi, my name is Lucy and I am 9 years old. I go to Laingholm Primary School. I like puzzles and stickers.
Here’s Lucy playing on the brand new playground at Laingholm School. She’s written a great poem about all her adventures there.
Here’s a few of Lucy’s poems as well as some of her awesome art. Enjoy!
Poetry Fridays 