More Poetry Adventures at Titirangi Library

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…

Envy tastes like sour lemons.
Holly
Anger feels like fire burning down your back.
Amelia
Calm tastes like a tropical breeze.
Hannah
Happiness smells like freshly baked bread.
Holly
Happiness sounds like a butterfly singing.
Corey
Worry feels like a boat rocking on the sea.
Holly
Happiness sounds like squeals of joy.
Amelia
Sadness looks like a hundred tears.
Holly
Excitement sounds like a squealing pig.
Holly
Happiness feels like fluttering.
Hannah

What a creative bunch! I was really impressed with their poetry.  Here are some of my favourites…

A dog that has energy

Taking Off In A Boat

When I'm Still In Bed

Sophie Poem

The Earth

Hannah Guinea Pigs

Reading

You can feel her purring like butterfly’s wingsYou can feel her calico furYou can hear her scraping in her boxShe is never asleep!

Two Certain Rabbits

Sharks

What I Would Take Out Of The World

My Cat

I Like

Painting a Picture

My secret name is snowA puddle of icy rainDropping from the sky.

My Secret Hideaway (1)

Moving

Cars

Pets

Dragons

Eating A Plum

Charlotte - What I Would Take Out of the World

Buttercup

By Holly - What I Will Take Out Of The World

A little bug crawlsAlong the groundThe grandma chompsUp the groundThe little bugBites a little chipThen comes GrandmaWith a big whip!Cat jumps onto the chipPoor little bug Jumps upTakes flightOn a rocket shipAt last Gran

The Unicorn's Tale

Thank you so much to Titirangi Library for hosting us!

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Looking for inspiration?

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?

What I would Take Out of the World

Perhaps you have something a little cheeky to say…

Disappear

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.

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Poet of the Week – 12 June

Meet Lucy,  our fabulous Poet of the Week.

Lucy writing

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.

Lucy on the playground

Here’s a few of Lucy’s poems as well as some of her awesome art.  Enjoy!

Lucy Cronin poems

 

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THE BOOK OF WISHES IS HERE!

Well, have we got a treat for you!

The Book of Wishes is here and it’s unbelievably good. 

The poetry is great, the artwork is stunning, and the wisdom of these young writers is astounding.

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Have a sneaky peek at one of the amazing poems…

Adventures of the Mind

Be there.

Wherever.

Whenever.

However.

 

Be Neil Armstrong, placing the flag                       

Get Michael Jordan’s signature on your bag

Dive down to the very bottom of the ocean

Play the violin in a symphony, create a commotion

 

Save the world like Superman

Use confetti cannons for your battle plan

Bareback ride on a humpback whale

Surf down a jade green dragon’s tail

 

Walk your pet cheetah in the open park

Bungee jump from Golden Gate bridge in the dark

Play against extraterrestrials in a game of football

Join a notorious biker gang and ride through nightfall

 

I wish these adventures would skyrocket well beyond

Our inner boundaries, our normal puddle, our everyday pond,

Making these treasures become our existence

Some journeys we could have without any assistance

My wish you ask…?

 

Be there.

Wherever.

Whenever.

However.

By Nia Shipkov

The Book of Wishes order information
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Book Launch – The Secret Book of Poetry

A huge thank you to Laingholm Primary for hosting the launch of the Secret Book of Poetry!

We had a wonderful morning and it was a real treat to hear 15 talented poets read their work.

 

The launch was a wonderful way to wrap up the Secret Poetry Project, which was a collaboration between myself and performance poet, educator, producer and publisher, Gus Simonovic.

Gus and I have been busy running workshops, poetry camps and collecting submissions as part of the project.

Overall we wound up with 100 poems from children aged 4 to 16 which we published in The Secret Book.

All of these 100 poems are inventive and many are daring, cheeky, hilarious and brave.

They show us new and extraordinary things, celebrate secret worlds and remind us that everyone has their own unique perspective.

I can’t wait for the next project!  More details to come in August…

Caroline Masters

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Poet of the Week – April 25

Meet Ivy, our talented poet of the week!  Here’s a bit about her…

Hi, I’m Ivy.  I’m 13 and I’m from Korea.  I’ve been in New Zealand for one year so I’m still learning English.  I enjoy listening to music and reading.

Check out Ivy’s stunning poetry.  It’s hard to believe that she’s only learning English!  Her writing is outstanding.

Ivy Poet of the Week (2)

 

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The Secret Is Out!

Exciting times!  The Secret Poetry Project is underway and we’ve had some wonderful submissions.

Jack is keen for me to share his entry.  He told me this poem while we were out wandering in the forest— our secret place.  Luckily I had my notebook on hand!

theres-a-secret-place-in-the-forest-where-the-monsters-workmaking-machinesjack-hammersbull-dozersfront-end-loaderstip-trucksdump-trucksscaffolding-the-monsters-pull-the-leversthe-monsters-turn

Jack is 4 so he speaks his poems.  His poetry is always spontaneous and is a part of his play.

If you have a young child I encourage you to ‘catch’ their poems and send them in!  They don’t have to be on the theme of secrets.  After all poetry is about playfulness, spontaneity and imagination; 3 things young children have in abundance!

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Lil Seeds Kindy Goes Wild

I joined the Lil Seeds gang recently for a poetry walk in the bush.

Lil Seeds is the most fantastic kindy.  They’re based in Glen Eden and each week they venture out to local spots like beaches, parks and the forest.  No wonder they are so good at hunting down poems outdoors!

Check out their wonderful poetic ideas…

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National Poetry Day

Jack Witch Poem (1)Kitty the catCat, cat, catThe cat ran into a doorsmashed all of the clothesand then another cat cameand smashed more clothes!

New Zealand was thoroughly steeped in poetry last Friday.  There were over 100 events around the country as part of Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day.

Here’s a few shots from Timeout Bookstore’s Pavement Poetry event…

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Maxwell had loads of fun creating this poem about a cheeky cat.

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My little boy Jack had me busy writing his poem about a scary witch.

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The pavement was covered with poems!

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Playing with Poetry at New Lynn Library

I had such a fun afternoon!  I got to hang out with some wonderful young poets at New Lynn Library.

We read some poetry by Laura Ranger and talked about how she uses poetic comparisons to create interesting images in the reader’s mind.  The writers came up with some great poetic comparisons of their own.  Here’s a few by talented 10 year old writer, Oleg.

 

The grass is waving as if it is changing into the ocean.

Anger is an enemy.

Happiness is a feeling of freedom.

 

I particularly love Oleg’s first image!  We talked about how poetry is a bit like painting.  If you shut your eyes and listen to a great line, like Oleg’s, you’ll see lots of pictures in your head.

The poems below have some wonderful images in them…

My Dog Spark

 

Parrot

My mum is like meHer eyes are blackShe goes everywhere, fastlike a rabbit.

We were inspired by these two poems by Laura.  The first one is a bit cheeky!

DisappearWhat I would Take Out of the World

We created our own poems about things we’d like to get rid of…

What I would take out the world, Nafisa

I would takecats out of the worlddogs are way betterI would take away mean as bad guysAnd things like electric shocksand lightning...I would take them out too.

We wrote about things we like too…

 

I like going to the parkand swingingon the swings I goas high as the Sky TowerI shoot down the slideso fast. (1)

I would take all the story books out of the worldI'd take a happy dogAnd giant watermelonJustforme.

I’d like to say a big thank you to Lois and the New Lynn Library for hosting us.  We had so much fun!

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