Hello Hoppers!
It's time for another episode of The Mortimer Minute!
Mortimer's been trying to jump through that Blue Window with little success, since he is such a big bunny and that's such a little blue window. He has befriended the cat, however, and they are getting along famously.
A big thank you to Renee La Tulippe at No Water River for tagging me last week!
I've posted the bios of the poets I've tagged at the end of this post, along with the dates they plan to hop.
Here’s how to hop “Mortimer Minute” style!
- Answer 3 questions. Pick one question from the previous Hopper. Add two of your own. Keep it short, please! This is a Blog Hop, not a Blog Long Jump. This is the Mortimer Minute – not the Mortimer Millennium!
- Invite friends. Invite 1-3 bloggers who love children’s poetry to follow you. They can be writers, teachers, librarians, or just plain old poetry lovers.
- Say thank you. In your own post, link to The Previous Hopper, then keep the Mortimer Minute going – let us know who your Hoppers are and when they plan to post their own Mortimer Minute.
Ready? Let’s hop!
Mortimer: Is there a children’s poem you wish you had written?
BJL: Yes, “Walk Softly” by Alice Schertle. This poem is from Keepers. It also happens to be an appropriately ‘spooky’ poem for this time of year!
Walk Softly
Walk softly
in this wood,
where little wispy things
in gown and hood
slide down the dark
and fold their wings.
Shy and hidden
shadow things
of pipe and ring
and strange remember power.
Shadow voices
high and thin
quiver in the wind
this witching hour.
Little fragile fading things
turn watchful eyes
upon me as I pass--
a sudden rustle in the grass
as something flees
before my awful
bone and blood.
Walk softly
in this wood.
~ Alice Schertle, Keepers
Every time I read this poem, I just can’t get over Alice Schertle’s mastery: her voice, her phrasing, her line breaks, her rhyme, and her alliteration and assonance. To me, this is one of her very best poems, although I am in awe of all of her poetry.
Mortimer: Do you have a silent mentor?
BJL: Yes, that would be Alice Schertle. I have other silent mentors, but I have to say, I’ve learned more about poetry from reading and studying Alice Schertle’s poetry collections than from any other poet.
Mortimer: What got you started writing children’s poetry?
BJL: One word – injury. Don’t get me wrong, I had been dabbling in poetry for a long time but I was more into writing fiction and had, in fact, almost completed a novel when I was stopped in my tracks by shoulder surgery. My recovery was marked by a long period of bicep tendinitis – we’re talking two years. I couldn't type; I could barely write longhand. So there went my dreams of becoming a novelist. I turned to poetry because of its brevity, reading all the children’s poetry I could, and then I started writing children’s poetry. And I have to say, I love it even more than writing fiction. So, although I couldn't see this at the time, some good did come out of that painful episode in my life – a reawakening of my poetic skills and a new-found love of children’s literature, especially poetry!
That’s the end of my Mortimer Minute! Here are the poets who will hop in coming weeks.
Buffy Silverman‘s curiosity about the natural world inspires much of her writing. She is the author of more than 60 nonfiction books for children and has written poems for Ladybug, Spider, Cricket, Highlights for Children, and Know magazine. Buffy is lucky to live near a lake and woods in Michigan where inspiration abounds. Buffy will be posting on October 11, 2013. www.buffysilverman.com
LIANA MAHONEY is a nationally certified teacher from upstate New York who writes children’s poetry, educational materials, and non-fiction. Her first picture book, FOREST GREEN, a rhyming non-fiction circle story, is forthcoming from North Country Books. She has numerous poetry credits, including the SCBWI Bulletin, various children’s magazines, online publications, and a poem in the award-winning sports-themed anthology AND THE CROWD GOES WILD. Liana’s poems also appear in various curricular materials with School Specialty, superteacherworksheets.com, and the Core Knowledge Foundation. She believes that a walk in the woods is one of the best cures for writer’s block, second only to teaching kindergarteners. Liana will be posting October 25, 2013. www.lianamahoney.com
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