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Robyn Hood Black - children's author, poet, artist

Life on the Deckle Edge

Bittersweet Benediction

July 8, 2011
Tags: Poetry, Poetry Friday, animals
A few days ago I buried one of our beloved cats. He’d been with us a good decade or so, and I’ve shed my share of tears.

I was on the hunt for a good cat poem this week and stumbled upon this humorous, poetic, pseudo-cautionary tale written by Englishman Thomas Gray (1716--1771):

“Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes”

I mean, who can resist a title like that?

Silver would forgive my light touch after a heavy heart. He was much too grounded and savvy to have ever gotten himself in the following situation:

...
Still had she gazed; but 'midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The genii of the stream;
Their scaly armour’s Tyrian hue
Through richest purple to the view
Betrayed a golden gleam.

The hapless nymph with wonder saw;
A whisker first and then a claw,
With many an ardent wish,
She stretched in vain to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
What cat’s averse to fish?
...

For what comes before and after, read the whole poem
here.

And for the rest of the Poetry Friday Roundup, please visit Elaine at
Wild Rose Reader.
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Gisele LeBlanc and Berry Blue Haiku

July 1, 2011
Tags: Poetry, Poetry Friday, Berry Blue Haiku, haiku
Gisele LeBlanc
beach stones
the weathered softness
of old jeans

G. R. LeBlanc
The Heron's Nest, Sept 2010


morning shadows
a band of blue jays
take flight

G. R. LeBlanc
Notes from the Gean, Sept 2010


I’m thrilled to welcome poet and editor Gisele LeBlanc today! She’s checking in all the way from the eastern part of Canada, where she writes poetry and has created and edited two online digital magazines, the most recent one being Berry Blue Haiku, which featured haiku and related forms for children.

You’ll find her own poetry (with the byline of G. R. LeBlanc) in contemporary haiku journals such as The Heron’s Nest, Notes from the Gean, Ambrosia Journal, and A Handful of Stones.

Berry Blue Haiku (the magazine for kids) is no longer publishing, but Gisele will be featuring a simplified version of it—which will be targeted at a more general audience— on her blog. We’ll get to that in a minute.

First, so glad to have you, Gisele! Tell us a little about yourself. Did you always want to be a writer? Read More 
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A Pack of Poets

June 16, 2011
Tags: Poetry, SCBWI, Southern Breeze, authors, Poetry Friday, School visits, Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, wolves, workshops
SCBWI Southern Breeze Poetry Retreat with Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Twenty poets gathered in the north Georgia mountains last weekend for an SCBWI Southern Breeze poetry I coordinated with special guest,
Rebecca Kai Dotlich. That thunderstorm mentioned at the end of last week’s post from Rebecca’s poem visited us more than once at the Center for New Beginnings
in Dahlonega, Georgia. We enjoyed sessions with Rebecca, who said her favorite poems offer a *surprise*, wonderful food and fellowship, individual critiques, and sparks of new poems begging to be written.

For more information and pictures, visit my POETRY page and also attendee Jean Matthew Hall’s blog. Doraine Bennett blogged as well at Dori Reads.

This week I also had the privilege of speaking to some upper elementary and middle school writers at Lakeview Academy’s Writers Camp! What a talented group of creative young people.

But wait – there’s more. It was also Zoofari Camp this week at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, and I popped in over there, too. I love talking about writing and also wolf education, so it was a great experience. I even brought Rio down from his pen to say hello to the campers (from a safe distance!). See pictures on my WOLVES and STUDENT GALLERY pages.

Back to the retreat – Rebecca was a terrific good sport out in the woodsy, rustic environment – particularly considering we learned “woodsy” and “rustic” are not really her thing! I have to say I loved running half-wild through the woods as a kid, and I guess I’ve never outgrown it.

Thinking about that, I dug out this poem written soon after I started volunteering with wolves three years ago. (I know – it’s a little strange! But it still applies.)


"Breath of Fresh Hair"


Sometimes the wolf smell lingers
on my skin or in my hair –

I like catching a whiff on my sleeve
in the grocery store.

I hate to wash it off in the shower.

It’s not a scent for civilized company.

It’s the smell of secrets,

of murky mist –

heady and heavy,

wild and holy.

©Robyn Hood Black
All rights reserved.

Please visit the Poetry Friday Roundup at
Check it Out!
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Summer Snippets and Rebecca Kai Dotlich

June 10, 2011
Tags: Poetry, Poetry Friday, authors, SCBWI, Southern Breeze, workshops
Today we welcome Rebecca Kai Dotlich for our first ever SCBWI Southern Breeze
Poetry Retreat, coordinated by yours truly. I can't wait! Folks from five states will gather to "dive into poetry" all weekend in the north Georgia mountains. I've had fun with the nametags. Amazing what some time on the internet and with Photoshop will do.... I consulted with Southern Breeze's own href="http://www.vickyalvearshecter.com/
">Vicky Alvear Shecter about a poetry goddess to use for each "poetic license" photo. She suggested Calliope, the muse of epic poetry.

Here are just a few summer snippets from Poetry Goddess Rebecca:

From LEMONDADE SUN And Other Summer Poems, Wordsong, 1998:

(from "Summer Greetings")

Hello to rose
and vines of green,
to lettuce leaves -
oh, hello beans!

(from "Lemonade")

splashing
sunshine
on frosty squares
of ice

(from "Firefly" - saw the first ones last night, by the way)

Sliver of moon
slice of a star.
Rhinestone in
a jelly jar.

(from "Nightdance")

And the sun comes up,
and the sun goes down,
and children moon-skip
all around

and, finally, since we could use some rain around here, from "Summer Storm's Plea" (SHARING THE SEASONS by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Margaret McElderry Books, 2010):

Let this downpour be good,
proud as a prank, one wild raid
of rain that drums my name:

Thunderstorm.

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Watching the River Flow with Bob Dylan

May 27, 2011
Tags: Poetry Friday, Poetry, nature
So Tuesday was Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday!

Garrison Keillor included some great Bob Dylan info on The Writer’s Almanac on Tuesday, including the fact that he’s been nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature every year since 1996. Tuesday’s program also quotes from the liner notes for The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan about the distinction between poetry and songs: “Anything I can sing, I call a song. Anything I can’t sing, I call a poem.”

Be SURE to check out Jama Rattigan’s great review of the new picture book biography written by Gary Golio and illustrated by Marc Burckhardt, When Bob Met Woody – The Story of the Young Bob Dylan (Little, Brown, 2011).

Thoughts and prayers for those reeling from storms, and so many have suffered devastating floods in past weeks. With an image of a calmer river, here are some lines from Dylan’s “Watching the River Flow,” Copyright © 1971:

People disagreeing everywhere you look
Makes you wanna stop and read a book
Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
That was really shook
But this ol’ river keeps on rollin’, though
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow
And as long as it does I’ll just sit here
And watch the river flow

For the entire song, click here.

and for the Poetry Friday Roundup , enjoy Heidi's great blog, My Juicy Little Universe.
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Haiku Hike Cont. ...

May 20, 2011
Tags: Poetry Friday, Poetry, School visits, haiku
Today we're finishing up our poetry project in two fourth grade classes. I'm visiting one last time to hand out booklets featuring a haiku poem, and in most cases an illustration, by each student poet. (Haiga!) Many added titles.

I hope this collection will be enjoyed long after these students have outgrown their fourth-grade shoes.
Perhaps reading these later will spark a memory of what it felt like to be ten years old. I posted a batch of these week before last (click here), and below are the rest. [These are the original works of students and not to be copied - thank you!] I enjoyed "anthologizing" them for the books. Thanks again to teachers Mrs. Briggs and Mrs. Roberts, and to each young poet!

Wind Blows

wind blows
purple flowers play
in the wind
(by Mary Keys)

Chirping Wind

birds chirping
in the sound
of the wind
(by KJ)

Birds

birds chirping around
flight paths between trees for birds
diving and swooping
(by Rocco)

Birds' Song

high chirp low chirp
the birds sing a song
it makes me want to sing along
(by Hannah)


chirp chirp
really really cool breeze
bugs land on me
(by Bryce)

ladybugs flying
flowers blowing in the wind
caterpillars crawling
(by Jettie)

Beautiful Butterflies

butterflies flying
ladybugs climbing flowers
spotted ladybug
(by Claire)

I see the drops on grass
the tall grass sways in the wind
I hear the bird's song
(by Natalie)

Tree

skinny tree
tallest tree I have ever seen
pretty tree
(by Sophia)

Flowers

flowers blooming
sunlight shines down on them
nature so wonderful
(by Sadie)

the bugs fly
in the big blue sky
the trees sway
(by Brauch)

Pesky Squirrels

I hear them again
jumping, running, rattling
they munch on acorns
(by Sophie)

tall grass
tall trees swaying
leaves falling
(by Clayton)

Thorns

painful thorns
always hurt
never touch them
(by Cem)

Ants

ants are scary
I say ouch when they bite me
ants are mean
(by Paxton)

lady bugs all around
the caterpillars are crawling up
the stump the river is rushing
(by Sadie)

river running by
bugs flying around
soft crunchy grass
(by Katharine)

brown and green grass
old leaves fall
creeeks flow loudly
(by Kuepper)

Creek

the creek
is rustling over the rocks
it is very cool
(by Matthew)

Water

split splat
shhh, shhh, shhh
whoosh, tickle
(by Banks)

River of Stream

river flowing
rocks smoothly flowing down
stream gone
(by Harrison)

swampy water
looks like mud
puddles that you see
(by Linda)

old river
the turtle eats the
grass as it swallows
(by Hunter)

Lizards

lizards are reptiles
camouflaging their bodies
jumping between trees
(by Dakari)

crickets singing
fireflies flying I'm
camping
(by Larsen)


the moon is very nice
the moon is white and peaceful
I really like the moon
(by Reese)

Make sure to catch the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Drift Record!
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Writing with Ms. Mirabel

May 13, 2011
Tags: Poetry Friday, Poetry, School visits, authors
Here's a book spine poem for today - click to learn all about them at 100 Scope Notes!
Recent poetic adventures with fourth graders inspired me to read Patricia MacLachlan’s Word After Word After Word (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, 2010), about a visiting author’s time in Miss Cash’s fourth grade classroom. The characters find their way through personal problems by writing, especially poetry.

I was hooked with this early prose depiction of the visiting author:

Ms. Mirabel had long, troubled hair and a chest that pushed out in front of her like a grocery cart.

As narrator Lucy begins to examine her feelings about her mother’s cancer, she writes,



Sadness is
Steam rising,
Tears falling.
A breath you take in
But can’t let out
As hard as you try.



You’ll have to read the book to see how Lucy’s writing develops, along with that of the other students: Henry, Evie, Russell, and May. This deceptively simple story from a Newbery medalist and beloved author would be a welcome addition to any poetry lover’s bookshelf.

I included some fourth grade haiku in last week’s Poetry Friday post but was unable to access the Roundup. Feel free to take a peek, and be sure to check out this week’s hot-to-handle Roundup at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup! Read More 
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Haiku hike

May 6, 2011
Tags: Poetry Friday, Poetry, School visits, haiku
My daughter Morgan, left, was a student in Mrs. Briggs's class in fourth grade and is now an education major. She helped bring poetry to class one day. On the right, fabulous teachers Lori Roberts and Sharon Briggs.
The past few weeks, I've had a delightful time popping in and out of the fourth grade classes at Lakeview Academy to explore poetry - particularly, haiku.

Because traditional haiku capture a moment in nature, early on we took a walk outdoors. We spent some quality time in a grassy field with woods all around and a stream on one side. The students wrote down sensory impressions and poem ideas in their journals, then worked the next couple of weeks in class to polish up their writing and choose their favorite original poem.

I am compiling these into a booklet so each young poet will have a whole collection. Many are accompanied by artwork as well ("haiga"), and a few added titles. I wish I could share all of them here, but I'm happy to post a few from each class. [These are the original works of students and not to be copied - thank you!] Many thanks to extraordinary teachers Mrs. Briggs and Mrs. Roberts, and of course to their talented students! Enjoy -

Storm

shady springs
storm clouds foreshadow
the rumbling sky
(by Jack)

Creek

crunching grass
water hitting against the rocks
rough creek
(by Claire)

tall grass
green and brown leaves fall
the grass bends
(by Briley)

Morning

sticks snapping
purple flowers
morning air
(by Lanie)

Birds' Songs

birds chirping in the sky
a robin jumps from tree to tree
the lovely songs of birds
(by Arantxa))

cheeping, rustling
around go the birds, Ah!
choo cheep swish
(by Roland)

the ground
the brisk breeze
bugs crawling around me
(by Sophia)

Butterflies

butterflies
flying swiftly
like angels
(by Reece)

Bird Wars

birds fighting over trees
time and time again birds fall
but they still fight for trees
(by Palmer)

Spring

tall grass below
birds whistling in the trees
a fresh smell of spring
(by Rachel)

Leaves

the round of rustling leaves
leaves swirling round and round
squirrels playing
(by Abbe)

The Outside

birds singing a song
little three-leaf clovers
mist is all around
(by Mary Katherine)

Nature

calm water to
clouds, blurry fog
to moist grass
(by Reed)

Flowers Falling

flowers on the ground, blossomed
flowers falling down from trees
the wind carries them off
(by Esther)

Birds

birds merrily chirping,
pecking around for seeds,
flying over the trees
(by Anne Marie)

cold wind
a leaf blows through
the sound of whistles
(by Mckenna)

Catch the rest of the fourth grade haiku in my May 20 post -
click here.

For more great poetry, visit the Poetry Friday Roundup at Family Bookshelf - http://family-bookshelf.org/ [I didn't link directly because there seems to be a problem - my Internet Explorer shuts down each time I try, and I read that this was occurring for someone else, too. Perhaps it will be up and running soon!]

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Humming Songs of Innocence

April 29, 2011
Tags: Poetry Friday, Poetry, Southern Breeze
William Blake by Thomas Phillips
(Note - Fourth grade poets are not quite finished with their projects. Will post a few soon!)

Hearts are heavy in my part of the world this week, as unprecedented storms ravaged our region. My town in north Georgia was very fortunate as the tornadoes skirted around rather than through us. SCBWI Southern Breeze folks (Ga./Ala./Miss.) have been checking in through our Listserve with harrowing tales but mostly thankfulness that their families are still here.

Perhaps that's why this morning's Royal Wedding was worth the early wake-up call. It was a kind of blessing to focus on something positive and joyful across the pond. Many years ago I had the privilege of breathing in the history at Westminster Abbey, and I thought the bishop's words there today were fresh and inspiring.

Since the royal couple chose among their hymns "Jerusalem," first composed by William Blake in 1804 as an introduction to "Milton" (set to music a century later by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry), I thought we could use a bit of Blake, and I could use a bit of The Songs of Innocence.

Introduction to the Songs of Innocence
By William Blake (1757–1827)

Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me:


"Pipe a song about a Lamb!"
So I piped with merry cheer.
"Piper, pipe that song again;"
So I piped: he wept to hear.


"Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;
Sing thy songs of happy cheer:"
So I sung the same again,
While he wept with joy to hear.


"Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read."
So he vanish'd from my sight,
And I pluck'd a hollow reed,


And I made a rural pen,
And I stain'd the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.

Please visit Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference for today's Poetry Friday Roundup. Read More 
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"Nature rarer uses yellow..."

April 22, 2011
Tags: Poetry Friday, Poetry, nature
Cherry tree in early April
It's Good Friday and Earth Day, and the cherry blossoms have drifted away, leaving a canopy of lush green outside my studio window. White dogwood blossoms are gone, too – those trees all green now. Azaleas, in light and dark pink, are still going strong, as is the rhododendron and the neglected but exuberant rose bush out back.

These ever-changing colors of spring conjure up this gem from Emily Dickinson:

Nature rarer uses yellow
Than another hue;
Saves she all of that for sunsets,--
Prodigal of blue,

Spending scarlet like a woman,
Yellow she affords
Only scantly and selectly,
Like a lover's words.

What a blessing to live in a world of color. And poems - isn't "Spending scarlet like a woman" a provacative line? Next week I’ll have some colorful haiku poems from fourth graders!

Enjoy the Poetry Friday roundup today hosted by Kate at Book Aunt.  Read More 
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