Welcome to Poetry Month 2018 at No Water River!
Please take a moment to peruse the how-to below, and then dive in! Happy writing — and thank you for helping to build our collection(s)!
Remember: The Community Collections are open indefinitely, so you can visit each post at your leisure to add your poem!
Today’s Guest…
is the prolific and beloved author of over 100 books of poetry and prose for young people. Please welcome poet, anthologist, and former Children’s Poet Laureate …
J. PATRICK LEWIS
THE POEM
Thanks to Pat and the publisher, Creative Editions, for this beautiful sneak preview of Pat’s latest book, PH(R)ASES OF THE MOON: LUNAR POEMS, illustrated by Jori van der Linde, coming out in August 2018.
(Click to enlarge.)
THE PROMPT
What else? Write a poem inspired by the moon!
COMMUNITY COLLECTION 17: THE MOON
WANT TO ADD YOUR POEM?
1. Paste it into the comment section below. I will gather the poems and add them to this post. OR
2. Email it to me at renee@reneelatulippe.com and I will add it to this post (graphics welcome)!
*****
THE POET
J. Patrick Lewis grew up in Gary, Indiana and earned a BA at Saint Joseph’s College, an MA at Indiana University, and a PhD in economics at the Ohio State University. Lewis taught in the department of Business, Accounting and Economics at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, until 1998 when he became a full-time writer.
Lewis is the author of more than 100 books of poetry for children, which find their shape in both free and formal verse and engage a wide range of subjects from history to mathematics, Russian folklore to the animal kingdom. Among his many books for children are Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles, World Rat Day: Poems about Real Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of, The Shoe Tree of Chagrin, A Hippopotamusn’t: And Other Animal Poems, Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems, and the forthcoming Ph(r)ases of the Moon: Lunar Poems. His collaborations with other children’s poets have yielded several collections, including Castles: Old Stone Poems (with Rebecca Dotlich), Take Two!: A Celebration of Twins (with Jane Yolen), and Voices from the March on Washington (with George Ella Lyon).
His children’s poetry has been widely anthologized, and his contributions to children’s literature have been recognized with the 2011 Poetry Award from the National Council of Teachers of English and the Ohioana Awards’ 2004 Alice Louise Wood Memorial Prize.
Lewis served as the nation’s third Children’s Poet Laureate from 2011 to 2013. He lives in Westerville, Ohio.
Discover more about the author and his books at www.JPatrickLewis.com.
Hear Pat read his poem “Mosquito”!
THE BOOKS
PH(R)ASES OF THE MOON: LUNAR POEMS
Coming August 2018!
In this ode to the moon, musical text weaves stories people have told for centuries with impressions we all might have had about this enigmatic but constant celestial orb. Enhanced by luminous illustrations by Jori van der Linde, this magnificent picture book collection of original poems, retold myths, and facts about the moon glows with magic and mystery. (from Amazon.com)
THE POETRY OF US: MORE THAN 200 POEMS THAT CELEBRATE THE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND PASSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
Former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis takes us on a lyrical journey through the United States to experience the wonders of America’s people and places through 200+ inspiring poems and stunning photographs.
Celebrate the gift of language and the vibrant culture of the United States with this collection of classic and never-before-published poetry. Poems are arranged by region, from coast to coast, and among them you’ll find works by Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more. From the familiar to the surprising, subjects include people, places, landmarks, monuments, nature, and celebrations. Designed for sharing, but geared to younger readers, this beautifully illustrated treasury is a must-have for the whole family. (from Amazon.com)
EDGAR ALLAN POE’S PIE: MATH PUZZLERS IN CLASSIC POEMS
Is this poetry? Math? A brainteaser? Yes! It’s all that and more. The poet J. Patrick Lewis has reimagined classic poems—such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and Langston Hughes’s “April Rain Song”—and added a dash of math. Between the silly parodies and the wonderfully wacky art, kids will have so much fun figuring out the puzzles, they won’t guess they’re learning! Answers appear unobtrusively on each page, and engaging information about the original poets is included. Math games and concepts, poetry and poet biographies—it’s all so cleverly put together. This funny book is a treat for fans of words and numbers alike.(from Amazon.com)
Don’t miss a prompt! Save this calendar to your desktop.
CALENDAR OF POETS ~ APRIL 2018
“Full Moon” copyright © by J. Patrick Lewis.
Copyright on community collection poems held by authors indicated. All rights reserved.
Other post content © 2018 Renée M. LaTulippe or as indicated. All rights reserved.
Moonscape by Pixabay via Pexels (no attribution required)
A special treat to get this sneak peak from PHRASES OF THE MOON. Fulsome congratulations to Pat! Not surprisingly, it’s an enlightening poem, beautifully illustrated. Those folks at Creative Editions sure know what they’re doing.
The illustrations are GORGEOUS, just as you’d expect from Creative Editions.
(PS: Nice puns! 😀 )
I loved the sneak peek and agree that the illustrations are gorgeous. I also thoroughly enjoyed watching the video link of J. Patrick Lewis discussing and reading his poem, “Mosquito.” Such a twinkle in his eye! Thanks again, Renee, for this wonderful project.
Loving the moon in all its ‘blueness’ this year makes me very happy to see another book that shares more of its beauty, evidently in words and pictures! Thanks for this grand challenge, Renee!
Thank you for the sneak peek— I can’t wait to get my hands and eyes and ears on this enchanting book!
Your mosquitor poem is the sweetest one I’ve ever heard, love it. Thanks for your enchanting “Full Moon” poem and poem prompt. I’m looking forward to your new book! Thanks Renée for sharing J. Patrick Lewis.
I’m a moon watcher, and I love Pat’s poem so I want this book! Thank you for sharing it here.