Greetings my people.
Holy cow, the show/workshop at The Poets House was a big success!
Most of the kids were pre-Kindergarten, so I used my children’s poems as a call and response, I also had each child act out certain words and phrases and I used more volunteers than I ever had in order for them to get more involved.
I succeeded in taking a temperature of the room and realized which poems would engage them and left out ones that would have been too sophisticated.
I also made the paper, for both the promotion:
and the actual event: http://www.tribecatrib.com/content/charles-waters-poetry-motion
Thank you, Mike Romanos, Children’s Room Director and Educational Coordinator of The Poets House, for this opportunity.
Afterwards I attended an event called Teacups Filled with Snow: Writing Poetry for Children & Young Adults with Matthea Harvey and Marilyn Nelson.
Matthea Harvey is a poet and visual artist whose work I hadn’t engaged in before but am looking forward to in the future. http://www.mattheaharvey.info/
As for Marilyn Nelson, I got into her writing as far back as 2005 when I was touring with POETRY ALIVE. Her books Carver: A Life in Poems and A Wreath for Emmitt Till are must reads, especially for upper elementary students – adulthood. I was not only thrilled to meet her, but excited that she knew who I was! Her passion was contagious. http://marilyn-nelson.com/
I was so happy to be in the company of people who feel, like I do, that poetry should be as in the fabric of living as breathing.
I participated, once again in SPARK www.getsparked.org created by Amy Souza.
SPARK is where writers and illustrators exchange work and show it off to the world.
I was paired with Julia Trimboli, www.juliatrimboli.com and here are the pieces we did.
Got another poem accepted for an anthology! That means, as of now, in 2015 I’ll have 8 poems in 4 different children’s poetry anthologies. With the exception of DEAR TOMATO, edited by Carol-Ann Hoyte, however, I was asked not to reveal the names of the books that my other poems will appear in. Story of my life!
Saw AN ACTORS READING OF BERTOLT BRECHT’S LOVE POEMS at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on December 4th. It was organized by Pulitzer Prize winner and Oscar nominated writer Tony Kushner.
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.
I spent mine in Harlem, NY at the home of Ms. Mary McRae, who is the cousin of my friend, Lacresha Berry.
Lacresha is a poet, actress, singer and a whirlwind of talent. http://www.reverbnation.com/lacreshaberry
I saw her show BROWN GIRL, BLUE GRASS on November 21st at the Dwyer Center in Harlem, and was gobsmacked by the combination of music, spoken word, and history lesson weaved into a story of a woman’s loving yet critical look at her home state of Kentucky.
I also attended a show on November 23rd called LINDA MILLER’S LEGENDARY LADIES OF MUSIC, off-Broadway at Stage 72 at The Triad.
Linda Miller is an actress, singer and one of the top celebrity impersonators in the world. In the show she portrayed Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Jessye Norman, Moms Mabley and Celia Cruz. There were also Vegas trained dancers, an emcee, and a special appearance by an 8-time Broadway veteran named Patrick Jude.
Attended a show by the name of BROKEN HEART LAND by Vickie Lynn Mooney, at the Workshop Theater Company in NYC.
This turn of the century story dealt with a teenage, half-Cherokee girl who fought her way out of an arranged marriage and claimed her independence as a result. My former POETRY ALIVE friend John Mazurek played the patriarch in this sordid yet ultimately uplifting tale of race, family and strength.
Read-a-Poem, my children’s poetry mission to educate myself on books and share what I’m reading with the world is continuing afoot. I have read in the last few weeks:
WE ARE AMERICA: A TRIBUTE FROM THE HEART by Walter Dean Myers.
WEE RHYMES: BABY’S FIRST POETRY BOOK by Jane Yolen.
POEMS TO LEARN BY HEART edited by Caroline Kennedy.
YOUR SKELETON IS SHOWING: RHYMES OF BLUNDER FROM SIX FEET UNDER by Kurt Cyrus.
I have met with a technician from my website provider and have, fingers and toes crossed, fixed the comments section of my blog. Please let me know how it works, and thanks for your patience with this matter.
Until next time, I bid you adieu. Oh, by the way, please read and write a poem.
HUNGRY DINOSAUR
“Hello kind sir,”
CRUNCH!
“Thank you for
Being my lunch.”
(c) Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.
