Poetry Reading a big hit!

On Tuesday night 65 people gathered at the library for this year's poetry reading/book release celebration. The young poets were presented with their anthologies and read their work. The students from Tom Daley's poetry writing workshops read their group poems together and guest poets Jayne Warren and Tom Daley each read 2 poems. The anthology is available for reading at the library.

Don't forget to send us your poems

The deadline for poetry submissions for this year's anthology is Friday, April 4. Don't be late!

First Poetry Writing Workshop a Success!

At last Thursday's poetry writing workshops, Tom Daley discussed with the students the origins of their names, the names of the days of the week, and the names of the months of the year. Then everyone got a chance to try their hand at creating their own day and month names, which gave them their first poems of the workshop. Tom will return next Thursday to offer more poetry writing fun.

It's not too late!

It's not too late to sign up for the library's Poetry Writing Workshops with Tom Daley. See previous post for info! Workshops to be held on March 23, April 4. Call 781-320-1042 to register.

Hurry Up Mice by Alyssa Haney

Scamper, scurry
Mice must hurry
To get the cheese
In time

Alyssa Haney
Grade 4, Downey School
-from The Westwood Public Library's2007 Poetry Anthology

Fire by Sarah Hyde

Hot, burning embers

Crackling in the emptiness

Slowly burning wood.

Sarah Hyde
Grade 6, Thurston Middle School
-from The Westwood Public Library's2007 Poetry Anthology

WINTER IS HERE by Kelley Webster

Crisp cold air that blows around.
My heart thumps against the wind.
It can not stop.
I can not wait until the snow comes.
I see the first snowflake, then another
then another...
Now my heart is thumping fast.
WINTER IS HERE!

Kelley Webster
Grade 3, Deerfield School
-from The Westwood Public Library's
2007 Poetry Anthology

Poetry Writing Workshops with Tom Daley

The Westwood Library will host a two-part series of poetry writing workshops led by local poet/educator Tom Daley as part of its Positively Poetry series. The first workshop, on March 27, will focus on writing, and the second, on April 3, will focus on editing. On each Thursday, students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will meet from 2:45 – 4:00, and students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will meet from 4:15 – 5:30. Students must attend both workshops, and registration is required. The poems produced at the workshops will be included in the library’s 2008 Poetry Anthology.

Tom Daley teaches poetry writing at the Boston Center for Adult Education, and poetry and memoir writing at Lexington Community Education. In addition, he is a member of the faculty of the Online School of Poetry, serves on the tutorial faculty of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, and has been a guest instructor at Brown University, Stonehill College and SUNY Cobleskill. He has also been served as visiting poets at several schools.

Tom Daley’s own work has been published in numerous journals, including Harvard Review, Prairie Schooner, Barrow Street, Vox, Diagram, and Hacks: The Grub Street Anthology.

Positively Poetry 2008

The Westwood Library has once again received a grant from the Westwood Educational Foundation in support of our project, Positively Poetry. The project was a huge success last year, and we're looking forward to another great year. We'll be publishing our annual Anthology of Original Poetry, which will include poems by students in grades 3 - 12; we'll be hosting a series of poetry writing workshops by local poet/educator Tom Daley on March 27 and April 3; and we'll end the series with a poetry reading/book release celebration on May 6. Keep checking the blog for updates!