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!

Poetry reading a huge success!

Monday night's poetry reading was a huge success, with 96 people attending! The room was packed! Many young poets read their work as their parents and friends looked on. A few poets chose to receive their books without reading their poems, but everyone received hearty applause. Guest poets Jayne Warren and Zoe Mason, students from the writing studio at the Walnut Hill School, entertained the crowd by reading poems from their younger days, and then closed the program by reading some of their more recent work. It was an inspiring night.

Poetry Anthology bigger than ever!!

Thanks for your submissions. This year we had 140 young poets submit their work for our seventh annual anthology. Many of them will be reading their work at our poetry reading in celebration of the release of the book, so come and hear them!

Poetry Reading

Come hear young poets read their work at the Westwood Library's Poetry Reading on Monday, April 9, at 7:00 pm. The reading is in celebration of the release of the 2007 Poetry Anthology and will feature guest poets Mitch Dewar, Zoe Mason, and Jayne Warren, all students from the writing studio at the Walnut Hill School.

Jayne Warren to read at Porter Square Books

Jayne Warren will join with other members of the Workshop for Publishing Poets in a reading at Porter Square Books in Cambridge. The reading will take place on Monday, March 5, at 7:00 pm. If you enjoyed hearing Jayne read at the Westwood Library's poetry reading last year, hear her read some of her most recent work.

Send Us Your Poems!

The Westwood Library is now accepting submissions for the 2007 Anthology of Original Poetry. The anthology, which began 6 years ago with poetry by middle and high school students, this year will include poetry by students in grades 3 - 12. Submitters need not be Westwood residents. Send us one poem, no longer than 30 lines, with family friendly content and language. This is not a contest! Every poem will be published. Poems must be received by March 23. Anthologies will be available at a Book Release Celebration/Poetry Reading on April 9. Send poems to westwoodpoetry@yahoo.com, and include your name, grade, school name, email address, and telephone number.

Poetry Workshops a Huge Success!

30 local kids showed up at the Westwood Library on Jan. 31 to learn about writing poetry from Barbara Helfgott Hyett. In each hour-and-a-half workshop, Hyett stressed some of her rules for writing poetry: Write everything down! The eraser is your enemy! Cross out, don't erase! Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!

Don't forget to sign up

for the poetry workshops this week with Barbara Helfgott Hyett! The workshops are a wonderful opportunity for kids to work with a professional poet. See previous blog for more info or call 781-320-1042 to register.

Positively Poetry

Positively Poetry will take place at the Westwood Public Library from January through April, 2007. The series will begin with poetry workshops with Boston area poet Barbara Helfgott Hyett on January 31. The library will publish its annual Anthology of Original Poetry, this year including poetry from students in grades 3 - 12. The final event will be a poetry reading at the library in April, where students can read their poems. Check the blog for updates, or call 781-320-1042 for more information. Positively Poetry is made possible by a grant from the Westwood Educational Foundation

Poetry Writing Workshops

Boston-area poet/educator Barbara Helfgott Hyett will visit the Westwood Public Library on Wednesday, January 31, to conduct poetry writing workshops for students. Helfgott Hyett has worked as a Visiting Poet in over 60 school districts in Massachusetts, and has taught at a number of colleges and universities. She is the author of four books of poetry: The Tracks We Leave, Natural Law, The Double Reckoning of Christopher Columbus, and In Evidence: Poems of the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps. The first workshop, from 1:30 – 3:00, is for students in grades 6, 7, and 8. A second workshop, from 3:15 – 4:45, will be for students in grades 3, 4, and 5. The workshops kick off the Positively Poetry series at the library, and are made possible by a grant from the Westwood Educational Foundation. Registration is required. Call 781-320-1042.

Puns, Allusions, and Other Word Secrets by Jennifer Fandel

This book is part of a great new series called Understanding Poetry, and it's the best book I've seen for older kids about poetic devices. The poems that are used as examples are by some of my favorite poets: Pablo Neruda, e. e. cummings, Dylan Thomas, and William Carlos Williams, to name a few. Each book in the series tackles a different set of devices, and with the wonderful examples given it's really easy to see what they're all about.

Poetry Reading a huge success!

Over 60 people attended the poetry reading/book release party at the Westwood Library on May 30. Hats off to all those students who read their poems! Jayne Warren started the evening by reading her first published poem, The Pond, published when she was 10 years old. The 4th and 5th graders were presented with their anthologies, and most of them read their poems. The middle and high schoolers were then presented with their anthologies, and also read their poems. Jayne finished up the evening by reading her recently published poems, Chairlift at Nashoba Valley and The Night Uncle. After such a great success, we can't wait for next year! The kids were very impressive, both in the quality of their poems, and also the poise and confidence they read with.

The poems are in!

We have collected all the poems for the two anthologies, and are in the process of putting together the books. Thanks to everyone who submitted their poems! The books will be available at the (constantly rescheduled) poetry reading/ book release party on Tuesday, May 30 at 7:00 pm. Everyone is invited to come and hear kids read their poems. And we'll have food!! Local poet Jayne Warren will read from her recently published works. Here are a couple of poems from new anthologies.

QUAIL (A WINTER ACROSTIC)

Quite an
Uncomparable bird
Always trying to avoid the
Intelligent hunter
Lasting as long as it can

Charles DeAngelis
Grade 4, Hanlon School

SKATEBOARDING

a rush of hot air
across my face
as the cars zoom
left and right!

the thick oily stench
of the gas station
floats above my head

the drab and rusted sign
by the towering fence
my friends are just past it
so I kick into the park

I shut out all the noise
and try to concentrate
as I run up to the top of the ramp

Crash!
I slide back down the pipe
wishing I had never tried it

Max Otsuka
Grade 7, F.A. Day Middle School

Spring

When'er the snows of winter melt away,
The clouds appear more hopeful - joyful, glad
To once again be free to drift and play
In skies of blue, and sunnily be clad;
And even when the rains do fall upon
The earth and drown the world in sadd'ning haze,
Will sunshine sometime bring a brighter dawn
And leave the air to be by sweetness praised;
The trees rejoicingly bring forth their leaves,
Which tell of colors glorious and gay
In all the whisp'rings of the playful breeze,
And Love and Beauty now reclaim the day:
For Beauty's known when spring's first flower blooms,
And Love in sweet air like a rainbow looms.

Stephen Wright
Grade 10