This Week on Poetry Box & Making Lists

For the next two weeks we are going to play with list poems on Poetry Box. I have always loved poems that have a list of things in them. I like writing list poems and I like reading list poems. I even wrote a whole book where I played with lists in poems for adults (Making Lists for Frances Hodgkins published by Auckland University Press).

Today I am going to give you a challenge that you will have ten days to work on with a prize for the winner. On Tuesday I will give you some tips for writing list poems, on Wednesday I will give you some list starting points, on Thursday I will tell you about Bill Manhire who has written my favourite list poems of all time (I am not exaggerating!) and he will answer some questions, and on Friday I will post one of my list poems for children.

So yes, I am very excited about the next two weeks because I can’t wait to see what you write.

Your challenge is to write a poem that has a list of things in it. List poems can work in all sorts of ways as you will discover over the next week or so.

Send to paulajoygreen@gmail.com. Don’t forget to include your name, age, year, school and name of teacher and teacher’s email address. DEADLINE 9am Thursday 18th April.

The winner will receive a copy of my book of animal poems, Flamingo Bendalingo (it has a list poem in that I had great fun writing!). A big thanks to Auckland University Press for this prize.  I will also post a bunch of my favourites.

This week on Poetry Box and a Snail Poem

This week on NZ Poetry Box it is a mix of things. On Monday I will remind you about the small-poem challenge and post my snail poem, on Tuesday I will give you a poetry tip, on Wednesday I will play with poetry, on Thursday I will post an interview with John Parker (he writes terrific poems for children!) and on Friday I will post the winning small poem (or poems!).

The Small Poem Challenge: Write an animal poem using no more than 15 words (you can go slightly over!). Send it to paulajoygreen@gmail.com. Include your name, age, year, name of school and teacher’s name and email address. Think about the tips I have given so far and check out tomorrow’s tip. The winner will receive a copy of Flamingo Bendalingo (courtesy of Auckland University Press).

I am pleased to see schools are promoting The Fabulous Poetry Competition on their websites. With so many entries for this competition I will only accept them at my physical post box.

And now for my poem. There are thousands of poems about snails and I have always been fascinated with the way they carry their home about. Sometimes I have let my imagination take off with this idea. Do they have little couches and tvs to watch? Are they like a mobile home going on a sightseeing tour? When I wrote this poem I wanted to describe the snail and keep it real. I thought of saying the house was like a little acorn but then I liked the sound of hat (and I thought it’s a funny place to keep a hat — on your back!).

When I write a poem I always play with the way the words sit on the line. I could have said slips and slides but I picked slides and slips.

 A Snail Poem

A snail slides and slips

down the path

on her silvery snail trail,

with her little house sitting

on her back like a shiny hat.

Poetry Challenge #2 Small Poems

I have just done a big email out to all NZ Intermediate schools to let them know about NZ Poetry Box and the Fabulous Poetry Competition for children.

So I have decided to extend the deadline for the small poem competition until Friday 15th March so some Year 7 and 8 students can enter.

I am challenging you to write an animal poem using no more than 15 words. Check out my poetry tip for this week. You might go on a juicy word hunt first then play around with the words you use.

Send your poems to paulajoygreen@gmail.com

The winning poet will get a copy of Flamingo Bendalingo thanks to Auckland Unversity Press.

Poetry Box Challenge #2 Small Poems

WELCOME to the third week of the New Zealand Poetry Box for children. Thanks to everyone who has viewed it (well over two thousand views) and from all over the world (including New Zealand, Australia, USA, Britain, Jamaica, Mexico, India and Germany). Thanks too for the emails, the comments and the poems that are arriving in my physical Post Box for the Fabulous Poetry Competition for Children. If you scroll down the right bar you can follow me to get an email every time I post something. A special thumbs up to Christchurch. I am getting a huge response from you!

This week is Animal week. On Monday I will set you a poetry challenge, on Tuesday I will give you a poetry tip that might help you with the challenge, on Wednesday I will tell you all about my first book for children, Flamingo Bendalingo and post some poems from it, on Thursday I will tell you about a book of poems by the fabulous Joy Cowley and on Friday I will post the winner of Monday’s challenge. (BTW I took these photos at Auckland Zoo in January.)

                    

Let’s go Poetry!

Poetry Challenge #2 A Short Poem

I love little poems. Some of my favourite poets have written great short poems that are like eating little chocolates or sucking on a sweet strawberry. You bite, you swallow, then the flavour lingers for ages.

When you write a short poem every word has to be just right and every word has to be in the perfect place. Short poems might have two lines but they might have six lines.

I challenge you to write an animal poem using no more than fifteen words (ok you might get away with sixteen but twenty is too many!).

Send your entry to paulajoygreen@gmail.com. Include your name, class, age, name of school, teacher’s name and email address (home schoolers/correspondence students your parent’s name and email adress please). The winner will get a copy of my book Flamingo Bendalingo (thanks to Auckland University Press).

A Fabulous Poetry Competition for Children

I am editing an anthology of poems for children to be published by Random House in 2014.

I would like to include five poems by children and I am inviting primary and intermediate schools the length and breadth of New Zealand to enter poems.

The five winning poems will be included in A Treasury of New Zealand Poetry for Children.

The five winning poets will also receive a copy of the book.

Conditions of Entry
*Eligibility: Year 3 to Year 8 students enrolled in NZ schools
*Closing Date: April 30th 2013
*Send to: Paula Green PO Box 95078 Swanson Waitakere 0653
*Please include: Name of student and school, school year, age, contact name and email address of teacher on entry form
*Poems can be on any subject, in any form but no more than 20 lines.
*The poem must be original and the work of the student.
*Copyright remains with the individual writers. Random House reserves the right to publish the prize-winning entries without further payment.
*Schools will be notified of the results by June 30th 2013.
*Entries must be accompanied by an entry form (please print form below).
* Further queries: paulajoygreen@gmail.com

ENTRY FORM
Please print clearly.

SCHOOL
Name of School:
Telephone:
Email:
Contact teacher name and email:
Please confirm that this is the original work of the student:

STUDENT
First Name:
Last Name:
Gender:
School Year: 3 4 5 6 7 8 (please circle)
Age:
Title of Poem:
Name and Phone Number/Email address of a Parent/Guardian:

Welcome

WELCOME to the very first blog of the New Zealand Poetry Box for children.

The blog will be a meeting place for children, teachers, parents, writers and readers who love reading and writing poetry for children.

For the next two years I will dedicate myself to poetry for children. I will be busy editing an anthology of poems for children, writing poems, visiting schools, organising events, sharing information.

I will post poems by children each week.

I will stage a competition once a month.

I will post poetry tips and poetry challenges each week.

I am happy to post children’s letters about poetry.

I am happy to be interviewed by children.

I will talk about children’s poetry books I love (old and new).

I will post some of my own poems for children.

I will post details of New Zealand poetry events for children.

I will interview authors who write poetry for children.

ps A big THANK YOU to Sarah Laing for designing the gorgeous header and to Random House.