#Shel Silverstein legacy

[jadeannbyrne]

Shel Silverstein: A Tribute to the Poet Who Coaxed Jade Ann Byrne Beyond the Sidewalk

Shel Silverstein: A Tribute to the Poet Who Coaxed Jade Ann Byrne Beyond the Sidewalk Shel Silverstein was a poet, cartoonist, musician, and author who left an indelible mark on the world of children’s literature and beyond. Born in 1930 in Chicago, Silverstein’s work was characterized by its unique blend of humor, whimsy, and a deep understanding of the human experience. He was a master of both…

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

At the age of twelve, Jonas, a young boy from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver, who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Here are talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War.

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter.

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mary Lennox, a spoiled, ill-tempered, and unhealthy child, comes to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. There she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin, and her wilful, hysterical, and sickly cousin, Master Colin, whose wails she hears echoing through the house at night.

With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health to Colin and happiness to Mary.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

On SEPTEMBER 24th, I'll be speaking IN PERSON at the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY!

#20yrsago AnarchistU, Toronto’s wiki-based free school https://web.archive.org/web/20040911010603/http://anarchistu.org/bin/view/Anarchistu

#20yrsago Fair use is a right AND a defense https://memex.craphound.com/2004/09/09/fair-use-is-a-right-and-a-defense/

#20yrsago Bounty for asking “How many times have you been arrested, Mr. President?” https://web.archive.org/web/20040918115027/https://onesimplequestion.blogspot.com/

#20yrsago What yesterday’s terrible music https://www.loweringthebar.net/2009/09/open-mike-likely-to-close-out-legislators-career.htmlsampling ruling means https://web.archive.org/web/20040910095029/http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/002153.shtml

#15yrsago Conservative California legislator gives pornographic account of his multiple affairs (including a lobbyist) into open mic https://www.loweringthebar.net/2009/09/open-mike-likely-to-close-out-legislators-career.html

#15yrsago Shel Silverstein’s UNCLE SHELBY, not exactly a kids’ book https://memex.craphound.com/2009/09/09/shel-silversteins-uncle-shelby-not-exactly-a-kids-book/

#10yrsago Seemingly intoxicated Rob Ford gives subway press-conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbcETJRoNCs

#10yrsago Amazon vs Hachette is nothing: just WAIT for the audiobook wars! https://locusmag.com/2014/09/cory-doctorow-audible-comixology-amazon-and-doctorows-first-law/

#10yrsago Dietary supplement company sues website for providing a forum for dissatisfied customers https://www.techdirt.com/2014/09/08/dietary-supplement-company-tries-suing-pissedconsumer-citing-buyers-agreement-to-never-say-anything-negative-about-roca/

#10yrsago New wind-tunnel tests find surprising gains in cycling efficiency from leg-shaving https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/the-curious-case-of-the-cyclists-unshaved-legs/article20370814/

#10yrsago Behind the scenes look at Canada’s Harper government gagging scientists https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/federal-scientist-media-request-generates-email-frenzy-but-no-interview-1.2759300

#10yrsago Starred review in Kirkus for INFORMATION DOESN’T WANT TO BE FREE https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cory-doctorow/information-doesnt-want-to-be-free/

#10yrsago Steven Gould’s “Exo,” a Jumper novel by way of Heinlein’s “Have Spacesuit, Will Travel” https://memex.craphound.com/2014/09/09/steven-goulds-exo-a-jumper-novel-by-way-of-heinleins-have-spacesuit-will-travel/

#5yrsago Important legal victory in web-scraping case https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/09/web-scraping-doesnt-violate-anti-hacking-law-appeals-court-rules/

#5yrsago Whistleblowers out Falwell’s Liberty University as a grifty, multibillion-dollar personality cult https://web.archive.org/web/20190910000528/https://www.politico.com/magazine/amp/story/2019/09/09/jerry-falwell-liberty-university-loans-227914

#5yrsago Pinduoduo: China’s “Groupon on steroids” https://www.wired.com/story/china-ecommerce-giant-never-heard/

#5yrsago Notpetya: the incredible story of an escaped US cyberweapon, Russian state hackers, and Ukraine’s cyberwar https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/

#5yrsago NYT calls for an end to legacy college admissions https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/opinion/sunday/end-legacy-college-admissions.html

#5yrsago Purdue’s court filings understate its role in the opioid epidemic by 80% https://www.propublica.org/article/data-touted-by-oxycontin-maker-to-fight-lawsuits-doesnt-tell-the-whole-story

#1yrago Saturday linkdump, part the sixth https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/09/nein-nein/#everything-is-miscellaneous

The paperback edition of The Lost Cause, my nationally bestselling, hopeful solarpunk novel is out this month!

[ear-worthy]

Mandy Moore Leads All-Star Cast in Audible Original "The Boar’s Nest"

I don't usually promote podcasts that will not premier in the next week for two reasons. First, Spotify had this ugly habit a few years ago of announcing podcasts that never came out. Second, most readers won't remember this article (I probably won't, and I wrote it!) when the show actually is released.

 I'm making an exception here for two reasons.  First, I'm a big fan of Mandy Moore. I like her reinvention from bubble gum pop star to serious actor and stylistic singer. Moore is active in multiple philanthropic causes, and co-starred in This Is Us, one of my favorite shows. 

 The second reason is that I am an Audible subscriber. I figure that if I publish this article, the company may give me a free subscription for a year, or even life. 

Cutting to the chase, Audible and Fresh Produce Media have announced The Boar’s Nest: Sue Brewer and the Birth of Outlaw Country Music. The new scripted podcast, starring singer, songwriter, producer and Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Grammy and Emmy-nominated actress Mandy Moore, tells the story of Sue Brewer, an unsung hero of the Outlaw Country music movement whose home became the epicenter of the scene in the 1960s Nashville. 

Crucial to launching careers for the likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Shel Silverstein, and Kris Kristofferson, Brewer’s humble living room floor - lovingly referred to as “The Boar’s Nest” - served as a raucous but nurturing creative hotbed for artistic outsiders on the road to becoming legends. Brewer shaped the sound and soul of Country music as we know it today, despite never picking up an instrument herself.

 The Boar’s Nest: Sue Brewer and the Birth of Outlaw Country Music is set to premiere March 14, exclusively from Audible.

“The beauty of telling this story in audio is that listeners will find themselves completely immersed in the heart of the Nashville music scene at such an exciting time in its history,” says Mandy Moore. “Sue Brewer’s pioneering legacy is one that is often overlooked, despite her resounding impact on Outlaw country and some of its most celebrated artists. I’m honored to pay homage to her and the music revolution she helped ignite from her living room.”

Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) joins Moore as Shel Silverstein, and the cast is rounded out by W. Earl Brown (Deadwood) as Waylon Jennings, Stephen Louis Grush (Night Sky) as Willie Nelson, John Hoogenakker (Dopesick) as Kris Kristofferson, TJ Osborne (Brothers Osborne) as Johnny Cash, Brad Leland (Friday Night Lights) as Faron Young, Maury Morgan (This Is Us) as music executive Frances Preston, Quincy Dunn-Baker (The Righteous Gemstones) as Chet Atkins, and Liz Sharpe (Tenants) as Frances Beer.

Told through the eyes and ears of Sue, this Audible Original is a complex and authentic portrayal of the birth of Outlaw Country, spotlighting the personal and artistic struggles that were required to launch some of Country music’s most trailblazing artists. Each episode showcases one of Sue’s famous songwriting salons and features new recordings of Country classics, bringing listeners into the creative process as each artist strums, hums, and sings them into existence. 

The newly-performed renditions include Jennings’ “Nashville Bum;" Nelson's "Hello Walls," and "Family Bible;" Kristofferson's "For the Good Times" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down;" Shel Silverstein's "On Susan's Floor," inspired by Brewer; the Everly Brothers "Wake Up Little Susie," and the gospel standard "I'll Fly Away." Through the music, listeners get to know these rising stars as Sue knew them.

Mick Jagger and Victoria Pearman’s Jagged Films, Bill Gerber (A Star is Born), and Nashville-based Oso Studios collaborated with Fresh Produce Media and Audible on the podcast, and Kimberly Senior served as director. The Boar’s Nest was created and written by producer Dub Cornett (Tales of the Tour Bus), who shared writing duties with Nashville legend Holly Gleason and writer Rachel Bonds - Fresh Produce Media’s Elena Bawiec was Head of Production, and FPM CEO Jason Ross and CCO Colin Moore Executive Produced.

“I am delighted The Boar’s Nest is completed and will be launched on Audible with Mandy Moore playing Sue Brewer. Set amongst now-legendary country artists in Nashville, Sue created a haven for the emerging talent of that time,” said Mick Jagger. “My dear friend Steve Bing brought the idea to us, and sadly left us before completion.”

The series is produced by Fresh Produce and joins other successful titles from Audible’s collaboration with the audio-first company, including the noir drama The Big Lie starring Jon Hamm and Kate Mara.

(Photo by Jim Wright)

[parkerbombshell]

A Breath of Fresh Air Jan 2

A Breath of Fresh Air With Sandy Kaye bombshellradio.com Tuesdays 1pm EST and Fridays 8pm EST   Our guest this week is Dennis Locorriere, renowned vocalist and frontman who gained fame as the driving force behind the iconic band Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show. Dr. Hook, formed in 1968, quickly soared to prominence with their eclectic mix of rock, country, and pop. Collaborating with songwriter Shel Silverstein, the band produced timeless hits like "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of 'Rolling Stone,'" captivating audiences globally with their infectious melodies and vibrant stage presence. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Dr. Hook dominated the music charts with chart-topping singles including "Only Sixteen," "Sharing the Night Together," and "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman." Dennis Locorriere's mesmerizing vocals and the band's distinct sound solidified their status as music legends. Despite lineup changes and industry shifts, Locorriere remained a driving force in Dr. Hook, ensuring their enduring legacy. Post the band's dissolution in the mid-1980s, Locorriere embarked on a successful solo career, enchanting audiences worldwide with renditions of Dr. Hook's classics while showcasing his songwriting prowess. Dennis' contributions to Dr. Hook's success and the band's lasting impact on music culture continue to resonate. Their timeless compositions evoke nostalgia, maintaining a profound influence on multiple generations of music enthusiasts. Today Dennis Locorriere boasts several solo albums. He shares the story behind these and his time with Ray Sawyer as Dr. Hook thanks to a listener request. Sandy Kaye sandy@abreathoffreshair.com.au Read the full article

[hillerskaroyals]

10 and 27 for the ask!!!

~heartbreakprincewille 💛

hiya!! 💜 ngl these questions were super good but also lowkey hard lmao

10. If you could sit one person down and ask them an unlimited amount of questions, talk-show-style, who would it be? What would you ask?

ngl i spent forever and a half thinking about this one and i think Chadwick Boseman. he gave us such an incredible performance as T'challa while struggling with his own health. i'd want to ask him more about himself and how he feels knowing his roles touched so many people. maybe ask him if his legacy is what he wanted too? bc his passing was so sudden but he's left a huge impact on the world

27. What is your favorite poem?

im not a huge poetry girl so i'd probably pick something from where the sidewalk ends by shel silverstein? just bc it makes me nostalgic and reminds me of my childhood!

[catadromously]

I am absolutely fascinated by your tags for posts; they make me want to go back to doing fun tags. Were your tags inspired by anything, or are they just phrases you like? (Also, I absolutely adore your science comics, they are so, so lovely, especially the salmon one)

yes. yesssssss - my time has come.

most of them i got out of writing and music i like a whole bunch. here:

i’m just gonna go through the Official List as it appears in my about

while it passes your purpose remains (architecture and interiors) - from Monument Valley II, a video game about responsibility, creativity, legacy, and buildings

making music of decline (autumn) - from November for Beginners by Rita Dove

delicate cages (bodies and hands) from Taking the Hands by Robert Bly

end organs (cool flesh forms) - end organs are the structures on nerve endings that allow us to sense touch

here’s anyhow one decent thing (dog tag) - from Man and Dog by Siegfried Sassoon

long as amber of ember glows (fire) -  from the song Would That I by Hozier

it was filled with water sounds & pebbles (freshwater) - from luam/asa-luam by Aracelis Girmay

city of apples (fruit) - from I Watch Her Eat the Apple by Natalia Diaz

each one a word spoken (linguistics) - from the short story The Author of the Acacia Seeds by Ursula K. Le Guin

wakened into song (music) - from the Silmarillion (where the world is made out of music)

return home (ocean tag) - just me

on the seashore of worlds (spaaaaaaace!) - from On the Seashore by Rabindranath Tagore (which is not about space, but that phrase makes me feel things about space)

familiar; unbidden (forests) - from Song for the Rainy Season by Elizabeth Bishop

everything's growing in our garden (abundance) - from the song Garden Song by Phoebe Bridgers

tales of sol iii (people’s stories) - just me (sol iii = Earth :D )

canines for a reason (consumption & carnivores) - from that one comic by grendelmenz

dreams of drowning (consumption but it's water this time) - just me

but instead of sounds we use things (creation) - from the episode Beta in Steven Universe, where an alien accidentally invents art and describes it to a human thusly: 

“Oh no, this was all very intentional. You see, I have this idea: What if we made music, but instead of sounds, we use things?”

still spinning (cycles & spirals) - from the song Untitled God Song by Haley Heynderickx

inherit the earth (fungi, decay) - from Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath

the carpet on my cheek feels like a forest (domestic & mundane) - from the song Sloom by Of Monsters and Men

all my friends are funeral singers (death & funerary culture) - from the song Funeral Singers, by Califone but more famously covered by Sylvan Esso

every place i’ve ever lived is full of ghosts (haunted/connected across time things) - from the song Offering by Loone

love as a fresnel lens (nostos) - from the song Pando by Squalloscope

house theory (houses being bodies being houses) - just me

come into the water (swimming!! yay!!!) - from the eponymous song by Mitski

teapots can't talk (mechanical sympathy) - from What Did by Shel Silverstein

veil of great surprises (awe & wonder) from the song The Only Thing by Sufjan Stevens

running down the hills to you (love) - from the song Home With You by FKA Twigs

then praise the way they change (metamorphosis) - from the song This Too Shall Pass by Danny Schmidt

monstrous existence (monsters) - from the video game Night in the Woods (said by what is potentially god maybe)

do re microcosmos (people in their ordinary lives, archival photo) - just me. based on a poster i misread in middle school i think?

telepathic desert (long distance signalling) - from the eponymous song by Diane Cluck

texō (narrative) - etymology. root of text and textile!

five branches make the hand (trees being people being trees) - just me

oh maker tell me did you know (transhumanism, voidpunk) - from the song Oh Maker by Janelle Monae (which is about robots but i think it fits)

honeyed hearts (warmth) - from Daisy Time by Marjorie Pickthall

and there you have it! but be warned: this system shifts, expands, and mutates like the dreadful tentacular entity it is.

[lowellchanning]

Q U O T E

Courage is not the absence of fear but the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

B A S I C S

NAME lowell thibodeaux channing NAME MEANING since lowell’s father passed before he was born, lowell’s mom, birdie, wanted to honor her late husband in naming their son. channing means young wolf, so she chose lowell, meaning little wolf, as a way to carry on her husband’s legacy. thibodeaux, meaning bold or brave, is birdie’s maiden name. NICKNAMES in college when he grew a beard each basketball season he garnered the name sasquatch, sometimes shortened to squatch. some of his coworkers call him that around the station. GENDER cis male PROUNOUNS he/him AGE thirty-two BIRTHDAY august 13 BIRTH PLACE new orleans, lousiana

F A M I L Y

PARENTS guy channing (father; deceased), birdie (mother; surname tbd); charles (step-dad; surname tbd) SIBLINGS step-sister (name tbd; wanted connection here!) PETS gus, a rhodesian ridgeback

A P P E A R A N C E 

FACE CLAIM derek theler BUILD 6′5, athletic. lowell’s muscles have always tended to be defined without him having to put too much effort into it, though that doesn’t mean he doesn’t put in the hours needed both for his health and his profession. lowell balances his love of junk food and midnight snacks with lean proteins and plenty of greens. HAIR light brown. the longer it gets, the more curl and texture it has, and lowell takes the time to style it properly. when he grows a beard his whiskers tend to be more on the ginger rather than brunette side of things. EYES blue DISTINGUISHING MARKS surgical scar on his left elbow from fixing a break sustained during a basketball game when he was 12. TATTOOS wolf paw print between his shoulder blades STYLE modern, casual comfort. shorts, tanks, jeans, t-shirts, and flannels. ACCESSORIES his father’s watch. lowell doesn’t wear it on his wrist, but it’s usually in one of his pockets, or kept safe and tucked away in his nightstand. HYGIENE lowell sometimes showers multiple times a day, and has for years depending on sport practices, games, and workouts, and then on work calls SCENT le labo santal 33; sandalwood and leather

P S Y C H O L O G Y

LANGUAGES english and some creole phrases/expressions VOCABULARY average-ish. he can figure out ‘big’ words with good context, and got used to looking things up from a young age. MEMORY keeping a calendar and to-do lists on his phone is needed more so for organizational and focus TEMPERAMENT sanguine  LEARNING STYLE mainly kinaesthetic, but there are some auditory elements that work for lowell. EMOTIONAL STABLITY pretty high, though that’s because lowell’s worked hard (after some rough teenage years) to have a steady foundation, which his job definitely depends on. sometimes he still bottles things up and will release it all during a workout, but over the years he’s learned when to confront something head-on rather than allowing it to fester. 

C H A R A C T E R

PRIORITIES carrying for others and most importantly his family, both familial and found MOTIVATION making his family proud SELF CONFIDENCE lowell’s always had confidence in his physical abilities. it’s his intelligence where his confidence will at times waiver, but he feels like he’s found a profession that allows him to shine. SELF CONTROL lowell had to learn some level of discipline pretty early on when it came to managing sports and academics. those lessons his mom helped instill have carried through to adulthood and lowell’s career choices. HOBBIES playing music, basketball, outdoor adventures, camping, gardening MANNERISMS usually a bouncing leg/knee when sitting still, especially for too long. running his hands through his hair when talking. touching his neck when nervous. scratching his forehead or cheek when stumped and trying to come up with an answer so he won’t feel dumb. also saying his sirs or ma’ams or missus as his mother taught and expected of him. HABITS after failed medication attempts, lowell found that yoga helps center and focus his mind, plus has improved his overall flexibility, which helps on the job, so he does at least a short routine every morning. on saturdays or sundays, depending on his shifts, he’ll make a big breakfast spread, have hot chocolate (sometimes with coffee), and do a crossword puzzle, because having to look up clues on his phone isn’t cheating, it’s just learning. ABILITIES strength and endurance. musicality. empathy.  INEPTITUDES lowell isn’t the brightest crayon in the toolshed, and had to put forth a lot more effort than most when it came to learning and course work in school. he also can’t dance. whatever grace and agility he has when it comes to athletics, and the fact that he can drum and keep a beat, goes completely away the moment he steps on a dance floor.  SOFT SPOTS animals, tiny humans, and other people who have suffered loss GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT graduating college, then the firefighter academy, and passing his EMSVO, EMT, and AEMT certifications WESTERN ZODIAC leo CHINESE ZODIAC dragon PRIMAL SIGN orca HOGWARTS hufflepuff ONE SONG "in the air tonight" phil collins ONE BOOK the giving tree shel silverstein ONE MOVIE mrs. doubtfire

P R E F E R E N C E S

LIKES the tired feeling in his muscles and bones after a productive and intense workout or physical call. tacos. pizza. nachos. whoopie pies. his mom’s etouffee and po-boys. root beer floats. spending the day out in nature. gaming. sports. DISLIKES moxie. salt and vinegar chips. ranch dressing. still not a huge fan of maine winters but dealing with it. KINKS consensual voyeurism. PET PEEVES people who are rude to service workers. the trend of crank 9-1-1 calls on tiktok.

H O M E  +  W O R K  +  E D U C A T I O N

HOMETOWN new orleans, lousiana (until 14); somerton, maine CURRENT RESIDENCE bridgeport, row house TRADITIONS sunday family dinners HIGH SCHOOL bursted park high (basketball and jazz band) COLLEGE somerton university (basketball) DEGREES b.s. with a concentration on social work/sciences CERTIFICATIONS FFI, FFII, hazardous material operations, public safety diver, EMSVO, EMT, AEMT PROFESSION firefighter/emt (10+ years) EMPLOYER somerton fire and rescue EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES pick-up basketball, cover band drummer

B I O

New Orleans was all Lowell had ever known. Aside from only a few out of state vacations, the city had always been home. And honestly, growing up in Nola meant Lowell got the best of the both worlds: big city living with a small town feel thanks to the neighborhoods and wards of Nola. Families on their street were friendly and nosy, and honestly Lowell’s mom, Birdie, didn’t mind at all because one, she had nothing to hide, and two, was more than happy that when other people learned of her situation -- a widowed and working single mom -- they were more than willing to help out. Which was how instead of becoming a latchkey kid, between after school hours and school vacation, Lowell became a surrogate member of more than a few neighboring families. And while Birdie wished she had been able to make it home from the hospital for more dinners, she was always home in time to sit down at the kitchen table and help Lowell struggle through his assigned school work.

The story was always the same each new school year, with every parent-teacher conference and IEP meeting. Lowell was always a pleasure to have in class, but he was either struggling with math or reading comprehension or his overall attention was lacking. But while Lowell and the general classroom weren’t on the best of terms, he excelled in other areas. Given his size and the fact that he towered over most of his classmates, it wasn’t shocking when the gym teacher had glowing remarks and commented that Lowell’s abilities were well beyond his years, but Birdie was surprised to learn from the music teacher that her son was both attentive and eager to learn in her class, too. After informing Lowell that participation in extracurriculars was dependent upon remaining in good academic standing, sports and music became an award system of sorts. It also didn’t hurt that burning through energy on the field or court, or banging it out with his drums meant that Lowell was less inclined to take out his frustrations of not understanding a word problem or summary question on a kitchen chair or wall.

The summer before eighth grade Lowell started to notice that his mom was coming home early from shifts now and again, getting gussied up, and leaving him with instructions for cooking frozen pizza or bagel bites while she went out. She was always home in time to look over homework and make sure Lowell was in bed on time, so Lowell never wondered too hard about it. Until the day she came home and said they’d be having a guest for dinner. Lowell met whom would become his step-dad that night. Two weeks later he met whom would become his step-sister. And before the start of the new school year, but after a small ceremony in the backyard, the new family had packed up all their belongings to move nearly 2000 miles up north. Chuck, an anesthesiologist,  had a new job at Kane-Russell Memorial in Somerton, and there was no doubt that he could pull strings and get Birdie on the RN rotation there, too.

While having a new family should have been the biggest change in Lowell’s life, everything about Maine was so different from Louisiana. Somedays it felt like Lowell was waking up in a whole new country, especially with his accent and missing his favorite local foods. But eventually school started and Lowell fell back into familiar routines of sports, music, and school work, and soon enough it wasn’t so scary putting roots down in a new place with a new family.

By the time Lowell graduated high school he had a scholarship for Somerton U. Even though he could have lived at home, he lived on-campus to have the full college experience, which also included playing as 4-year starter Seahorse on the basketball team. Lowell might have graduated with a social sciences degree, but after their team bus came upon an accident one winter night and Lowell witnessed firsthand everything the emergency response squads were doing to not only save people, but just to calm their nerves, he sort of felt like maybe he had a found something that could be a good fit for him. Lowell was already working towards his EMT certification when he graduated, and after moving back home began to apply to the Somerton firehouse. Lowell’s been part of the Somerton Fire, Rescue, and EMT Services family for ten years now and loves that every day is a bit of a new adventure. When he’s not working, Lowell’s playing drums in a cover band that sometimes performs at On the Rocks or hanging out with dog, Gus.

[soulvomit]

I really struggle with all discourse about children’s works, but ESPECIALLY The Giving Tree. It’s like having an opinion about a culture you weren’t raised in and ALL you can ever have is an outsider view.

One of the reasons I’m struggling with Giving Tree Discourse has to do with the way I was raised with regard to children’s works. In my own house - the assumption would have been that any books that are ambiguous, that bring up lots of different feelings for lots of different people, would be discussed, and the feelings that they brought up, would be discussed. And this was just assumed to be... all books? I was taught early that EVERYTHING is Your Mileage May Vary? My parents were actually aggressive deprogrammers when it came to messages that I took away from media. Mainstream media often made me feel shitty, ESPECIALLY because of legacy 50s programming on network tv, and because of 80s programming about Perfect Happy Families. My parents were *always* pointing out that stuff I read about or watched, wasn’t real life... from day one. Also, partially due to atheist upbringing, there are very few instances in which I experienced any one book being forced on me as any kind of required foundational pedagogy. There is NO book that I was required to read. (Part of this is that I loved to read so much that I just read a lot of stuff on my own. I did not really get into fiction until my vocabulary and reading abilities caught up to classic fiction and adult works, and my adult figures’ whole focus of teaching me how to read was about getting me up to speed to at least read Steinbeck. Children’s literature *only existed for purposes of teaching reading and grammar* and wasn’t an end to itself, and was supposed to be a temporary, transitory phase until my reading skills got better.)  For whatever reason - The Giving Tree is a book that neither upset me, nor particularly appealed to me. It’s not my favorite Silverstein work by a long shot. The one that always spoke to me? Powerfully? The Missing Piece. (I don’t have much experience with Silverstein being rammed down my throat or spoonfed to me, in any case. NO BOOK WAS.)

Like a lot of children’s books, I was neutral on The Giving Tree. There are a whole lot of semi-contemporary kids’ works (as in, written in the 1960s-70s) that just totally missed me. 

And I didn’t really come to appreciate Shel Silverstein’s broader oeuvre until adulthood.  The only thing I was ever given anything resembling “classical pedagogy” on, was math, because it’s the one thing I wouldn’t study on my own. I was basically encouraged to just study whatever I wanted and if I had a particular interest, my parents got me books on it (that were often above my grade level) and encouraged me to read them and ask questions, and they taught me early on to look up words I didn’t know. Almost all of the books that I liked reading were for older kids (and later, adults). I was actually exposed to classic fantasy work and Grimm’s Fairy Tales before any of the Bowdlerized versions. Because of my limited contact with other children, I just didn’t even know that other kids weren’t being raised in the same world that I was raised in, or reading any of the same material. I only knew that I was different from other kids in ways that made their parents uncomfortable. 

My parents were very, very specifically opposed to certain things that are in standard public school pedagogy, and felt that those things destroy children’s minds. Somehow my household managed to not rear me on 20th century children’s material almost at all and barely even any postwar or later 20th century adult fiction (before my dad got me into sci fi). Somehow fairy tales seemed to just... miss me. They weren’t interesting especially because I KNEW they were Bowdlerized, and my parents didn’t push me to read stuff I wasn’t interested in. (But I liked Disney movies for the drama, the songs, and the fancy dresses.)  My parents' thing was to let me read whatever I wanted - they simply wouldn’t keep books in the house that they didn’t want me to read - and to make themselves available to any questions I had.

My schooling experience is weird, too. When I was in school (before middle school, because I WANTED to go to middle school), it wasn’t with a lot of consistency, so - whatever social noise was going on between teachers and students, *shrug.* Lots of it missed me. My parents provided a lot of buffer between what was going on at school, and my home life. Anything that got discussed in school, was being countered by my parents’ own programming. So... The thing with books like The Giving Tree is that I’m not used to them being *taught out of.* This is not how my parents used fiction books, and I wasn’t in very many environments consistently enough for the schools to do that, either. I’m not used to any particular book being forced on me as a training manual. That was my parents’ job and their job only and that was a rule in my house. They didn’t rely on media to teach me sharing, that was *their job* and it wasn’t via abstract “let’s have a lesson about sharing.” (Very few things were “lessons” or taught “school style” that weren’t specific academic topics. My parents were into reinforcement and modeling.) Sharing is something that was modeled at the dinner table, for example. Also my mom is a hardcore rationer, and my family was poor for the first half of my childhood, so my understanding of sharing was rooted in pragmatic sharing of resources, as opposed to kids sharing their toys. I was even raised *not to eat in public* because it was rude to eat in front of people if you weren’t sharing your food.  And I really feel that a lot of The Discourse around kids’ media comes from the broader culture and its institutions, relying upon mass media to model for kids what parents and schools are no longer able to model. This is the framework everyone is approaching this book from - not as a book on its own merits, but pro-con in terms of its use as an instrument of pedagogy and social modeling that is totally alien to how I was raised to approach any book. They wanted me to question everything I read. I was actually much more reinforced to read science and history material.  Another thing is that as an advanced reader, I didn’t enjoy reading children’s work, and came to despise children’s media BECAUSE of the overbearing modeling in it. It was transparent to me and put me right off, and... lots is aimed at middle class WASP kids’ life experiences, in ways that most people don’t realize. (Sometimes I feel like a lot of standard pedagogy, and standard American kids’ writing, is about SLOWING KIDS DOWN and rationing the amount of information they have access to.) And I’ll say that class is actually a big issue. I lived in a poor urban area and was an advanced reader, so the material dangers presented in a 19th century or early 20th century work were actually more relatable to my real world. I FUCKING HATED POSTWAR PERFECT HAPPY FAMILIES CRAP. My family was weird as fuck, and lots of my family was poor as fuck, and all of us were dysfunctional as fuck. This meant I found mainstream shit TOTALLY ALIENATING AND OTHERING and it only reinforced to me how abnormal my family was. (In fact, I didn’t come to discover how normal we really were for a long time... that most families are “dysfunctional” - and that what’s being measured as “normal” is 100% specific to the propagandized optic of middle class white Christian families.) Mainstream children’s work only made me feel bad about my family and about myself, and I started shunning practically anything that other kids were into, or even discussing. Mainstream kids’ works made me feel suicidal, whereas adult works made my imagination soar. (The irony is that Shel Silverstein is one of the few writers that I actually felt *got* me on some level. I think there is a way in which I picked up on the author’s own “otherness” and connected it to my own.)

This is a case where my background is so different from most people’s that even approaching this discourse, is like trying to discuss specific American problems from the inside, when you were raised outside and have no idea what half of the discussions even are. And when I discuss the kids’ books that people are talking about, it’s not even possible for me to come at it from the viewpoint other people do, because that’s not the way ANY book was ever presented to me... and furthermore, my parents felt that it’s parents’ job to teach their children and model social behavior to them, not schools’. 

I am just so outside of this discourse that I don’t even know how to approach it.  I also don’t know how I feel about the fact that many people are being traumatized by his work because they were forced to read it as Christian-reared children who took different messages away from it than I took, as a secular Jew reading a secular Jew’s work. That makes me have really strong feelings about removing his work, tbh. I don’t know how to feel about this at all. Is there a way that we have to write for children who are Christian-reared, because they will parse some things traumatically? Where does this leave Jewish writers, or outsider writers? Do only specific people get to write for children?  This. is. so. complicated.

[severalowls]

You know that whole thing from I think diary of a wimpy kid (and also a long tumblr post) where Shel Silverstein is a perfectly nice guy but his author photo is just kind of scary and weird. Well I have a bunch of ebooks open and whenever I tab out of something I have that EXACT experience but with 1930s archaeologist Herbert E. Winlock who, despite working for like 40 years has his entire legacy represented by this fucking photo everywhere:

This is a Wallace and Gromit face. Why did nobody take a better picture of this man.

[acureforsentience]

Gone with the wind/Margaret Mitchell

Les Miserables/Victor Hugo

The alchemist/Paulo Coelho

A wrinkle in time/Madeline L'engle

Man's search for meaning/Victor e frankl

The time traveller's wife/Audrey Niffenegger

East of Eden/John Steinbeck

The time machine/hg wells

Schindler's List/Thomas keneally

A brief history of time/Stephen Hawking

The green mile/Stephen King

V for Vendetta/alan Moore, David Lloyd

Cosmos/Carl Sagan

Cloud Atlas/David Mitchell

Gone girl/Gillian flynn

A time to kill/John grisham

Different seasons/Stephen King

Quantum:a guide for the perplexed/Jim Al khalili

Life on the edge/Jim Al khalili

30 second theories/Jim Al khalili

John Wayne cleaver series/dan wells

The great alone/Kristin hannah

The tattooist of Auschwitz/Heather Morris

Circe/Madeline miller

The hate u give/Angie thomas

The help/kathryn stockett

The nightingale/Kristin hannah

The Martian/Andy weir

A court of thorns and roses series/Sarah j maas

The brothers karamazov/Fyodor Dostoevsky

War and peace/Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina/Leo Tolstoy

The giving tree/shel Silverstein

The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy/Douglas Adams

Jane Eyre/Charlotte Bronte

Lord of the flies/William golding

Memoirs of a giesha/Arthur Golden

One flew over the cuckoo's nest/ken kesey

The handmaid's tale/Margaret Atwood

Lolita/Vladimir Nabokov

1984/george orwell

The little prince/antoine de saint-exupery

The giver series/lois lowry

Of mice and men/John Steinbeck

The picture of dorian gray/Oscar Wilde

Kafka on the shore/haruki murakami

Cilka's journey/Heather Morris

I'll be gone in the dark/Michelle McNamara

Educated/tara westover

Becoming/Michelle Obama

Legacy of orisha series/tomi adeyemi

The dark artifacts series/Cassandra clare

The Iliad/Homer

The Odyssey/Homer

Percy Jackson &Kane Chronicles crossover/Rick Riordan

The grapes of wrath/John Steinbeck

The girl on the train/Paula Hawkins

Rebecca by Daphne du maurier

[deafeninggladiatormoon]

The Giving Tree

Price: (as of – Details) As The Giving Tree turns fifty, this timeless classic is available for the first time ever in ebook format. This digital edition allows young readers and lifelong fans to continue the legacy and love of a household classic that will now reach an even wider audience. Never before have Shel Silverstein's children's books appeared in a format other than…

[wzbcpromo]

WZBC Rock top 30: 25 February 2020

1. Lisa Prank, Adult Teen // 2015 Father/Daughter Records

2. The Paranoyds, Carnage Bargain // 2019 Suicide Squeeze Records

3. Shel Silverstein, Drain My Brain // 1967 Cadet

4. Fake Tides, Fake Tides // 2018 Chuck Records

5. Summer Cannibals, Full of It // 2016 Kill Rock Stars

6. Goat Girl, Goat Girl // 2018 Rough Trade

7. Last Import, Last Import // 2019 Last Import

8. Kleenex, Lilliput // 1978 Kill Rock Stars

9. Konk, Live at CBGB Nov. 6, 1981 // 2009 Unleashed Music

10. Grimes, Miss Anthropocene // 2019 4AD

11. Porridge Radio, Rice, Pasta, and Other Fillers // 2016 Memorials of Distinction

12. Duval Timothy, Sen Am // 2017 Carrying Colour

13. IAN SWEET, Shapeshifter // 2016 Hardly Art

14. Sorry, Starstruck - Single // 2018 Domino Recording Co.

15. Bambara, Stray // 2019 Wharf Cat Records

16. Tops, Sugar At The Gate // 2017 PLANCHA

17. Sweet Petunia, Sweet Petunia - EP // 2019 1102988 Records

18. Prince of Eden, The Tree That Bears Fruit in the Freedom That Bears You // 2018 Prince of Eden

19. naran ratan, Trees Etc. // 2015 tasty morsels

20. Loudon Wainwright III, Unrequited // 1975 Columbia/Legacy

21. JJ Wilde, Wilde Eyes, Steady Hands- EP // 2020 Castle Face

22. Winkler, Winkler - Single // 2019 BMG Rights Management (US) LLC

23. The Gooms, With an M - EP // 2028 Squange Records

24. Pylon, 12″ // 1980 DB Recs

25. Talking Heads, 12″ Remixes // 1983 Sire

26. Throbbing Gristle, 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Remastered) // 2017 Mute

27. Caroline Says, 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong // 2017 Western Vinyl

28. Phangs, A Flash_ - Single // 2019 KIDinaKORNER (Caroline)

29. Intruder, A Higher Form of Killing // 1989 Metal Blade Records

30. Sinead O Brien, A List of Normal Sins - Single // 2018 1004896 Records DK2

<3 Max Wolfe, music director, WZBC

[ntrending]

The Philippines wants to make planting trees a graduation requirement

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/the-philippines-wants-to-make-planting-trees-a-graduation-requirement/

The Philippines wants to make planting trees a graduation requirement

You don’t need to be a Shel Silverstein superfan to know that trees offer many gifts. Our wooden neighbors sequester carbon, a climate-altering greenhouse gas. Even the smallest sapling filters the air, taking in particulate matter pollution and releasing life-giving oxygen. Trees even cool things down; together, shade and evapotranspiration (where water moves from Earth to the atmosphere via evaporation) can cool summer air up to 9 degrees.

That’s why legislators in the Philippines proposed a new graduation requirement: Before leaving elementary school, high school, and college, every student in the island nation must plant 10 trees.

The bill passed the House of Representatives on May 15, but has no counterpart in the Senate, making its future uncertain. That hasn’t stopped proponents from making headlines around the world for their ambitious perennial planting goals. If the “Graduation Legacy for the Environment Act” passed into law, the government would be responsible for everything from producing seedlings to monitoring the growth of the trees. Students would get involved at the midway point, by doing the actual planting.

To make sure every tree counts, the authors of this arboreal bill laid out a few rules. For one, it prioritizes planting indigenious tree species over imported varieties, a key step in preserving local biodiversity. For example, the rose-scented national tree of the Philippines, Pterocarpus indicus or narra, has gone extinct in some regions, making it a high priority for preservation in places where it still grows. The bill also dictates where students can plant their graduation trees; naturally, it prioritizes government-owned land, from rainforests to oceanside mangroves to city streets.

Rep. Gary Alejano, who co-authored the bill, said that every student planting 10 trees would result in 175 million new trees in the Philippines each year—or 525 billion “in the course of one generation.” That’s an ambitious goal, not least because not all of the trees planted will survive, especially those rooted in urban areas. An analysis of street trees in the United States revealed a mean lifespan of 19 to 28 years, which correlates with an annual mortality rate of 3.5 to 5.1 percent. For every 100 street trees planted, the data suggest only half would make it to their own high school graduations.

These bleak statistics aren’t a reason to stop planting trees. They’re a reason to plant more—and more systematically. In many American cities, urban canopies are declining despite the popularity of projects like the million tree initiative, a pledge made by municipal governments to raise local tree counts. More research is needed to understand exactly why certain trees thrive in some environments, while others quickly die. But it’s clear that planting isn’t enough. In places where humans and plants live side-by-side, nature needs to be actively managed. Seedlings may thrive in abandoned mines (one of the sites the Philippines whitelisted for student planting), but street trees need people to prune them, aerate their soil, and control the spread of invasive species.

The Philippines bill faces numerous obstacles, political and natural. But it’s a good reminder that anyone, anywhere can make a difference by planting a tree, or checking in on the health of the leafy giants already there.

Written By Eleanor Cummins

[statrano]

25 Websites for Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. For thirty days, we celebrate the value and joy that poetry brings to our world.  According to the Academy of American Poets, the goals are:

Highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets

Introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry

Bring poets and poetry to the public in immediate and innovative ways

Make poetry a more important part of the school curriculum

Increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media

Encourage increased publication, distribution, and sales of poetry books

Increase public and private philanthropic support for poets and poetry

All across the nation, school, teachers, students, libraries, and families celebrate by reading, writing, and sharing poetry. Here are websites that do all that and more. Share them with students on a class link page, Symbaloo, or another method you’ve chosen to share groups of websites with students:

Acrostic Poems

From ReadWriteThink–students learn about acrostic poetry and how to write it

Classical Poems for Kids

A collection of classical poems for children ranging from fun and lively to solemn and thought-provoking

Crocodile’s Toothache

Video of a Shel Silverstein poem

Famous Children’s Poems

Classical children’s poetry including Tyger, Teddy Bear, Paul Revere’s Ride, and more

Favorite Poem Project

Americans sharing poetry they love. This includes videos of poems being read, including Frost’s Stopping by a Wood on a Snowy Evening.

Fizzy Funny Fuzzy Poetry

An easy-to-maneuver website with fizzy funny fuzzy poetry by Gareth Lancaster

Glossary of Poetry Terms

Great collection of poetry terms that students can refer to. Includes domain-specific words like ‘blank verse’, ‘caesura’, ‘limerick’, and more

Kids Magnetic Poetry

Students drag-and-drop from a collection of words to a canvas, name their poem, then publish to Facebook or saved to student’s digital portfolio.

Magnetic Haiku poetry

A great way to write this ever-popular form of poetry. Can be printed from the site.

Musical poem—write poem, add music

Students write their poem and it is put to music available on the website. Can only be saved via screencast

Poetry Engine—writes poem for you

Step-by-step directions for writing a poem. Allows students to write haikus, free verse, limericks, and more. 

Poetry for Kids

A funny poetry playground funny poetry playground from Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt

Rhyming Dictionary

Enter the word and find rhymes–it’s that easy

Shel Silverstein’s poetry website

Poems, books, games, and more

TED: Why Poetry (video)

The Griffin Poetry Prize founder, Scott Griffin, talks about the importance of poetry

Word Mover

Create poetry using pieces of existing poems

Write Poetry and Decorate it

Select words, add a background, and share your poem

If you’re looking for iPad sites, try one of these:

Diamante Poems

Acrostic Poems (iPad, Android – Free)

Poems by Heart From Penguin Classics (iPad – Free with in-app purchases)

Shakespeare’s Sonnets (iPad – fee)

POETRY From The Poetry Foundation (iPad, Android – Free)

Haiku Poem (iPad, Android – Free)

Theme Poems (Free – iPad, Android)

Word Mover app for iPad

What are your favorite poetry websites?

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 25 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice reviewer, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days.

25 Websites for Poetry Month published first on https://seminarsacademy.tumblr.com/

[evnoweb]

25 Websites for Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. For thirty days, we celebrate the value and joy that poetry brings to our world.  According to the Academy of American Poets, the goals are:

Highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets

Introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry

Bring poets and poetry to the public in immediate and innovative ways

Make poetry a more important part of the school curriculum

Increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media

Encourage increased publication, distribution, and sales of poetry books

Increase public and private philanthropic support for poets and poetry

All across the nation, school, teachers, students, libraries, and families celebrate by reading, writing, and sharing poetry. Here are websites that do all that and more. Share them with students on a class link page, Symbaloo, or another method you’ve chosen to share groups of websites with students:

Acrostic Poems

From ReadWriteThink–students learn about acrostic poetry and how to write it

Classical Poems for Kids

A collection of classical poems for children ranging from fun and lively to solemn and thought-provoking

Crocodile’s Toothache

Video of a Shel Silverstein poem

Famous Children’s Poems

Classical children’s poetry including Tyger, Teddy Bear, Paul Revere’s Ride, and more

Favorite Poem Project

Americans sharing poetry they love. This includes videos of poems being read, including Frost’s Stopping by a Wood on a Snowy Evening.

Fizzy Funny Fuzzy Poetry

An easy-to-maneuver website with fizzy funny fuzzy poetry by Gareth Lancaster

Glossary of Poetry Terms

Great collection of poetry terms that students can refer to. Includes domain-specific words like ‘blank verse’, ‘caesura’, ‘limerick’, and more

Kids Magnetic Poetry

Students drag-and-drop from a collection of words to a canvas, name their poem, then publish to Facebook or saved to student’s digital portfolio.

Magnetic Haiku poetry

A great way to write this ever-popular form of poetry. Can be printed from the site.

Musical poem—write poem, add music

Students write their poem and it is put to music available on the website. Can only be saved via screencast

Poetry Engine—writes poem for you

Step-by-step directions for writing a poem. Allows students to write haikus, free verse, limericks, and more. 

Poetry for Kids

A funny poetry playground funny poetry playground from Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt

Rhyming Dictionary

Enter the word and find rhymes–it’s that easy

Shel Silverstein’s poetry website

Poems, books, games, and more

TED: Why Poetry (video)

The Griffin Poetry Prize founder, Scott Griffin, talks about the importance of poetry

Word Mover

Create poetry using pieces of existing poems

Write Poetry and Decorate it

Select words, add a background, and share your poem

If you’re looking for iPad sites, try one of these:

Diamante Poems

Acrostic Poems (iPad, Android – Free)

Poems by Heart From Penguin Classics (iPad – Free with in-app purchases)

Shakespeare’s Sonnets (iPad – fee)

POETRY From The Poetry Foundation (iPad, Android – Free)

Haiku Poem (iPad, Android – Free)

Theme Poems (Free – iPad, Android)

Word Mover app for iPad

What are your favorite poetry websites?

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 25 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice reviewer, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days.

25 Websites for Poetry Month published first on https://medium.com/@DigitalDLCourse