Monday, March 28, 2011

Shout It! Shout It! Poetry Monday

Welcome to Brod Bagert Week! Tomorrow is Author's Day at Lafayette School. This week, we'll learn a bit about our guest author, sample his poems, and feature student video performances of his poetry.  
Brod Bagert lives in New Orleans; he is married and has four children.  He first tried his hand at poetry in third grade and enjoyed writing during high school and college. After graduation, a busy career as a lawyer and public official allowed little time for poetry-- until one of his children asked him to write a poem for a school program.  Brod Bagert picked up his pen, wrote a poem, and realized that he was doing what he loved.  He became a full-time poet in 1992, traveling across the United States and around the world, writing many award-winning books for children, young adults, and grown-ups.  Brod Bagert creates his poetry--sometimes loud and funny, sometimes quiet and thoughtful-- to share with an audience. Today's poem of the day celebrates the power of performance poetry:

Shout

Shout it!  Shout it!  POETRY!
Fun for you and fun for me.

Clap your hands!  Stomp your feet!
Feel the rhythm!  Feel the beat!

Chunky words all chopped in chips!
Silky sounds upon your lips.

Tell a story-- happy, sad:
Silly, sorry; good or bad.

Leap a leap, hop a hop,
See the ocean in one drop.

Shout it!  Shout it!  POETRY!
Fun for you and fun for me.

-- Brod Bagert

By the way, today we also celebrate Something on a Stick Day with a Popsicle haiku:


Popsicle melting.
Red stains on sticky fingers
Wash off in the pool.

-- from A Child's Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll

Let's celebrate Shout It!  Shout It!  Poetry Monday by nibbling Something on a Stick: hot dog, corn dog, strawberry, shrimp, chicken chunk, cocktail wiener, cheddar cheese?  Yes, please!  Mashed potatoes on a stick?  No, thank you.

No comments:

Post a Comment