One Clover & A Bee: A Writing Challenge for Families
May
22
2013
Big Ideas (in the Ordinary) I’ve noticed that often when we try to write, we get stuck because we think we need to write about “big” subjects. So we sit and chew on our pencil and stare into space and decide our lives just aren’t exciting enough for Art with a capital A. It’s really [continue reading]
One Clover & A Bee: A Poem for Spring
Apr
24
2013
Springtime In Your Eye I know, you thought it would never get here. Even though for many weeks the thermometer refused to creep up, and many of us (me!) were walking around hunched into jackets we had come to hate, Spring calmly went about its business: the vernal witch-hazel unfurled its yellow tatters in the [continue reading]
One Clover & A Bee: Making a Fist
Feb
27
2013
Behind All Our Questions: Yet Another Reason Poems Are Good For Us I don’t know about you, but I don’t always know what I’m feeling. Or I have a general idea, but I’m not sure I understand it, or know what to do about it, or if there is anything to do about it. I [continue reading]
George Washington Carver: A Life in Poems
Feb
26
2013
In honor of Black History Month I want to share an extraordinary book about an extraordinary human being: Carver, a life in poems (Front Street, 2001) is an intimate portrait of the botanist, inventor, scientist, artist, musician, and teacher, known as George Washington Carver. Written by acclaimed poet, Marilyn Nelson, the book takes us through [continue reading]
Poetry by A.A. Milne for Sick Kids & Their Grown-ups!
Jan
23
2013
Phtheezles May Even Ensue This month I offer up a poem by A.A. Milne, of Pooh fame, that’s about being sick (or pretending to be), which a lot us can probably relate to right now. It’s also terrifically fun to say out loud. I don’t know about your kids, but mine are especially prone to [continue reading]
One Clover & A Bee: A Poem for Parents
Dec
26
2012
Other Bells We Would Ring: A Poem for Parents As I write this the rain is bucketing down out of a sky so gray it feels as if even the weather is conspiring to press home the weight of darkness that this month has ushered in. So much grief is around us, and the idea [continue reading]
One Clover & A Bee: The Right Bed in a Universe of Beds
Nov
28
2012
I’m Grateful for…The Bed Book If you’re familiar with Sylvia Plath’s work you might be surprised to see a poem of hers here. But in addition to her darkly brilliant work she also wrote a book for her children, The Bed Book, that’s bright and whimsical. This book, which also has wonderful illustrations, is out [continue reading]
One Clover & A Bee: Poetry for Halloween
Oct
24
2012
Tricks & Treats: Two Not-So-Spooky Poems Halloween is a time when we like to be scared…a little, and some of us more than others. In the light of day when we’re putting on our costumes and makeup, it’s easy to see that you are you and I am me. But when the sun goes down, [continue reading]
Course on Midwest Culture: Big Ten
Sep
29
2012
Ohio State preseason open practice, 2012; Ohio StateBuckeyes.com By Kenyon Gradert, Course on Midwest Culture series Editor I was at a party filled with English PhD students and I was asking a Cajun girl about New Orleans. When she showed amusement at my curiosity, [continue reading]
One Clover & A Bee: Poetry that Engages the Senses
Sep
26
2012
The Sound of One Leaf Falling Some poems are clearly meant to be read aloud: sound is the engine that moves them off the page and into our consciousness. Other poems rely more on image, making pictures that resonate in our mind’s eye. Some poems try to do both, using structural elements like line breaks, [continue reading]