Poetry Blog

Programs and Workshops

I enjoy providing programs for schools, libraries, and community organizations.

School-wide author visits include multiple sessions that draw from my writing experience in keeping North Carolina stories in a variety of ways. Also, I can work with a class or a grade level as well as an entire school. (More under Workshops.)

Smaller-group sessions have many possibilities:

  • A poetry workshop with a class or grade
  • A look at NC stories with 4th grade
  • A session on NC mountain folklore (drawing from Jack Tales and Orville Hicks
  • A session on writing stories (and/or poems) from photographs (The Picture Man and Addie Clawson:  Appalachian Mail Carrier a starters)
  • A 4th-grade talk on drawing from NC resources, with examples from Mama’s Wreaths and Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves.
  • A look at strong women.  March is Women’s History Month;  Addie Clawson features a noteworthy NC woman– a role model of courage and determination in the face of odds.
  • A discussion on stories that look at anchoring self esteem (Addie Clawson, Mama’s Wreaths, Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves)

Teachers can include literature, language, writing, social studies, and even  math and science in lessons with my books.  (Study Guides under Downloads.)

Contact me to discuss programs.

Read more about the article Introducing Bonnie

Introducing Bonnie

When I visit schools, I often talk about Bonnie, my Golden Retriever mix who inspires poetry.  We have fun together.  As my son points out, Bonnie and I are a lot alike.  We both like to explore in the woods, we both like to dig in the garden, and we both love blueberries.  Sometimes we both get into mud, even if we didn’t intend to.  Oops!

Bonnie’s enthusiasm, her wagging tail, her mischievous nature, and her interesting diet (?) have all inspired poems.  Here is a small sample.  As you read them, think about what you would say about your own pet.

PUZZLE MAKER

My yellow pup
ate up
the Encyclopedia Britannica

from “Silicate Minerals”
to “Singapore,”

leaving behind
a paper puzzle
of 24 pages.

CATCH

Oh, my!
Oh me!
My pup just ate
a bumblebee.

WAGS

A swift swipe
of a happy tail
wipes the coffee table clean
of dust
and collected treasures.

WRITING POEMS
WITH MY DOG

Bonnie and I
sit together
writing poems.

I hold the pen
as she rests her head
on my lap.