This week’s “Poetry from Daily Life” guest is Janet Wong of Gig Harbor, Washington. Janet is a graduate of Yale Law School and a former lawyer who changed careers to become a children’s author. She was the 2021 recipient of the NCTE Children’s Poetry Excellence Award, one of the highest honors a children’s poet can receive. Fun fact: Janet (a pickleball enthusiast) made time to play pickleball in eight states during a recent month-long trip speaking at schools across the country. ~David L. Harrison
Roses are red, violets are blue
One of my strongest poetry memories was at a black tie dinner at the Library of Congress, where George W. Bush introduced poetry to his wife Laura. He explained that he wrote a poem for her because she was on a diplomatic trip last week and he felt very lonely. Then he read the following poem: “Roses are red / Violets are blue / You were gone for a long time / I sure missed you.”
The audience, including the author who would be presenting at the National Book Festival the next day, laughed at the absurdity. Some people tweeted this. . . fool. “But I thought it was amazing. I admired President Bush’s willingness to share this frivolous but heartfelt fluff. Was it art? No. But poetry has always been art. It doesn’t have to be serious, it doesn’t have to be beautiful, it doesn’t have to be thought-provoking, it doesn’t have to be “moving”. There’s nothing wrong with writing something “stupid.” This is especially true when it comes to small, spontaneous gifts to make someone happy.
Embrace your inner 4 year old
“Thank you for being willing to make a fool of yourself,” a boy at an international school in Asia wrote me in a note after I visited his school via Zoom. When I perform in schools, I aim to provide moments of levity to lift students’ spirits and keep them alert. In between the funny poems, we offer serious poems about kindness, respect, and inclusivity (as well as science, math, and social studies). Funny poems help keep children with me. When you’re having a good time, you listen more carefully. Not only do funny poems make children happy, I believe that the best learning happens when there are happy children.
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This is one of the sillier (and, yes, silliest) poems from the latest anthology my colleague Sylvia Vardell and I created, “Clara’s Kooky Compendium of Thimblethoughts and Wonderfuzz.” (Like many of the poems in this book, I wrote it “in Clara’s voice.”)
The morning rush makes mom dizzy.
Written by Clara
Mom told James to eat “Quore Mickley.”
“Crack my backpack! Let my hair flow!”
“Fur your shoes!” she shrieked.
“And…don’t forget the wonder wear!”
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One of the best things about anthologies (compared to collections of a single poet) is the rich diversity of voices. Every reader will find a poem that resonates with them. The poets in this anthology of more than 100 poems include a mix of poetry superstars and brand-new voices, including Alma Flor Ada, Karev Brown, F. Isabel Campoy, Jansuk Choy, Margarita Engle, Douglas Florian, Charles Guinea, and David L. Harrison. It represents a combination. , Sarah Holbrook, Alan Katz, Eileen Latham, George Ella Lyon, Ken Nesbitt, Eric Ord, Michael Salinger, Darren Sardelli, Eileen Spinelli, Padma Venkatraman, Charles Waters, Alan・Wolf and many others.
difficult times
In Humor, Seriously: Why Humor is Business and Life’s Secret Weapon, Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas suggest:[p]A culture of faith allows teams to thrive, even (and especially) when the stakes are high and times are difficult. ” In these “high-stakes times,” we need humor now more than ever, quickly and often. So, next time you see someone having a tough day, pick up a pen and write a little poem to cheer them up.
“Roses are red / Violets are blue / Try it and show me / They’re important to you.”
Janet Wong (janet-wong.com) is the author of over 40 books. Her latest book is “Clara’s Kooky Compendium of Thimblethoughts and Wonderfuzz.” Co-authored with Sylvia Vardel, this is a diary-style anthology with a unique combination of poems, quotes, questions, and facts about science, social science, and more. For more information (and its teacher’s guide), visit PomeloBooks.com.