Original Poem

One of my favorite poetry collections about the fantastic is Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures, by Julie Larios with paintings by Julie Paschkis.

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Friday, 3 March 2023

Tuesday was the final day of the 2023 February Poetry Project. This year’s theme was STORY. There were so many incredible prompts, dreamed up by the group’s participants. I’ve been thinking a lot about poems and how we use them to tell stories. I’m gearing up to teach my virtual class once again: “Poetry Techniques […]

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Friday, 27 January 2023

January rain —
Lenten roses budding,
woodpeckers at work.

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I made a special video just for Poetry Friday. You’ll get a sneak peek at some of Michael’s monsters… and I read a poem from Welcome to Monsterville that I haven’t shared before.

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Thursday, 15 December 2022

The miracle we celebrate on Hanukkah has to do with oil. So whether you like your treats sweet or savory, it’s time to get out those fryers and put on those aprons.

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Thursday, 8 December 2022

One of my favorite projects of 2022 was writing a series of poems for Nature Culture’s Writing the Land Series. This organization pairs poets with local-to-them land trusts, to highlight our deep and abiding relationship with the soil, the forests, the farms.

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Thursday, 1 December 2022

My heart is broken. My dear friend and collaborator, the poet Michael Rothenberg, passed away on November 21.

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Thursday, 4 August 2022

Hi, Poetry Friday friends. My website has been down or wonky for several months. (Was anyone else affected by the Go Daddy hack?) I’m back to blogging at last, though—sadly—some of  my posts from this spring were lost and can’t be recovered. Did you develop any habits or family traditions during the pandemic that have […]

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Thursday, 17 March 2022

Happy Poetry Friday! Thanks to Ruth at the blog There Is No Such Thing as a God-forsaken Town for hosting this week’s list of poetry links and posts. I’m always happy when a poem written  years ago finds a home with a journal or anthology. Back in winter 2011, when my children were still children, […]

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Thursday, 27 January 2022

I’m just “back” from my first residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts. “Back” in quotes because the entire 10 days of panels, lectures, and workshops was virtual — but still magical! Focusing on the craft of writing for was the creative food I’d been craving. One of the first events was a panel called, […]

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Laura Shovan

Laura Shovan is the author of the award-winning middle grade novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. Her second book, Takedown, is a Junior Library Guild and PJ Our Way selection. Look for A Place at the Table, co-written with Saadia Faruqi, in 2020. Laura is a poet-in-the-schools Maryland.

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