Happy Poetry Friday, friends. As I write this post on Thursday afternoon, we are expecting our first snow of the winter season. I went looking for a “winter walk” poem (preferably, with dog), and instead landed on Henry David Thoreau’s essay “A Winter Walk.” As an exercise, I took Section 4 (featuring a baying dog) […]
Laura's Blog
Thursday, 5 January 2017
Thursday, 22 December 2016
After a long season of traveling, I’m home and happy to be back to Poetry Friday. Wednesday was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Even though the poem I’m sharing today is set in autumn, its meditative quality reminds me of how brief, chilly winter days feel here in Maryland. This poem is […]
Thursday, 17 November 2016
This is going to be a difficult post, friends. It’s time to have a serious talk about girls and compliance. Let’s be clear right up front. On one level, this is about a dear friend’s book and how a review of that book got it wrong. Conflict of interest, I know. But I’m determined to […]
Monday, 14 November 2016
I’m celebrating the launch of a friend’s book this week: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROGS by Veronica Bartles. It’s a Frog Prince retelling about being clear about what you want and who you want to be. Because Veronica is in one of my critique groups, I was lucky enough to watch this adorable picture book develop […]
Monday, 14 November 2016
Heading to NCTE this weekend? So am I. My first job after graduate school was teaching high school English. I was a member of the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English, but I never got to a national conference. Educator friends have told me how good it feels to be surrounded by people who […]
Friday, 11 November 2016
This week, I turned to Lucille Clifton’s words for comfort. Her poem “my dream about time” captures the frustration, fear, and anger so many women are feeling right now. my dream about time By Lucille Clifton a woman unlike myself is running down the long hall of a lifeless house with too many windows which […]
Tuesday, 1 November 2016
Hello from Klamath Falls, Oregon! In real life, I’m on the West Coast to do some school and library visits with my good friend Janet Sumner Johnson, author of THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURE OF THE PB&J SOCIETY. But online, I’m guest-blogging this week at poet and children’s author Jacqueline Jules’s blog, Pencil Tips: Writing Workshop […]
Thursday, 15 September 2016
We are having a big celebration at the Shovan house this weekend, Poetry Friday friends. After a year of planning, hard-work, painting, and poetry-writing, our Little Free Library is finally open for visitors! I don’t know why dragons have proliferated in our front yard. We have a dragon whirligig. His name is Clyde and he’s riding […]
Thursday, 8 September 2016
Happy Poetry Friday! This Friday, I am visiting Durham, NC as a Very Special Person. It is Muffin Morning at my niece’s school. She has never had a Special Person attend Muffin Morning. Of course, I said, “I am there!” Do you think they have fancy badges? Muffins are already pretty fancy. I am also […]
Thursday, 25 August 2016
It’s the last Poetry Friday before school begins. Let’s have a serious talk, friends. Last year, I was sitting in my teen’s school auditorium for an awards ceremony. The event celebrated students who were academic achievers, as well as stand-outs in art, volunteerism, and other areas. My kid wasn’t being recognized. She was alone, unseen in […]
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.
