Sally Murphy's Blog, page 12

What I Read in April 2023

Oh dear! A whole month has gone past since I last found time to post here. Just as well I do a monthly reading round up – it at least makes it hard to go any longer without posting. April has been busy, so I was surprised to realise I still managed  to read 13 books. From picture books, to graphic novels to long form historical fiction, with some classics thrown in, it was an eclectic mix as always. Here’s what I read this month:

Books for ChildrenCloudspotting, by Samantha Tidy & Susannah Crispe (Windy Hollow, 2023). I love  a bit of cloud spotting myself – whether its just contemplating the beauty of a cloudy sky or spotting shapes in the clouds.  So I was delighted to be asked to launch this picture book in WA. When my copy arrived I discovered that while it is indeed about the loveliness of watching clouds, it is also about family, and father-daughter outings and more, as the young protagonist accompanies her father on a early-morning crabbing trip. Friendly Bee and Friends, by Sean E. Avery (Walker Books, 2023). I lvoed this little graphic novel which follows the adventures of Friendly Bee, who wants to be freinds with every bug he meets – including Angry Wasp, Slightly Peckish Caterpillar and even Enormous Hairy Spider, intent on drinking Bee up.  Lots of humour and silliness, but a so some gentle messages about friendship and getting along. Little Jiang, by Shirley Marr, illustrated by Katy Jiang (Fremantle Press, 2020). I love Shirley Marr’s writing (and Shirley Marr, who is a lovely friend) but had somehow  not read this one, until now. An exciting, heart warming and quirky tale of how Mei Ling, who is born able to see ghosts and seems to be followed by misfortune, manages to save not just her family’s restaurant, but her whole town. The Machine Gunners, by Robert Westall (Puffin, 1975). I have read this classic many times. I think I probably first read it in high school, and then taught it in my early years of teaching.  Now I have a copy that, somehow, came to me  having previously been for sale in a second hand bookshop in Cork, Ireland. How did I end up with it? I honestly don’t know, but  I do love a well travelled book.  All that aside, this was in my to-read cupboard and will now go back on my keepers shelves – I am not ready to part with it, because I know I’ll read it again. When I’m Big, by Karen Blair (Penguin, 2023). I always love a new Karen Blair picture book – but I was especially excited to get my hands on this one because I won a little piece of the original art, won at an auction at the CBCA WA Annual Night With Our Stars. The book is a gorgeous interpretation of the mixed feelings of a sibling waiting the arrival of a new baby – with fears about being ‘big’ and what that might mean. Gorgeous!Books for Young Adults Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending, by Jodi McAlister (Wakefield Press, 2022).  I enjoyed this book for older teens. Nineteen year old Libby navigates first  sexual encounters, university life and the challenge of trying to figure out how to be herself rather than trying to pretend to be who she thinks she should be. Invisibly Grace, by Avery McDougall (FortySouth, 2022). I bought this one, along with Libby Lawrence, soon after the CBCA Notables list for 2023 was announced. I love that these lists not only profile good quality books, but also remind readers such as myself of what they might have missed.  This one deals with the subject of invisible illnesses, with Grace Turing suffering an undiagnosed chronic illness but determined not to be known as the Sick Girl at the new school she is starting at.Books for Adults No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering, by Thich Naht Hahn. I listened  audiobook version of this little book about the reality of suffering as part of being human, and the use of mindfulness and meditation to face and transform suffering. The author is a well known Buddhist monk and the lessons and insights were useful reminders of the importance of mindfulness. Frankenstein , by Mary Shelley. Another audiobook listened to in the car. I find this a great way of reading or rereading classic books that I might otherwise not find time for. This particular classic is one I’d not read before, so it was interesting to read the story and get to know the original story which has been reinterpreted a lot of times.The Happiness Jar, by Samantha Tidy (Storytorch, 2023). I read this as a precursor to launching it, with the author, in WA this month.  This is a book that covers a lot of territory – the jar, filled with memories of things that made its owner (Rachel( happy, is found by her mother(Beth) amongst her possessions after she dies. The story traces the journeys of  Beth and of her son Matthew, as they try to fulfil Rachel’s wishes – for  them each to take half her ashes on journeys that Rachel has planned. Matthew must travel to a remote Kimberley community, and Beth to India. For each the journey is confronting as they overcome their owns pasts and their grief at losing Rachel.  Themes including  the generational impacts of the Vietnam war on returned soldiers and their families, grief, religion and cystic fibrosis are all worked together into a satisfying whole. Redhead by the Side of the Road, by Anne Tyler (Penguin, 2020). I have bene trying my hand at capturing and releasing BookCrossing books, and when I saw this one had been released at a Little Street Library not too far from home, I went  there especially to collect it.  Then, true to form, it sat in my to-read pile for a while before I finally got to it. It wasn’t a long read – I read it in one day, and while it wasn’t high-action, I enjoyed it. Micah is a man who is very set in his ways and doesn’t see much point in changing. But when a teenager who claims Micah is his father turns up at his doorstep, Micah starts to realise his life is perhaps not going as well as he thinks.The Blackout, by  Ruth McIver (Audible Original, 2023). This thriller was a free download from  Audible, and filled a couple of car trips. Narrated by three characters, each read my a different voice, which makes listening easy, though being about some pretty yucky murders, ‘easy’ is maybe not the best word choice. The Bookbinder of Jericho, by Pip Williams (Affirm Press, 2023). My favourite book in the last couple of years was The Dictionary of Lost Words, so when I heard there was a companion book, I had to read it – and I wasn’t disappointed. I was lucky enough to go a long to a high tea where Pip Williams spoke,  and the depth of her knowledge, research and passion was obvious, as it is on the pages. Set, like Dictionary, in Oxford against the backdrop of WW1 and in the publishing world, this is fascinating. The main character, Peggy, is a bookbinder, working at Oxford Press but dreaming of being able to enrol at the university and be part of telling the stories. With appearances by some of the characters from Dictionary, it has made me want to go back and read that – and it is lovely that, as companion books, they can be read independently and in either order.

I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading. Talk soon!

What I Read in March 2023

It is April, the year is whizzing by (seems to happen every year!) and it is time to look at what I read in March. Nine books this month, as diverse as ever – from a picturebook to a lengthy tome about trauma.  The  books I have been recommending to others – Minds Went Walking and Dirty Laundry (see below), for quite different reasons.

Anyway, here’s what I read:

Books for Young Readers

1. Senor Pilich the Monastery Cat, by Fr. Anscar McPhee OSB (Network Books, 2006). This is a funny little book that I suspect was given to my offspring at some point and has sat on my shelf unloved for a long time. Now I’ve read it, and given it the attention it needed. Told from the perspective of a cat who apprehends a criminal in the New Norcia Monastery.   I have my own book coming out in June which is partly told from the perspective of a cat  (Queen Narelle) so it’s lovely to read another one.

2. The Cockatoo Wars (Tales From the Bush Mob), by Helen Milroy (Magabala Books, 2023). I was lucky enough to hear the author talk about this book at the recent CBCA (WA) Night With Our Stars, and, of course, just had to buy a copy, which I look forward to  haring with my grandies as well as with my students at university. The tale of two wise mother cockatoos, and their babies – one black and one white – who withdraw from their clans’ ongoing battles and live harmoniously. It becomes up to them to work together to stop a bush fire and restore harmony to the bush.

3. Frank in Time, by Rod Clement (Angus & Robertson, 1998). I picked this up on my local library remainder trolley for $1. There probably should be a law against having remainder trolleys right where I have to walk past them – this wasn’t the only book I bought, but it is the one that caught my eye and made me stop and browse.  I really like Rod Clement’s illustration style and this humorous take on history involves the young protagonist and his dog (Frank) taking a trip to the museum and comparing the past with today. In each illustration, Frank is either part of the history, or up to some mischief.

4. Fog A Dox, by Bruce Pascoe (Magabala, 2012). Last year I realised there were some gaps in y reading of notable titles by First nations writers, and I set about trying to rectify this. I am unsure why I hadn’t read this book, because I certainly knew about it and admire Pascoe’s other works. I adore this book and am glad I now own it – a story of unusual friendships, kindness and respect.

 

Books for Adults Minds Went Walking: Paul Kelly’s Songs Reimagined, curated by Jock Serong, Mark Smith & Neil A. White (Fremantle Press, 2022). I’ve had this one for a little while but glad it finally rose to the top of the pile, even though it has left me singing Paul Kelly songs everywhere I go. Not a bad thing really. Each contributor has been inspired by a single Kelly song,  writing about their own experiences with the song, or a creative response to the song, making each contribution unique. Someone Else’s Shoes, by Jojo Moyes (Penguin Books, 2023). I listened to the audio version of this, expecting it be light and fluffy. And it was certainly light in places, but was really a story of sisterhood between women and I found myself cheering them on. A good driving story. Not Now, Not Ever: Ten Years On From the Misogyny Speech, edited by Julia Gillard (Vintage, 2022). I started reading this on International Women’s Day, which was a good time to do it. I laughed, I cried, I got angry and I thought A LOT. Dirty Laundry: Why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help , by Richard Pink and Roxanne Emery. I listened to this on Audible, but will be buying the print copy if I can find it in Australia. Written by a couple who are also, apparently, Tiktok famous for their videos about living with ADHD, I found this easy to listen to, and enjoyed hearing about ADHD from the perspective of a woman who lives with it and her husband.  Really useful insights, and a lot I could relate to. The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma

(Penguin, 2014). Fairly heavy going because it is about how trauma impacts both the mind and the body, and discusses case histories, therapies and more, mostly from the viewpoint of the therapeutic practitioner. Sometimes though, hard is worthwhile, and I found these insights both informative and useful.

 

Total for the year to date is 32. I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading.

Teacher Tuesday: World Poetry Day

It’s Teacher and it’s also World Poetry Day. A whole day just to celebrate poetry!

So, here’s a poem from me that you can use in your classroom, or just listen to for your self:

And here it is written down so you can see the patterns, and perhaps use as a mentor text:

Milkshakeby Sally Murphy

The sea’s been churning icecream

Though it’s too salty to eat

It’s been rolling rolling rolling

In an icy wintry beat.

 

The sea’s been frothing milkshakes

Though they’re briny to the taste

It’s been mixing mixing mixing

With a hustle and a haste

 

The sea’s been blending smoothies

Though they’re not for you or me

It’s been churning churning churning

In a chilly stormy spree

 

The sea’s now washing dishes

With a bubble and a slosh

See it scrubbing scrubbing scrubbing

In its busy midday wash.

(copyright Sally Murphy, 2016)

 

World Poetry Day is a wonderful day to think about poetry – but also to think about entering the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards.  You can do this as a whole class activity or you might make it optional. Either way, what a wonderful, authentic way to help your young poets have their work read by a published poet (the judges are both established poets) and, of course, the chance to win a prize.

If you’d like hints or tips on ways to to write poetry for the awards or any other time, you’ll find lots here on my website, but feel free to ask questions in the comments.

Have a wonderful World Poetry Day!

Teacher Tuesday: The Kid Under the Tree

It’s Teacher Tuesday where I usually offer an activity or lesson idea that you can use in your classroom. But this week it isn’t either of those I’m offering: just a little anecdote and a bit of a plea.

Last week I shared, among other things, this poem, written during a writing workshop as an example of a sad poem.

Then, later in the week I was lucky enough to be part of the Harvey Literary Festival where I spoke to children in years 3 and 4 from three different schools. Partly because it was semi local I found myself speaking more about my own childhood, growing up in Collie.

Later I read the opening pages of Pearl Verses the World and, as always, turned the book so show the beautiful illustrations. I pointed to Pearl, in her group of one under a tree. And, as I did so, I noticed the book on the ground next to her. And felt a little jolt of recognition.

“See that –”  I said to the group. “Pearl is just like me. I was that girl. The one who sat under a tree with a book.”

And I went on to briefly explain what I meant. So many many days in school I found the play ground a challenging beast. We were let out for a snack and a play – but playing required people to play with. I did have friends (and some of those friends are still in my life) but I also found relationships really challenging – I did not understand how to just join a game if I hadn’t been specifically invited, or if my friend was (shock, horror) playing with someone else. And there were a lot of times that I felt I had no friends.

So, I learnt very early that a book was the solution. I would find a spot – under the weeping willow in the playground was my favourite – and I would open that book and I would read. That way no one would know I was lonely, but also, I felt less lonely, because I loved reading, and I connected with the characters in the books.

Later I learnt that the library could also be a safe place, and I added this to the ways to avoid looking and feeling alone. It’s only many many years later that I realise my social awkwardness and feeling of not belonging, of not understanding the rules of friendships was (is!) part of my neurodivergence. As an adult I’ve learnt other coping strategies, and built social skills, but I am still often awkward or nervous in situations where I feel like I don’t know the rules.

So, why am I sharing this on Teacher Tuesday?  Because of the way one child responded to this story.

This child listened, then put up their hand:
“So,” they said. “Would you say books were your lifeline?”

And I realised two things – one, that this kid was very very perceptive and perhaps knew better than me the point of what I was saying. And two, I was one kid under a tree, but these kids are in every playground, every school. Under a tree with a book, in the library, bouncing a ball on their own. And sometimes we see them and know that this child is lonely – but sometimes we don’t. Because a kid reading a book could indeed be just engrossed in the a really good story. But if they’re on their own, rather than reading alongside friends, there is a good chance that they, like me, are clutching a lifeline.

So, my Teacher Tuesday plea is that, in amongst the million other wonderful things you do as a teacher, please watch out for the kid under the tree. Do what you can to nurture them, to include them, to show them that they do belong. Stop in the playground and ask them about the book – or recommend another one for next. Even better, ask them about that book in the classroom, where another reader may hear and connect. Gently check in that the child is okay. Pearl is under that tree because the things happening in her life are really big – and she needs some space to process, even though, at the same time, she feels lonely.

You don’t have to be the total solution for that child, but you can take the opportunity to be part of it, by joing themunder that tree – which isn’t such a bad thing to do. 

Poetry Friday: Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest

It’s Poetry Friday. Last week I shared Dorothea Mackellar’s famous ‘My Country’  and it had such a lovely response that I thought I might share another classic Australian poem this week.

This one is perhaps less well known. It’s a ballad, by a Scottish-born Australian poem Mary Hannay-Foott. It’s a little haunting, but one I’m very fond of – enough that I included it in my Teaching Poetry book.

Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest

The horses were ready, the rails were down,
But the riders lingered still
One had a parting word to say,
And one had his pipe to fill.

Then they mounted, one with a granted prayer,
And one with a grief unguessed.
“We are going,” they said, as they rode away
“Where the Pelican builds her nest!”

They had told us of pastures wide and green,
To be sought past the sunset’s glow;
Of rifts in the ranges by opal lit;
And gold ‘neath the river’s flow.

And thirst and hunger were banished words
When they spoke of that unknown West;
No drought they dreaded, no flood they feared,
Where the pelican builds her nest!

The creek at the ford was but fetlock deep
When we watched them crossing there;
The rains have replenished it thrice since then,
And thrice has the rock lain bare.

But the waters of Hope have flowed and fled,
And never from blue hill’s breast
Come back – by the sun and the sands devoured
Where the pelican builds her nest!

Mary Hannay-Foott (1881)

That last stanza is a wee bit heart breaking, and I believe that the poem was written about two brothers who went off searching for fertile farming land (the pelicans build nests where there is water and food) and never returned. There is more about the poem here.

Coincidentally, I shared earlier this week, a lesson idea for guiding students to write sad poems. It is only as I write this post that I realise this poem is a really good example.

I’m off today to a small literary festival not far from home, so I’ll be checking in on the rest of the Poetry Friday fun a little later. Heidi will be hosting the roundup. Have a great Friday!

Teacher Tuesday: Writing ‘Sad’ Poems Using Toppling and Pearl Verses the World as Mentor Texts

Hello and welcome to Teacher Tuesday. My goal is to post here every Tuesday with classroom ideas for Australian teachers (and teachers further abroad) but last week I didn’t post because it was one of the busiest weeks of my work year. It was the first week of semester at Curtin university where I work, and I also spent part of the week running writing masterclasses for the Literature Centre in their Talented Young Writers Program.

One of the most delightful things about being a writer is getting to meet and share young readers and writers and ,hopefully ,inspire them on their way to becoming master writers, or just better writers, so I thought this week I would share a version of what I did as part of those sessions last week. I found a really beautiful way to finish each of these extended writing workshops.

During the day we  examined the basic tools of a poet: things like simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia as well as more nuanced tools such as using rhythm and pace even when you’re writing free verse, or layering meaning and connecting with character and place in poetic form. Then at the end of each day I that I wanted to bring all that together and I asked the students to make me cry. What I mean by this is I asked them to write a sad poem.

So what I’m sharing here today is a shortened form of that exercise. Firstly, as I said, we’d covered a lot of poetic techniques before I asked them to do this so if you were doing this in your classroom I would suggest that you would really need to unpack the mentor texts I’m going to suggest or that you already have been working a lot with poetry and therefore are confident that your students will connect either with the mentor texts or with your instructions but I also think this is an exercise that can stand alone.

This exercise is suitable for upper primary right through to secondary and it’s also suitable for adult writers. Firstly, start with actually sharing some examples of sad poetry. The two examples that I’m recommending are firstly from Pearl Verses the World the scene that goes from page 44 to page 49. If you don’t know the book this is a really intense piece of news that Pearl is receiving and it also is quite sad. When you read that text to your readers you can emphasise the way that there’s not a lot of mention of crying, there is use of repetition and other poetic techniques, but there’s also touches of humour in the lead up to that news being delivered as well as a sense of foreboding that, although it’s humorous, something’s about to happen.

Next, read the second text – from Toppling. Again in this scene John is receiving bad news – you can see there’s a theme here. The pages for this exercise are page 59 to page 63 .

If students haven’t read the rest of the either of these texts I would suggest that you decide exactly where to start and finish, but if they’ve already read the book in class, those are the pages that I recommend. You could do this exercise using other sad poems or sad text extracts you’re more familiar with. I recommend using more than one mentor text to encourage students to look at the differences as well as the similarities.

After you’ve read both passages and you’ve discussed them, the next thing is that you want your students to write. The prompt that I gave to the young these writers was that I wanted them to write me a sad poem and make me cry, and I felt quite confident with doing that because I knew that these students would get what I was talking about having worked directly with me for several hours. I then gave them a choice of two topics:
1. Write a poem about something sad.
2. Write a poem about someone receiving bad news.

I have chosen these because these particular scenes from my two books are both a combination of something quite sad but also in both cases the child in the book is receiving bad news.

Giving young writers a choice that if they actually don’t want to explore something really terrible, the bad news could be a bit flippant. It could be for example someone being told that the Dockers had lost a football game, but I would encourage them to really explore emotion.

One danger in asking children to write a sad poem is that they may just write using lots of ‘sad’ words – crying, tears, sorrow, I feel sad, I was sad and so on. So I really believe in modelling writing either before they write or while they write. As s an educator as well as an author when I ask writers to do an activity I usually also do the same activity on a whiteboard so that they can see my process but also so they have an extra model. I don’t make that example a perfect example, instead I write it on the spot.

I thought I might share with you these three examples (pictured – click on them to make them larger) which are three different sad poems that I wrote on three different days For context I did also afterwards share some of the back story on the frangipani poem because I felt that the missing piece of that puzzle was that why I was so sad wasn’t just about the tree – it was also that that tree marked the burial spot of my previous dog. And the Mundy poem is about David Mundy’s last game. I started by thin

king that I’d write something a bit light hearted by calling it Mundy Mourning with a play on words but actually it ended up bringing me back to what happened at his last game. I surprised myself because I knew I’d feel sad because I’m a Dockers fan. I knew I might cry but when the game finished I cried so much that I almost needed help to leave and that was because it made me think about the fact that my sister who passed away a few years ago loved Mundy as a football player, would have loved to have been there. She would have been cheering and clapping and maybe crying a little bit to see him leave. But she wasn’t there and so when I cried I cried for his last game and then I cried with grief for my sister.

So I’m sharing these poems as examples but I’m happy for you to use one or more of them as mentor texts although I don’t know whether they stand alone without either a tiny bit of backstory or with those other richer texts that

 

I’ve recommended in Toppling or Pearl Verses the World. They are actually unedited examples of what I wrote on the spot .

SO after the mentor texts and examples simply hand the task over and ask students to write. You can see there is not a lot of structure because I like to trust writers to take the exercise in their own direction, but I also roam and help where needed, especially in a mixed ability group, where more scaffolding might be needed by some students. You know your students, and the amount of support they need, best.

Lastly, if you don’t know about the amazing work of the The Literature Centre in Fremantle, formerly called the Children’s Literature centre or just called the Lit Centre, their Young Writers Programs  run from Year 6 all the way through the year 12, some of the most amazing writing offerings for young writers that I’m aware of ,and well worth taking your young writers along to if you have the opportunity.

Thanks for reading, thanks for teaching our next generation, and I would love to hear if this exercise is useful for you. Maybe you could use it to inspire some of your students to enter the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Contest, which is now open to entries – details here.

 

See you next Tuesday.

Teacher Tuesday: Writing ‘Sad’ Poems Using Topping and Pearl Verses the World as Mentor Texts

Hello and welcome to Teacher Tuesday. My goal is to post here every Tuesday with classroom ideas for Australian teachers (and teachers further abroad) but last week I didn’t post because it was one of the busiest weeks of my work year. It was the first week of semester at Curtin university where I work, and I also spent part of the week running writing masterclasses for the Literature Centre in their Talented Young Writers Program.

One of the most delightful things about being a writer is getting to meet and share young readers and writers and ,hopefully ,inspire them on their way to becoming master writers, or just better writers, so I thought this week I would share a version of what I did as part of those sessions last week. I found a really beautiful way to finish each of these extended writing workshops.

During the day we  examined the basic tools of a poet: things like simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia as well as more nuanced tools such as using rhythm and pace even when you’re writing free verse, or layering meaning and connecting with character and place in poetic form. Then at the end of each day I that I wanted to bring all that together and I asked the students to make me cry. What I mean by this is I asked them to write a sad poem.

So what I’m sharing here today is a shortened form of that exercise. Firstly, as I said, we’d covered a lot of poetic techniques before I asked them to do this so if you were doing this in your classroom I would suggest that you would really need to unpack the mentor texts I’m going to suggest or that you already have been working a lot with poetry and therefore are confident that your students will connect either with the mentor texts or with your instructions but I also think this is an exercise that can stand alone.

This exercise is suitable for upper primary right through to secondary and it’s also suitable for adult writers. Firstly, start with actually sharing some examples of sad poetry. The two examples that I’m recommending are firstly from Pearl Verses the World the scene that goes from page 44 to page 49. If you don’t know the book this is a really intense piece of news that Pearl is receiving and it also is quite sad. When you read that text to your readers you can emphasise the way that there’s not a lot of mention of crying, there is use of repetition and other poetic techniques, but there’s also touches of humour in the lead up to that news being delivered as well as a sense of foreboding that, although it’s humorous, something’s about to happen.

Next, read the second text – from Toppling. Again in this scene John is receiving bad news – you can see there’s a theme here. The pages for this exercise are page 59 to page 63 .

If students haven’t read the rest of the either of these texts I would suggest that you decide exactly where to start and finish, but if they’ve already read the book in class, those are the pages that I recommend. You could do this exercise using other sad poems or sad text extracts you’re more familiar with. I recommend using more than one mentor text to encourage students to look at the differences as well as the similarities.

After you’ve read both passages and you’ve discussed them, the next thing is that you want your students to write. The prompt that I gave to the young these writers was that I wanted them to write me a sad poem and make me cry, and I felt quite confident with doing that because I knew that these students would get what I was talking about having worked directly with me for several hours. I then gave them a choice of two topics:
1. Write a poem about something sad.
2. Write a poem about someone receiving bad news.

I have chosen these because these particular scenes from my two books are both a combination of something quite sad but also in both cases the child in the book is receiving bad news.

Giving young writers a choice that if they actually don’t want to explore something really terrible, the bad news could be a bit flippant. It could be for example someone being told that the Dockers had lost a football game, but I would encourage them to really explore emotion.

One danger in asking children to write a sad poem is that they may just write using lots of ‘sad’ words – crying, tears, sorrow, I feel sad, I was sad and so on. So I really believe in modelling writing either before they write or while they write. As s an educator as well as an author when I ask writers to do an activity I usually also do the same activity on a whiteboard so that they can see my process but also so they have an extra model. I don’t make that example a perfect example, instead I write it on the spot.

I thought I might share with you these three examples (pictured – click on them to make them larger) which are three different sad poems that I wrote on three different days For context I did also afterwards share some of the back story on the frangipani poem because I felt that the missing piece of that puzzle was that why I was so sad wasn’t just about the tree – it was also that that tree marked the burial spot of my previous dog. And the Mundy poem is about David Mundy’s last game. I started by thin

king that I’d write something a bit light hearted by calling it Mundy Mourning with a play on words but actually it ended up bringing me back to what happened at his last game. I surprised myself because I knew I’d feel sad because I’m a Dockers fan. I knew I might cry but when the game finished I cried so much that I almost needed help to leave and that was because it made me think about the fact that my sister who passed away a few years ago loved Mundy as a football player, would have loved to have been there. She would have been cheering and clapping and maybe crying a little bit to see him leave. But she wasn’t there and so when I cried I cried for his last game and then I cried with grief for my sister.

So I’m sharing these poems as examples but I’m happy for you to use one or more of them as mentor texts although I don’t know whether they stand alone without either a tiny bit of backstory or with those other richer texts that

 

I’ve recommended in Toppling or Pearl Verses the World. They are actually unedited examples of what I wrote on the spot .

SO after the mentor texts and examples simply hand the task over and ask students to write. You can see there is not a lot of structure because I like to trust writers to take the exercise in their own direction, but I also roam and help where needed, especially in a mixed ability group, where more scaffolding might be needed by some students. You know your students, and the amount of support they need, best.

Lastly, if you don’t know about the amazing work of the The Literature Centre in Fremantle, formerly called the Children’s Literature centre or just called the Lit Centre, their Young Writers Programs  run from Year 6 all the way through the year 12, some of the most amazing writing offerings for young writers that I’m aware of ,and well worth taking your young writers along to if you have the opportunity.

Thanks for reading, thanks for teaching our next generation, and I would love to hear if this exercise is useful for you. Maybe you could use it to inspire some of your students to enter the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Contest, which is now open to entries – details here.

 

See you next Tuesday.

Poetry Friday: Dorothea Mackellar

It’s Poetry Friday and I have had a super poetic week. I have been lucky enough to spend time with young writers running poetry writing masterclasses, courtesy of the Literature Centre and which I will write more about in a separate post.

Then, on Wednesday a lovely thing was announced. I am now a Patron of the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards, a nationwide poetry writing contest for school aged writers.  Here’s the announcement.

It makes me sound quite good, doesn’t it????

Though I am very humbled to be asked to do this, I am also very very excited. Poetry, writing and young people are my life’s work!  If I can play any role in inspiring children to read and write poetry, I will. So when I was asked to be a Patron – after I picked myself up off the floor – I said a very emphatic YES.

SO, to celebrate, I thought it might be nice to share Mackellar’s best known poem, which I not only remember learning by rote in school, but also remember learning to sing it for a  royal visit (which at the time was very exciting, though these days I am firmly of the belief Australia should become a republic).   Here it is:

My Country

by Dorothea Mackellar

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!

A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die –
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold –
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land –
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand –
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

And here you can hear it read by the poet, with images that try to capture the essence of the words:

And here you can read more of her work

If you are in Australia and are a teacher or parent of school aged young people, do encourage them to consider entering the competition for 2023, which is now open. There is an optional theme, The Winding Road, and all the details can be found here.

And now, this patron is off to patronise the rest of the Poetry Friday posts for today. No winding roads – if you want to join me, you can head straight  to Tanita’s website where you  will find the Roundup.

What I Read in February 2023

February is  over so it’s time to share my reading for the month. A shorter month, and a super busy one, but I read 11 books in amongst that busyness – some on audio on some long drives but most in hard copy.  My favourite? A verse novel – Grace Notes by Karen Comer.

Here’s what else I read:

Children’s Books Cop and Robber by Tristan Bancks (Puffin, 2022).  For middle grade readers, this is part action adventure, and part moral dilemma. Nash has to balance his love and loyalty to his dad, who wants Nash to help him commit a robbery, and his mum, who is a local cop.Waiting for the Storks, by Katrina Nannestad (ABC Books, 2022). I would read a shopping list written by Katrina! She has very quickly become of my favourite writers, even though her books have the capacity to break my heart. The story  of Zofia, a Polish girl taken by German soldiers because of her blonde hair and blue eyes. Challenging, because it is set during WW2, but still just beautiful. Bad Grammar: A School for Gentlemen, by Nathan Luff Being a wordsmith, I first thought this would be a book about language (lol) but quickly realised it was about that other kind of grammar – a school. Marcus is packed off to a school for bad boys – or misfits. And he’s not happy about it. A fun adventure.Books for Young Adults Grace Notes, by Karen Comer (Lothian, 2023). Verse novels are my favourite kind of novels – narrative  wrapped up in poetry is a perfect means to covey a vast range of themes and emotions. So as soon as I hear about this one I raced off and bought it – and wasn’t disappointed.  The dual stories of Grace, a violinist whose parents don’t approve of her goal to be a professional musician, and Crux, who wants to be a street artist but has promised his Dad he’ll wait till he’s finished school. When Crux paints a mural of Grace, they meet, and together they navigate their parental pressures, as well as the unfolding Covid 19 pandemic.  Moving and beautifully told.Books for Adults Why Does It Still Hurt?: how the power of knowledge can overcome chronic pain, by Paul Biegler (Scribe, 2022). I found this a useful insight into chronic pain, its causes and the connection between our brain and pain in the rest of our body. I’m on a bit of a quest for such information this year, so you might see quite a few health type books popping up in my monthly reads. The Beekeeper of Aleppo , by Christy Lefteri (Bonnier, 2020). Wow. I have been meaning to get around to this book for a very long time.  Glad I finally did. You should read it too. A Grief Observed, by C.S. Lewis. I can’t remember who recommended this book to me, but it’s been there waiting to be read for some time, and now I’ve read it.  Didn’t love it, but interesting to learn about Lewis’s experience of grief. Dracula: Popular Penguins, by Bram Stoker. I listened tot he Audible version of this classic, which I hadn’t read before. Really interesting story telling. I love how it is woven. Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You, by Jenara Nerenberg(Harper One, 2021). Oh gosh I felt so very seen reading this book. The title says it all – this is a book all about neurodivergence, especially in women, and I learnt a lot.Looking for Eden, by Caroline Overington (Audible original). this was a fairly easy listen – an audio-only book with some mystery, some family issues and twists and turns. Miss Potter: The Novel, by Richard Maltby (F. Warne & Co, 2006). What is special about this book is that I found it! On a bench in the local park. AND it was left there deliberately – as a Book Crossing Book. I have always always wanted to find a Book Crossing Book and, now that I’ve found and read one, I will leave it somewhere else, very soon – and leave some other books places too. I love Bookcrossing!

So that brings my total for the year to 23. I’m not aiming for a specific total this year, but suspect the number will be highish at this rate.  What have you been reading.

Teacher Tuesday: Poetree

It’s Teacher Tuesday and this week I am offering a simple idea for a classroom display that also helps you grow a love of poetry. I call it  a poetree.

The idea is very simple: on a whiteboard, or a large sheet of poster paper (the bigger the better) draw an outline of a tree. Here’s an example, drawn for me by a generous audience member at a conference a few years ago:

Once you have the outline, provide sticky notes (you can see I used heart shape ones)  or cut out leaves and ask your students to write their favourite lines of poetry to fill the tree up. Or you can have them write small poems, such as haiku or hay(na)ku  instead.

If they don’t have favourite lines of poetry, it’s time they did! Add a basket or shelf of poetry books nearby and allow students to choose  lines from there.

You can also make your poetree three dimensional using a large pot plant, or branch, or, if there is a tree near your classroom, hanging poems on that – either for a pop up display or, if you laminate them, for longer.

Want more poetry ideas? My book Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose (PETAA, 2021) contains lots of teaching ideas, support to find resources and poems by a range of poets including myself. There is even a shape poem called, coincidentally Poetree.

 

I’ d love to hear if you try this idea, or if you have your own poetry teaching ideas to share. Otherwise, I’ll see you here next Teacher Tuesday.