A HOME FOR POEMS The Brookline Poet Laureate Web Site Created and Developed by Judith Steinbergh April 2012 - March 31, 2015
Greetings Friends: My tenure as Brookline Poet Laureate concluded on March 31, 2015. Welcome to Jan Schreiber, the new Brookline Poet Laureate! You will enjoy his beautiful poems, and his interest in teaching and sharing poetry with readers and writers of all ages. I enjoyed being Brookline's Poet Laureate for nearly 3 years. I have met many new friends and wonderful writers of all ages. I deeply appreciate the efforts and enthusiasm of so many adults and children who helped expand Brookline's writing community and brightened our lives with amazing poems. A special thanks to the Brookline Commission for the Arts for providing guidance and enthusiasm and friendship during my term. Thank you to the Brookline Public Library, the Brookline Booksmith and the schools and libraries that have hosted and encouraged the Poet Laureate activities. Thank you to the Town and Brookline and to local funders of the Poet Laureate Program. A summary of my Poet Laureate activities follows at the end of this Home Page. And this website's other headings showcase poems and lessons from various events, workshops and activities. Also visit: www.facebook.com/brooklinepoet laureate for current poetry activities around town. And visit facebook.com/judith.steinbergh to follow my news and activities.
ON THIS SITE ...you will find poems written by children and adults on a broad range of themes; and songs, art, short reflections and literary commentary. I will be adding poems throughout the spring especially related to the "CARING FOR OUR EARTH AND WATERS." Also, many poems about Brookline's special places can be found under thematic headings such as "Parks," "Libraries and Bookstores," "Sights and Delights of Coolidge Corner," "History and Change," etc. You will also find "Lessons for Teachers" to try with your classes. Guides and poetry examples are provided. I welcome your feedback at brooklinepoetlaureate@gmail.com. Thank you for visiting and enjoy! j.s. Visit this site: Headings: "Caring for Our Earth" to see photos and some poems related to these events, and for ideas for writing, poetry units for teaching, and a large selection of adult and student poems. Visit: www.facebook.com/brooklinepoetlaureate to see photos of the Bookmaking Workshop and many others, and for updates on the local and national poetry scene, and samples of poetry by adults and children. Visit the Brookline Poetry Map, one of the first in the world, I'm sure. Designed and implemented by Feng Yang of the Town of Brookline's IT department with poems by students from the Heath School. Tour some of Brookline's attractions with Poetic Brookline. http://bit.ly/1fBGd0I
ALSO, I RECOMMEND: poetry events sponsored by other Brookline organizations: Brookline Public Library: Poetry Discussion Group. Each month the group will read and discuss half a dozen poems of a well known poet. All welcome. Meets 12 to 1:30, Main Branch, Conference Room. Bring your lunch. Copies will be provided. No sign-up or preparation is necessary. -- Spring Meetings Yusef Komunyakaa, May 7 Kathleen Norris, June 4 Dylan Thomas, July 2 William Black, August 6 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/programs/poetry/a-taste-of-poetry -- Brookline Poetry Series The Brookline Poetry Series meets once a month on Sunday afternoons, September through May, normally in Hunneman Hall at the Public Library of Brookline Main Branch (361 Washington St., Brookline, MA 02445). Usually, one or two established poets read, followed by an open mike. You may contact the organizers via email at poetry@brooklinelibrary.org. Please do not send written correspondence in care of the Library.
--Check Brookline Bookmith Readings by poets from time to time. Nearby colleges: Boston College and Boston University have poetry readings often. Check www.BrooklineTeenCenter.org for a 2014/15 including Poetry Slam and music events. Visit www.brooklinepoetlaureate.org for ideas for writing, poetry units for teaching, and a large selection of adult and student poems. Visit: www.facebook.com/brooklinepoetlaureate for updates on the local poetry scene, and samples of poetry by adults and children. Enjoy poems by Participants of the Providence House Poetry Workshop on 3/20/2014. This workshops was sponsored by "It Takes a Village." Click on the tab: "It Takes a Village: Brookline" ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES as BROOKLINE POET LAUREATE April 2012 through March 2015
In April 2012, as First Poet Laureate, I thought about the Brookline places I loved in spring. My first event was Write Under Willows, inviting families to Griggs Park on a lovely May afternoon in 2012 to write about the park in spring. Over an extended term of 3 years, I have organized and hosted: • 2 Poetry Forums for teachers : called the Art and Heart of Poetry, asking gifted teachers I knew to present their favorite poetry units or exercises, after an overview by me. (examples include: 2nd grade Poetry Journals and Friday poetry performances, Kindergarten poem/ songs on flowing water, or Recycling; 6th grade - Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson; 7th --grade African American poets and the Harlem Renaissance, 8th grade poetry home-made videos of student reciting a favorite poem at an appropriate site.
• 2 annual “World of Poetry” events involving 28 readers, mostly adults, reading poems in languages other than English (including Finnish and Bengali, with English translations. Café Owners and Real Estate Agents, read Rumi, in Farsi, Israelis, Romanians, Swedes, Italians, French, Spanish and Latin Americans, read the great poets of the world, in their first languages. Local Publisher/poet, Jim Kates displayed the impressive collection of books by Russian, Asian, and Balkan poets in translation. And Joe McGoneal wrote an article for Boston.com.
• 3 Readings by 11 local eminent poets: one at the Br P.L: 2 at the Booksmith, one of which included 6 younger poets ( in their 20s and 30s).
2 Community Poetry Readings focused on Broad themes: • The first was the “Poetry Brookline” Project in October, 2013. I had worked with students in several schools, and solicited poems from adults on the theme of Special Brookline Places and People. Poets of all ages wrote about parks, ponds, the T, backyards, and various businesses, including several ice cream , yoghurt , and crepe establishments.. 25 adult poets, teachers and students read to a full house in Hunneman Hall. The Bookstore by Sylvia O’Shea, during grade 4 Come read with me In the place where muffled footsteps Are clanging swords Where dusty bookshelves are magic rainbows The turning of a page like a rumbling volcano Where the smell of brand new books Is the smoky smell of a burning fire If you look up long enough All the knights, wizards, rainbows, and dragons will disappear And reality will appear around you But who wants that? Visit me in this magical place.
Ice Cream Magic by Kenny S, grade 4 Come with me, Where your dreams come true Where there are countless flavors to taste Cows hang from the pink, black, and frosty ramparts Strawberry, chocolate chip, coffee oreo All so delicious. Too many choices Which one should I pick? Velvety ice cream shines in my eyes As I take one little creamy lick Smooth, cold ice cream moves through my open lips Scrumptious bursts of strawberry melt in my mouth I can’t wait to return tomorrow Come with me to J.P licks.
(Brookline Special People) MY MOM by Max S My mom has light skin like the sand and sparkling brown eyes. My mom calls…. Maaax, come down here now!
My mom has very soft clothes at home, but when she’s at work, she’s like a swan. She has white gloves, a white mask, and a clean white coat.
My mom is on one side of a lake, and I’m on another. I want a bridge to appear, but it won’t until mom comes home.
• The second community reading was Caring for Our Earth Oct 22, 2014. At Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Public Library. 23 poets from ages 8-75 (including BHS English Dept Head, and other teachers read poems related to the broad theme of the Natural World: seasons, weathers, waters, mountains, deserts, rock formations, woods, creatures, air, space, etc.
EARTH by Oliver, gr 5, Driscoll Loved by many Filled with hope and horizons Feared by most The storms and quakes, Makes for every Predator and pretty A death When then becomes another life Every man and woman Life is everywhere As far as we can see Unique or so we think Unknown mysteries Are hidden for us to find We’ve only seen the bare crust.
Senior Writers: • Hosted “Seasoned Poets” reading at Senior Center – 2013 • Workshop with small group of residents at Goddard House, Senior Living • Workshop with Providence House, impaired memory residents at the Br Public Library – using objects/ and photos to help recall memories from earlier life—through It Takes a Village. See poems on website.
Visits to school literacy festivals or guest writer: • Wrote and read poem for Driscoll’s playground mural celebrating the 100th anniversary of Driscoll’s founding. •Brookline High Read-In Day: 1 of several feature readers 2 class writing workshops SWS Poetry class and also Special Ed classes • Lincoln School, Literacy Day poetry performance workshop with 3rd grades; poetry writing workshop with 7/8 graders • Guest visit to Runkle 4th grades 1, 2 at Driscoll, • Workshops at Heath in 2013/14.
Judge for Brookline TeenWorld, regional Teen poetry slam, hosted by Josh Grossman, BHS, at the Brookline Teen Center, starting December 2013. Bookmaking Workshop Nov 15, 2014, led by with an amazing book artist, Susan Porter of J.P., who taught 18 workshop attendees how to make pop-up art books using art and text of poems. (see photos in appendix).
January-February, 2015: Climate Action Brookline’s winter festival display: Poetry and Photography with Gillian Jackson. A display of poems by writers of all ages, on Caring for Our Earth at the Korean Church of Boston in Brookline Village. About 40 poems by Brookline adult and student poets and some favorite poets of America. Display will continue at the Coolidge Corner Library during April. Some poems will appear on the Brookline Poet Laureate website, as well.
JFK MUSEUM – April 3, 2014 "To light the World, Stories of Hope and Courage for Challenging Times" A Conference for Boston and Regional Teachers and Educators. J.S. presented a Breakout Workshop to which about 20 teachers attended. Engaging Teens in Reflective Writing Across the Curriculum | Grades 6-8: Helping young people connect their own life experiences to curriculum content through poetry writing. In this workshop, she presents techniques for encouraging students’ creative expression as they seek to understand the world and their place in it.
Talks, lectures, presentations to: • Evening lecture at BAEC (Brookline Adult Ed) about the “Lively Poetry Scene in Brookline.” • Luncheon speaker at the Rotary Meeting, on October 30, 2014. • 2 Neighborhood Associations: North Brookline, and Salisbury/ Feet First (where I was also the moderator of a roundtable poetry reading).
Collaborations • Local artists Michael Berger and Karen Moss for posters/ flyers. • Collaboration with Coolidge Corner Chorus for a June 6, 2015 performance. • Bookmaking workshop with Susan Porter • Photography and poetry exhibit with Gillian Jackson
ELECTRONIC VENUES Poetry Map of Brookline The director of Brookline’s town I.T. volunteered to design the Poetry Map from an idea I had. Designed and implemented by Feng Yang, the Head of the Town of Brookline's IT department, with poems by students from the Heath School. Tour some of Brookline's attractions with “Poetic Brookline. http://bit.ly/1fBGd0I , Or you can go to my website (www.brooklinepoetlaureate.org/home and click on this address: and Voila! Ms. Yang received a note of recognition from one of the creators of Story Map in CA, and it was posted on their website nationally. With guidance and help from Joe McGonegal and Gillian Jackson of the Brookline Commission for the Arts, I managed www.brooklinepoetlaureate.org: further designed, posted curriculum, poems and events and photos. Created and regularly updated www.facebook.com/brooklinepoetlaureate: with upcoming poet laureate events, and those sponsored by the Library and Booksmith, also news of national and local poets, festivals, and poems of the season. With guidance and help from Joe McGonegal and Gillian Jackson of the Brookline Commission for the Arts, I managed the Website, www.brooklinepoetlaureate.org: further designed,posted curriculum, poems and events and photos.
