Funny Friday

 Baby Blues by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

(Originally published 14 October 2014)

Little Girls by Len Pennie

Len Pennie is a Scottish poet and Scots language and mental health advocate. She became known on social media in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland for her "Scots word of the day" and poem (poyum) videos.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Performs at the White House Poetry Jam

Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye - When Love Arrives

Sarah Kay  is an American poet. Known for her spoken word poetry, Kay is the founder and co-director of Project V.O.I.C.E. (founded 2004), a group dedicated to using spoken word as an educational and inspirational tool.

Phil Kaye  is a Japanese-American poet, writer and filmmaker.

He is the co-director of Project VOICE, and writes and performs as a spoken word artist both in solo and group projects. Kaye is the author of two books, A Light Bulb Symphony (2011) and Date & Time (2018).

Sonnet 18

 by William Shakespeare

read by Jan Macklam

Jan Macklam is a retired secondary school teacher, born in High Prairie, Alberta, Canada (where she sang in the junior choir with Marlyn and her sister!). 

A University of Alberta alumna, she lives in Edmonton, Alberta. Married to Mark. Two grown children, Laura and Paul. 

Teen Tuesday - Novels in verse

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Harper Collins Publishing, 16 March 2018.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomaraunderstands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. 

So when she is invited to join herschool’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Penguin Books, 12 March 2019.

Inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, Laurie Halse Anderson has
written a critically acclaimed poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless.

In free verse, she shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven among deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before.

The Black Flamingo by David Atta.  Balzer & Bray/Harperteen, 26 May 2020.

Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he's navigated what it
means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican--but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.

As he gets older, Michael's coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs--and the Black Flamingo is born.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.  Atheneum Books, 12 October 2017.

A gun. That's what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules.No crying. 

No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he's after. Or does he?

Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence.

Poetry as an oral tradition

 

The first poems we ever hear are usually nursery rhymes, read out loud.  

Yes, some poetry (like concrete poetry) that works better on the page, but so much of it is more effective when spoken.

This month, I'm going to try to exemplify that, by posting here videos of poems read/recited out loud.

Some will be from poetry slams, some will be recordings of performances by professional poets.  And a few of them will be recordings by friends, just because.

Stay tuned, and enjoy!!