Tammy’s Top Ten (t3 report) Ideas for Poetry to Enjoy

As another tribute to National Poetry month, I’m offering up ideas of places to start in order to “taste” poetry. I hope you’re moved to grab one  and give it a try. And in full disclosure, let me admit to pirating a few choices from the lovely list compiled by Nancy Pearl and given out in her interview with NPR earlier this week.

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It’s all Part of the Plan

My thirteen year old son is going to kill me for this. When I found this note stuck to his bedpost today, I was both tickled with the content and delighted with his process. He’d set goals or at least objectives for himself and his behavior. A series of blog post ideas immediately began popping off inside my head.  So, I’m starting with the big picture – the notion of personal planning.

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Create Unlikely Allies

On Saturday I attended the Bar Mitzvah of my good friend’s son.  He was poised and eloquent as he read from the Torah and I enjoyed seeing him and other children whose height had surpassed my own in the last year.  Surprisingly our table conversation at the Kiddush wasn’t focused on the amazement of seeing how the kids had grown.  Rather the wonder and intrigue being discussed was Cindy McCain. Her recent advertisement which opposes California’s H8 turned heads and created a steady bubble of dialogue.  Because of her husband’s rejection of gay marriage, Cindy McCain was viewed as an unlikely ally for opponents of H8.

The Beginning

I’ve been taking writing classes for several years now and the reason I do it? Certainly not to add to an already abundant schedule. I take writing classes in order to write. The presence of a syllabus and an instructor create discipline for me. It requires me to spill thoughts and ideas onto paper or into Google docs. The assignments offer a framework for me to operate within and being one who needs to understand the rules, I find freedom within the structure.

Another place that a structured framework works well for me
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