Tag: children’s literature

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Halloweensie Contest: Baby Goblin at the Halloween Ball

mwinikates

Today’s the start of the Halloweensie contest run by author Susanna Leonard Hill, and this year’s challenge was to write no more than 100 words (not including the title) using the three prompt words: goblin, tiptoe, and chill. There’s lots of fun stories up already, and I encourage you to go check them out. Here’s my entry:

A girl with curly red hair, seen in profile, wearing a sparkly black and gold dress and black witch hat, carrying a small pumpkin shaped bucket with plants inside.
Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

Baby Goblin at the Halloween Ball
by Meg Winikates (100 words)

Baby Goblin on tiptoe,
sneaking where she shouldn’t go—
Grown-up goblins celebrate,
Halloween Ball starting late.

Ghosties twirling, goblins bounce,
Werewolves whirling, black cats pounce.
Baby Goblin, heaving sighs,
knows that boogying’s unwise:
squishing’s likely, being small.
Baby Goblin hugs the wall.

Cider simmers in a pot,
sweetly spicy, piping hot!
Tempting taste relieves the chill—
Trembling fingers almost spill…
Uh-oh! Slipping! Tipping! Crash!
Baby Goblin makes a splash.

Many fingers point her way—
Mama Goblin saves the day.
“Someone should be safe abed,
but tonight, let’s dance instead.”
Tucked in Mama’s arms, she spins;
Baby Goblin grins and grins.

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#MPF17 Wrap-up: “On Beyond Giggles: Writing Poetry for Children”

mwinikates

In my sixth year of attending the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, I once again listened to amazing poets that were new to me, reconnected with friends and colleagues, and came away with several pages of thoughts on poems I want to write (even a few scribbled draftlets!).

I also led two workshops on Sunday morning of the festival, the first of which was “On Beyond Giggles: Writing Children’s Poetry.”

Several of the folks in the room currently write poetry for children, others were interested in getting into writing for a younger audience, and all of us spent a little time thinking about who we were as children to get in the right mindset for the rest of the workshop.

Who were you when you were five years old? What did five year old you like to play? Who were your friends? Did you have a favorite toy or hideout or joke? Did you have siblings to play with, fight with, or play jokes on?

Who were you when you were seven? Did you have the same friends or new ones? The same fights? The same favorite color?

Who were you when you were ten? Were you out exploring your neighborhood? Getting into reading or sports or board games? Who were your friends? What were you afraid of? What made you laugh?

After calling our kid-selves back to the surface, we looked at some examples of great and effective children’s poetry, and talked about the poems we remembered from childhood ourselves, or from our kids’ favorites. Then we wrote, inspired by several prompts from one of my favorite kids’ poets, Jack Prelutsky.  People came up with some fantastic verse, rhyming and free verse, inventive and imaginative, silly and sweet (and bittersweet too).

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The slides from the workshop are here below.  Thanks to all the hardy folks who attended on an early Sunday morning to talk and write playful poetry with me!

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MassPoetryFest17 Schedule is Up!

mwinikates

…And signups are now available for my two workshops, among many other fantastic looking offerings, here. As always, there’s a great diversity of poets, styles, forms, and ideas represented in the schedule, and I’m really looking forward to attending this year, as well as leading the two workshops on Sunday morning.

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Solarpunk Serenades

Solarpunk, the optimistic, eco-conscious, sci-fi of the near future, is a great fit for the imagination and whimsy of a poet. We’ll look at some examples of poems old and new that reflect the solarpunk ideals, and experiment with writing prompts. Bring your futurist dreams of conversing with whales, living in a treehouse, and using solar sails to reach Mars to this workshop.

byfrancoisshuiten
City Concept by artist Francois Shuiten

On Beyond Giggles: Writing Children’s Poetry

What makes a poem for children successful? Does it have to rhyme? Use short words? Feature at least one thing to gross you out? We’ll look at examples from a number of poets who write for younger audiences, and try out some of their techniques with a selection of writing prompts. Feel free to bring an example of one of your favorite poems for kids to add to the discussion!

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Page from Red Sings from Treetops, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

 

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Ready, Set, Poetry Fest!

mwinikates

One of the highlights of my writing-year is always the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. I started off as an attendee, then as a museum educator offering drop-in programs that tied the visual to the verbal arts for all ages, and then as an independent poet submitting workshop proposals on ekphrastic poetry.

For this year’s festival, I’m honored and excited to say that I’ve had two workshop proposals accepted! The schedule for the festival isn’t up yet, but sometime during the weekend of May 5-7, I will be offering the following two workshops:

design for a boat or submersible that incorporates green energy to clean waterways
Vincent Callebaut, Amphibious Garden Cleaning European Waterways, http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/city/life/215749-solarpunk

Solarpunk Serenades
Solarpunk, the optimistic, eco-conscious, sci-fi of the near future, is a great fit for the imagination and whimsy of a poet. We’ll look at some examples of poems old and new that reflect the solarpunk ideals, and experiment with writing prompts. Bring your futurist dreams of conversing with whales, living in a treehouse, and using solar sails to reach Mars to this workshop.
purple-pelican

On Beyond Giggles: Writing Children’s Poetry

What makes a poem for children successful? Does it have to rhyme? Use short words? Feature at least one thing to gross you out? We’ll look at examples from a number of poets who write for younger audiences, and try out some of their techniques with a selection of writing prompts. Feel free to bring an example of one of your favorite poems for kids to add to the discussion!