(excerpt)
Wake up happy, have a stretch.
Then I sniff the air.
Lick your face a bunch of times,
glad that we’re a pair.
Best day ever!
After breakfast, time to dig.
Got a special box.
Find a bone, a tennis ball,
and some dirty socks.
Best day ever!
Marilyn Singer
WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU
(excerpt)
It’s the truth. There’s no debate.
Every creature wants a mate.
Furry, finned, or birds of a feather,
how do critters get together?
Garter snakes huddle.
People like to cuddle.
Bowerbirds make bowers.
Folks deliver flowers.
BIRD SINGING, BIRD WINGING
(excerpt)
Bird up at sunrise, singing.
Bird getting hungry, winging.
Bird on a tree trunk, tapping.
Bird at a flower, lapping.
Bird in a barnyard, scratching.
Bird by the river, catching.
DIY MFA: Episode 306: Recipes for Poetry and Creativity – Interview with Marilyn Singer
Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Marilyn Singer.
Winner of the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry, 2015, Marilyn Singer has written more than 100 books in many genres. She created a poetry form, the “reverso,” featured in three of her award-winning collections: Mirror Mirror, Follow Follow, and Echo Echo.
She co-hosts the Poetry Blast, which features children’s poets reading their work, at the American Library Association conference and other conventions. Marilyn lives in Brooklyn, NY and Washington, CT with a dog, a cat, and two doves, as well as her favorite dance partner, who also happens to be her husband.
On a more personal note, Marilyn is someone I consider a dear friend. We first met while standing in line for a book signing at BookExpo when I was just a newbie and I remember thinking “OMG this amazing author is talking to little ol’ me!” I’ve had the pleasure of featuring her on this show before (she was one of my very first interviews) and her books are among my children’s absolute favorites.So it is truly a pleasure and an honor to welcome the fabulous poet and children’s book author, Marilyn Singer back to DIY MFA Radio!
LIVE YOUR POEM
FOLLOW THE RECIPE: Poems about Imagination, Celebration, and Cake by Marilyn Singer
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! …I’m delighted today to welcome Marilyn Singer to Live Your Poem to talk about her (delicious!) new book. As is my tradition for author interviews, I’ve provided Marilyn with four simple prompts. Take it away, Marilyn!
FOLLOW THE RECIPE
(excerpt)
recipe for a good recipe
What’s in a good recipe?
Something right for me and you.
Steps to follow, A to Z.
What’s in a good recipe
for falling in love, for making a stew,
for balance or for harmony?
What’s in a good recipe?
Something right for me and you.
BUG DIPPING, BUG SIPPING
(excerpt)
Bug on the water, dipping.
Bug on the flower, sipping.
Bug on the roses, zinging.
Bug on your finger, clinging.
Bug in the tall grass, leaping.
Bug on the lampshade, sleeping.
Who Named Their Pony Macaroni?
(excerpt)
Those Presidential Pets
Along with children, First Ladies, and presidents,
the executive mansion had notable residents.
Scaly, smooth, feathered, furred,
they barked, they whinnied, they hissed, they purred.
Carefully bred, welcomed, selected,
or arriving as gifts, strange, unexpected:
creatures domestic, creatures exotic
from friends or from fans, from leaders despotic.
For transport, delight, comfort, protection,
for photo ops, food, and sometimes deflection
from reporters’ probing interviews,
from stress, bad press, unpleasant news.
Welcomed with affection or sometimes with regrets,
witnesses to history–those presidential pets.
Wild in the Streets
(excerpt)
Concrete, glass, tarmac, steel—
who’d imagine they’d appeal
to creatures that once lived
in forests, caves, on prairies, rocks?
How did they land on city blocks,
under bridges, on rooftops
in playgrounds and drains
(even in our houses, perhaps when it rains)?
What do they eat? Where do they sleep?
Who are these beings, beloved or reviled?
What wildlife can possibly flourish
where life’s no longer wild?