The Pulitzer Prize-winning Brooks, the first Black woman appointed U.S. Poet Laureate, wrote this following King’s assassination in 1968. Included in Arnold Adoff’s groundbreaking anthologyI Am the Darker Brother (Macmillan), it was originally published as a broadside by Broadside Press.
Jan at Bookseed Studio is also remembering and celebrating the life and legacy of King while hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup, so I hope you’ll stop by and say hi.
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be showing students rainbow-colored bacteria, discussing dinosaur breath, or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
I hope you had as nice and restful a break as I did these past few weeks. I’ve been thinking a lot about unanswered prayers lately – but I’ll get to that later.
I took the holidays off from blogging and focused my energy and time on Christmas, our family, and recharging. And after a busy, busy year that included a new anthology, the NH Book Festival, the Chappaqua Book Festival, the Newton (MA) Book Festival, and more school and library visits than I’ve ever done in a single year – whew, it was a much-needed respite, to say the least.
No sooner had 2026 begun, when I learned – the evening of Jan. 1, no less – that my friend Charles Ghigna, with whom I wrote Once Upon Another Time (Beaming Books, 2021), had won a Northern Lights Book Award in the “Best Picture Book, 4-8 category” for his semi-biographical Bound to Dream: An Immigrant Story (Schiffer Publishing, 2025).
This was quite a surprise, certainly, but it was even more of a shock because my A Universe of Rainbows (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025) had just received recognition as as NCTE Notable Poetry Book at the National Council of Teachers of English convention this past November – and I was not ecpecting to have two boosk win two different awards right before the end of the year!
So for Poetry Friday, I thought I’d share the genesis for Stargazing – which was a poem.
Way back in the summer of 2014, four of my nieces and nephews had visited our home here in rural NH. After a long day, they stepped outside to leave around 9pm – and stopped, staring at the sky. Living just outside of Boston, they had never seen so many stars!
So I pointed out some of the constellations and the Milky Way, and they were fascinated; I thought, there might be a poem here. So I got busy writing and sent the poem off to Paul Janezcko, who was early in the process of putting together the anthology that would become The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog (Candlewick, 2019).
As fate would have it, Paul passed away just days before his book came out. He had been in hospice prior to this, so I had no way of knowing why my poem never made it into the book – and I would never find out. But a mutual friend of ours, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, really liked the poem and suggested I flesh it out a bit and turn it into a picture book manuscript.
And that’s exactly what I did!
What better way, then, to kick off a new year of Poetry Fridays with the original poem, that eventually became the book: .
A Beginner’s Guide to Star Gazing
It’s important the conditions be just right.
Wait for a cloudless, moonless night or one with just a silver sliver or even a full moon, round and glowing… come to think of it, even a few clouds aren’t a problem.
Really, any evening that features at least a few stars is perfect.
Go outside with someone special or a pet or no one at all and find a patch of grass to lie upon or bring a blanket or chair or you can even stand there with your head craning toward the sky, and begin counting the stars.
On second thought, you don’t need to count them; try connecting them, dot-to-dots and see what pictures are hidden high above. The constellations will be watching, although Orion will be busy protecting the Seven Sisters from the Bull while the Dragon writhes between Dippers and Dogs and this is all very important but not really because the most important thing to remember about star-gazing is
If you read my book, I hope you’ll take the time to note the significant changes between poem and book – I definitely like what I did with the text, making it much more poetic and vivid and developing its narrative structure.
Oh, and did you notice that it was originally titled “A Beginner’s Guide?” Well, when Beaming Books editor Naomi Krueger (who worked with Charles Ghigna and me on Once Upon) read my manuscript for Stargazing, she liked it but didn’t feel it would fit the mission of the publishing company. But she loved the title!
So she asked if I’d be interested in writing the book A Beginner’s Guide to Being Human (Beaming Books, 2022), instead – at which point we both recognized the necessity of changing my poem’s title, ha!
Remember, aspiring writers: just because something you create doesn’t turn out the way you expect, doesn’t mean it won’t live on in another form. Keep writing, keep revising, keep repurposing! And always be ready to pivot. A poem I wrote for an anthology never made it in – however, I ended up with not one, but TWO picture books that would never exist, had I gotten my wish.
Unanswered prayers, indeed.
Ruth is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town with a spotlight on birds and wordplay (notice a little internal rhyme for ya there) from J. Drew Lanham’s book, Sparrow Envy. The poem she shares is full of musical wordplay and short, staccato lines – reminiscent of a bird’s song!
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be showing students rainbow-colored bacteria, discussing dinosaur breath, or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
Things have been so busy lately, between NCTE, book festivals, and the holidays, that I just realized I missed the one-year-mark for a fun anthology from the folks at Bushel & Peck!
Schoolapalooza: A Silly Alphabet of 26 Schooltime Poems (Moonshower, 2024) – one of several anthologies I was part of last year – arrived Dec. 3, 2024, and I was thrilled not only to have a poem included, but to see my name on the cover!
I’ve previously shared my contribution, a poem entitled “Irony,” as well as “Thesaurus Storm,” a poem by my friend Rebecca Kai Dotlich. So today I thought I’d share a poem from another friend, Irene Latham, who know a thing or two about anthologies herself. I love its simplicity and aLLiteration:
I am as big a supporter of local indie bookstores as anyone, but I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that Amazon is offering this book at a nearly 30% discount for a limited time – so if you haven’t picked up a copy yet and are considering doing so, now might be the time to do it!
Also, in case you didn’t know it, this Sunday is National Flashlight Day – which corresponds each year with the winter solstice, of course (the shortest day of the year). And if you’re wracking your brain trying to figure out what children’s book might be the perfect accompaniment for this fantastic holiday, I know of one.
Well, I need to get baking my Christmas cookies! If you know me, you know I bake nearly 800 of them each year – so I will bid you farewell for this year. Have a wonderful holiday season (Christmas, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Festivus – whatever you celebrate) and I’ll look forward to seeing you in 2026!
Michelel Kogan is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup with Peace and Light at More Art 4 All, so be sure to stop by and say hi.
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be showing students rainbow-colored bacteria, discussing dinosaur breath, or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
Every year, the annual NCTE Convention is such a monumental experience that it takes me several weeks to process everything I experienced. Which is why I’m sharing one more aspect of the weekend today!
This week, I wanted to spotlight another award-winner.
Charles R. Smith, Jr. received the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children – and what a multi-talented fellow he is!
With multiple children’s books to his name, he is not only an accomplished writer but a photographer, fitness trainer, and even an “American Ninja Warrior” contestant.
Combining these interests, Charles has carved out a unique niche for himself, bringing his love of reading, wordplay, and athletics to young people everywhere:
If you take another look at the graphic above, you’ll notice another award Charles received this year at NCTE – his newest book, Black Diamond Kings, was selected as an NCTE Notable Poetry Book!
The book is a pairing of history, sports, and poetry, spotlighting twelve of the Negro leagues’ biggest stars with exciting, engaging language, back matter, and thoughtful, artistic illustrations from Adrian Brandon.
Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is at A Word Edgewise, where Linda is hosting the festivities with a mash-up of a Mary Oliver poem with a popular Christmas song – you’ll have to check it out!
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be showing students rainbow-colored bacteria, discussing dinosaur breath, or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
Look at that beautiful little cover, nestled in-between so many incredible books of poetry!
I am so, so grateful to the NCTE award committee for selecting A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World(Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025) as an NCTE Notable Poetry Book. To have something like this recognized as being outstanding among others gives me hope that I can continue writing and sharing even more poetry with the world.
Although it’s my name on the cover, the award really goes out to all the contributors – each who helped make the book what it is in their own, unique way – as well as my editor, Kathleen Merz, and the entire Eerdmans family. Moreover, illustrator Jamey Christoph’s uber-saturated watercolors brilliantly capture the beauty of the amazing subjects within the book; my gratitude to him for his hard work, superb talent, and genuine friendship. He’s a good guy.
NCTE 2025: A quick retrospective in photos
So many friends – so little time!
I can’t possibly tag each and every person in this gallery, but if you see yorself, I hope you’ll leave a comment and say hi.
Now then – today’s poems! (Yes, there’s more than one!)
As I mentioned two Fridays ago (my first day of NCTE), I was part of a panel presentation on free verse with poets Georgia Heard and Allan Wolf, and Poetry Friday friend Carol Varsalona. One of the suggestions we offered in helping students understand free verse and have some fun with it was to take a well-known poem and re-write it as free verse. We thought it was a creative way for students to play with words and free themselves – literally – from the constraints of formal rhyming verse.
So we each took up the challenge ourselves, and shared our responses during our presentation! To read Frost’s original, check out my previous post)
First up, Allan’s response:
These Woods Are Owned
These woods are owned by a man in the village. And so, he won’t wonder why I’ve stopped in the dark, far from any farmhouse, which elicits an inquisitive knicker from the road-weary pony who has carried me here in the cold.
What’s madness to a horse is simple beauty to a human. To our right, the lake frozen over. To our left, the snow-covered trees.
I linger to drink in the warmth of my own wonder. At last, I spur us toward my hungry horse’s hay which waits, with my ticking, many miles ahead. The frozen lake and snowy wood, ablaze, inside my head.
Allan felt this speaker is perhaps a bit more articulate than Frost’s speaker, choosing particular words like “inquisitive knicker” to not only create internal rhyme, but provide insight into the type of character speaking.
Next, we have Georgia Heard’s response:
Georgia, Carol, Allan, and I – looking like we’re ready to drop our new album.
How to Write a Free verse Poem
Taste a word let it melt on your tongue like a single snowflake. No fences here. No promises to keep. Only the sound of your own words falling softly onto the page.
Georgia admits her poem has a bit of an ‘Eve Merriam vibe,’ as she puts it, as she had included Merriam’s “How to Eat a Poem” in her portion of our presentation. But as we explained to the educators in the audience, a poem will tell you how to write it, if you pay attention.
Heard’s poem was not a strict re-telling of Frost’s, but more of her own poem inspired by Frost and Merriam together. But that was the poem she was inspired to write, so that’s what she did!
Speaking of paying attention to your muse, here’s my response to the challenge:
Watching Woods
Whose woods these are, he knows. He knows. My house is in the village, though. He seems to think I will not mind him stopping midst the evening snow.
The fool presumes I’m mad – or blind – completely unaware, resigned to die within wallpapered halls, this tomb in which I’m now confined.
My buckskin Morgans’ empty stalls, old rough-hewn fences, stone-built walls are memories I strive to keep. Outside, an empty pasture sprawls
beyond my gaze so dark and deep. The path is long; the hummock, steep. On nights like this I long for sleep. Oh, how I long, I long for sleep.
Hmmm….doesn’t really sound like a free verse poem now, does it?
But that’s my point about paying attention to the poem! I was given a challenge to write a free verse poem based on “Stopping by Woods,” yet the poem I was immediately inspired to write was a syllable-for-syllable, rhyme-for-rhyme narrative told from the POV of the owner of the woods.
Irene Latham and I invited all poetry lovers to come hang out at our Poetry Peeps gathering Fri. night!
He’s a bit of a surly fellow, too, not too amused to know Frost’s speaker is traipsing through his fields.
You’ll notice I maintain Frost’s meter and chain rhyme scheme (AABA, BBCB, CCDC, etc.) as well as the integrity of the poem – using phrases and imagery familiar with the original. Definitely not free verse, but definitely a poem that wanted to be written! Responding to a poetry prompt is not like a typical academic assignment where you are graded on how closely you follow ‘the rules’, but rather how well you follow your muse.
I would share Carol’s response, but I know she’s planning on posting it on her own blog one of these days – so I’ll let her showcase her poem in due time.
Speaking of free verse (and speaking of Irene!), you’ll find today’s Poetry Friday roundup at Irene Latham’s Live Your Poem, where she’s sharing a poem from Barbara Crooker as well as an original poem inspired by Crooker’s title. (And whaddaya know – we have a poetry prompt now, too!)
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be showing students rainbow-colored bacteria, discussing dinosaur breath, or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
I’m going to be super-busy, too, if this graphic is any indication. I’ll be participating in a panel presentation with poets Georgia Heard and Allan Wolf, and Poetry Friday friend Carol Varsalona on Sat., Nov. 22 :
FREE YOUR STUDENTS (AND YOURSELF) WITH FREE VERSE:
How does one “dream boldly?” By creating stories and poetry that are authentic and unique! Often when we think of reading/teaching poetry, we think of the classic poetic devices: rhyme, meter, syllables. Remove those elements, however, and students are free to write whatever they want, however they want. We’ll reveal the freedom that comes from free verse!
NCTE poetry fans: Stop by whenever you’d like, and say HI!
So…why am I sharing a Robert Frost poem today, and how does this have anything to do with NCTE? Well, when Georgia, Allan, Carol, and I first discussed the plans for our presentation, we thought it might be interesting (and fun!) to show attendees how a classic rhyming poem could be altered into free verse.
Not that we wanted to try to outdo the esteemed Frost, but simply to give educators a creative idea for students to play with words and free themselves – literally – from the constraints of formal poetry. So we each took up the challenge, and will share our responses during our presentation!
(If you can’t make it to the convention, no worries – I’ll share the poems here in a forthcoming post!)
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
– Robert Frost, 1923
Why not try it yourself? Read over the poem and then see if you can re-write it in free verse, losing the rhyme, setting aside the meter, altering line lengths – or even completely re-writing it and changing the POV! If you do, be sure to email it to me and I’ll share it here.
(By the way, I don’t know what’s going on with WordPress’ algorithms, but almost no one saw my post from last week, where I recapped my weekend as the PA announcer for our local fair. If you have a minute, I hope you’ll check it out!)
Well, either I’ll see you in Denver, or I’ll see you back here next week! Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is hosted by Janice at Salt City Verse, where she is spotlighting fellow New Englander Rajani LaRocca, physician and author extraordinaire!
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
I just realized that we are a mere two weeks away from Thanksgiving here in the U.S., and only six weeks from Christmas!
Good grief, where does the time go??
I had meant to share my annual recap of the state fair by now, but with all the book festivals and events taking place this fall, it somehow got completely past me. (It apparently got completely past me last year – because I somehow never even posted about it in 2024) So I’m making sure I take care of that now!
As you may know, I’ve worked at the local state fair as the PA announcer for the past 15 years. If you need to know where the bathrooms are or the time of the next cattle pull, I’m your guy.
1.) Never judge a book by its cover. On one of the first days, I glimpsed a fellow walk past me covered in tattoos and leather. Scruffy beard. Wallet on a chain. If you saw him, you’d assume biker dude. And maybe he was. But his Taylor Swift concert T-shirt really threw me.
2.) Giant pumpkins are always one of the biggest draws. Even in a year adversely affected by an exceptionally dry summer, resulting in smaller-than-usual gourds, folks still can’t wait to see what the local farmers accomplished.
3.)It’s extremely satisfying watching a hot shot get taken down a notch. At the beginning of the demolition derbies, drivers come out onto the track and park along a concrete wall, so that all the particpants are in a line prior to the start. One night, a driver decided to show everyone how cool he was by zooming in as fast as he could, careening through the dirt and mud, nearly losing control, and eventually stalling in the middle of the track. Tried and tried and tried to start it; nothing. Laughter ensued.
Finally, he got it going and drove toward the concrete wall – and hit it so hard he stalled again. More laughter.
And when the countdown ended and all the cars pulled out of their spots to begin the derby…he stayed there. Parked. Unable to move because his vehicle refused to start. His team, not laughing. I wonder if he’ll do that again.
4.) After the first candy apple was invented, it would be another 50 years before someone came up with the caramel apple:
Click to enlarge
5.) It’s interesting how some couples look like they belong together, while others are shockingly different. Many of the couples I saw were very obviously couples: if the woman looked like she had just finished a fashion shoot for Glamour, the guy would often look like he’d just stepped out of GQ.
However, there were exceptions. One couple that caught my attention appeared to be polar opposites: she was giving off Allure vibes, sporting full makeup and a tight dress, while he was more of a Field & Stream, camo jeans kind of dude. To each his own, right?
6.) Garden tractor racing is a thing. Officially known as lawn mower racing, this sport is not only a ‘thing’ – it’s an organized thing, with associations all across the country. And it’s more exciting than you might expect; depending on the class, these guys can get up to 60 miles per hour!
7.) I’m faster than a speeding locomotive. Ok, well, “speeding” might be a bit of an exaggeration. (“Locomotive” is probably a stretch, too)
The Northeast Kingdom Express offered train rides to and from opposite gates at the fair, and as I was walking to the administration office it approached me – and I left it in the dust. I’m just that fast.
Next up: I’ll attempt to outrun a bullet and then leap a tall building in a single bound. Wish me luck.
8.) The fair a great place to find humor where you least suspect.
I couldn’t help but wonder what this word ending in “ious” used to be. It couldn’t have been “delicious” – othewise, why cover it up? Some of my guesses included “suspicious,” “tedious,” “nefarious,” “insidious,” and “amphibious.” My favorite? “Impervious.” Try inserting your own and see what you think!
I hope you enjoyed this little retrospective! For today’s poem, I’m dusting off a little fair food poem I posted about 4 years ago while – coincidentally – working at the fair!
“…then again, maybe I should go back for some pizza”
I love the fair, but most of all, the food is hard to beat – it’s barely 2pm, and yet I’ve had so much to eat! I started with a burger, had a corn dog and some fries, and then hot buttered popcorn in a box of massive size.
I feasted on the fried dough, ate a funnel cake or three, and downed as many deep-fried foods as there could ever be. Of course I needed ice cream, so I stopped to have a scoop; I even scarfed a giant, cheesy bread bowl full of soup!
Ate cotton candy, caramel apples, schnitzel on a stick. I polished off a pulled pork sub entirely too quick. I’ve eaten all the sausage my poor stomach will allow; so really, all I want – is just a garden salad now…
Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is being hosted by Carol Labuzzetta at her blog The Apples in My Orchard!
Speaking of fall fairs and festivals…
If you’re in the New England area, I hope you’ll join me and 60 other children’s authors and illustrators at the 2nd annual Newton (MA) Children’s Book Festival this Sun.! This free event is a wonderful opportunity to purchase books for all the young people on your holiday list.
Going to NCTE 2025??
I’ll be participating in a panel presentation with Georgia Heard, Allan Wolf, and Poetry Friday friend Carol Varsalona on Sat., Nov. 22 from 1:15pm – 2:30pm in Room 705!
FREE YOUR STUDENTS (AND YOURSELF) WITH FREE VERSE:
How does one “dream boldly?” By creating stories and poetry that are authentic and unique! Often when we think of reading/teaching poetry, we think of the classic poetic devices: rhyme, meter, syllables. Remove those elements, however, and students are free to write whatever they want, however they want. We’ll reveal the freedom that comes from free verse!
Also on Sat., I’ll be signing copies of A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025)at Eerdmans’ booth #931 at 11:30am and at the Classroom Library Company booth #1016 at 3:30pm!
NCTE poetry fans: Stop by whenever you’d like, and say HI!
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
You probably realize this already, but I’ll say it anyway: not everything an author or poet writes is meant for (or worthy of) mass consumption.
There have been plenty of stories, poems, essays, and random lines written over the years by numerous folks, both famous and unknown, that likely will never see the light of day. Some of this is by accident – where the project just doesn’t turn out the way the creator had hoped and is scrapped – but some things are written with no intention of ever being shared. (Anyone with a diary knows this truth.)
In my case, I often write poems not for publishing purposes or any sort of higher purpose, but simply to practice, to hone my skills. To stay sharp, as it were.
Today’s offering is one of them.
As I was wondering yesterday what to share for my Poetry Friday post, I decided to use my go-to for inspiration: my phone’s camera roll! I scanned through the pics quickly and noticed a photo I’d taken a few nights ago while my wife were enjoying a few moments outside by the fire.
I looked at the flames, at the darkness, at the mutual feeling of comfort we both shared (especially since this was this first fire we’ve enjoyed all year due to an exceptionally dry summer), and wondered how to combine the images with the emotions. In 15 minutes, I’d written this:
“Late Autumn Fire”
The shorter the day, the longer the night; the greater the darkness, the lesser the light.
The brighter the glow, the warmer our hearts. The sooner we kindle, the sooner flames start.
No, it’s not an award-winning poem. No, it’s not anything outstanding or ground-breaking. And no, very likely not worthy of publishing. I’m not even sure “lesser the light” is even grammatical! But I did manage to put together a rhyming, metrical, and visually emotional (if that’s a term) poem in only 15 minutes. (Right now some of you are thinking, “it reads like a 15-minute poem, too, pal”.)
This was simply an exercise to see if I could construct something reasonably interesting, at least, in a short amount of time – not because I’m trying to win a Fastest Poem Award but because I wanted to try to draw upon my skills as quickly as I could. I wanted to see how easily those skills could be accessed. Muscles have memory and so does your brain, and the more synapses you can get doing what you want, the better prepared you’ll be for those big projects down the road that you DO plan on publishing and sharing with the world!
So don’t dismiss simple practice poems like this one – they keep the brain sharp and the skills readily available.
Oh, and by the way, if you’re in the New England area, I hope you’ll join me and 60 other children’s authors and illustrators at the 2nd annual Newton (MA) Children’s Book Festival on Sun., Nov. 16! This free event is a wonderful opportunity to purchase books for all the young people on your holiday list – and getting books personally-signed is extra-special.
My friend Laura Purdie Salas is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup at her blog Poems for Teachers with more news about her brand-new book, Flurry, Float, and Fly!
Going to NCTE 2025??
I’ll be participating in a panel presentation with Georgia Heard, Allan Wolf, and Poetry Friday friend Carol Varsalona on Sat., Nov. 22 from 1:15pm – 2:30pm in Room 705!
FREE YOUR STUDENTS (AND YOURSELF) WITH FREE VERSE: How does one “dream boldly?” By creating stories and poetry that are authentic and unique! Often when we think of reading/teaching poetry, we think of the classic poetic devices: rhyme, meter, syllables. Remove those elements, however, and students are free to write whatever they want, however they want. We’ll reveal the freedom that comes from free verse!
Also on Sat., I’ll be signing copies of A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025)at Eerdmans’ booth #931 at 11:30am and at the Classroom Library Company booth #1016 at 3:30pm!
NCTE poetry fans: Stop by whenever you’d like, and say HI!
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
When schools invite me to visit, I often share the behind-the-scenes journeys of my books or unusual aspects like illustrations or STEM elements. These receive great reactions, when kids discover so many things about the creative process – and the world – they didn’t know.
But when a school requests a poetry workshop, kids are even more surprised – at how fun poetry can be!
I was invited recently to a school in Vermont to present a poetry workshop, and after sharing some of my favorite poems, why I love poetry in general, and all the myriad forms of poetry that exist, I had the students join together to create a crowd-sourced poem using my tied-and-true MBOE. (The Most Boring Object Ever)
As you may know from previous posts here, like THIS one and THAT one, I have the students offer up one particular object they think is boring and unworthy of a poem – and then we get busy!
In the case of the Vermont visit, a student suggested a fidget cube, also known as an infinity cube.
An infinity cube is a set of 8 connected cubes that can be folded into different shapes, and I thought this young girl’s suggestion would be perfect because it offered so many possibilities when brainstorming ideas for our poem!
So just like I always do, I asked students to describe it: what did it look like, feel like, sound like? What else could it be, if it wasn’t a fidget cube? What might it be if it was 100 times bigger or 100 times smaller?
And I tried my best to jot all the words and phrases down as fast as I could on their dry erase board!
You can see some of the students’ offerings in the photo – but honestly, if I’d had more space, I’d have included more. In fact, I had to erase some of the words in order to make room for the poem we created!
Utilizing some of the words and phrases I felt might work together, we came up with this original (first) version:
infinite puzzle colors fold upon themselves magnet in my hands
(this was quite ironic, as we’d discussed haiku earlier in the class, and I had just told them they needn’t worry about the classic 5-7-5 syllable rule!)
The real fun in writing these sorts of poems, though, is taking the phrases and imagery that had been brainstormed and then changing the poem to suit our own personal style. Here are a few suggestions I offered, to show them how juxtaposing words can create multiple poems from just one exercise:
magnetic puzzle folds upon itself the color of infinity
magnetic colors fold into infinity satisfying puzzle
colors of the cube fold into a puzzle in my hands a little infinity
I then suggested they could use some of their ideas as a title, and quickly put this together to show them what I meant:
“The Color of Infinity”
Rectangle folds into its cube children – each small part of a larger whole, satisfying the puzzle.
I told them, once a young poet brainstorms their ideas and writes down whatever comes to their mind, they’re off and running! The poem might end up being about what they were planning – but it could be a poem about something else, entirely!
Someone might have seen the words “colors”, “cube,” and “puzzle,” and then been inspired to write a poem about rainbows, ice, or math problems! It doesn’t matter what the subject is or even how good the poem is – what matters is the act of thinking/imagining/connecting, and then writing down the words.
If you’d be interested in having me visit your school – either for a poetry workshop or book presentations – I hope you’ll email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com and we can put some plans together!
Oh, and by the way, I spent this past week wearing all those cool new shirts Hardaddy.com sent me, and posted an Instagram reel to thank them. My son even joined in! From Heat Miser and Snow Miser to the Headless Horseman and Godzilla, these are some bright, funky, and wild shirts – so if you have time to check out the reel, be sure to hang on til the end! (I think you’ll get a chuckle)
Patricia Franz has today’s Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog Reverie, and is embracing autumn and the National Writing Project WRITE OUT’s theme, “Awaken the Senses!”
NCTE poetry fans: Stop by whenever you’d like, and say HI!
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
There are few things more comforting than a nice, warm serving of pasta – whether it’s a plate of angel hair carbonara, a thick slab of lasagna filled with roicotta and bolognese, or elbow macaroni swimming in five different cheeses.
And today, we get to celebrate!
I discovered earlier this week that today is National Pasta Day – and I immediately knew what I had to do.
So I’ve dusted off one of my favorite poems (which I initially wrote for National Mac ‘n Cheese Day, July 14) and am sharing it here once again! Yes, I’ve posted it a couple of times in the years since I first wrote it – but like I said, it’s a favorite of mine and I simply couldn’t share a more apropos poem for today.
(click to enlarge)
I have a busy few days here: I attended a book signing at our local indie bookstore last weekend, I’m visiting a school in Newport, NH today, and I’ll be selling books at Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton, NH Sat. afternoon! And you can be assured I’ll be wearing one of my wild, eye-catching shirts from Hardaddy.com.
I mention them because everywhere I go, people comment how much they love my shirts – and about a month ago, I publicly thanked the company on Instagram for heling me look good.
Well, they saw the post and offered to send me a bunch of shirts for FREE, if I’d be willing to share them with my followers!
I said, SURE!
So yesterday I posted a short unboxing video (well, unbagging, that is) of the shirts Hardaddy.com sent, and you have to see them to believe them! Wild graphics, cool colors, and even the Headless Horseman – it’s a hefty package they sent me, and I hope you’ll take just a couple of minutes to check it out.
(And I’m not getting paid for this, by the way – I’m just sharing these because the shirts are so flippin’ awesome!)
Today’s Poetry Friday Roundup is at Sarah Grace Tuttle’s little home on the web, where she’s featuring an original poem about a hitchhiking phoenix!
NCTE poetry fans: Stop by whenever you’d like, and say HI!
(If we’ve not yet connected on Instagram, please find me! I’d love to keep in touch. From new releases to blog posts to poetry and more, Instagram is a great way to learn more about your interests, and to connect with the folks who interest you.)
I love chatting with students about creativity, poetry, the writing process, dinsoaurs, and lots of other things! So if you think you might be interested in having me visit your school – either in-person or virtually – check out all the presentations I offer below, then email me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com!
I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how imagination and creativity can lead to fantastic careers! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaur breath or crafting origami sea turtles!
Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!
You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!
Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)
Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right! (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud
Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme 