Karen Prose

International Literacy Day – Tuesday 8th September 2015

LiteracyDayLogo

Long, long ago, after a bath but before bedtime (in the days when there were no PCs, laptops, mobile phones, iPads) my Mum (sometimes my Dad) would read to me. First it was books with more pictures than words. There were some stories about a talking helicopter and a talking aeroplane. I seem to remember it wasn’t too long before I was reading myself – tales of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot, Robin Hood, Biggles, Long John Silver (Treasure Island was a favourite book), schoolboy Jennings and mischievous William Brown, then James Bond, Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf and, if he’d been around in those days, I’d have been a big Harry Potter fan.

Then it was Shakespeare, Milton, Thomas Hardy, William Golding, Ernest Hemingway, Roger McGough, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and A Level revision notes and exam papers. And so it went on till I was reading job advertisements and filling in job applications and applying for a driving licence and a passport. Thank goodness I was able to read… and write.

And talking of writing… all that reading (thanks Mum and Dad) led to me writing… stories, poems, songs and, to cut a long story short, I’m still reading and writing. What a pleasure it has been, and still is, to be able to do that. And, if I hadn’t become a reader (I just know it) I’d never have become a poet. Just shows where a little reading, after a bath but before bedtime, can lead to.

More information about International Literacy Day can be found at http://internationalliteracyday.org/

Literacy

Karen Poem

Back to School? Don’t be Late!

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Very Famous Feet

My very famous feet
Are walking down the street
Goal-scorers
Crowd-pleasers
My very famous feet

My very famous feet
Strangers to defeat
Penalty-takers
Boot-wearers
My very famous feet

My very famous feet
In trainers looking neat
Ball-dribblers
Cup-winners
My very famous feet

My very famous feet
Are rushing through the gate
Playground-pounders
Classroom-visitors
My very famous feet

My very famous
Very famous
My ‘Sorry I’m late, Miss’ feet

 

Karen Poem

Stop Look Listen: Today is World Listening Day

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In honour of World Listening Day today, which has the theme of listening to water, I am adding this poem of mine originally posted on poloroidblipfoto on 1 June 2015.

Stop Look Listen

Stop, for a moment
Look how the rain sweeps across our view
Listen to the wind crashing against our window

Listen to the swoosh of tyres on the road below
Look at lucky us, warm and cosy with our mugs of tea
Stop for a moment, listen, look

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Karen Classroom ideas, Poem, School visit

National Poetry Day Thursday 8 October 2015

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UK’s National Poetry Day, the annual mass celebration of poetry and all things poetical, will mark its 21st birthday on Thursday 8 October 2015.

This year’s theme is LIGHT. Lesson plans and resources can be found on the National Poetry Day website here: http://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/national-poetry-day/resources/lesson-plans/

Here is one from me on that theme.

Image of bub copyright Bernard Young

Light Bulb Moment

you’re bright
white hot
turned on
tuned in
it’s a moment
of wonderment
and fulfilment
your filament
alive with electricity
you tingle
and something
goes ping
in your brain

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Karen Classroom ideas, School visit

Koalas, Kangaroos, Pandas and Freedom in Thoresby

Classroom

What a hub of enthusiasm and creativity I walked into when I entered Thoresby Primary School, last week. It was great to be back in Hull and I spent three rewarding days in the school as part of their Kaleidoscope festival. This resulted in lots of new poems being written on the theme of Freedom, as well as poems about koalas, kangaroos, pandas (and a variety of other animals) and poems triggered by inspirational quotes from Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

OutdoorsWe also composed several class poems to my guitar accompaniment, and a Year 6 class performed theirs outdoors on my last day to an audience of parents and children.

So thank you to all the children and staff for such a warm welcome and for three exciting days (and three fine lunches!). I enjoyed my time in all the classrooms (and in the staff room). There’s already been talk of me returning to work there again, so I’ll be more than happy to do that if the call comes.

HallBernard playing guitar

Poet Bernard Young Poem

Another View

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This place is full of scenery.
There’s not a shop in sight.
I need to buy a burger.
There’s nothing here I like.

There’s nothing here I like.
It’s all hills and trees and lakes
and oldies who love hiking.
I need to phone my mates.

I need to phone my mates
and tell them what I’m going through.
I have to trek for hours
just to admire a view.

‘Just admire that view,’
is all my dad can say.
He’s driving me round the bend.
I’ve got to get away.

I’ve got to get away
from fresh air and greenery.
I need noise and traffic.
This place is full of scenery!

Karen Poem

World Poetry Day: 21 March every year

World Poetry Day CC-BY Karen Cropper

The Day

It opens daily.
The day.
You could visit.
Be part of it.

Or, better still,
why not be there
at the start of it
and stay till
it’s over.

No, no, I’m not
the host of it.
I’m just here, like you,
hoping to make
the most of it.

Bernard copyright1

Poet Bernard Young School visit

World Book Day Week 2015

Teachers in fancy dress at Aldbrough Primary School
Aldbrough Primary School

These colourful characters are the staff at Aldbrough Primary School (East Yorkshire). I was there to help them celebrate World Book Day. It was a lot of fun. The children were all dressed up too and I enjoyed performing for them and helping them write their own poems. A selection of their superb work was shared at the end of the day. It was well worth the early start and the long drive.

“We were very happy to have secured a booking with Bernard for World Book Day 2015.  The children (and staff) enjoyed Bernard’s poems, especially the ones they could join in with.  They were all clearly inspired by Bernard’s poetry and produced some excellent poems of their own which they shared with the whole school in lots of different ways at the end of the day.”  K. Jessop, Assistant Headteacher, Aldbrough Primary School.

I was in schools the whole week. I spent two days in Acacias Community Primary (Burnage, Manchester) performing and leading workshops. I also led two after school sessions there, where children and their parents wrote poems together. I spent a day in Whitegate End Primary (Chadderton) and finished off the week with a visit to St Brigid’s RC Primary (Manchester).

So I’d like to say a big thank you to all the schools who booked me and made me so welcome and a big sorry that I had no other dates available that week for the many schools who wanted to book me. But, as I’ve said before, a poet is not just for World Book Day Week. I’d be more than happy to visit your school any time. If you’d like to know more please do get in touch.

Karen School visit

Poetry’s Not Just For World Book Day, It’s For Life!

It was on the news - more poetry is needed!
It was on the news – more poetry is needed!

I am very pleased to be visiting a school in East Yorkshire on World Book Day and some Manchester schools for the rest of the week, but I had so many enquiries for World Book Day week that I had to turn bookings down. Frustrating for me and the schools concerned.

It made me think to write a blog post to say that poetry is not just for World Book Day (March 5th) nor just for World Poetry Day (March 21st), not even just for National Poetry Day (October 8th). I’d be more than happy to visit your school any day of the year (during term time, of course!).

Consider the benefits:

  • You’ll be getting ‘a real live poet’ – a specialist who knows his craft (and plays guitar!).
  • Someone who can generate a sense of fun with words.
  • Someone who can motivate even reluctant writers to write and give them the confidence to stand up at the end of the workshop and perform a new poem they can be proud of.

It’s not just me that thinks poetry should have a place in schools all year round. Elena Aquilar makes a good case in this blog post: “Five Reasons Why we Need Poetry in Schools”. She says “Poetry promotes literacy, builds community, and fosters emotional resilience. It can cross boundaries that little else can.” Read more

And the following benefits of reading poetry for older students are given in a blog post on synonym.com:

  • Improves Verbal Skills and Memory
  • Improves Critical Thinking
  • Develops Empathy and Insight
  • Encourages Engagement with other Art forms

Read more

So if you are a teacher looking for ideas for World Book Day, I hope you come away with the idea you could do the same kinds of activities on other days too.

Karen Poem

Back to school after the Christmas break?

Walnut cake

Back To School?

Back to school after the Christmas break?
Finding it hard to stay awake?

The Head’s in her office, head on the desk
All she needs is a little more rest

But now’s the time to raise a smile
Into the hall, the kids all file

And though half term seems a long way off
There’s still cake in the staffroom that you can scoff

copyright notice

Bernard is available for workshops in schools, particularly primary age (KS1/KS2). He is based in Manchester, but happy to travel further afield. Over the years he’s also worked successfully in partnership with Road Safety officers combining the road safety message with creative writing. To book Bernard for a workshop in your school, see Contact page.

Image credit: “Luxembourg Vianden Nut-fair 10” by PlayMistyForMe – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luxembourg_Vianden_Nut-fair_10.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Luxembourg_Vianden_Nut-fair_10.jpg