Poetry Discovery With Children

            We’ve been invited to ThePoem Farm for Poetry Friday, hosted by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, author of the recently published gorgeous poetry book, Forest Has A Song!  Thank you, Amy!

            I had another post nearly ready and then my four-year-old granddaughter spent time with me this week, and I heard her create beautifully musical songs when we drove to different places.  Although often her words are nonsensical, her parents have sung and played enough music for her that she seems to know innately that poem-songs have rhythm and rhyme.  The happy tone I heard certainly was a bit magical. 

       Later, in another magical moment, we walked around my new garden/back yard and picked flowers she chose to take home.  She said, “these colors just fill my heart, Grandma.”   Now, I tell lots of grandchildren stories, and like all grandmothers, I think mine are good, and I hope they bring cheer to those who don’t have the chance to spend time with young children.  And this was just a lovely thing that happened.  I shared with her parents and thought no more about it.

        But then, Thursday morning, I received the online articles from Orion magazine, and one is worth reading for those of us who work and write for and with children.  


        Richard Lewis shares A Wilderness of Thought, Childhood and the Poetic Imagination.  If you don’t have time to read the entire article, scroll toward the end to read the part about his work in imagining a meadow, and the few poem examples that he shared.  I love Aisha’s especially, that begins “My meadow is beautiful.” 

The cabin I recently sold, and our special meadow.

           Because of this, I researched further, discovering that Richard Lewis is the founder and director of The Touchstone Center for Children, a non-profit center “established in the belief that all persons have natural creative, imaginative and artistic capacities, which when encouraged and allowed to develop, find unique expression in each individual.”  There is a list of numerous books published by the foundation, also books and articles by Richard Lewis about his work with children. 

          I hope if you already know about this center, you will enjoy the article, but the center itself is a source of much inspiration for writing with children.  It was a lovely discovery Thursday morning.