Welcome to where I am, where my kitchen's always messy, a pot's (or a poet) always about to boil over, a dog is always begging to be fed. Drafts of poems on the counter. Windows filled with leaves. Wind. Clouds moving over the mountains. If you like poetry, books, and music--especially dog howls when a siren unwinds down the hill-- you'll like it here.


MY NEW AUTHOR'S SITE, KATHRYNSTRIPLINGBYER.COM, THAT I MYSELF SET UP THROUGH WEEBLY.COM, IS NOW UP. I HAD FUN CREATING THIS SITE AND WOULD RECOMMEND WEEBLY.COM TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN SETTING UP A WEBSITE. I INVITE YOU TO VISIT MY NEW SITE TO KEEP UP WITH EVENTS RELATED TO MY NEW BOOK.


MY NC POET LAUREATE BLOG, MY LAUREATE'S LASSO, WILL REMAIN UP AS AN ARCHIVE OF NC POETS, GRADES K-INFINITY! I INVITE YOU TO VISIT WHEN YOU FEEL THE NEED TO READ SOME GOOD POEMS.

VISIT MY NEW BLOG, MOUNTAIN WOMAN, WHERE YOU WILL FIND UPDATES ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY KITCHEN, IN THE ENVIRONMENT, IN MY IMAGINATION, IN MY GARDEN, AND AMONG MY MOUNTAIN WOMEN FRIENDS.




Wednesday, June 2, 2010

STUDENT POET OF THE DAY: SARA JENKINS


Six grader Sara Jenkins has written a haunting poem about the ocean, not the sunny vista of Summer days but the depths and their secrets. Her ability to move this poem along in a compelling way impresses me. Sound effects (look at that second stanza...) work beautifully. Line breaks are good, as are the three-line stanzas, with the closing pared to two, clean and a bit scary. This piece reminds me of the Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer's "Deep Down."

THE OCEAN

by Sara Jenkins

The sound of waves
crashing down
bothers me.

Its depth I fear
and things that swim the waters
with arms and legs and daggers.

The shipmates
lost at war
haunt the waters.

The secrets
never revealed.

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Sara lives in Franklin, NC. Her parents are Tanya and Shannon Jenkins. Like Abrianna Berry she attends Macon Middle School.

2 comments:

Vicki Lane said...

Well done, Sara! And hoorah for the teachers who are encouraging their students to produce such fine poetry!

Kathryn Stripling Byer said...

Thanks for your encouraging comments, Vicki. These teachers have been doing a fabulous job over in Macon County!