Looking Back on CWIM: The 1992 Edition
An Interview with Jack Prelutsky...

In 1992 I graduated college with a degree in English Lit and Journalism and I'd been an employee of F+W for about a year but had not yet joined the Market Books department. (I was an editorial assistant for a few of the magazines, including Writer's Digest.)

The edition of CWIM published that year was more than 300 pages (at $17.95) and included "A Writer's Guide to the Juvenile Market: Ten Steps to That First Sale," by Elaine Marie Alphin, an article for illustrators on "Portfolio Power," and nine "Close-up" interviews.

Since we're in the midst of National Poetry Month, I pulled an excerpt from an interview with Jack Prelutsky, who, in 2006, was be named the first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.

Jack Prelutsky gets his ideas from everywhere. "Everything I see or hear can become a poem. I don't respond to topical events or trends, although some themes, like my book about dinosaurs, were lucky to hit the crest of waves." He says sometimes ideas literally pop into his head. "I find inspiration from everything. I wrote a poem about a boneless chicken because one day when I was in the supermarket shopping for boneless breast of chicken, I started to imagine what the rest of a boneless chicken would look like and what kind of a life it would have.

"Writing for children in general, and I think writing children's poetry in particular, is harder than writing for adults. Literature for children must be succinct, and yet present in the most artful manner possible.

"The children's book market operates, most of the time, quite differently from the adult book market," says Prelutsky. "Adult books often explode upon the publishing scene with a lot of media hype. But most have literal shelf lives of approximately one year as hardbacks and one additional year as paperbacks before disappearing into remainder bins and the eventual exile known as 'out of print.' Children's books generally take years to establish themselves in bookstores and libraries. But once they achieve the status of 'classic,' they will stay in print as long as they remain in the memories of parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians. Patience in this profession is an absolutely necessity."

Blogger of the Week:
Tricia Stohr-Hunt, The Miss Rumphius Effect...

Tricia Stohr-Hunt, a professor in the education department at the University of Richmond, started blogging in late 2006 "because I wanted to require blogging in my spring semester class," she says. "How could I possibly ask my students to do something I wasn't doing myself? So, I jumped in. I wasn't sure what I was doing or where I was going, but before I knew it I'd been embraced by the amazing community that is the kidlitosphere."

Tricia's blog, The Miss Rumphius Effect, discusses "poetry, children's literature and issues related to teaching children and their future teachers." Below she discusses blogging, offers advice, and talks about the wonderful National Poetry Month series going on now on The Miss Rumphius Effect.

When you began blogging, what did you hope to accomplish?

My original goal for the blog is still pretty much the same. Here's what I wrote in my very first post in describing my blog's name. As for the title, I selected it because I am living my life in the shadow of Miss Rumphius and trying to live by these words:

"When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea."

That is all very well, little Alice," said her grandfather, "but there is a third thing you must do."

"What is that?" asked Alice.

"You must do something to make the world more beautiful," said her grandfather.

"All right," said Alice. But she did not know what that could be.

Miss Rumphius planted lupines, but I want to do so much more. What could that be? Like young Alice, I still do not know. When I find the answer, I'll let you know.

I also blog because I need to write. Given the technical, academic and oftentimes very boring stuff I must write for work, I need an outlet for all the other stuff kicking around in my brain.

What makes your blog unique? What types of posts will readers find there?

I wish I could put my finger on what makes my blog different. There are so many great blogs that do much of what I do and do it more eloquently and more often. Perhaps what makes it unique is that it does a little of this and a little of that. Folks interested in writing will find poetry prompts. Teachers, librarians and homeschoolers will find thematic book lists for connecting the curriculum using children's literature. There are also book reviews, though I focus heavily on nonfiction and poetry.

Do you offer any regular features?

I begin each week with a series called the Monday Poetry Stretch. I describe a poetic form or suggest a topic for folks to write about. Sometimes I provide links to additional information or include sample poems. Folks go off and write their poems and then let me know about them. Some writers leave their poems in the comments, while others post the poems on their blogs. Near the end of the week I post the results. A recent example, and one of my favorite stretches to date, was to write a personal ad poem. Click here to read the results.

I started doing these stretches during the summer of 2007 and folks really seem to like them. Every so often a published author/poet (or two or three) will stop by and participate. Some folks write for adults, others for kids. I write whatever moves me, though it's usually for kids and almost always related to science.

How are you celebrating National Poetry month on The Miss Rumphius Effect?

Last year for National Poetry Month I wrote a series called Poetry in the Classroom. Every day I posted a review of a book or set of related books of poetry. In addition to the reviews I offered suggestions for using the books in the classroom and provided links to additional resources. I loved doing it, but wanted to do something different this year.

My 2009 series is called Poetry Makers. In choosing a project I decided that I wanted to learn more about children's poets and what motivates them. In February I wrote to 38 poets with the hope that 30 would agree to a brief interview so that I could feature one each day. To my sheer delight, 36 said yes! I put the same set of questions to each writer, and even though the questions are a bit prosaic, their answers are not. I have been moved and inspired by their views on writing, their muses, and of course, their poetry. I know readers of the posts will feel the same way.

What's your advice for new bloggers?

The best advice I can give is to write about a topic that for which you have a passion. That choice alone will give your blog staying power. Once you know what you want to write about, stay true to your own voice. A strong voice and sense of who I'm reading keeps me going back to certain blogs.

I'm also a big believer in developing community. Blogging is about sharing your thoughts and ideas and seeing how they are received by others. To develop a readership you need to comment on other blogs. Once you start making your presence known on other blogs, folks will find their way to yours.

National Poetry Week Goings-On...

If you're looking for ways to get your daily shot of the poetic during April (which, of course, is National Poetry Month) here are two great options:

• GottaBook's 30 Poets/30 Days. Poet and blogger Gregory K. Pinkus has put together quite a National Poetry Month celebration. Every day in April on GottaBook he'll be posting a previously unpublished poem by a different children's poet, including Jack Prelutsky, Mary Ann Hoberman, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Douglas Florian, Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, Pat Mora, Nikki Giovanni, Adam Rex, Jon Scieszka, and many many more. Click here to read the full list.

• Poetic Asides' Poem-a-Day Challenge. Poet's Market editor, blogger (and my super-duper co-worker) Robert Lee Brewer is holding his annual Poem-a-Day Challenge on the Poetic Asides blog. Throughout April Robert will post a daily poetry prompt and poets are encouraged to post their prompt-inspired work on the blog (every day if they're up to the challenge). In May Robert's 50 favorite poems will be offered in an e-book. It's all free and there's no registration to complete--poets simply write and post.
  

Robert's Poem-A-Day Challenge for National Poetry Month...

April is National Poetry Month and to celebrate Robert Brewer (poet, Writer's Market editor, and Poetic Asides blogger) challenged himself to write a poem every day of the month--and he wants other poet's out there you to join him.

Robert kicked of his Poem-A-Day Challenge yesterday. The goal is to simply get poems on paper without worrying so much about quality as just doing the writing. For those who'd like to join the PAD Challenge but need a little kickstart, Robert is offering a poetry prompt each day on his blog. For more inspiration, view the comments on Poetic Asides posts and read the poem's submitted by poets who are participating in the Poem-A-Day Challenge.

If you're not a poet you can still celebrate National Poetry Month by reading poems (kids love em!). Here's an Amazon list of children's poetry books to give you some ideas--heavy on the Prelutsky, of course.