Poetry Friday Is In the HOUSE!

I haven't hosted Poetry Friday in ages, so welcome. I'm happy to have you here today! I'll be rounding up old-school style (no Mr. Linky), so leave me a note about your contribution and I'll update links to posts throughout the day. Without further ado, here's my contribution to poetry goodness today.

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It's no secret that I love math . . .  wait! Where are you going? If you love poetry then by association, YOU LOVE MATH! In reading and writing poetry you can't escape patterns (just think rhyme scheme or look to forms like the sestina, villanelle, roundel, and more!), counting (how many syllables in a line of iambic pentameter or lines of haiku?), geometry (some poems are beautifully shaped, either intentionally or by serendipity), fractions and measurement (where exactly should I break this line?), and probably so much more.

My love for math means I have an affinity for poems that touch upon numbers. Among them you'll find Child Margaret, Number Man, and Arithmetic (see this amazing video) by Carl Sandburg, Take a Number by Mary O'Neill, Equations by Patricia Hubbell, The Magic of Numbers by Kenneth Koch, and Cardinal Ideograms by May Swenson. 

Today I'm sharing an old favorite by Mary Cornish and a new favorite by Jared Harel.

Numbers
by Mary Cornish

I like the generosity of numbers.
The way, for example,
they are willing to count
anything or anyone:
two pickles, one door to the room,
eight dancers dressed as swans.

I like the domesticity of addition--
add two cups of milk and stir--

Read the poem in its entirety.

Numbers

by Jared Harel

My grandmother never trusted calculators.

She would crunch numbers in a spiral notebook

at the kitchen table, watching her news.

Work harder and I’d have more to count,

she’d snap at my father. And so my father worked

harder, fixed more mufflers, gave her receipts

Read the poem in its entirety.

If you're interested in infinity, here's a small collection of poems.

Do you have a favorite mathematically-inclined poem or a book of mathematical poetry? If so, please share and I'll include them here!

Thanks to Ed DeCaria for sharing the poem Slumber to Numbers by Eric Ode, an entry in last year's MMPoetry competition. 

I'm THRILLED that Mrs. Bennett has shared links to two recent posts on ways that math and poetry intersect. These posts show how the Common Core standards in ELA and Math can come together. Check out her thoughts on this in the posts "Do Not Go Gentle' with that Math Practice Standard #7 and A Sestina Follows a Pattern. 

Thanks to Laura Shovan for sharing this AMAZING video showing the graphing of a sestina!

And now, on to the round-up.

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Book Reviews and Interviews
Linda Baie of Teacher Dance is sharing a review of the book WEIRDO ZOO by Catherine Johnson. This one includes a giveaway!

Catherine from Reading to the Core shares a bit about EUREKA! POEMS ABOUT INVENTORS by Joyce Sidman. She's also sharing an original poem.

Laura Shovan of author Amok is sharing an interview and excerpts from WORLD CLASS: POEMS INSPIRED BY THE ESL CLASSROOM by Jane Elkin.

Jama Rattigan of Jama's Alphabet Soup is wrapping up the blog tour for THE POEM THAT WILL NOT END, by Joan Bransfield Graham. This one includes a book review, recipe and a giveaway!

Diana Mayr of Random Noodling is sharing her thoughts and some poems from CHINESE MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES, selected by Robert Wyndham, and illustrated by Ed Young.

Sylvia Vardell of Poetry for Children is sharing a sneak peak of the forthcoming (2014) poetry titles. Hurray!

Janet of All About the Books with Janet Squires shares a bit of WINTER EYES: POEMS AND PAINTINGS by Douglas Florian.


Lyrics as Poetry
It seems many of us are missing and honoring Pete Seeger this week.
Mrs. Bennett of Used Books in the Classroom is sharing thoughts on Pete Seeger and the lyrics to This Land is Your Land. Don't miss the video.

Michelle Barnes of Today's Little Ditty is also sharing thoughts on Pete Seeger and the lyrics to Oh, Had I a Golden Thread. This one also contains a wonderful video.

Ruth of There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town is sharing the lyrics (and video!) from the song Green Garden by Laura Mvula. This one will make you want to get up and dance!


Original Poems

Steven Withrow at Crackles of Speech is sharing an original poem entitled City of Birds.

Linda Baie of Teacher Dance is sharing a "chalky" poem. (You'll just have to read to find out what that means!)

Greg Pincus of GottaBook is sharing a hilarious poem entitled Notes on Spirit Day at My School (Part 1).

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater of The Poem Farm is sharing an original poem entitled Once Somebody Asked Me.

Mary Lee of A Year of Reading is sharing a climbing rhyme entitled Sweet Little Kitty.

Liana Mahoney of Commas Have Wings is sharing an acrostic poem for the word Clutter.

Margaret Simon of Reflections on the Teche shares an original chalky poem and two from her students.

Laura Purdie Salas is sharing an audio of her poem Blush from STAMPEDE!: POEMS TO CELEBRATE THE WILD SIDE OF SCHOOL.

Heidi Mordhorst of My Juicy Little Universe is sharing a poem entitled tenebrio molitor. Don't let the mealworms scare you away. There is beauty in this one.

Liz Steinglass shares a poem about her cat entitled Song and Dance.

Anastasia Suen of Poet! Poet! has posted an original poem entitled The Learning Curve.

Keri Lewis of Keri Recommends is sharing an original mask poem entitled Dollar Bill.

Briget Magee of wee words for wee ones is sharing an original poem entitled Resolution Reflection.

April Halprin Wayland of Teaching Authors is sharing her mask poem entitled Gardenias Ask the Night. April reminds us that today is the last day to enter a contest to win Jill Esbaum's rhyming picture book I HATCHED!.

Diane Kendig of Poemeleon posted a comment to a very old poetry stretch of mine and I felt her poems were too good to pass up, so I'm posting them here for you. She shares two nesting poems entitled Nesting and Winging It respectively.

Betsy H of I Think in Poems and the hostess (instigator?) of Chalk-A-Bration shares her first chalky poem of 2014. Visit her blog Teaching young Writers to learn more about Chalk-A-Bration.

Lorie Ann Grover of On Point: Writing Through Life shares her original haiku entitled Headlight.

Joy Acey of Poetry for Kids Joy is sharing her original poem entitled Friday.

Carlie of Twinkling Along is sharing an original poem about homesickness for your ancestors entitled My Roots Are Showing.

Doraine Bennett of Dori Reads took up this week's poetry stretch and is sharing her climbing rhyme entitled Snow Day.


The Poetry of Others
Jone of Check It Out is sharing the poem Poetry from ASK ME: 100 ESSENTIAL POEMS by William Stafford.

Tabatha Yeats of The Opposite of Indifference is sharing poems of empathy and encouragement by Robert Frost, Wendell Berry, and Robert Bly.

Renee LaTulippe of No Water River shares the poem Soccer Ball by Joan Bransfield Graham. If you write a Winter Olympics themed poem that "speaks" to a piece of sporting equipment and leave it in the comments, you'll be entered in a giveaway to win Joan's new book!

Tara Smith at A Teaching Life shares the poem Mindful by Mary Oliver.

Diane Mayr of Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet is mindful of the Chinese New Year and is featuring a poem by the classic Chinese poet, Li Bai. The poem, Drinking Alone With the Moon is translated by Vikram Seth.

Irene Latham of Live Your Poem is sharing some snow poems by Karla Kushkin.

Little Willow of Bildungsroman is sharing the poem Snowy Night by Mary Oliver.

Becky Shillington of Tapestry of Words is sharing two poems by Robert Burns. She also shares an original poem entitled Snow Day.

Karen Edmisten is on the same wavelength as Tara today and is also sharing Mindful by Mary Oliver. The road that took these women to this poem is different, so be sure to visit them both. While you're visiting Karen, be sure to wish her a happy 30th anniversary!

Meredith Henning of Sweetness and Light is sharing the poem Address To a Haggis by Robert Burns.

Fats Suela from Gathering Books is sharing The Princess: Sweet and Low by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.


The Writing Life
Ed DeCaria of Think, Kid, Think! is sharing some wonderful thoughts on writing in a post entitled 10 Writing Tips From My Junk Drawer.

Diane Mayr of Kurious K's Kwotes is sharing a quote/poetic excerpt from Li Bai and encouraging poets to "recognize their green mountains."

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Before you go, please considering stopping by yesterday's blog tour post with Joan Branshfield Graham to learn a bit about her and her new book, THE POEM THAT WILL NOT END. At the end of that post you can enter to win your very own copy.

Enjoy your weekend and all the poetry goodness shared today!