Monday, November 23, 2009

Party for a Poetry Man

I haven't had an opportunity yet to write up a post about the Poetry Party that was held in honor of Lee Bennett Hopkins last Friday at the 2009 NCTE Annual Convention in Philadelphia. It was a BLAST!!!

I'm sending along a million thanks to Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong--two people instrumental in organizing the party and getting funding for and compiling a book of poems and anecdotes as a special tribute to a man who has done more than anyone else to bring poetry into the lives of children.


Anyone interested in reading about the party and the tribute book, Dear One, should check out Sylvia Vardell's overview of this special occasion at her blog Poetry for Children: Hurray for Hopkins.


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5 comments:

  1. LindaNovember 23, 2009 at 5:43 PM

    What a great party and wonderful tribute to Lee. Thanks for sharing some details for those of us who couldn't be there.

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  2. Elaine MagliaroNovember 23, 2009 at 5:49 PM

    Linda,

    I've never been to an NCTE Convention before. I'm so happy I went this year. The Poetry Party for Lee was wonderful.

    I'm sorry you couldn't be there. It would have been nice to meet you in person.

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  3. Jane Singleton PaulNovember 24, 2009 at 7:12 AM

    I've just read your poem in "Dear One: A Tribute to Lee Bennett Hopkins," the book of poems compiled by Sylvia and Janet that we lucky ones received as a party favor last Friday morning. "Eating Poetry" is a fun teaser that makes me want to dig into Lee's poems and chomp down! "Yummy!"

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  4. Elaine MagliaroNovember 24, 2009 at 9:08 AM

    Thanks, Jane. I had originally worked on another poem for Lee--but couldn't get one of the five stanzas right. So...I sat down and let the titles of some of his books inspire me.

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  5. Sylvia VardellNovember 27, 2009 at 10:45 AM

    Thanks for the kind words, Elaine. It was great to meet you-- finally! Thanks also for your support of our special project. I think Lee was truly pleased and surprised!

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