At the beginning of the year, I began teaching a section of 6th grade in addition to my literacy specialist role. Then, just as I was finally feeling comfortable with my new routine, two sections of 7th grade were added to my schedule. Suffice it to say, I didn’t have a lot of bandwidth left for writing poetry. Still, I’ve tried to keep up with our Inkling challenges. This month, Mary Lee asked us to “write a haiku sequence that talks about poetry without mentioning it by name.” I wasn’t sure how to approach this challenge, but as usual, a walk helped me find a place to begin. a woolly bear s ..read more

In her brilliant book, Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater tells us to “strengthen our abilities to see the world from multiple points of view” because developing this muscle helps us realize that “each leaf, each mouse, each stranger [is] important and worthy of our attention and care.” (pg. 77) What an important lesson for our fractured world. I reread Amy’s thoughts on Persona poems this week as I attempted to write one for the Inklings March challenge. Margaret asked us to write a poem that “conveys a message, is written in the ..read more

Happy New Year! Life has been a bit tumultuous over the past few months (everyone is fine; everything–the jury is still out) and has left me with no brainpower for writing poetry. Reading poetry, yes, always. Writing, not so much. But it’s time for the Inkling’s monthly challenge. And since it was my turn to pose the prompt, I figured I’d better get my act together. Even coming up with a prompt was beyond me. Early in January, Molly shared a list of prompts from the Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center. I asked her if she would mind if I picked a prompt from this collection. Of course she didn’t ..read more

Happy December 1st! A new month brings a new Inkling challenge, and this month Molly challenged us to write Luc Bat poems. I found this form of interlocking rhymes to be pretty tricky. Thanks to my extraordinary Inkling pals, though, my attempt adheres to the format. All summer, a thick cloak of emerald shields oak and ash, hiding cracks where critters stash ripe nuts, shrouding a cache of seeds. A hole where owl can feed her brood good meals they need to thrive, or  honey-laden hives tucked deep within, alive with bees. Walking by, you will see a quiet, stately tree. Its heart holds sec ..read more

Last year, my fellow Inkling, Linda Mitchell, challenged us to use the #folktaleweek prompts found on Instagram to inspire our writing. This was a challenge I could sink my teeth into. (Here is my response to last year’s challenge.) This year, life has conspired to sharply limit my writing time and energy, but I miss it. I need to find my way back to a more consistent practice. What better way than to challenge myself to use these prompts again? “Lost” is this year’s first word. Left adrift on a vast Ocean to wander, a voyager Searches for an elusive quarry: her own True north. Draft, © Cathe ..read more

Happy Friday, everyone! The first Friday of the month brings us to another Inkling challenge. This month, Linda asked us to Write a prose piece–find a poem in it. Or, write a poem, and expand it into a prose piece Or, find a prose piece, transform it into a poem Or, find a poem and transpose it into a prose piece Any interpretation of this prompt is perfect Going rogue is acceptable too If you end up writing longer than a page of prose, share just a snippet After a month of searching for an idea, I decided to dig deep into my notebooks for my response to Linda’s challenge. On October 21, 20 ..read more

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Roundup! (Curious about Poetry Friday? Read this post by Renée M. LaTulippe.) I’m happy to be your host today. The news this week is heartbreaking and scary. At times like these, poetry is especially important, as it reminds us of our common hopes and dreams, desires and longings. I sure the posts shared today will bring us hope for peace. When I told Heidi I would take over her hosting duties today, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to feature Irene Latham‘s incredible new book, The Museum on the Moon: The Curious Objects on the Lunar Surface. (Bush ..read more

The first Friday of the month means it’s time for another Inkling challenge. This month Mary Lee prompted us to “Choose an image from the Visual Frameworks site. Write a poem inspired by the image.” This is a really cool site and full of images representing a myriad of ideas. I was inspired by this image: Laws of Motion I rush to the apple tree, fling my backpack to the ground. I hurl myself onto my swing and the world blurs as I launch into the sky. The whir of crickets and cicadas  buzz around me, drowning out the jeers and jibes of the kids on the bus. I squeeze my eyes shut forcing ..read more

September Garden The magenta petals of cosmos surround a circle  of starry stamens like an Elizabethan ruff of pleated silk. They are a beacon  to bees and butterflies, now in a delirious frenzy to gather every particle of pollen before the petals drop and summer’s bounty fades into memory. Draft, © Catherine Flynn, 2023 Please be sure to visit Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm for the Poetry Friday Roundup ..read more

Some of you may remember that Garrison Keillor used to begin his weekly news from Lake Wobegon with the phrase “It’s been a quite week in my hometown…” That does not describe life in my neck of the woods this week. In addition to getting ready for the start of school, my hometown is getting ready for the fire department’s annual Country Fair. This is a major fundraiser for them and everyone pitches in to help make it a success. (Read more about the Fair in a previous post here.) In addition to my Sealey Challenge reading, I’ve been scouring poetry websites for poems to use with my students. W ..read more