The Rochester Children's Book Festival--Saturday!

The 15th Rochester Children's Book Festival will be at Monroe Community College from 10-4 on this Saturday, November 5th.


There will be 44 authors and illustrators to sign books and do performances. I will be one of them.


For more information, go here:
http://www.rochesterchildrensbookfestival.org/rcbf/Welcome.html

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer: Your Daily Poem Editor & Creator

Jayne Jaudon  Ferrer is the poetry editor and creator of my favorite poetry website:  www.yourdailypoem.com, and a first class poet. What she promises is that the poems she shares daily will “not be boring.” I think she certainly fulfills that promise each day, while championing a website with TLC, whose cup run-eth over with inspiration, resources and poetry interaction. The quality of the poems she presents encourages readers to leave behind positive poetry comments and seek more poems (written by the same author), thus affirming the daily poet’s path and writing process.

Jayne is a “poetry missionary” converting the skeptics to believers in the power of poetry. Go to her website, read a sample of the poems in the archives, and you will discover that poetry can be “outrageous, inspiring, hilarious, heartbreaking, uplifting, sobering, and surprising.” Then sign up for a free daily poem delivered to your e-mail box. You will have no regrets.


Want to know more about Jayne? You can find this biographical sketch on her website:  

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer is the author of four books of poetry that focus on family life, one of which has remained consistently in print for more than twenty years. An award-winning copywriter and freelance journalist, Ferrer speaks frequently at women’s and book events; her poetry and articles have appeared in publications ranging from Boca Raton Magazine to Christian Parenting Today. Jayne lives in Greenville, South Carolina; learn more about her at www.jaynejaudonferrer.com.


Since this month is National Poetry Month, Jayne showcases a month's worth of poems that are even extra special. Subscribe and see for  yourself.

If you wander into the archives, you might even stumble on a poem of mine in the archives...


http://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=330

Poets Talking About Poetry

Robert Frost (1875-1963) American Poet.

Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular.

Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) Greek philosopher.

Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those we have personality and emotion know what it means to want to escape from these things.

T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) American-English poet and playwright.

If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) American poet.

When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Thirty-fifth President of the USA

Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does.

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) U.S. poet.

Poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history.

Plato (BC 427-BC 347) Greek philosopher.

Poetry is either something that lives like fire inside you --like music to the musician or Marxism to the Communist --or else it is nothing, an empty formalized bore around which pedants can endlessly drone their notes and explanations.

Author Unknown

You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you.

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist.

In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite.

Kahlil Gibran (1883 –1931)Lebanese poet, artist, and writer

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.

"On the Other Side"

I had the pleasure of meeting author Marianne Smith on Oak Island at the Senior Recreation Center.  She gave a wonderful talk about her life and the novel On the Other Side, which she wrote for her grandchildren. Marianne grew up in Germany during World War Two facing the dangers of war, bombings, hunger, and life without a father. The story is based on facts, events, and real life experiences. At the author talk Marianne Smith stated that “Everything in this book is real. I couldn’t write a book like this and imagine these things.”

Marianne admitted that it wasn’t easy putting on paper many of these painful teenage memories, but they defined the person that she became. And they show what it was like to come of age in Germany during war-torn times on the other side. Our teens need to text less and read more books like Marianne’s masterpiece.

After meeting and talking with Marianne, I felt like I made a new friend. As a poet and a essayist, I feel like I can't write about anything unless it's true. All of my poems, stories, and essays are brimming over with real life experiences. I have three books in the works, and whom did I write them for? My grandkids.