tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155947212024-03-13T17:16:29.638-04:00A Writer WithinKeeping up with my life through writing!Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-21439111823086208962012-11-07T22:08:00.000-05:002013-12-07T12:32:11.568-05:00A Mountain and Man - Companion PoemsI wrote these poems in 2009, during my Fellowship at the Uconn Connecticut Writers Project in Storrs, Connecticut.
I am enamored with all things Mount Everest, and read every book I can find on the subject. I wrote these poems shortly after reading yet another book, pondering why certain people have such a drive to climb this mountain.
I took on both the persona of the mountain and Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-68380405201793676682012-10-11T22:59:00.002-04:002012-10-11T22:59:54.330-04:00{Book Review} Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord by Dave Stone (Rated 3/5)
You've heard it. You know it. Children learn from what they see their parents doing. But it's easy to forget this vital truth. Here's a practical book that reminds us of all the truths we probably already know... but often let slip to the back of our mind.
After reading Pastor Dave Stone's book Raising Your Children To Love the Lord - I was torn about how to rate it.
Although full of Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-83932487599040362202012-08-08T07:00:00.000-04:002012-08-08T07:00:11.702-04:00Twice as much to write about...I'm sure you've read all about it on my Facebook and our family / review blog... but wanted to be sure to spread the news that we've added to our family!
Our second son joined the world just three weeks ago! We're so blessed to have him! Big brother is doing great with him, but wondering why he doesn't want to PLAY!
And now... I have twice as much to write about with two boys in the house!Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-47097487393516776622012-04-26T00:49:00.001-04:002012-04-26T00:51:21.079-04:00Today is Poem in your Pocket Day!Today is National Poem In Your Pocket Day 2012!
How does it work? Simply find a poem you like (or write one), jot it down or copy it. Fold it up and stick it in your pocket (or purse, or diaper bag...). Carry it around all day and find opportunities to share it with people you meet! Spread the poetry love!
To celebrate, I'm hosting a poetry linky on my other blog A Year With Mom and Dad! Create Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-33270509751183743032012-04-20T18:32:00.001-04:002012-04-20T19:23:54.685-04:00My poem was syndicated on BlogHer.com!Very exciting news for this writer-poet!
Yesterday, I received word that my villanelle, "Planting" was chosen as the winner of BlogHer's NaBloPoMo weekly poetry contest!
I was so thrilled to hear that, then even more excited to find out my poem would then be syndicated on the BlogHer.com website! Today my poem went live to the world! Click here to have a read, leave a comment, share with Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-78893536631569212892012-04-19T07:00:00.000-04:002012-04-19T11:29:04.009-04:00My Favorite Poetry Books for ChildrenThis is reposted with (my) permission from my other blog A Year With Mom and Dad!
I'll admit I have grown to love children's poetry (sophisticated verse created for little ones, not just silly rhymes!) a bit more than "grown-up" poetry. It's light, lyrical, well-crafted, and still conveys deep and poignant messages. Here's a few of my favorite poetry books for children.
Toasting Marshmallows Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-39726174817651213972012-04-18T07:00:00.000-04:002012-04-19T11:31:10.111-04:00Teaching Children Poetry With OnomatopoeiaReposted with (my) permission from my other blog A Year With Mom and Dad:
Here's one of my favorite poetic sound devices: Onomatopoeia!
(ON-OH-MAH-TOE-POE-EE-AH).
Onomatopoeia is a big huge word that means: words that imitate or suggest the source of the sound being described. For example:
Choo-choo imitates the sound of a train.
Beep imitates the sound of a car horn.
Moo imitates the Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-62478249700730592822012-04-17T07:00:00.000-04:002012-05-02T01:34:17.093-04:00Announcing the Poem in Your Pocket Blog Event!
Announcing a blog event for poetry-lovers - hosted on A Year With Mom and Dad, April 26, 2012!
Visit the Poets.org to get full details on this day, along with listings of events, ideas for sharing poetry, and a huge poetry database you can browse to find a poem! Here's their description of Poem in Your Pocket Day:
The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-21192612472875316332012-04-16T07:00:00.000-04:002012-04-19T11:33:55.783-04:007 Ways Children Learn from PoetryReposted with (my) permission from my other blog A Year With Mom and Dad:
I believe poetry has power to develop learning skills in young children that translate across all other avenues of learning. Passive reading of poetry for pleasure is a great start to help kids develop an affinity for the poetic form. Yet understanding the way poetry aids development helps us as parents take a more Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-52056467470093553692012-04-14T07:00:00.000-04:002012-04-15T00:50:36.074-04:00Did you know this poem is about Connecticut?
Wallace Stevens spent the last half of his life in Connecticut. And had some interesting thoughts about blackbirds. Thirteen, to be exact!
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a
Blackbird
by Wallace Stevens
Among twenty snowy mountains,The only moving
thingWas the eye of the blackbird.
III was of three minds,Like a treeIn which there are
three blackbirds.
IIIThe blackbird whirled in Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-29581207404381375552012-04-11T22:52:00.001-04:002012-04-11T22:53:56.318-04:00Planting - A VillanelleSunday I posted a Sestina form poem - Today I'm posting a villanelle I wrote to participate in NaBloPoMo's Poetry Contest - click the link to find out more about this French form that makes use of repetition as a main part of its poetic structure.
Planting - A Villanelle
The seed that wants to live must learn
to die
To grow, unhindered by what makes
afraid,
Where tears Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-73546491784767457512012-04-10T23:34:00.001-04:002012-04-10T23:34:48.822-04:00The Oldest Poem I Know...that first came to mind was Western Wind... then as I thought more, I remembered Caedmon's Hymn, which I really enjoy once it's translated from Old English. (And I really enjoy remembering Dr. Hurst from college recite this from memory IN Old English!).
Then there are haiku, which I wonder if they predate the English poetry... I'm not sure because I think haiku didn't start being written Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-10754865930014598462012-04-09T23:21:00.003-04:002012-04-09T23:22:39.882-04:00Teaching Toddlers Poetry with Fingerplay!
**Reposted from my family / parenting blog A Year With Mom and Dad**
You already know that this month is National Poetry Month, and I'll be challenging all of us as parents to add a little more poetry to our family's lives!
Even if you hate poetry yourself, I can't underscore the importance of including poetry in your children's lives... rhythm, memorization skills, pattern-recognition Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-41548288974701348152012-04-08T07:00:00.000-04:002012-04-08T07:00:00.915-04:00Ressurrection Sunday Poem: GardensI wrote this Resurrection Day poem in 2007. Today I dust it off, tweaked it, and am sharing it with you all...
It's written in one of my favorite forms - the Sestina. A six stanza poem, each stanza six-lines long. The ending words of each line repeat in each subsequent stanza, and rotate up one line each time. The ending of the poem is a three-line stanza that makes use of the six repeating Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-42818748599191316232012-04-07T22:19:00.001-04:002012-04-07T22:23:43.872-04:00Book Review: Writing Personal Poetry by Sheila Bender (Rating 5/5)
There was a time in my life where my favorite books to read were about how to be a writer. Ironically, also during most of this time, I was not writing. I just so enjoyed reading about HOW to write that I had no time for actual writing!
But one book that ACTUALLY made me start writing again (this was after graduating college when I had no more "deadlines" hanging over my head), was Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-43044005171613152422012-04-06T23:30:00.000-04:002012-04-06T23:30:06.054-04:00My Favorite Poets / Poems (at the moment)
So a lot of the blogging prompts at BlogHer's NaBloPoMo for this month so far have been like, "what poem is best when you're sad?" and so forth.
I don't read poetry that way. I don't turn to a poem or specific author when I have certain feelings or life events. I just kind of have favorite poems, poets, or even just a favorite LINE of poetry that strikes me.
I don't sit around like Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-88800126428139690132012-04-04T23:36:00.001-04:002012-04-04T23:36:27.336-04:00In the style of WCW, I apologize....
This is just to say...
I have neglected
to write
a poetic post
yesterday
And which
you were probably
waiting
around on Facebook to see
Forgive me
I was so tired
and so
uninspired!
~ by me
ORIGINAL POEM
This is Just to Say
I have eaten the plums that were in
the icebox and which you were
probably saving for breakfast Forgive
me they were delicious so sweet and so
cold
~ by Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-60159291407248566502012-04-02T06:00:00.000-04:002012-04-02T06:00:01.694-04:00The First Poem I Ever Memorized
Oh the first prompt is an easy one... what was the first poem I ever memorized?
There may have been other poems in elementary school, but I distinctly recall my seventh and eighth grade literature teacher (they were the same both years!) making us memorize AND RECITE a poem to her ... and the poem I recall first is "If" by Rudyard Kipling:
If
If you can keep your head Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-50132292328407550002012-04-01T06:00:00.000-04:002012-04-01T06:00:07.051-04:00April is National Poetry Month!
Of course, poetry being my favorite genre of writing, I HAD to sign up for the BlogHer NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), because the whole month will be dedicated to ...
POETRY!
I plan to write a post every day. Maybe I won't write a POEM every day, but I'd like to share my thoughts on poetry, my favorite poems, and books that have helped me along the way!
I hope you'll Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-20984929245467075212012-03-18T22:20:00.001-04:002012-03-18T22:37:23.283-04:00Book Review: The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck ~ Fiction (Rated 2/5)SUMMARY:
Flashing back and forth from modern-day Charlotte, to historical Emily, we see the romantic tale of a mysterious wedding dress take shape. When Charlotte, a wedding shop owner, finds herself the owner of a unique wedding dress just as her relationship crumbles, she sets out to discover the meaning behind the dress. Emily, the original owner of the dress, has her own romantic Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-8683164873779477882011-11-30T21:39:00.000-05:002011-11-30T21:39:59.848-05:00The End. #NaBloPoMoIt's the end of THIS National Blog Posting Month. I guess they do this every month over at BlogHer. But not me!
I have enjoyed pushing myself to write every day here at A Writer Within. However, sometimes it was a bit too much for me. And sometimes the posts just didn't seem worthy - like I was posting just because I promised myself I would post! (Yesterday was a case in point). But it was Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-269663193107444062011-11-29T23:30:00.000-05:002011-11-30T19:49:55.075-05:00How did that happen? #nablopomoTwice in 30 days... I missed my deadline! Oh dear. And just so close to the finish line too! Deadlines are usually quite good for me. Apparently I can't make them all!
:(Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-69807753578465612962011-11-28T23:36:00.000-05:002011-11-28T23:36:49.134-05:00A Suspcious Form of Writer's Block #NaBloPoMoI have long suspected blogging might be a hidden form of writer's block.
When you can't come up with that next line of poetry - write a blog post about something else.
When you have no ideas for "serious" writing - write a blog post about why you're not writing.
When you can't figure out a character or plot line - write a blog post about a grammar pet peeve.
Instead of staring at a blank Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-53533505127932819872011-11-27T22:07:00.000-05:002011-11-27T22:07:35.334-05:00In Through The Window #NaBloPoMoI found this writing prompt over at Mama's Losin It to write about a time you climbed in through a window.
Well... it wasn't ME exactly. I wimped out. But once when my friend Sarah came to visit... we drove up to my parent's house (where I lived at the time)... and discovered nobody was home. Somehow (I have NO idea how this happened) I did not have a key with me. Somehow (I have no idea Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15594721.post-13248336009100294902011-11-26T22:07:00.000-05:002011-11-26T22:07:11.299-05:00Thanksgiving DayA HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Family is what I always end up being most thankful for at Thanksgiving. I know there are a million other things too... but family is always there!Julie Kierashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16468486248699926325noreply@blogger.com1