• Home
  • Books
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Links
  • Events
  • Contact
Katie Van Ark
Passion on the page

What to Read this Weekend? The Dream Keeper and Other Poems

4/11/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
At Vermont, it's a requirement of the MFA program in writing for children and young adults to read widely. YA authors read picture books, too, and for good reason. They're a treasure trove of concise, lyrical writing - poetry with pictures. With two young children at home and my experience in education, I've read many a picture book. MG and poetry are two areas where I need to increase my reading. Looking in search of some poetry, an area I've especially neglected in my studies this semester, I came across a collection of Langston Hughes's poems at the library this week.

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems is beautifully illustrated by Brian Pinkey. I love how Hughes can tell a whole novel in a single poem and I confess to crying every time I read the poem The Dream Keeper to my students. What is it about this poem that touches me so? I've spent years working with inner city children and I want to be their dream keeper, to give them that "blue-cloud cloth" to protect their dreams "from the too-rough fingers of the world." It's what drew me to teaching, the desire to communicate with the next generation that if they can dream it, they can do it and that hard work and dedication will take them anywhere they want to go. This poem tugs at my deepest heartstrings.

This pull is not only for my students but for myself. Encouraging my students to reach for the stars and follow their dreams brought me to VCFA in pursuit of my own dreams. This month for my Vermont coursework, I'm embarking on a quest to delve into character. What is it about certain characters that binds me to them with the emotional impact of "The Dream Keeper?" How can authors create characters who pull our hAs a young adult, I fell in love with Phyllis Reynold Naylor's "Alice" series to the point where when Alice's boyfriend broke up with her in one novel, I got a stomachache from it. I'll be analyzing the first book in the series to study craft techniques for establishing connections between characters and readers.

2 Comments
Nicole Morris
6/23/2022 12:06:16 pm

I ordered a job spell on a Friday night and on Monday the place I applied for a job called for me to come by their office. They gave me the job I applied for and made me an offer of more per hour than I have ever made in my life! I am so happy! Government jobs sometimes are a slow process. You somehow managed to speed up that process, and I start in just a few days! DR EMU I will be forever grateful thanks once again. You can call on him for help on his email address [email protected] or add him up on his WhatsApp +2347012841542. DR EMU also lent a helping hand to the following } 1. GETTING YOUR EX LOVER BACK. 2. WINNING LOTTERIES. 3. CHILD BEARING. 4. BREAKING OF GENERATION COURSE. 5. GETTING OF JOB. 6. JOB PROMOTION. 7. HERBAL CARE. 8. SPIRITUAL PROTECTION. 9. HERBAL CARE. 10. SPIRITUAL PRAYER. E.T.C.

Reply
Isabella Lucas
11/11/2022 02:54:59 pm

My ex-husband and I had always managed to stay friendly after our divorce in February 2017. But I always wanted to get back together with him, All it took was a visit to this spell casters website last December, because my dream was to start a new year with my husband, and live happily with him.. This spell caster requested a specific love spell for me and my husband, and I accepted it. And this powerful spell caster began to work his magic. And 48 hours after this spell caster worked for me, my husband called me back for us to be together again, and he was remorseful for all his wrong deeds. My spell is working because guess what: My “husband” is back and we are making preparations on how to go to court and withdraw our divorce papers ASAP. This is nothing short of a miracle. Thank you Dr Emu for your powerful spells. Words are not enough.
Email [email protected]
Phone/WhatsApp +2347012841542.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Reflections on Writing

    Picture
    I love few things better than a bottomless to-read list of books and firmly believe the world has room for all the stories we want to share. This blog is intended to provide resources and spark discussion about improving writing. Opinions are my own and not intended to discredit anyone else's work, only to open conversation. Thanks for reading!

    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    March 2020
    January 2018
    July 2017
    April 2017
    August 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Blog Hop
    Character
    Craft
    Craft Analysis
    Description
    Donald Maass
    Fantasy
    Figure Skating Championships
    Heather Demetrios
    Interview
    Jennifer Comeaux
    Jenny Elliott
    LGBT
    NaNoWriMo
    Premise
    Presentation Skills
    Rainbow Rowell
    Setting
    Skating
    Stakes
    Voice
    What To Read This Weekend
    World Building
    World-building
    Writing
    YA

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos from diongillard, BLMOregon, ebbandflowphotography, French Tart, photographerglen, York College ISLGP, apalca, VinothChandar, 4Neus, ♔ Georgie R, anokarina, martinak15, photosteve101, revjett, Skley, Peter Werkman (www.peterwerkman.nl), Rusty Darbonne, JoshArdle Photography, ashraful kadir, Guillaume Paumier, ChrisL_AK, ryantron., koadmunkee, Jim Larrison, JMR_Photography, ulazarosa, jfingas, Hamed Saber, kyz