Category: Interviews

We Go Together by Calef Brown

We Go Together: A Curious Selection of Affectionate Verse by Calef Brown

As Children’s Poet Laureate, one of my jobs is to select a collection of poetry each month to feature on the Poetry Foundation’s website. There you’ll find my monthly book picks, and those of the previous Children’s Poets Laureate. My pick for February, 2014 is We Go Together: A Curious Selection of Affectionate Verse by Calef Brown.

Interview with Children’s Author and Illustrator Calef Brown

In addition, I interviewed Calef about his life as a poet and about his new book. Here is what he had to say.

What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms & Blessings by Joyce Sidman

What the Heart Knows by Joyce Sidman

As Children’s Poet Laureate, one of my jobs is to select a collection of poetry each month to feature on the Poetry Foundation’s website. There you’ll find my monthly book picks, and those of the previous Children’s Poets Laureate.

My pick for December, 2013 is What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms & Blessings by Joyce Sidman.

Interview with Children’s Poet Joyce Sidman

In addition, I interviewed Joyce about her life as a poet and about her new book. Here is what she had to say.

World Rat Day by J. Patrick Lewis

World Rat Day by J. Patrick Lewis

As Children’s Poet Laureate, one of my jobs is to select a collection of poetry each month to feature on the Poetry Foundation’s website. There you’ll find my monthly book picks, and those of the previous Children’s Poets Laureate.

My pick for November, 2013 is World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of by J. Patrick Lewis.

Interview with Children’s Poet J. Patrick Lewis

In addition, I interviewed Pat about his life as a poet and about his new book. Here is what he had to say.

Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes

Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes

As Children’s Poet Laureate, one of my jobs is to select a collection of poetry each month to feature on the Poetry Foundation’s website. There you’ll find my monthly book picks, and those of the previous Children’s Poets Laureate.

My pick for September, 2013 is Words with Wings, a novel in verse by Nikki Grimes.

Interview with Children’s Poet Nikki Grimes

In addition, I interviewed Nikki about her life as a poet and about her new book. Here is what she had to say.

A Dazzling Display of Dogs by Betsy Franco

A Dazzling Display of Dogs, Concrete Poems by Betsy Franco

As Children’s Poet Laureate, one of my jobs is to select a collection of poetry each month to feature on the Poetry Foundation’s website. There you’ll find my monthly book picks, and those of the previous Children’s Poets Laureate.

My pick for August, 2013 is A Dazzling Display of Dogs, concrete poems by Betsy Franco, illustrations by Michael Wertz.

Interview with Children’s Author Betsy Franco

In addition, I interviewed Betsy Franco about her life as a poet and about her new book. Here is what she had to say.

An Interview with Steven Withrow

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Steven Withrow

Children’s Poet and Poetry Advocate, Steven Withrow

Steven Withrow is the founder of Poetry Advocates for Children and Young Adults (PACYA), a children’s poet, filmmaker, and all around talented man.

His poems have appeared most recently in two volumes of the Poetry Tag Time series, edited by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.

I had the chance to interview Steven recently about PACYA. you can listen to our conversation, and hear Steven recite a couple of his own poems, here.

You can also find Steven on the Internet at the following websites:

Poetry Advocates – https://www.poetryatplay.org
Library of the Early Mind – https://www.libraryoftheearlymind.com
Crackles of Speech – https://cracklesofspeech.blogspot.com

Interviews with Children’s Poets

Today there are more authors than ever who are writing poetry for children. From poetry collections to rhyming picture books to novels in verse, from hardcover books to ebooks, poetry is being created by writers who love to share the wonder of the poem with kids.

I regularly sit down and chat with the authors who are writing poetry for children, and I record these conversations to give you a peek into the minds of today’s best children’s poets.

Click on the links below to listen to recorded audio interviews with these well-known children’s poets.

Written Interviews with Children’s Poets

In addition to the recorded interviews above, I have had the opportunity to interview a number of other children’s poets about their work by email. Click on the links below to read what they have to say about poetry.

An Interview with Children’s Poet Ted Scheu

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Ted Scheu, That Poetry Guy

Ted Scheu, That Poetry Guy

Ted Scheu (pronounced “shy”), also known as “That Poetry Guy,” has been writing funny poetry for kids for a dozen years now. His poems have appeared in many anthologies in the US and the UK, and he has published four collections of humorous children’s poetry.

His newest book, Now I Know My ZBCs: 59 School Poems for Young Gigglers is available now.

I had the chance to interview Ted recently about his poetry and you can listen to our conversation here.

An Interview with Children’s Author/Poet Lee Bennett Hopkins

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Lee Bennett Hopkins

Lee Bennett Hopkins

Lee Bennett Hopkins is an award-winning children’s author, poet, anthologist, and editor, and a lifelong promoter of poetry for children. I had the honor of speaking with him recently about his career, his books, and his thoughts about children’s poetry. You can listen to the interview here on the Poetry4kids Podcast.