guacamole

*We love you, Sylvia and Janet, the best poetry evangelists on the planet!*

Happy Poetry Friday!

Can’t think of three other words, aside from, “Time to Eat!”, that fill me with as much joy and anticipation. 🙂

Poetry Friday has been a part of Alphabet Soup ever since I first came online in 2007. I didn’t know many other bloggers then, but I knew a good thing when I saw it: a progressive party where a mixed platter of poems, reviews, and musings were served up in friendly fashion by a group of enthusiastic word lovers. Most of them were uncommonly good looking and unfailingly generous and supportive. It’s still the best way to end a work week, take a break for a little special something, refresh, rejuvenate and connect!

A couple of months ago, I was thrilled to hear Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong were publishing The Poetry Friday Anthology (Pomelo Books, 2012), which would take this same concept into the K-5 classroom, turbo-charging it with Common Core curriculum support. As a fan of their PoetryTagTime Trio, I assumed this would also be an eAnthology. Well, it is, but it’s also a gorgeous, chunky paperback containing 218 previously unpublished poems by 75 of America’s finest contemporary children’s poets — some are Poetry Friday regulars, some have been Poetry Potluck guests, and a few others I was excited to meet on the page for the first time. Continue reading →

Good News: Award-winning author and poet Jorge Argueta has just published the third book in his delightful bilingual Cooking Poem series!

Jorge first fed us warm and comforting Sopa de frijoles/Bean Soup, followed by a yummy batch of Arroz con leche/Rice Pudding (which I reviewed here), and now he celebrates the singular joy of making guacamole. Yum!

A young girl chef makes guacamole for her parents and two younger siblings — not just any guacamole, mind you, but an especially delicious one that will leave them begging for more. Just as with Jorge’s other cooking poems, everything about the process, from the careful selection of and reverence paid to the utensils and ingredients, to the anticipation of eating and sharing the final product, is seasoned with a generous measure of love, playfulness and magical realism.

Continue reading →