Author Kenn Nesbitt reads from his book "More Bears."
"Are you ready to have some fun?"
That is how children's author and poet Kenn Nesbitt greeted students when he visited Salnave Elementary School, May 6. Nesbitt, who resides in Spokane, gave poetry readings to classes during the day and then had a special performance for families during the evening.
Nesbitt has written 16 books and his work has appeared in 14 anthologies. He was also the Poetry Foundation's Children's Poet Laureate from 2013-15. According to the Poetry Foundation's website, the laureate advises the foundation "on matters relating to young people's literature and may engage in a variety of projects to help instill a lifelong love of poetry among the nation's developing readers."
During the readings, Nesbitt read poems from his books "More Bears" and the "Armpit of Doom" as well as led students in the song "My Bunny Lies Over My Body," which is sung to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," a tune Nesbitt said his father used to sing a lot when he was a child. He also answered questions from students.
When one student asked him how long he's been writing, Nesbitt said he "got bored one day" and started writing poems in 1994.
"I shared poems with my friends and I worked on another, and another and I never stopped doing it," Nesbitt said.
Although it was Nesbitt's first appearance at Salnave, students were familiar with some of his work.
According to Principal Celina Brennan, teachers have introduced Nesbitt's work to students in their classes during the school year. Gretchen Saue, Salnave's librarian and world languages teacher, is a fan of Nesbitt's work and reached out to the Salnave's Parent Teacher Organization to see if they could have him visit the school.
"This was the first time in the 10 years that I've been here where we've had someone like Mr. Nesbitt comes to Salnave," Brennan said. "It was a great opportunity for our students."
Brennan added that students have been writing their own poems and sharing them on "Hawks News" morning newscast.
Nesbitt gave students advice and tips about writing poetry and helped them create a word poem of their favorite things. He also said he did not think he would pursue writing when he was a child. In fact, he thought "it was the hardest thing in the world."
"The more you do it, the easier it gets," Nesbitt said.
Nesbitt has toured across the United States and around the world. He said he enjoys inspiring children to read and write poetry.
"For me, this is wonderful to visit a school (Salnave) in my own backyard," he added.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)