Dancing During Poetry Month: Firefly July

Yesterday I got to stop into one of my favorite independent bookstores in the US, The King's English Bookstore in Salt Lake City. The new poetry compilation, Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems, was on display. 

The book jumped out at me for various reasons:

• Melissa Sweet's artwork is colorful and whimsical. 
• I am always looking for new poems to use within dance classes.
• I love poetry books that are categorized by seasons.
• Upon a quick browse, I knew the content evoked a sense of "magic and whimsy."

Paul B. Janeczko has compiled a strong collection of very short poems, perfect for 3rd-6th grade dance students. Poets include: Eve Merriam, Robert Frost, Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser, and Joyce Sidman. The brevity of the poems will lead to movement studies as well as a series of vignettes within a larger class, that could be strung together for a performance. For example,

Spring

Rain beats down,

roots stretch up.

They'll meet

in a flower.

-Raymond Souster

Melissa Sweet's  illustrations and color scheme can also easily inspire costume selections.

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