How do you elicit poetry from a grade school child? Poet and author Susan Marie Swanson has written poetry with children for many years through COMPAS Writers and Artists in Schools statewide arts education program, and uses lots of creative and fun techniques to bring out the poet in every child.
In conjunction with a poetry writing contest for kids in grades 3-5 scheduled March 3-April 15 at the Southdale Library, 7001 York Ave. S., Edina, Swanson will teach a poetry writing workshop for kids ("Write a Letter Poem") on Saturday, April 12 at 2 p.m. at the library. Registration is required and limited. She'll also help judge the contest, and will lead activities at the contest's reception at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.
The contest is sponsored by the Friends of the Southdale Library in celebration of National Poetry Month. Kids in grades 3-5 are invited to pick up a contest entry form at the library's Information Desk. Entry deadline is Tuesday, April 15.
Swanson is author of two new picture books to be published this spring: “To Be Like the Sun” and “The House in the Night.” Other books include “The First Thing My Mama Told Me,” “Letter to the Lake,” and “Getting Used to the Dark.”
"The tools for making a poem are simple. All you need is a pencil and a piece of paper -- and to be open to the possibilities of language," Swanson, who lives in St. Paul, said. "You can write a poem like a letter . . . to the moon, to your favorite tree, to a sunflower seed. To explore the world with words, to make something beautiful, to articulate joys and struggles--these are very special sources of strength. Imaginative writing helps us clarify our ideas and broaden our sense of what is possible. It can connect us to other people. And it can be, simply, a source of enjoyment and delight, a kind of play."
KIDS' POETRY WRITING CONTEST
Southdale Library
March 3-April 15
For kids in grades 3-5. Submit your poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month. Pick up an entry form at the second floor information desk March 3-April 15. Winners and their friends and families will be invited to a reception on Saturday, April 26, 2 p.m., to share their poems. Sponsored by the Friends of the Southdale Library.

POETRY CAFÉ
Minnetonka Library
Thursday, April 3, 1 p.m. Registration required, begins March 17.
For kids in grades 4-6. To celebrate National Poetry Month, we will practice and present short poems in a dramatic and fun way.

POETRY WITH DELICIOUS VENOM
Brookdale Library
Mondays, April 7 & 14, 4-6 p.m.
For teens in grade 6 and up. Hip-hop artist and poet Tou Sai Ko Lee (a.k.a. Delicious Venom) will discuss his poetry and lyrics and then help you with your poetry. Come back a week later, and Lee will help you record your work for a podcast. Sponsored by the Library Foundation of Hennepin County in collaboration with the International Teen Club (ITC).

AUTHOR! AUTHOR! JUDE NUTTER
Edina Library
Monday, April 7, 6:30-7:45 p.m.
Celebrate National Poetry Month with Nutter, 2007 Minnesota Book Awards winner, who will read from her collection of poetry, "The Curator of Silence." Books available for purchase and signing. Sponsored by the Friends of the Edina Library.

WRITE A LETTER POEM
Southdale Library
Saturday, April 12, 2-3 p.m.
Registration required, begins Mar 3.
For kids in grades 3-5. Local poet and children's book author Susan Marie Swanson, through a fun word play session, will show you how to write a poem like a letter. Participants may enter their poems in the March 3-April 15 poetry contest at Southdale Library.