Information – A(nother) Year of Reading

Poetry Friday Roundup Call

It’s that time again. Six-ish months have passed since last we queued up to host the Poetry Friday roundups.

What is the Poetry Friday roundup? A gathering of links to posts featuring original or shared poems, or reviews of poetry books. A carnival of poetry posts. Here is an explanation that Rene LaTulippe shared on her blog, No Water River, and here is an article Susan Thomsen wrote for the Poetry Foundation.

Who can do the Poetry Friday roundup? Anyone who is willing to gather the links in some way, shape, or form (Mr. Linky, “old school” in the comments, or ???) on the Friday of your choice. If you are new to the Poetry Friday community, jump right in, but perhaps choose a date later on so that we can spend some time getting to know each other.

How do you do a Poetry Friday roundup? If you’re not sure, stick around for a couple of weeks and watch…and learn! One thing we’re finding out is that folks who schedule their posts, or who live in a different time zone than you, appreciate it when the roundup post goes live sometime on Thursday.

How do I get the code for the PF Roundup Schedule for the sidebar of my blog? You can grab the list from the sidebar here at A(nother) Year of Reading, or I’d be happy to send it to you if you leave me your email address.

Why would I do a Poetry Friday Roundup? Community, community, community. It’s like hosting a poetry party on your blog!

Put your request in the comments (blog URL is appreciated) and I’ll update the calendar frequently. Feel free to share this post on all the various socials. And if WordPress is not playing nice, feel free to email me: marylee.hahn at gmail dot com.

And now for the where and when:

July
3 Michelle at More Art 4 All
10 Jan at Bookseedstudio
17 Jill at Jill Dailey
24 Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies}
31 Linda at TeacherDance

August
7 Ruth at there is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
14 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
21 Denise at Dare to Care
28 Mona at Mona Voelkel

September
4 Patricia at Reverie
11
18 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
25 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect

October
2 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
9 Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup
16 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities
23 Tracey at Tangles and Tails
30 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch

November
6 Joyce at Joyce Uglow Author
13 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
20 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
27 Jane at Rain City Librarian

December
4 Irene at Live Your Poem
11 Karen at Karen Edmisten*
18 Linda at Another Word Edgewise
25

OLW/Intention for 2026

This year, I tried a new-to-me way to let the Universe help me choose my OLW/Intention for 2026. About a week ago, I wrote down 13 Wishes for Me in 2026. Next, I wrote each of the 13 on its own small slip of paper that I then folded up and placed in a small blue bowl. Each day until yesterday, 12/31/25, I burned one or two of them out on the back sidewalk, so that I was left, today, with the one that would be my main focus. Excitedly, I opened the slip this morning and found…

Outdoor Walks

What? Out of all the lofty wishes I wished, THAT was the one the Universe picked for me? Really? I have to admit that I felt a little let down.

Until I went back and looked at my list of 13 Wishes. Outdoor Walks is smack dab in the middle of the list. It is the fulcrum on which all the other wishes balance. It is the heart and soul. The core. Without it, the others won’t exist.

Also, it turns out that if I want a single word to stand in for Outdoor Walks, there are at least 12 ways to name it…

hike
ramble
trek
tramp
wander
roam
stroll
saunter
traipse
explore
amble
journey

…and there is one really good way to sum it up:

PEREGRINATE (flâner, if you want the French version).

So it will be a year for peregrination, along with the other 12 wishes for 2026.

I’ll remember that “All who wander are not lost.” (J.R.R. Tolkien) and while I peregrinate, I will “Pay attention./Be astonished./Tell about it.” (Mary Oliver).

Happy 2026!

Poetry Friday Roundup Call

January
2 Catherine at Reading to the Core
9 Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
16 Jan at Bookseedstudio
23 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
30 Amy at The Poem Farm

February
6 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
13 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
20 Susan at Chicken Spaghetti
27 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche

March
6 Karen at Karen Edmisten*
13 Linda at TeacherDance
20 Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies}
27 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins

April
3 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
10 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
17 Heidi at my juicy little universe
24 Irene at Live Your Poem

May
1 Patricia at Reverie
8 Cathy at Cathy Stenquist
15 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities
22 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
29 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading

June
5 Mona at Mona Voelkel
12 Linda at A Word Edgewise
19 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
26 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect

Back to Writing About Reading, Books and Teaching

Mary Lee and I had lunch last week and I told her how much I miss blogging. I loved the years that we blogged at A Year of Reading and life got busy and I just couldn’t keep up. Lucky for me, Mary Lee has kept up the blog with her incredible poetry. Since retiring, I’ve stayed busy (as I knew that I would!) but I am finally figuring out the ways that I want to spend my days. One thing that has become clear over the last few months is how much I miss writing about books and reading and literacy. So I am going to build back in this thing that I love.

I’ve been reading lots. I don’t get to spend as much time in classrooms as I did when I was teaching full time but I still work with teachers in and out of classrooms and I work with groups of children at OH What a Space so I am always reading and sharing books infomally.

So, every week, a few times a week, I’ll write about books and reading and children and literacy and learning. And, of course, the occasional random thing. I’ve decided to try Substack because I like the format and I like the community that has grown on Substack. Once I week, I’ll crosspost my writing to A Year of Reading (thanks to Mary Lee:-) because I still love that space so much and am excited to be part of it again. (You can find me on Substack here.) If I post more than once a week, you can find those posts on Substack.

It is an interesting time to be thinking about children and books and reading and education. There are so many challenges at a time when so many incredible books are being published. There are more mandated curriculums and more constraints. But teachers and families are still committed to joyful reading experiences for their children.

So I’ll share books that I’ve discovered with an eye toward instruction. I’ve always worked to support joyful literacy experiences for children of all ages—the kind that support children in becoming lifelong readers. There is nothing like falling in love with a good book. But as teachers, we also want our readers to grow as readers so our book choice and planning is always intentional. So, I’ll be sharing books with a lens toward instruction that is authentic—grounded in the kinds of conversations that will naturally emerge because of the book. I am looking forward to sharing books through my writing again:-)

Poetry Friday Roundup Call

July
4 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading THEME: Poems of Protest
11 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
18 Jan at Bookseedstudio
25 Marci at Marci Flinchum Atkins

August
1 Jane at Raincity Librarian
8 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
15 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
22 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
29 Karen at Karen Edmisten*

September
5 Heidi at my juicy little universe
12 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities
19 Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup
26 Amy at The Poem Farm

October
3 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
10 Linda at TeacherDance
17 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
24 Patricia at Reverie
31 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch

November
7 Laura at Laura Purdie Salas
14 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
21 Janice at Salt City Verse
28 Buffy at Buffy Silverman: Children’s Author

December
5 Irene at Live Your Poem
12 Linda at A Word Edgewise
19 Michelle at MoreArt4All
26 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect

Slice of Life: How to Be a Better Teacher

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

The first way to be a better teacher is to join Choice Literacy. Even if you just sign up for the Big Fresh newsletter, you will remember that you are not alone, gain a few new tools or insights, and have the courage to keep going. Take it up a notch and write for Choice Literacy. You’re already doing Slice of Life; what’s to be afraid of? My years writing for Choice Literacy made me a better writer AND a better teacher. You’d be amazed what you can learn about yourself and your students when you look through the lens of a writer.

The second way to be a better teacher, and unfortunately this one came about too late for me, but if I’d had it when I was in my early years it would have been a GAME CHANGER for the rest of my career: Sticky Hope.

Sticky Hope is a movement that helps hope stick, even in the toughest, stickiest situations. We provide tools, resources, and straightforward conversations to support healthy emotional regulation and bring calm back to your day.

In their 15-20 minute podcasts, Ruth and Becca are working through all the hardest things about teaching: behaviors. Both kid behaviors and the teacher behaviors — because there isn’t any among us who haven’t had their very own unregulated moments, if we’re being honest with ourselves.

You’re welcome. Now, go forth and keep doing your good-better-best every day. Your work is sacred, and you are appreciated.

Blogging, Newbery and More

Today, Mary Lee and I attended Cover to Covers Book Award Watch Party. It was like old times. A visit to Cover to Cover with friends, watching the book awards–cheering for the books we loved and jotting down new-to-us titles that we’ll need to read soon.

Mary Lee and I started the blog almost 20 years ago as a way to have a conversation about the Newbery Award. It grew into so much more. And now it is filled with incredible poetry by Mary Lee. It is hard to believe the blog is 20 years old. I miss blogging. I miss the community. Mary Lee, the best blog partner and friend, has been so patient, keeping up with the blog as I’ve had other projects, life, etc. and then inviting me back in. I did some reflection this year (one does that after a big birthday) and thought back to the things and times in life I loved most. And bloggiing, talking books with friends, thinking together with Mary Lee definitely came up as a favorite time and favorite thing. One that I am sorry I gave up for so long. So I am back to blogging. And I am already (2 paragraphs in) happy to be back.

So I’ll be back to writing about children’s books, adult books I am reading, podcasts and things, all that I am learning in my work with teachers and children, and of course, random things.

So, back to the Newbery. I didn’t read as much middle grade as I had hoped in 2024 but was THRILLED to see Erin Entrada Kelly’s book First State of Being -a book I have read and loved-named this year’s winner! I love this author and I loved the book. It is hard to do a science-fiction book for middle grade readers and this one was wonderful. (I love a good time travel story with a bit of history embedded!)

The other books I read and was excited to see win awards today were:

Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo(Caldecodtt Honor)

My Daddy is a Cowboy by Stephanie Seales and C.G. Esperanza (Caldecott Honor)

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller (Newbery Honor)

Carole Boston Weatherford (Legacy Award)

Coretta by Coretta Scott King and Ekua Holmes (Coretta Scott King Honor)

Louder than Hunger by John Schu (Schneider Honor)

Joyful Song by Lesléa Newman(Sydney Taylor Honor)

Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston (Schneider Honor)

And I added so many to my list of to-reads!! Such a good year for books!

Poetry Friday: Roundup Call

Put your request in the comments (blog URL is appreciated) and I’ll update the calendar frequently. Feel free to share this post on all the various socials.

And now for the where and when:

January
3 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
10 Kat at Kats Whiskers
17 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
24 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
31 Jan at bookseedstudio

February
7 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
14 Linda at TeacherDance
21 Laura at Laura Purdie Salas
28 Denise at Dare to Care

March
7 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
14 Janice at Salt City Verse
21 Rose at Imagine the Possibilities
28 Marcie at Marcie Flinchum Atkins

April
4 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
11 Irene at Live Your Poem
18 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
25 Heidi at my juicy little universe

May
2 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
9 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
16 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
23 Michelle at More Art for All
30 Karen at Karen Edmisten*

June
6 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
13 Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
20 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
27 Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies}

Poetry Friday: Here We Go Again

In 2016, #haikuforhealing created a community of poets on Twitter. Yesterday, I finally created an account on Threads and just now I put out a call for ~~poets~~ ~~writers~~ anyone who wants to join in for another round of healing. Is that even the best home for such a community? Are you there? I hope you’ll find me and join in, or let me know what’s a better home for our creative outlet.

Here’s the post that launched the original. These are the words that inspired me:

5 Insights for Recording Artists, Performers, and Creatives

1. Make Art for Social Change

2. Channel Your Pain into Art

3. If You See It, Say It, Sing It, or Sculpt It…

4. Be Visible

5. Collaborate

Here’s the video I put together for the 2017 #watchpaintdry movement (an alternative to watching the inauguration).

They aren’t haiku, but here are the beginnings of my healing (along with the banana bread I baked and shared with our neighbors yesterday):

Here are a couple of other offerings to help you move forward:

The Joy Workout: six research-backed moves to improve your mood.

The one song that slows my breathing and centers me every time:

Cathy has today’s Poetry Friday roundup at Merely Day By Day. She shares a powerful poem that encourages us to pick ourselves up (as soon as we’re ready) and “get back to the work.”

A Wee Blog Break

I’ve been gone a bit, and will be for a bit more, but I’ll be back…with stories and poems!

A huge thank you to Tabatha (at The Opposite of Indifference) who has stepped in, due to a change in Amy LV’s plans, to host the Poetry Friday roundup on Friday, October 4.

Write on!