On Friday at NCTE I attended a workshop titled “Writing Poetry in the Wild” with Heidi Mordhorst, Irene Latham, Margaret Simon, Laura Purdie Salas, and May Lee Hahn. One of the ideas Laura shared was to think about our connections to the world. She encouraged us to look around, especially when we are someplace new, write a poem that shows that place, then make a connection to a feeling or perhaps a memory. She passed out post-it notes and challenged everyone to write a poem at some point during the convention.
On Saturday morning I found myself in a quiet room, waiting for the next session. I opened my notebook and found that post-it. It was the perfect time to write. I started by listing words that came to mind about NCTE – things I saw or heard, feelings I had, what I noticed. I hope this list poem captures the excitement of the first day:
Friday at NCTE
Scurry down the hall
Quick embrace
So good to see you
Can we catch up later?
Treasured friends
New ideas
Listen
Learn
Love
And here’s a haiku for the whole experience:
Opening minds to
Fresh ideas and discourse
React and renew
Thanks to all the authors, friends, speakers, participants, and volunteers who inspired me at NCTE.
Imagine the Possibilities 
What a wonderful idea for the presenter to give Post it notes to remind you to write! I can incorporate that idea into my coaching! Thanks for sharing!
https://tammysreadinglife.wordpress.com/2018/11/20/thankful-sol18/
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The last two verbs in your haiku strike me: how being in a rich learning environment invites abundant reactions, some of which spark new ideas while others renew our commitment to bedrock principles. Sounds like your NCTE experience was a winning one!
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I was in that session too!
“React and renew.” The reaction is a great part of the renewal. I’m thankful for this week to work on my reactions to the conference. That elongates and extends renewal.
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I’m thankful I didn’t have to scurry too fast when I saw you! So glad we had time to catch up.
Give your sweet Alex a squeeze for me. He’s precious!
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Thanks, Stacey. It was great to spend some time with you. Love to all your family.
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Love the idea of poems on post-its. React and renew are a powerful pair of words! It was great to spend time with you Rose.
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Great spending time with you, too, Melanie! Happy Thanksgiving!
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What a great idea nd an interesting task to give students. Happy Thanksgiving, Rose.
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