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I recently fielded a question from a student about sharing poetry with senior citizens. This is an interest area of mine, too, since I have older family members who have found poetry to be meaningful to them. Several years ago, I read about a nursing home project in which people were invited to share memories and stories from their younger years and then guided in writing about them through poetry—almost a “found” poetry approach, placing key words, ideas and phrases in poetic arrangements. One of my favorite resource books that includes activities used with seniors is:

Morice, D. 1996. The Adventures of Dr. Alphabet. New York: Teachers and Writers Collaborative.

Dave Morice provides options for creating poems in unusual formats with people of all ages, but he also specifically shares examples of working with seniors. His ideas are generally quite playful and unorthodox, but can be lots of fun, too. Here is just a sampling of the 104 choices:
*Autumn leaf poems
*Postage stamp poems
*Rolodex poems
*Thumb book poem
*Poetry poker
*Poetry checkers
*Poetry mazes
*Social security poem
*Shakespearean sonnet maker
*And many more

Another resource book that sounds promising is From Deep Within: Poetry Workshops in Nursing Homes (New York, NY. Haworth Press, 1989) by Carol F. Peck.

And if you're looking for a few poetry books for young people that might also be particularly appealing to seniors, you might consider:

Harrison, David L. 2004. Connecting Dots: Poems of My Journey. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong, Boyds Mills Press.
Heard, Georgia. 2002. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Hoberman, Mary Ann. 1991. Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems. Boston: Joy Street Books.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1995. Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong, Boyds Mills Press.
Lansky, Bruce. 1994. If We'd Wanted Quiet, We Would Have Raised Goldfish. Meadowbrook Press.
Mora, Pat. 2001. Love to Mama: A Tribute to Mothers. New York: Lee & Low Books.
Nye, Naomi Shihab, comp. 1992. This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World. New York: Four Winds Press.
Steptoe, Javaka, comp. 1997. In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. New York: Lee & Low Books.
Willard, Nancy, comp. 1998. Step Lightly: Poems for the Journey. San Diego: Harcourt.
Wong, Janet. 1999. The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children. New York: Margaret K. McElderry.

Here’s one “grandma” poem that really speaks to me—across the generations and across cultures. It’s by a Pakistani poet and comes from Naomi Nye’s amazing collection, This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World (Four Winds Press, 1992).

Grandmother
by Sameeneh Shirazie
(Pakistan)

I hadn’t asked her much,
just how she felt,
and she told me all about her day,
and how she’d washed the sheets,
and how she could not understand
why the towel got so heavy
when it was wet.
She’d also sunned the mattresses,
such tired bones and so much to do,
and my eyes filled with tears
when I thought of how I was simply
going to say “Salaam” and walk away
and so many words would have been
trapped inside her.
I would have passed by as if
what lay between those bedclothes
was just old life
and not really my grandmother.

[Note: “Salaam” meaning “peace,” is often used as a greeting.]
From: This Same Sky collected by Naomi Shihab Nye (Four Winds Press, 1992)

For more poetry, join the Poetry Friday crew at my former student's blog (go, Becky!) Becky’s Book Reviews.

Picture credit: www.blushbutter.com

Following on from Charlotte’s post the other day, I thought I would put together a list of a few of the books my family loves, which focus on that special bond between grandchildren and their grandparents.

I have already talked about the Katie Morag books, in which both her grandmothers are central. I wish we’d known about Nigel Gray’s A Balloon for Grandad when we lived abroad; as it is, we discovered it recently in our local library. Illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Jane Ray, it deals in such an uplifting way with the separation which is sometimes inevitable when generations live a long way from each other. Then there are Ana Baca and Anthony Accardo’s Benito books – look out for a review of their latest bilingual title Benito’s Sopaipillas/ Las Sopaipillas de Benito in next week’s update of PaperTigers (I’ll add the link to this post when it’s available).

We also love Raymond Briggs’ typically quirky story The Puddleman. You have to be an indulgent grandfather to allow your grandson to lead you around by a dog-lead attached to your wrist and call you “Collar” - but the hint at the end, where Briggs thanks “Miles” for “the naming of puddles, Collar” etc. would suggest that he had real-life, grandson inspiration for the story! It’s a loving, imaginative tale that also provides a particularly special read-aloud experience. Since it is a cartoon strip, you can’t just read it as a narrative; you have to share the interpretation of the pictures alongside the reading of the dialogue and build it up together.

Sometimes we need books to help us talk about the illness or death of a beloved grandparent. (more…)