• Betsy Franco
• Robin Hirsch
• Mary Ann Hoberman
• Paul B. Janeczko
• Alan Katz
• X. J. Kennedy
• Marilyn Singer
• Sonya Sones

-select- TheBookReportNetwork.com BookReporter.com ReadingGroupGuides.com AuthorYellowPages.com Teenreads.com Kidsreads.com

Poet Roundtable with Children's Poets AuthorsOnTheWeb brought together 16 poets to discover why poetic expression is so appealing to them and how they would respond to those who find poetry more than a little intimidating. The participants in the Poetry Roundtable included Mary Jo Bang, Billy Collins, Cornelius Eady, Jeffrey Greene, Richard Matthews, Honor Moore, Marge Piercy and Marc Woodworth who write for adult audiences as well as Betsy Franco, Robin Hirsch, Mary Ann Hoberman, Paul B. Janeczko, Alan Katz, X. J. Kennedy, Marilyn Singer and Sonya Sones who write poems for children and teens.

Betsy Franco Betsy Franco inspires trust in the many people she meets in the course of her work as a writer. As she explains, "My philosophy when researching and writing books has always been to let adults, young adults, and children speak for themselves as much as possible." With You Hear Me? and Things I Have to Tell You, Betsy's purpose is to let teenagers speak for themselves. Both anthologies, compelling in their honesty and sometimes raw expressions of the many-layered concerns of the writers, are uncensored. The sheer honesty of the teens' submissions surprised Betsy as she started her projects, and inspired her as she continued in her mission. "The writers' openness made me determined to try not to hit a false note in any aspect of the books." Betsy's three sons have been the inspiration of many of her ideas. Today, she has published more than forty books, including poetry, picture books, and nonfiction for children and adults, and has also invented educational toys. She finds that compiling anthologies of other writers' work provides a nice balance with her own writing, and allows her to collaborate with very interesting people. The recipient of a B.A. in studio art from Stanford University, and an M. Ed. from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Betsy and of husband of more than thirty years live in Palo Alto, California. Betsy's next project (with Annette Ochoa, Indian Education Program Specialist, and Traci Gourdine) is collecting the poems, essays, and true stories of Native American teens and young adults, ages 12 -22. Interview on Teenreads.com Candlewick Press Browse Betsy Franco's books on Amazon.com. Back to top. Robin Hirsch Robin Hirsch is a former Oxford and Fulbright scholar and the author of the acclaimed memoir Last Dance at the Hotel Kempinski. The co-owner of the renowned Cornelia Street Café in Greenwich Village, Mr. Hirsch lives in Brooklyn, New York. TW Bookmark Robin Hirsch's Website Browse Robin Hirsch's books on Amazon.com. Back to top. Mary Ann Hoberman Mary Ann Hoberman is a poet and the critically acclaimed author of many books for children, including the beloved A House Is a House for Me, which won a National Book Award. She was also the editor of the poetry anthology My Song Is Beautiful: Poems and Pictures in Many Voices. Ms. Hoberman gives readings in libraries and schools, and her poems are included in countless anthologies. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Mary Ann Hoberman's Website TW Bookmark Browse Mary Ann Hoberman's books on Amazon.com. Back to top. Paul B. Janeczko Paul Janeczko didn't always plan to be a poetry anthologist. "I started out as a kid in New Jersey who had two major goals in life," he says. "To survive one more year of delivering newspapers without being mauled by Ike, the one-eyed, slobbering cur that lurked in the forsythia bushes at the top of the hill, and to become more than a weak-hitting, third-string catcher on our sorry Little League team." Though Paul Janeczko says he failed to achieve either of these goals, he did reach college in one piece, and that's when he discovered his love of poetry. "I became a poetry junkie and read poetry the way some people watch soap operas, work in their gardens, or follow the Red Sox." Whenever he read good poetry, he was struck by everything about it-its form, language, images, structure, rhythm, voice, sound, feeling, and endless subjects --- and wanted to share these possibilities with others. "I want young people to see that poems are expressions of human experience and are as different as people. I've offered young readers poems about teeth, suicide, lasagna, movies, swimming, insomnia, gluttons, dentists, war victims, crows, cars, cats, and gnats, to name a few." After teaching high school English for twenty-two years, Paul Janeczko resigned to become a visiting poet, and has since worked with young writers in schools from Maine to Alaska, as well as in international schools in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, and London. He has also edited twenty poetry anthologies for young readers, many of which have been named a Best Book of the Year by the American Library Association. Paul Janeczko's first book for Candlewick Press, Very Best (Almost) Friends, was meant for anyone who has ever known the fierce devotion of a very best friend. "Friends are an important part of our lives," he says. "I wanted to share with kids some of the delicious poems that celebrate this (almost) always wonderful experience." A Poke in the I, an anthology of concrete poems (poems that form shapes and pictures), was published in April 2001. Paul Janeczko hopes "this 'poke in the I' kicks kids' imaginations into high gear and lets them run wild writing their own concrete poems." Paul Janeczko is a frequent presenter at workshops for teachers, librarians, and young writers; has served as the poetry editor of English Journal and as a member of the Editorial Review Board of The New Advocate; and is a member of NCTE's Books for You Committee. He also writes reviews of audio books for Audiofile and writes the "Kids' Poetry Workshop" column for Scholastic's Instructor magazine.  Paul B. Janeczko lives in Maine with his wife and daughter. Candlewick Press Browse Paul B. Janeczko's books on Amazon.com. Back to top. Alan Katz Alan Katz has been a print and television comedy writer for more than twenty years. In addition to being a multiple Emmy nominee for his work on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and Disney's Raw Toonage, he has written for children's programming on Nickelodeon, ABC television, and Warner Bros. Animation's Taz-Mania. He has also authored several adult humor books as well as humorous essays for the New York Times and other publications. Alan lives in Weston, Connecticut, with his journalist wife, Rose, and their children, Simone, Andrew, and twins Nathan and David. Simon & Schuster Browse Alan Katz's books on Amazon.com. Back to top. X. J. Kennedy X.J. Kennedy's poems have appeared in more than one hundred fifty textbooks and anthologies and have been aired on the Today show, Good Morning America, and Garrison Keillor's radio programs. In recognition of his work for adults, Mr. Kennedy was the first recipient of an international prize for light verse awarded by the Academy of American Arts and Letters, and he is the 2000 winner of the Award for Excellence in Children's Poetry given by the National Council of Teachers of English. He has published sixteen children's books and, with his wife, Dorothy M. Kennedy, anthologies Knock at a Star and Talking Like the Rain. Formerly a professor of English at Tufts University, X.J. Kennedy lives with his wife in Lexington, Massachusetts. They have five large children and two small grandchildren. X. J. Kennedy's Website TW Bookmark Browse X. J. Kennedy's books on Amazon.com. Back to top. Marilyn Singer Marilyn Singer is the author of 10 collections of poetry, including Monster Museum and Turtle in July, an NCTE Notable Book and a Reading Rainbow selection. She lives in New York. Photo Credit to © Francene Keery. Marilyn Singer's Website Knopf Browse Marilyn Singer's books on Amazon.com. Back to top. Sonya Sones Before becoming a writer, Sonya Sones taught animation, worked as a photographer, and edited movies. Her first book, Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and won a Christopher Award, the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award, and the Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award. It was also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Ms. Sones says, "In Stop Pretending, which is autobiographical, there are some poems about my first love. I had such a good time writing about those first feelings of overwhelming passion that I knew I wanted to delve into them more deeply. That's why I wrote this book. These poems are definitely not autobiographical. Especially not the embarrassing ones." Ms. Sones lives with her family in California. She can be reached at SonyaSones@aol.com. Photo Credit to © Ava Tramer. Sonya Sones Interview Simon & Schuster Browse Sonya Sones's books on Amazon.com. Back to top.   (c) Copyright 2002, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com. All rights reserved.

contact us | about us | privacy policy