All about Kathy Kenney Marshall

All about Kathy Kenney Marshall

Where and when were you born?I was born in Methuen, Massachusetts. This is north of Boston. (Doesnt everything seem to come back to Boston?) Im the youngest of three, and the house that I lived in waaaaaaaaay back when had a dairy farm across the street. From time to time, we used to wake up with cows in our front yard, and in the summer, the smell was just awful! I wont answer the when part of your question. And dont ask me how much I weigh eitherits not polite.

Where did you find your inspiration Everywhere! There is a poem I love about a man who gives his wife two skunks for a valentine: And the poems that had been hiding in the eyes of skunks for centuries crawled out and curled up at his feet. Maybe if we reinvent whatever our lives give us we find poems. These words tell us that poetry is everywhere we look and listen

Another inspiration Once, I had a boy who couldnt stop picking his nose! I tried to help him with this icky habit by giving him signals to stop.It didnt work. So I started writing poems about kids who picked their noses, and it seemed to help without embarrassing him..

I keep a little notebook with me all the time because you never know when something will spark a poem. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea for a poem. At home and in my classroom, kids give me most of my ideas. The poems were really funny, but just disgusting enough to make him think about what he was doing. Another time, a girl was picking through the trash for treasure. A poem was born. At home, things happened with my own kids that made really funny poems.

Who is in your family?I have been married for over 23 years to my husband, Paul. We have three great kids: Kalin, who is 22 and lives in Boston; Shawn, who is 20; and Mike, who is 15. They have been the subjects of several poems, but I wont tell you which ones. They might not like me much if I revealed those secrets!

What tips can you give aspiring writers?WRITEand read! Keep a journal or keep a bunch of them. I currently have five separate journals that I write in. I have one for each of my children, one for me, and one for letters that I write to my dad who died several years ago. The more you write and read, the better you become at both. Words are your best friends. Have fun with them, play with them, and dont fear them.

What other tips do you haveLook for the wonderful ways to use words to help you express who you are. Words and language are such gifts if only we can learn not to be fearful of them.

Think of them as Legosarrange and rearrange them. Add to them, change them, and earn your poetic license. Find your voice and shout yourself out to the world. Be silly, be serious, be playful, be poeticwhatever you choose is wonderful. Love yourself through words.

Of all the poems youve written, whats your favoriteThats rather like asking, Whos your favorite kid in class? Though some poems are more fun to read or recite, I dont really have a favorite. I love poems with surprise endings, so maybe those are my favorites.

How do you get kids excited about poetry?Thats the fun part! I think being a poet and a teacher is a lot like being a salesman. You have to be excited about it yourself, so that makes me a natural. I use my voice and my words. I try to use dramatic expression to show my excitement and my affection for language. If I love it and am not afraid to show it, its almost contagious!

Do you write anything besides childrens poetry?I do, as a matter of fact. I am a columnist at the MetroWest Daily News, a newspaper that has a distribution through several towns west of Boston. I write about everything from school, to family, to whats hot in the news. My column appears in the Op/Ed pages. I am also working on a manuscript about classroom life. I write about the significant things, both hilarious and sad, that occur day to day in schools

How many books have you appeared in?So far, there are six poetry books from Meadowbrook: If Kids Ruled the School, Rolling in the Aisles, Dinner with Dracula, My Teacher's In Detention, Oh My Darling, Porcupine , and I've Been Burping in the Classroom. I must say, I am proud that the Ive Been Burping in the Classroom title comes from one of my poems! (I have sonsI know a good burp when I hear it!)

Who are your favorite poets?Thats a really hard question. I love Dr. Seuss, but there are so many poets that I love! In the funny rhyming genre, I adore Robert Frost, Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, Kenn Nesbitt, Darren Sardelli, Eric Ode, Linda Knaus, and Bruce Lansky, to name just a few. In the no rhyming genre, my favorites are Andrew Green, Naobi Shihab Nye, Billy Collins, and many more. I have come to appreciate the love of word play and language that is unique to every poet

Did you enjoy poetry as a child?Im still a child at heart, but when I was young in years (you know, in elementary school), my teachers werent big fans of poetry, except during our yearly poetry unit. This was a four-week-long exercise in misery. We had to memorize poems that we didnt understand, and they were either really serious or extremely corny. (Do kids today know what corny means? It has nothing to do with vegetables.) One poem I remember having to recite was In Flanders Fields. It was a poem about soldiers who died during WWI, so it was probably a nice poem. The teachers didnt seem to care if we understood it, but we had to know the words. They didnt consider Dr. Seuss a poet, though he was one of my favorites throughout my whole life. I developed a love for rhyme with his Cat in the Hat books. He was so talented.

What are your hobbies? When I am lucky enough to have free time, I love to exercise and shop. Kickboxing is my favorite exercise, and I can do serious damage to our family budget if Im in the mood to shop. Surprisingly, another favorite thing to do, though its not really a hobby, is to go to acupuncture treatments.

Where do you live? If what youre really asking is where do I take off my shoes and fall into bed at night, that would be Randolph, Massachusetts. Its a southern suburb of Boston. Its very small, only seven square miles, but lots of people live here. Its a short train ride into the city and fairly close to the beaches of the South Shore. But sometimes I think I live in my car!

I work about 30 miles from home as a teacher in Framingham, a suburb west of Boston, and I have to drive on the worst highway in Massachusetts to get there. Then when I get home, I become Moms Taxi Service. Thankfully, I have only one child out of three who doesnt have a license, but he still has a tremendous social life and goes to school two towns away from home.

But First...

I had a bit of troubleWith my teacher yesterday.She said I had to get to work-There wasn't time to play.But first...I had to tie my shoes.I had to blow my nose.And then I had to clean the lintThat tickled 'tween my toes.I had to find my pencil,Had to sharpen up its tip.I had to zipper up my pants,Then Vaseline my lip.And then, of course, 'cuz it was coldI put my sweater on,Then found a new eraser 'cuzMy old one was all gone.And then I found a buggy biteI really had to itch.And scratching made me notice

That my sweater pulled a stitch.And so I pulled a little thread.I made a little holeAnd noticed that my elbow hadA tiny brownish mole.It looked just like a ladybug,And so I drew a nose.I added spots and little legsAnd teeny buggy toes.Then fin'ly with those things all doneI settled down to work.But all my friends had finished,And my teacher went berserk.And, really, I was so confused.I wasn't having fun.These things were quite important.They were begging to be done!So now it's time for science.We're on page ninety-four.But first...There are some markers I must pick up from the floor

Insomnia

I cannot get to sleep tonight.I toss and turn and flop.I try to count some fluffy sheepwhile o'er a fence they hop.I try to think of pleasant dreamsof places really cool.I don't know why I cannot sleep -I slept just fine at school.

Class Pest

The boy who sits behind meIs really, really mean.He tells me I have cooties andI smell like a sardine.He tries to steal my pencilsAnd my favorite crayons, too.I wish his folks would move awayAnd lock him in the zoo.He cheats on every spelling testAnd blames it all on me.He always pulls my ponytail.I wish hed let me be.He talks too loud, his laugh is weird.I wish that he were mute.But the worstest thing about him isI think hes kinda cute.

My Normal Family

My daddy snores and sucks his toes.My brother likes to lick his nose.My doggy meows, my kitten barks.My goldfish chases sticks in parks.My sister walks while upside down.My mother hops all over town.Her skin is purple, dont you know.And I am green from head to toe.My dad is red, my sisters blue.My brothers yellow; yes, its true.We all wear raincoats in the sunAnd gobble lima beans for fun.Were very special, cant you see?Were just a normal family!

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