Get your daily dose of poetry in honor of National Poetry Month!
Poet of the Day: Gary Soto
Gary Soto, poet and children's writer, was born on this date in 1952. Since he did not have books growing up, Soto regards his own emergence as a poet as "sort of a fluke."
Did you know?
Gary Soto's books and poetry present vivid pictures of life in a Mexican American neighborhood, of home, of family, and of community.
"I remember that style of shoe.
Never owned a pair myself.
With my skinny legs I could go side-to-side
like a crab,
But never run the distance with a number on my back,
Never the winner or runner up heaving at the end."
An excerpt from from "Earth Day on the Bay"
Read
After reading this article in College Composition and Communication, read Gary Soto’s piece "Looking for Work."
Classroom Connections
Gary Soto’s book Too Many Tamales is about a family preparing food for their Christmas celebration and the children who share in the preparations. Invite students to share a recipe and story about their own family traditions. Use this lesson as an inspiration.
Your Two Cents
Write about a time when you wished your family were somehow different or write a narrative of one day when you were eight or nine or ten.
