Where Did Poetry Come From?
Before they ever started writing down words,
people remembered and told stories and poems.
Children all around the world learned their histories by hearing these ancient stories.
Many civilizations kept their stories alive by sharing them with each other this way.
Often the stories rhymed to make it easier for people to remember them.
Can you imagine your grandparents telling you long rhyming stories about when they were little?
It might sound like one long Mother Goose rhyme about your ancestors.
That is quite an art form!
About four thousand years ago,
people finally started writing down stories and poems.
We can still read many of those old stories and poems today.
Some of the poems you will write will tell the story of you.
Where you were at certain times of your life,
what you were doing,
and the things that were important to you.
Maybe someday your great, great grandchildren
will hold your poetry journal in their sweet little hands,
and by reading the poems you created,
they will understand who you were,
they will feel connected to you,
and they will be amazed!
POETRY PARTY!
I recently made the wonderful discovery
that one of my ancestors is famous in the world of poetry.
Jessie Belle Rittenhouse was my great grandfather’s aunt.
She lived from 1869 until 1948.
Jessie Belle Rittenhouse wrote poetry,
but she devoted most of her time to promoting poetry in the literary world.
She travelled across the country speaking about poets and poetry.
She is known best for being the chief founder of the Poetry Society of America.
She was also the first person to edit the very first collection of poems by poets who were still living.
She was also the first poet to win the Robert Frost award for poetry.
In Jessie’s autobiography she talks about having parties at her house
in New York for two nights
before the Poetry Society of America’s annual dinner.
Wouldn’t that be fun?
A poetry party!
