Stumble it!
February 22, 2005
Finn Glamore: Poet Laureate
The twins are in kindergarten, and they are really starting to read and write. These days the teachers encourage them to write phonetically, and they worry about learning proper spelling later. I suppose that now, with spell check readily available, this is a pretty good method. However, it results in my getting a lot of strange notes along the lines of “Mom I luv yu an kin we hev a peetza partee?”
Anyway, their work reminded me of Finn’s writing debut when he was in kindergarten, years ago. It was apparent even then that Finn had inherited my writing talent. Near the end of the school year, a local bookstore organized a poetry reading where all attendees would be allowed to read a work of original poetry. It was to be held on a Friday night, and Finn’s teacher encouraged all her students to attend.
Finn was pumped up about it, and worked on his presentation all week. He would not let me see the poems he was going to read. Bill was out of town on business, so I asked my mom to come along to maximize Finn’s audience.
Friday arrived, and it was pouring rain. I thought about telling Finn the event had been canceled due to flooding at the mall, but then my mothering instinct took over, thank God, and I got everyone into clean clothes and loaded them into the van. This part was challenging; Drew and Porter were cranky and I was exhausted, so I fed them yogurt while I had a cup of coffee with a splash of Kahlua. I hoped this would help me stay awake yet provide me with a much-needed feeling of calm.
It continued to storm, and by the time I parked and got everyone headed in the right direction, we were fifteen minutes late. I was panicking. I am used to being on time everywhere I go, and I certainly did not want to ruin Finn’s poetry debut. But once we got there, it was apparent that our lateness did not affect the performance, because we made up almost half the audience.
Only seven kids and two teachers showed up, probably because it was a Friday night and all the other parents had babysitters and were out partying. The spectators settled into folding chairs facing a podium. My mom had saved us seats, so we sat right up front. Of course, there were no bad seats since the audience was so small. The students formed a line next to the podium and waited with their sheets of paper. Each child took a turn reading a poem. Finn read two.
I Am Speshull
I am speshull becuz I can hit a bassball
I am speshull becuz I hav a loos tooth
I am speshull becuz I am a big brother
I am speshull becus I hav the oldis dog in the class
By Finn Glamore
Thunderous applause! Cameras flashed! The audience begged for more. Finn obliged.
My Wif
I love my wif.
Watever she duz to me
I stil want to kis her.
By Finn Glamore
After he read his poems, the bookstore people presented him with a journal. He immediately began writing in it, from the time we got into the van until late that night. (I encouraged this, as I did it when I was a kid, and I rummaged around in the attic and found my old lap desk for him to use).
His next endeavor was somewhat unsettling.
The Ferst Day of Skool
Hart thumping
Chest beeting
Throt gulping
Thet is how I felt the ferst day of skool.
By Finn Glamore
His subsequent work was popular with other members of our household, but not with me.
No
No no no
Thet is what my mom alwayes ses
No ise creem
No snacs
No tv
No
By Finn Glamore
I have encouraged him to write a poem that goes something like this:
Yes
Yes I will drive you to school at an ungodly hour of the morning
Yes I will clean your clothes even though you have a clean shirt in your closet that cost $20
Yes I will help you look for your teddy bear
Yes you can have some yogurt
She is the most beautiful mom in the world
And she looks like she is in high school
By Finn Glamore
So far he prefers to follow his own muse.
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February 22nd, 2008 at 9:36 am, My Tiny Kingdom » Still Cool Says:
[...] years ago in My Tiny Kingdom: Finn Glamore: Poet Laureate Posted by Anne Glamore @ 9:36 am • Blast From the Past, Give Me A Beat! [...]