Allan Wolf

Recently, I received the following poem by a High School student in southern Louisiana. Shailey’s excellent free verse poem is titled Standing. Standing Standing. Scared. Face is white. Lips are parted. I don’t even think he saw me. I was looking for you, but The door was locked And I didn’t want to interrupt.   I love this poem. Let me explain why. Let’s start with a simple question: What does this poem do? One of the most obvious answers: It describes a scene. And that scene provides clues to an emotional resonance beneath the surface. We can feel it, hear it, experience it, and yet it offers no clearly…

Creating Connection Through Metaphor Let us start with a little poetry joke, shall we? Q: What did the poet say to Luke Skywalker? A: Metaphors be with you! As a poet by profession as well as avocation, I have adopted this punchline as the guiding mantra for my life. “Metaphors be with you” is a poet’s way of saying namaste, shalom, or peace out! But to me, it is more than just a clever play on words. I believe that people who see the world through the lens of metaphor are more in tune with the interconnectedness of things. The two magic ingredients of metaphor are connection and comparison. Poets…

I’m celebrating the new school year with the release of a new book, now available everywhere you buy books. How to Tantrum Like a Champion: Ten Small Ways to Temper Big Feelings is a poem in picture book form, illustrated by the amazing Keisha Morris. This would be a great addition to any SEL program, especially if you are looking for a fun way to introduce your younger students (or grown-up friends) to some simple self-regulation strategies. Come See Me on The Bookstore Tantrum TourIn the next couple months, I’ll be visiting a series of bookstores (and a couple conferences) in VA, NC, SC, and beyond. At many of them…

I had lots of fun presenting at the Potsdam, NY Public Library last year. They were happy to have me, and caught some of it on video. Author, poet, musician, and all around renaissance man, Allan Wolf, found his way into PPL’s Main Reading Room last month thanks to the good folks organizing the 2023 LoKo Arts Festival at SUNY Potsdam . . . And when he got here, well, it was entertainment for all ages! Spitting poetry at break-neck speed, juggling in time with rhyme, creating joy and laughter and an audience eating out of his hand, you needed to be there to really feel that energy.

Hello Gentle Po-Folk, Welcome to summer! This is the time when I transition from doing school visits to summer library family presentations and the occasional teaching conference. This is a time when I try to travel less and write more. I’ll also be memorizing poetry from a few of my upcoming books, so I’ll be ready to recite them once they come out! Today I am howling about two exciting developments in my poet life: A New Book!My latest picture book in rhyme, How to Tantrum Like a Champion: Ten Small Ways to Temper Big Feelings (Candlewick Press) will publish on September 10th, just in time for the start of…

Turn Worry into Wonder The new school year is coming upwith goldfish, glue, and glitter!Your stomach feels all tangled upwith butterflies and jitters.You worry that your first big daywill be your next big blunder!Accept the way you feel,then turn that worry into wonder! I wonder what the year will bring.I wonder what good friends I’ll see.I wonder what fun songs I’ll sing.I wonder what cool books I’ll read. When worry and anxietytear all your world asunder,accept the way you feel,then turn that worry into wonder!  Hello Gentle Po-Folk, For most of us (students and teachers), the new school year brings equal parts excitement and anxiety. But did you know that you can help…

What Matters Mosta poem for those who teach If you feel overwhelmed and lost,with nothing up your sleeve,before you ask, “What shall I do?”ask, “What do I believe?” And let your heart be guided bythese two repeated thoughts:“I believe that I can teachand students can be taught.” Hello Dear Gentle Po-Folk, April is National Poetry Month, so it seemed fitting to begin with a poem written in honor of the many teachers and librarians who I’ve been blessed and inspired by over the years. These post-covid months have found many of you releasing a lot of pent up grief and feeling PTSD, and all the while you are facing new challenges regarding the…

Raise your hand if you’ve heard the phrase, The holiday season is upon us!, as if the holidays were an invading force from which we must seek refuge. We’ve barely recovered from the Halloween candy and the Thanksgiving turkey, and now here comes the biggest wave of them all, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. And let’s not forget New Year’s celebrations. Whether you anticipate this time of year with delight or with dread, it is easy to lose your sense of self amidst all the clamor. As this poem from one of my forthcoming collections, The Gift of a Broken Teacup, advises: if you find you are not being…

Dear gentle Po-Folk,There is a lot to howl about in the Wolf Den this fall. A Picture BookMy brand-new picture book, The Blanket Where Violet Sits, is now available everywhere! It stars a girl eating a sandwich on a blanket, in a park, in a city, on a planet, in a solar system, in a galaxy, in a universe! As she looks through her telescope, Violet sits at the center of it all, surrounded by starlight and love.  We had a fun interactive live-streamed book launch, Thursday, September 1st, with Malaprops Bookstore. The book’s illustrator, Lauren Tobia, joined us all the way from London, England! How cool is that? A Pioneer NovelMy historical…