978-0-9698117-2-5
That’s the ISBN number of the book titled “The Backpack Poets of Rockcliffe Park Public School” in which my 12 year old son Nicholas is now a published author. Imagine my surprise and delight when my wife Cindy handed me the book this evening.
This year at his school, Rockcliffe Park Public School in Ottawa, poet-in-residence JC Sulzenko led a project teaching and coaching poetry to the grade 4,5, and 6 students and some of the school staff, which culminated in this anthology of poems written by same. And it is a bona fide paperback book of poetry, with the suggested retail price of $10.
Nick’s poem is titled “Why I like Mexico” and is about his trip there this January on an exchange program. Two days from now we fulfill our end of the bargain – as his new Mexican friend Juan from Cuernavaca is coming to stay with us for the Canada leg of the exchange. (We’re immediately dragging poor Juan off to a Scout camp the next day for the weekend. It was kind of awkward having to request his parents sign the standard Scouts Canada liability waiver for non-members, when the theme of our camp is “Projectiles” (archery, pellet-gun target shooting, catapults, model rocketry). At least it’s nothing like the Boy Scouts of America, who a couple of years ago at the Brotherhood Camp in the Thousand Islands brought in a Black Hawk helicopter gunship with a crew that had been to Iraq. I digress.)
The proceeds of any sales of “The Backpack Poets” in 2008 goes to a local literacy charity and non-profit organization called also ( Alternative Learning Styles and Outlooks). The book can be obtained from Rockcliffe Park Public School (tel: 613 749-5387) and through the annual Rockcliffe Book Fair fund-raiser held each year by and for the school.
Speaking of poets, in today’s Ottawa citizen there was short article about Crazzy Dave, the homeless poet that Nick and I bumped into a few weeks ago and from whom we bought a poem (that I published here in the post “Mindlessly Adrift” – also the title of Dave’s poem.) It would have been great had the article showcased his work, but it was actually about how someone had stolen his boxes of cardboard poems. The one I bought from him was over two years old – he’s been carrying some of those around for quite some time. It doesn’t get much lower than stealing from a homeless guy. Those cardboard poems are his livelihood, meagre as that is.
Cheers,
Allocator
a.k.a George Parkanyi
gparkanyi@hotmail.com
George,
So your son got to be a published author. That’s reason to celebrate, and you should be a pretty proud papa. Extend my congratulations to your son.
By the way, have you seen how beaten up I’m getting over at DS?
Jeff
Thanks again, Jeff. I AM a proud papa.
As for DS, you opened up a good debate. People find it very hard to take responsibility for their own choices, especially when it doesn’t go their way. I threw in my two cents.
Cheers,
George