I thought this would be the perfect writing prompt to get your creativity flowing, especially when youre not in the working mood. I sort through a collection of books, pull particular titles, and eventually group the books into clusters so that the titles can be read in sequence. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading sorted books. Oct 08, 2015 physical book spines become digital poetry. Looking into the nonetoodistant horizon, i see that april a. It is a joyful celebration of the poetry of nature words and the living glory of our distinctive, british countryside.
In honor of national poetry month this year, my fellow hub blogger suzanne neumann and i have made some exquisite book spine poems for you. Kaite mediatore stover, readers services manager at the kansas city public library, explains how to stack up a poem of your own using. Although we mainly focus on ya novels, that does not mean that we dont read adult or middle grade novels. Check out more examples on her site or get ninas book sorted books. Mar 22, 2011 looking into the nonetoodistant horizon, i see that april a. The sorted books project began in 1993 years ago and is ongoing.
I posted one my book spine poetry photos on facebook tonight and my cousin jane in nyc responded that it was her friend the artist nina katchadourian that started this in 1993 as the sorted books project. Book spine poetry in sorted books by nina katchadourian the following is an excerpt from sorted books by nina katchadourian published by chronicle books, 20. The book spines in the teenage girls room were predominantly blue, pink. In order to participate, families need only to snap a photo of their poem as pictured here. Katchadourians sorted book project manages to become more than an experiment in medium. Book spine poetry is a free verse poem composed by. The final results are shown either as photographs of the book clusters or as the actual. Super simple book spine poetry by alycia zimmerman. The relationship i was going for here was small child and parent, but interpret it as you wish. Sorted books kindle edition by katchadourian, nina, dillon. Searching for titles at the school library would get us out of. And another from from maria popova at brain pickings.
During april national poetry month my local library held a book spine poetry contest. Heres an example of book spine poetry from nina katchadourians original sorted books project. Jul 31, 2012 however, the most skilled person in the genre is probably professional artist nina katchadourian. Book spine poetry contest enter the book spine poetry. Well, book spine poetry is an internet meme that goes back to the work of artist nina katchadourian. National poetry month is better with book spine poems alsc blog. Sorted books kindle edition by katchadourian, nina, dillon, brian. Grades 12, 35, 68, 912 book spine poetry is so simple but creates intriguingly artistic results. Last year, inspired by artist nina katchadourian, i tried my hand at book spine poetry and came away convinced that this was just the sort of thing that kids would take to. American artist nina katchadourian creates witty poetry from the spines of different books stacked in a way so that their titles form coherent phrases. Rather than following any rules on structure or rhyme, book spine poems invite aspiring poets to use only book titles to create a truly funky masterpiece. Katchadourian began collecting interesting titles and arranging them in clusters so the spines to create a column of poetry.
Nina katchadourianchronicle books 20m 1h 2h 3h 3h 4h 5h 6h 6h 22h 1d 2d 3d recent features. After the jump, check out a few of our favorites from the book, and if youre intrigued, head here to learn more. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Its a kind of poetry that you dont really write from scratch instead, you find it by arranging book titles to make a poem. At the time, i had never heard of such a genre but, once i found out about it, i was instantly hooked and began scouring my and my friends bookshelves for likely material to compose my own poems. Here are some of my poems written using her technique.
Book spine poetry archives a rose is a rose is a rose. Looks like a great way to spend your break in the library, doesnt it. Katchadourian began collecting interesting titles and for national poetry month, a little fun with some favorite book spines. The learning curve is low, the results are often awesome its a natural fit for a national poetry month program for kids. This morning i found an article in my inbox from maria popova at brain pickings that led me to the concept of book spine poetry, originally created by the artist nina katchdourian. Now shes gone and mastered the art of book spine poetry, says art fag city. The best of book spine poetry amanda nelson october 26, 2012.
Beartown istina je u malim sredinama uglavnom nepozeljna. With book spine poetry, students will end up spending more time working on revision strategies. I used a world without you as the title, not as part of the poem itself. Here you will find thoughts, views, opinions and observations of things around me, as they are, not as they should be. Here you will find thoughts, views, opinions and observations of things around me, as. The idea of book spine poetry began in 1993 with artist nina katchadourians sorted books project, with a recent online resurgence from people having a go at home. The project has taken place in many different places over the years, ranging. Mar 15, 20 as a longtime fan of artist nina katchadourians longrunning sorted books project, which even inspired some playful book spine poetry experiments of my own, im thrilled for the release of sorted books public library a collection spanning nearly two decades of her witty and wise minimalist mediations on life by way of ingeniously.
At the time, i had never heard of such a genre but, once i found out about it. I tried creating one and now will never look at the spine of a book the same way again. The concept of book spine poetry appeared in 1993 with nina katchadourians sorted books project. Poetry created from the titles of stacked books bored panda. Book spine poetry in sorted books by nina katchadourian. The sorted books project began in 1993, and it has has taken place on many different. Just grab a bunch of books with interesting titles and stack them up to create a juicy column of poetry. Found poetry is playful and lowstress, but it isnt slacker poetry. Book spine poetry, a form of writing that involves stacking books so that the titles on their spines create a poem, is an art form accessible to readers of all ages and sizes. It seemed like they had decided to keep everything, and so they had a lot of books, organized in a casually thematic manner on wooden. For the uninitiated, a book spine poetry is placing spines of the books so that they read like a sentences or a poem. Ill admit, its not the easiest task in the world but it sure is. Maria popova of brain pickings adapted the spine sentences into poetry, and the idea quickly spread around the interwebs. As i examined these images, i started thinking about the possibilities for ap lit.
I first learned about book spine cento poems through artist nina katchadourian. You might know artist nina katchadourian or remember her airportbathroom flemish portraiture. If youve ever spent too long staring at your bookshelves, you might have seen the titles of some of the books begin to relate to one another. Katchadourian began collecting interesting titles and arranging them in clusters so the spines could be read like a sentence.
Oct 26, 2012 the concept of book spine poetry appeared in 1993 with nina katchadourians sorted books project. The sorted books project began in 1993, and it has has taken place on many different sites over the years, ranging form private homes to specialized book collections. Nina katchadourian, an artist, makes poetry look so fun and easy. Book spine poetry from nina katchadourian kate buttery. Its national poetry month, inspired by nina katchadourians sorted books project. Thanks to the poetry foundation twitter feed, i discovered a very interesting recontextualising approach to poetry writing, courtesy of the artist nina katchadourian. I shared my experience on the alsc blog and encouraged others to try it with their students or young patrons. Sorted books kindle edition by katchadourian, nina. As a longtime fan of artist nina katchadourians longrunning sorted books project, which even inspired some playful book spine poetry experiments of my own, im thrilled for the release of sorted books public library a collection spanning nearly two decades of her witty and wise minimalist mediations on life by way of ingeniously arranged book spines, including some pieces never seen online.
The concept of book spine poetry appeared in 1993 with nina katchadourian s sorted books project. A medvedgrad je mala sredina, gradic koji je izgubio na svim poljima. A little careful rearranging, and perhaps you could even make a short phrase jump out. All you have to do for this challenge is create a poem using only the spines of your books.
Jul 21, 2016 i used a world without you as the title, not as part of the poem itself. Ive celebrated them every national poetry month since. Sep 09, 2014 book spine poetry was pioneered by american conceptual artist nina katchadourian in the early 1990s. Apr, 2012 everybodys favorite excuse to speak in rhyming couplets is upon us.
Book spine poetry has been around for more than twenty years, and a twitter search proves its alive and well on the internet. As a longtime fan of artist nina katchadourians longrunning sorted books project, which even inspired some playful book spine poetry experiments of my own, im thrilled for the release of sorted books public library a collection spanning nearly two decades of her witty and wise minimalist mediations on life by way of ingeniously. Inject some new inspiration into poem writing with book spine poems. Sep 09, 2014 i was reading michelle machs blog beads and books a couple of weeks ago, and she had posted an intriguing idea for a blog hop. Mar 24, 2020 attached was larrys great book spine cento poem. Book spine poetry was pioneered by american conceptual artist nina katchadourian in the early 1990s. Apr 16, 2014 if youve ever gazed at a bookshelf and seen sentences, then the forbes librarys book spine poetry contest is for you. Feb 05, 2015 poems a thousand pieces of you, all our yesterdays, book spine poetry, books, circle of silence, imaginary girl, in the afterlight, just listen, keys to the repositoy, old magic, pandemonium, poems, poetry, poison princess, randomness, requiem, th golden lily, the book thief, the city and the city, the girl with the iron touch, the immortal. April is national poetry month and spurred on by a recent post by bookish beck, i thought i would indulge in some book spine poetry its been a while since i did this on the blog but it can get a bit addictive once you get going. National poetry month is better with book spine poems. Book spine poetry falls into the category of found poetry that is, poems made up of text lifted from different sources. Brooklynbased artist nina katchadourian has been visiting public and private book collections to create bookspine poetry for her sorted books project since 1993.
The great 2020 quarantine book spine poem challenge. Found poetry is particularly popular with students who are overwhelmed by the vastness of a blank page or who act like their pencil is barbed. The basic principle is to create a cluster of books, whose titles make a poem when read in sequence. This type of poem can be serious or funny, just like in regular poetry. Shes also perhaps one of the longest ongoing book spine title poets her project, sorted books, arranging books by their titles to create new phrases, began in 1993. But when i saw larrys poem, i realized something new.
Katchadourian began collecting interesting titles and. Inspired by artist nina katchadourian, book spine poems or centos have been my form of choice to celebrate national poetry month for the past two years. Snap a photo of your masterpiece and presto, youre done. Mar, 2012 the learning curve is low, the results are often awesome its a natural fit for a national poetry month program for kids. Did you know you could craft a poem using only books.
She offers book spine poetry as a new solution to these usually dull tasks. I was reading michelle machs blog beads and books a couple of weeks ago, and she had posted an intriguing idea for a blog hop. For those of you who dont know, book spine poems are made by stacking books on top of each other and forming a witty, freeverse poem from their. Ive decided to use the book at the top of each pile as the title and ive taken a few liberties with the punctuation. Heres an example of book spine poetry from nina katchadourian s original sorted books project. She photographs books, stacked so that the titles create beautiful poems, heartbreaking observations, and snarky oneliners that convey the unique nature of each collection. She uses the words and titles from the spines of books to form a sentence and tell a story. Book spine poetry from nina katchadourian thanks to the poetry foundation twitter feed, i discovered a very interesting recontextualising approach to poetry writing, courtesy of the artist nina katchadourian. As a longtime fan of artist nina katchadourians longrunning sorted books project, which even inspired some playful book spine poetry. With acrostic spellpoems by peerless wordsmith robert macfarlane and handpainted illustrations by jackie morris, this enchanting book captures the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages. We thought this would be the perfect writing prompt to get your creativity flowing, especially when youre not in the working mood.
Book spine poetry in sorted books by nina katchadourian huffpost. Book spine poetry, as we know it today, is often said to have begun back in the 1990s with artist nina katachadourians sorted books project. In the early 1990s, she took photographs of stacked book titles that, when read together, created short sentences and stories. The quarterly book club is designed for the busy reader, with quarterly reading challenges as well as yearly challenges for flexibility. Apr 29, 2018 while book spine poetry itself is not a brandnew idea, i have seen the concept spring up frequently on social media this year. On sunday 19th march, 2017 i found an article in my inbox from maria popova at brain pickings that led me to the concept of book spine poetry, originally created by the artist nina katchdourian.
Jan 16, 2017 she offers book spine poetry as a new solution to these usually dull tasks. The artist says thats exactly how the idea dawned on her. Most young writers shy away from the revision process simply because its taxing to rewrite their work by hand. In the early 1990s, she took photographs of stacked book titles that, when read together, created short sentences and stories to support the poetry unit in the classroom, second grade students will create their own book spine poetry. Book spine poetry is a photo meme that involves lining up or stacking books in a particular order so the titles on the book spines create a poem. However, the most skilled person in the genre is probably professional artist nina katchadourian. Book spine poetry contest enter the book spine poetry contest. Help your fifth grader search the family bookshelves to create a oneofakind poem based on the books he already loves.
Back by popular demand, our first challenge is book spine poetry. We thought this would be the perfect writing prompt to get your creativity flowing. The idea originated from a photo project created by artist nina katchadourian. New york by maria popova the charismatic chaos of the city, captured in book spines. Children 58 children 911 teen 1218 adult 19 and older a grand. Apr 22, 2020 since then, whenever i see a pile of books, my mind subconsciously starts creating book spine poetry in my head.
Katchadourian explains the roots of the sorted books project. Our hosts had married late in lifea second marriage for bothand they had merged their separate book collections when they moved in together. Nina katchadourians book spine poetry by harriet poetry. After your students have created their book spine poems, you can print the photos to create a. American artist nina katchadourian creates witty poetry from the spines of different.
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