St. Peter's School Literary Festival Chapter 5

Sunrise on the Morning of the Literary Festival.  A Good Omen

On Friday morning, October 11, I headed to Lincoln to take part in the Fifth St. Peter's School Literary Festival.

This exciting event takes place every other

year, and I have attended all five, which rather shocks me.  I always enjoy myself--NO EXCEPTION THIS YEAR.

This time around, I interacted with two groups of polite and eager Third Graders who, as the images make apparent, enjoyed themselves. 

The youngsters learned to identify seventeen

birds and five or six noisy bird calls.  In addition, they colored and did some writing during the 50-minute sessions.


I enjoyed meeting the other presenters and talking with Matt Mason, whose latest book of poems is titled "The Baby That Ate Cincinnati," a poem, along with "Make Star Love not Star Wars" he read when he visited Peru State a few years ago. Give the poems a listen, for Matt does an excellent job.

 
The festival now honors long-time Nebraska State Poet Bill Kloefkorn by giving a teaching excellence award in his name, The Bill Kloefkornucopia Faculty Creativity Award.  

 
I was pleased to chat with Eloise, Bill's wife of 58 years; she and one of the couple's sons presented this year's award.

 

At the closing of the festival, Grammy-Award-Winner Bill Harley entertained with a couple songs I recorded:

"Everybody's a Baby About Something":

And Bill Harley sang a song he wrote for the 2013 documentary film 'The Phantom Tollbooth: Beyond Expectation": 

 


I thank Mary Beth Rice and other organizers for inviting me back again and again and Tiffany Easley for her gracious help during the festival.


And, of course, special recognition goes to the fifty-seven talented third graders with whom I had the great pleasure to work:  What Cheer, What Cheer!

 My Patient Parent Volunteer, Tiffany Easley and her Daughter

 Mary Beth Rice