I love to write poetry and I love reading the works of the English and American Masters. Friends often ask me how I became interested in poetry. I tell them that my mother, from my earliest memory, would read to me.
Oh, she would read me all kinds of stories---fairy tales, fables, and rhyming verse. I loved it all; but, I was especially drawn to the sheer beauty of rhyming, metered verse. And, not only was it beautiful to the ear, it had a meaning to be thought over and discussed.
Longfellow, Poe, Masefield, Field, Riley, Kipling, Wordsworth, Lanier, Stevenson, Emerson, Tennyson, Whitman, Bryant---and so very many more---were my heroes (and still are).
If you want your child to love something---like poetry---expose them to it lovingly at an early age. It will grow as the child grows, and be a living testament to your love for them.
My wife, Cindy, is an artist. She created this wonderful shingle for me a few years ago. I keep it in a prominent place in my office.
Many times after you have performed, I have a member of the audience ask me, "How did he get involved with poetry?" I always answer, "He had a mother who read to him."
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