“Poetry and I fit together.
I can’t imagine being without it…
It is food and drink, it is all seasons,
it is the stuff of all existence.”
~ Lee Bennett Hopkins ~
The death of Lee Bennett Hopkins yesterday leaves a gaping hole at the heart of the children’s poetry community. Lee was a visionary. His books, both his own and the countless anthologies he edited, are treasures. Although I never met him in person, Lee has had an enormous influence on both my teaching and my writing and his work will continue to inspire students and poets for years to come.
Coincidentally, Been to Yesterdays, Lee’s 1995 autobiographical poetry collection, was on my desk this morning. After reading the sad news, I reread many of my favorites from this book, including this one. Lee did indeed make this world a whole lot brighter.
To
make
this world
a whole lot
brighter
when
I
grow up
I’ll
be
a writer.
I’ll
write about
some things
I know–
how to bunt
how to throw…
a Christmas wish
a butter dish…
a teddy bear
an empty chair…
the love I have inside
to
share…
Yes.
To
make
this world
a whole lot
brighter,
when
I
grow up
I’ll be
a
writer.
by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Please be sure to visit my friend and critique group partner, Molly Hogan, at Nix the Comfort Zone for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
This brought tears to my eyes, Catherine. It’s the perfect poem to share to remember a man whose writing made such a difference to so many.
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What an incredible tribute. Thank you, Catherine. So much love he DID share with all of us…even when it wasn’t easy. I’m tucking this poem away into my “poetry pandemonium” file for school.
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A heartfelt post, Catherine. “the love I have inside
to
share… Thanks for the reminder of this lovely book, too, and of Lee’s continuing generosity.
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Catherine, a perfect choice of one of thousands of Lee Bennett Hopkins’ poems. He will surely be missed. I have so many of his books that will help me continue to hear his voice.
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The perfect poem, really, with which to honor Lee.
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You’ve shared a lovely tribute, Catherine. I hadn’t read this poem before. It’s perfect. He absolutely did make the world a whole lot brighter.
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That poem is a favorite of mine as well, Catherine. (It’s the one he based his TLD “ME poem” challenge off of a few years ago!) Thank you for sharing it and making me remember and smile. 🙂
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This poem. so perfect. What a loss to all of us, Thank you,
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What a beautiful poem to share on this sad day, Catherine. Thank you for choosing this one that I had not read before.
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Perfect pick. Thank you.
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Gorgeous choice, his specialty abounding: depth in simplicity.
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Thanks for sharing this wonderful happy poem. Some day I will be a writer.
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Thank you for sharing another poem by Lee. He did make the world more than a little brighter.
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Thanks for sharing Lee’s poems Catherine, the first one really hits home for me!
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