Poetry Safari at the
Bronx Zoo
Poetry—it stirs
in our souls a desire and passion for the glory of the natural
world around us. April is National Poetry Month and Bronx
Zoo visitors are invited to bring their inner-poet to experience
a day of rhyme, rap, and recreation at the third annual Poetry
Safari Weekend, April 16-17. Poetry Safari is made possible
by the generous support of JPMorgan Chase.
Whether it’s an ode to a toad or poetic words for the
birds, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Activities
take place from 11:00am - 4:00pm, unless otherwise noted:
• Animal Magnetism
(Stations at: sea lion pool, giraffes, Monkey House) Use
giant magnetic poetry boards to create a poem that expresses
feelings about these amazing animals.
• An Army of Ants, A Gaggle of Geese, A Pride of Poems
(Rhino Garden) Enjoy children’s poetry readings hosted
by the Bronx Zoo’s Friends of the Zoo docents.
• Winning Words
(Dancing Crane Pavilion at 2:00 p.m.) Winners of the Bronx
Zoo Poetry Contest read their award-winning poems, selected
from hundreds of entries.
• Environment-Themed
Poetry Slam (Dancing Crane Pavilion Noon to 1:00p.m., inclement
weather inside Dancing Crane Cafe)
In partnership with the Bronx Council on the Arts, a select
group of high school students will engage in an environment-themed
poetry slam.
• Purr-fect Poetry
(Dancing Crane Pavilion, inclement weather inside Zoo Center)
The Bronx Zoo Education Department invites young and aspiring
poets, ages 5-12, to explore and learn how to write using
different forms of poetry. All that children need to bring
to participate is their creativity.
• Meet the Poet Book Signings and Readings (signings
at the Bronx Zoo Store 11:00am - noon, readings at Dancing
Crane Pavilion 1:15pm - 2:00pm) Get to meet award-winning poets
and hear them read their work. On hand will be professional
poets Jean Marzollo (Saturday only), Irene O’Garden (Saturday
only), and Mary Ann Hoberman (Sunday only) to delight young
and old alike! Books by poets will be available for purchase.
• Storytelling
(Wild Asia Theater 11:30am, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm) Join LuAnn
Adams as she engages children and adults with her animal-themed
stories, puppets and audience participation.
• Crafts (Dancing
Crane Pavilion 11:00a.m. - 4:00 p.m., inclement weather Zoo
Center) Create a special bookmark to take home as a remembrance
of this perfectly poetic day!
About the poets:
Mary Ann Hoberman ~ Winner of National Book Award 1983
and the Poetry for Children Award of the National Council of
Teachers of English 2003, Mary Ann’s work has been widely
anthologized and her poems have also appeared in The Southern
Poetry Review, Harper’s and Small Pond. Among her books
are: Whose Garden Is It? (Harcourt,
Inc.); You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very
Short Fairy Tales to Read Together (Little,
Brown); The Lama Who Had No Pajama (Browndeer
Press/Harcourt)
Jean Marzollo ~ Author of
over 100 titles, including the popular, I Spy series
from Scholastic, Jean’s books have won numerous prizes
and awards, including: Parenting Magazine Certificate of
Excellence; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award; New
York Times Best Sellers list; and has been featured on the
Today Show and on Oprah. Jean also received the Notable Children’s
Book of Jewish Content awarded by the Association of Jewish
Libraries. Marzollo is past editor of Scholastic’s kindergarten
magazine, Let’s Find Out. In 1980, 1978 and
1977 the magazine won Education Press award for distinguished
achievements in educational journalism
Irene
O’Garden
~ Won the Gold Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2004 Best Book Award;
has been featured on The Today Show. She is also a playwright
and performer. Her poems have appeared in CALYX, College
English, Skylark, The Rockford Review, Whiskey Island Review and
others. Among her books are Maybe My Baby (Harper
San Francisco) and The Scrubbly Bubbly Car Wash (Harper.)
#
The Bronx Zoo spring/summer
hours and rates go into effect March 26- October 2. Located
at the Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road, the Bronx
Zoo is open from 10 am to 5 pm and on weekends and holidays
till 5:30 pm. For directions and other information, call
(718) 367-1010 or visit online www.bronxzoo.com.
