I’m a poet, comic performer and creative writing teacher. I love reading/performing poems for children and encouraging them to write poems themselves. I feel they should be exposed to exciting, dynamic and poetic language and nudged off the ‘template’ into using their imaginations as much as possible.
I’ve recently completed a collection of poems for 8-12 yr olds Shark Salad. (And am looking for a publisher!) My aim has been to provide a big variety of poetry that’s challenging and fun. I’ve included shape poems, a verb poem, ballads and chants. The emphasis is on sparkling and inventive language that children hopefully won’t be able to resist. And I hope it will make a useful resource for teachers too. So far I’ve had very favourable responses from students and teachers and one of the poems is shortly to be published in The School Magazine.
I’ve been writing poetry for 25 years. I’ve two collections of (adult) poetry published, the second of which Backbone came out in 2010. As well as teaching adult writing workshops I do a lot of work in schools teaching creative writing and poetry is one of my passions. I also teach Professional Learning workshops for English teachers on creative writing. I was the judge for the schools’ section of the Feast of Poetry Competition (Cooma) in 2012 and 2013. Recently I wrote an article Atmosphere of possibility: Teaching creative writing for Literacies Learning: The Middle Years, ALEA’s magazine (featured here).
I live on 115 acres near Braidwood on the Southern Tablelands.
ph: 0248461075
Some poems:
Storm
You feel it on your skin
something coming
heavy and warm
like the breath of a huge animal
its thunder-breath
rumbling overhead
now you’re being pawed by the wind
attacked by the first fat drops of rain
but this beast with the yellow eyes
is in no mood to play
and spits lightning
wants to snatch your house
crack the windows
smack the roof
give you the shock of your life
so get inside now
or be swallowed
© Harry Laing
If I Was An Emu
If I was an emu
I’d have a tiny brain
and run at forty k’s an hour
over the plain
if I was an emu
I’d sit on blue eggs
if I was an emu
I’d have the best legs.
(If I was an emu
I’d have tiny wings
OK so they don’t work
but wings are stupid things.)
© Harry Laing
Egg
I cracked open my egg
and got a surprise
it was packed full of people
and I’m telling no lies
they were all wearing yellow
and their faces were white
so I’m telling you Mum
my egg isn’t right
I like my egg runny
but this is a joke
the white bits are waving
and so is the yolk
please boil my egg longer
please make sure it’s cooked
and then tell the farmer
to check out his chooks
© Harry Laing
hi I’m doing an English assessment on you I would like to know when your birthday is and where you where.
Hi Kaitlyn, you need to revisit the Harry Laing page on this website and contact him directly via the details listed there.