Berkley Alumna, Poet Shares Secrets to Success

Sara Holbook, a Parent's Choice award winner for Walking on the Boundaries of Change, spends much of her time traveling the world, educating students in the craft of writing.

Next week, she will visit middle-schoolers in Rochester as part of the Authors in April program.

Holbrook spoke to Patch recently from her home in Ohio, east of Cleveland. She grew up in Michigan and attended . She is the parent of two grown daughters and has five grandchildren. She began writing poetry for her children, but she didn't always make her living as a writer.  

"I wrote for many years before I was published," said Holbrook, who began her career writing newsletters and business publications for Kmart. When she quit her job to write full time, she was the vice president of an advertising agency in Cleveland.

Holbrook uses poetry to help students improve their overall writing skills. She says poetry is like a snapshot that focuses the attention. When she was writing as a hobby, she discovered that the more poetry she wrote, the better her other writing became.  

"I think poetry is not only an art form but a learning tool," she said.

Performance is an important piece of Holbrook's work. She says poetry is part of a grand oral tradition, and she teaches students to feel comfortable speaking in front of others — one of mankind's biggest fears. 

Beginning with reciting poetry together as a class, then reading someone else's work, Holbrook builds the scaffolding a young performer needs to be successful.

She thrives on the interaction with students and has written several instructional texts for teachers, including Practical Poetry and Wham! It's a Poetry Jam. Holbrook's most recent work was released in the fall of 2010, Zombies! Evacuate the School!

"It keeps me current, real and honest," Holbrook said of her work with children.

She tells young poets to read a lot. Like a musician listens to all kinds of music, a writer should read and produce a lot to get a feel for the rhythm of language, Holbrook said. She stresses writing in volume, using Robert Frost as an example.  The famous poet wrote more than 1,000 poems, but most people remember only two.

Holbrook calls herself "a bit nocturnal," writing late at night, but she said she also enjoys working at the beginning of the day, especially if she is writing prose. She gets inspiration most especially from relationships, between friends and in nature. Visiting schools will also trigger memories for her from her childhood or of raising her own girls. Recently she turned a grandchild's experience of losing a big game into a poem.

When not writing, Holbrook enjoys time at home with her two papillons and traveling the world to educate students about writing with her partner, a fellow poet.

Follow these links to read interviews with other Authors in April writers and .

The Authors in April program is intended to encourage reading, creative writing and appreciation of literature. The authors visit students in the elementary and middle schools next week; there is a planned at the from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday. For more about the program, visit authorsinapril.org.