June is certainly one of the more spirited months of the year. Sandwiched between the holiday-filled month of May – where mothers are thanked, mortarboards are tossed, and memorial tributes are offered – and the boisterous and brash brother known as July, where thundering fireworks decorate the sky with both sight and sound, June still manages to carve quite a nice identity for itself.
This, the sixth month of the year, is an active participant for most all of its 30 days. June, you see, is uniquely positioned to serve as a link of sorts from one life to the next. It is the month where roses bloom and couples become one, welcoming more marriages than any other page on the calendar. It is a bridge between seasons, where spring transitions to summer, and a time for us to honor the dads and grandfathers in our lives by lavishing them with both praise and barbeque. This year, the 21st marks both special occasions.
June is also a time to trade pencils, pens and notebooks for beach balls, baseball gloves and campfires. But, before eager schoolchildren race away from their desks screaming in delight, “School’s out for summer!” we have one last bit of homework to grade. And, for this assignment, it’s straight A’s all around.
This month, we are thrilled to include the work of some of our youngest poets as we close the Troubadour’s fourth-grade poetry challenge Behind every good student are excellent parents and teachers, and we want to commend all of you who dedicated so much time, effort, thought and definitely humor into your entries. We hope you enjoy the poetry selections we have chosen from students, and discover why N.H. has always been a source of inspiration for authors and poets alike (“A Place to Reflect and Create”, pgs. 4-7).
From the legendary likes of Robert Frost, Thornton Wilder and J.D. Salinger, writers whose works remain timeless, to contemporary best-selling authors and poet laureates, including Dan Brown, Jodi Picoult and Donald Hall, the Granite State’s legacy of artistic inspiration remains timeless.
–Michael DeBlasi
