June 2022 Notable Author: Barry Louis Polisar

“Books and literature really did change my life.” – Barry Louis Polisar

Barry Louis Polisar is an author, songwriter, poet, and story-teller for children who also writes songs and books for adults. Barry was born in Brooklyn, New York and his family moved to Maryland, near Washington, DC., when he was eight. That’s also when he wrote his first story called, The Ten O’Clock Alarm Clock that Would Not Stop.

Barry knew he liked to read and to write, but went to college to be a teacher. While at college, a school invited him to play some of the songs he had written and the kids were rolling in the aisles with laughter. Then a teacher yelled at them for “acting like children.” From this experience, he wrote a song about a mean teacher and began to get invites to sing at other schools. Barry soon realized he could write about everyday experiences. Like when his mom tried to get his younger brother to eat his food by comparing his plate with Barry’s. “Look,” she would say, “Barry ate all his vegetables, why can’t you be that way?” That night he wrote, He Eats Asparagus, Why Can’t You Be That Way? The rest, as they say, is history.

Barry has written songs for Sesame Street and The Weekly Reader and starred in a television show for children that won two Emmy awards. He performs his songs on two different Grammy Award-winning albums and sings his song All I Want is You in the opening credits of the Academy Award winning movie Juno.

He lives in Maryland with his wife, daughter, son, dog, and cat, but the kids are now grown up. When not writing or performing, he likes to ride along the bicycle trails near his house or kayak in the nearby Patuxent River. For more information visit www.barrylou.com.

Genre: SINGER-SONGWRITER

Solo artist who writes and sings songs but gives listeners a different way to perceive things or a new angle on something familiar and features the instrument that the song was written on.

Sample Reading List: Children’s Books: Curious Creatures, Insect Soup, Peculiar Zoo, Albums: My Brother Thinks He’s a Banana, Juggling Babies, Old Enough to Know Better

Writer's Prompt - Fun With Words

Maryland Writers’ Association (MWA) invites you to have fun writing songs like Barry Louis Polisar. With just 100 words, pick a familiar tune and write a song that helps children overcome the tediousness of school or family.

Title your work and submit to: https://marylandwriters.org/Notable_Maryland_Authors  by the 22nd of the month to receive an MWA Fun With Words submission certificate. Selected responses will be published with next month’s article as well as posted on the MWA website.

Submit Your FUN WITH WORDS Prompt

The MWA is a 33-year-old state-wide association (501c3) dedicated to encouraging and mentoring Maryland writers, poets, playwrights, and authors. Go to:  www.MarylandWriters.org for more info.

Reader Responses: Last month we asked readers to have fun writing poetry like Lucille Clifton. With just 100 words, they were to create a poem that emphasizes strength occurring as the result of adversity. These are their responses: