Barry Louis Polisar: Author, Poet, Songwriter, Performing Artist

  • About the Artist:

    Called “an unconventional, yet spot-on children’s entertainer and education advocate” by PBS Parents, Barry’s songs have been featured in television shows, feature films, and dozens of TV ads throughout the world. His books and poems have been translated into other languages and his songs have been recorded and performed by musicians internationally. He has written songs for Sesame Street and The Weekly Reader and starred in a television show for children that won two Emmy awards. A five-time Parents’ Choice Award winner, Barry has recorded and shared his writing with audiences throughout the world and has performed at The White House, The Smithsonian, and The Kennedy Center. A Maryland resident since early childhood, he gives concerts and author visits in schools, libraries, and performing art centers from Washington, DC, to Fairbanks, Alaska. He was given a Special Maryland Library Recognition Award for his “ability to communicate with and excite children to read.”

    Category:

    • Music
    • Writers

    Type of Programs Offered

    • residency
    • workshop
    • auditorium
    • Barry Louis Polisar: Songs, Stories, Poetry and books

      Description:

      Barry's poems, stories and songs are often about the everyday experience of children. His work opens a window into their lives and gives voice to their concerns, addressing fears, joys, frustrations, and experiences. He writes about school, parents, siblings, nature, animals, and the absurdities and ironies of daily life, sharing his insights with students in all-school assembly settings.

      He will introduce and talk about his work as a professional author, poet, storyteller, and songwriter as he shares his writings with the students and details the inspirations behind the work he creates; what his sources of inspiration are and what influences his writing and his career. These presentations are designed to enhance and increase the students love of reading as well as music. He will talk about the many different ways to be a writer and the different ways to tell stories. The program is designed to supplement and enhance the schools efforts to increase literacy and instill a love of reading.

      Barry will share aspects of the creative process in his presentations; working with students and teachers and giving them insights into what inspires his writing and how the daily influences of life can be celebrated in songs, stories, poems, and books. His work is designed to inspire students to read and write themselves—which of course supports the school curriculum and even more importantly, lays the foundation for a life-long love of the written word, music, and stories in all their many forms, showing how emotions, feelings, and experiences can be drawn on and channeled into the creative process. Barry talks about the "process" of writing with the older students, bringing in copies of his rough drafts to show the students some of the editing work that goes into writing a book, song, poem, or story.

      Many students in these assemblies are early readers and many are grappling with English as a new language. Artist’s program provides an easy way for everyone to explore language and access books and music in a way that is fun and entertaining, even while educating.

      Each program is geared towards a different grade level. The programs are designed to be educational, informative, and a lot of fun. The kids will laugh and think the songs, books, and poems are funny, but there is a lot of "hard" material about writing--especially the idea of re-writing and the rough draft process for the older students. Of course one of his main points is how much fun writing--and reading--can be! As The Baltimore Sun reported, “Bringing Barry Louis Polisar into the schools–and they’ve been doing it all around the country for years–is a stroke of genius. He’s a wonderful take-off point, a place to tell children about language and shared anxieties and music and a thing called a sense of humor. Anybody who’s ever taken their kids to a Polisar performance is struck by the joy in the room. The kids fill the place with laughter and shouts of recognition as their parents beam at the happiness on the kid’s faces. He is a one-man symphony of comic anarchy. At a time when vast numbers of our kids see school as endless drudgery, Polisar says otherwise. He says, isn’t the English language fun?”

      Appropriate Grade Levels:
      K - 12

      Curriculum Connections

      This program is offered as:

      • residency
      • workshop
    • Booking Details

      Program Costs:

      Barry has Maryland State Grant funding that can pay 100% of his concert and workshop fees as well as travel costs.

      Additional Notes:

      Please see Program information section on Barry's website and contact Barry for additional information and rates.

  • Artist's featured work:

    Artist's videos:

  • Name or Art Agency:
    Barry Louis Polisar
    Email:
    [email protected]
    Phone:
    +13015383216
    State / County:
    Maryland

    Visit Website

Stay in the Know. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST

        
    

Copyright 2023 Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. All Rights Reserved.

en_USEnglish
Skip to content