Brod Bagert
Brod Bagert (born 1947) is a children's poet from New Orleans. He has written 19 books of poetry for children, young-adults, and adults.[1] His work has received numerous awards including the International Reading Association’s prestigious Young Adults Choices award, the Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Award, the Independent Publisher Gold Book Award, and Mom’s Choices Gold Medal.[1] He lives in New Orleans with Debby, his wife of 43 years. [1]
History
Brod Bagert was born and raised in the city of New Orleans where in high school, he studied classical literature in the original Latin and Greek, wrestled and boxed, married his high-school sweetheart, and reared four children. [1] He attended Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana for both undergraduate and Law School, from which, in 1971, he received his Juris Doctorate. Brod practiced as a trial attorney in Louisiana from 1971-1992, and served as an elected official from 1976-1980. In the summer of 1992, Brod decided to leave his law practice to become a full-time, professional poet. [1]
Early career
Bagert was elected to the New Orleans City Council in 1976 for a partial term representing District D, and was subsequently reelected to a full term in 1977. While serving as Councilman, Bagert introduced legislation to designate Esplanade Avenue and a large portion of the New Orleans area referred to as the Treme as a historic district.[2] As Councilman, Bagert almost singlehandedly created the New Orleans Home Mortgage Authority and shepherded the issuance of $85 million in single family mortgage revenue bonds to fund loans for low to moderate income, first-time home owners in New Orleans.[3]
In October 1980 he left the New Orleans City Council to accept an appointed to the Louisiana Public Service Commission, a five-person regulatory commission that, among other things, regulated the petroleum, utilities, and telecommunications industries in Louisiana..[4]
After leaving political office, Bagert remained active in utility related consumer issues. He pursued litigation against Louisiana Power & Light (LP&L) for the return of 1.9 billion dollars in fuel cost adjustment overpayments.[5] He also became one of the lead proponents for the acquisition by the City of New Orleans of New Orleans Public Service Inc. (NOPSI), in a years long dispute over the introduction of the cost of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant into the rate structure applicable to New Orleans rate payers.[6]
Poetry career
Bagert’s life as a children’s author began when his eight-year-old daughter asked him to write a poem for her to perform in her school elocution program. [7] To make the poem more performance friendly he wrote it in his daughter’s voice, the voice of an eight-year-old girl. That was the beginning of what would eventually become one of the identifying characteristics of Bagert’s poetry: poems are written in the voice of the audience for whom the poetry is intended.[1] In a poem for kindergarteners, he writes in the voice of a kindergartener. In a poem for sixth-graders, he writes in the voice of a sixth-grader. The result is a body of performance-friendly poetry in which children hear their own voices, engage their own thoughts, and discover their own innermost feelings.[1]
Books by Bagert
| Title | Year Published | ISBN | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| If Only I Could Fly: Poems for Kids to Read Out Loud | 1984 | 978-0961422806 | Juliahouse Publishing Company |
| Alaska: Twenty Poems and a Journal | 1988 | 978-0961422837 | Juliahouse Publishing Company |
| Chicken Socks: And Other Contagious Poems | 1993 | 978-1563978616 | Boyds Mill Press |
| Helping Your Child Learn to Read: With Activities for Children from Infancy Through Age 10 | 1993 | 978-0669376722 | U.S. Department of Education, Office of Education Research and Improvement |
| Let Me Be... The Boss | 1995 | 978-1563975240 | Boyds Mills Press |
| Poetry for Young People: Edgar Allan Poe | 1995 | 978-0806908205 | Sterling Publishing |
| Throw Me Somethin’ Mistuh! | 1995 | 978-1887746021 | Juliahouse Publishing Company |
| Rainbows, Head Lice, and Pea-Green Tile: Poems in the Voice of the Classroom Teacher | 1999 | 978-0929895284 | Maupin House Publishing |
| Elephant Games: And Other Playful Poems to Perform | 1995 | 978-1563978623 | Boyds Mill Press |
| The Gooch Machine: Poems for Children to Perform | 2004 | 978-1590783153 | Boyds Mill Press |
| Giant Children | 2005 | 978-0142401927 | Puffin Books |
| Hormone Jungle: Coming of Age in Middle School | 2006 | 978-0929895871 | Maupin House Publishing |
| Shout! Little Poems That Roar | 2007 | 12359887978-0803729728 | Dial Books for Young Readers |
| School Fever | 2008 | 978-0803732018 | Dial Books for Young Readers |
| Steel Cables | 2008 | 978-1934338155 | Maupin House Publishing |
| A Bullfrog at Cafe Du Monde | 2008 | 978-1934338179 | Maupin House Publishing |
| The Poet and the Professor: Poems for Building Reading Skills, Grade Level 4 | 2010 | 978-1425802387 | Shell Educational Publishing |
| The Poet and the Professor: Poems for Building Reading Skills, Grade Level 5 | 2010 | 978-1425802394 | Shell Educational Publishing |
| The Poet and the Professor: Poems for Building Reading Skills, Grade Levels 6-8 | 2010 | 978-1425802400 | Shell Educational Publishing |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Saints Beat Weblog". NOLA.com. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
- ^ Montaigne, Fen. ”Esplanade is Designated Historic District.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA 2 Feb 1979. pA-3.
- ^ Massa, Joe. “Mr. Bagert Goes to Washington.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 20 May 1979.
- ^ Lynch, Bill and DuBos, Clancy. “Bagert Appointed to PSC; Hellmers Eyed for Council.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 27 Oct 1980.
- ^ Boyd, Richard. “Suit Asks $1.9 Billion for LP&L Customers.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 14 Jan 1981.
- ^ ”Where Consumers Want Their Own Electric Companies”. BusinessWeek. New York, New York. 23 May 1983.
- ^ Perry, James A. “Paternal Love in Poetry”. The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 13 Sept 1981.
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