Brod Bagert
Born1947
New Orleans
NationalityNew Orleans
Alma materLoyola University
OccupationChildren's poet

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 his wife Debby; they have four children.[1]

History

Bagert was born and raised in New Orleans. In high school, he studied classical literature in the original Latin and Greek, wrestled and boxed.[1] Bagert attended Loyola University in New Orleans for both undergraduate and Law School, from which, in 1971, he received his Juris Doctor.

Bagert practiced as a trial attorney in Louisiana from 1971-1992, and served as an elected official from 1976-1980. In the summer of 1992, Bagert 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 re-elected 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 helped create 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.[3]

In October 1980 Bagert left the City Council to accept an appointment to the Louisiana Public Service Commission.[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 Public Service Inc. (NOPSI), in a long dispute over the introduction of the cost of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station 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 kindergartners, he writes in the voice of a kindergartner. 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

Title Year Published ISBN Publisher
If Only I Could Fly: Poems for Kids to Read Out Loud 1984 ISBN 978-0961422806 Juliahouse Publishing Company
Alaska: Twenty Poems and a Journal 1988 ISBN 978-0961422837 Juliahouse Publishing Company
Chicken Socks: And Other Contagious Poems 1993 ISBN 978-1563978616 Boyds Mill Press
Helping Your Child Learn to Read: With Activities for Children from Infancy Through Age 10 1993 ISBN 978-0669376722 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Education Research and Improvement
Let Me Be... The Boss 1995 ISBN 978-1563975240 Boyds Mills Press
Poetry for Young People: Edgar Allan Poe 1995 ISBN 978-0806908205 Sterling Publishing
Throw Me Somethin’ Mistuh! 1995 ISBN 978-1887746021 Juliahouse Publishing Company
Rainbows, Head Lice, and Pea-Green Tile: Poems in the Voice of the Classroom Teacher 1999 ISBN 978-0929895284 Maupin House Publishing
Elephant Games: And Other Playful Poems to Perform 1995 ISBN 978-1563978623 Boyds Mill Press
The Gooch Machine: Poems for Children to Perform 2004 ISBN 978-1590783153 Boyds Mill Press
Giant Children 2005 ISBN 978-0142401927 Puffin Books
Hormone Jungle: Coming of Age in Middle School 2006 ISBN 978-0929895871 Maupin House Publishing
Shout! Little Poems That Roar 2007 12359887978-0803729728 Dial Books for Young Readers
School Fever 2008 ISBN 978-0803732018 Dial Books for Young Readers
Steel Cables 2008 ISBN 978-1934338155 Maupin House Publishing
A Bullfrog at Cafe Du Monde 2008 ISBN 978-1934338179 Maupin House Publishing
The Poet and the Professor: Poems for Building Reading Skills, Grade Level 4 2010 ISBN 978-1425802387 Shell Educational Publishing
The Poet and the Professor: Poems for Building Reading Skills, Grade Level 5 2010 ISBN 978-1425802394 Shell Educational Publishing
The Poet and the Professor: Poems for Building Reading Skills, Grade Levels 6-8 2010 ISBN 978-1425802400 Shell Educational Publishing

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Saints Beat Weblog". NOLA.com. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  2. ^ Montaigne, Fen. ”Esplanade is Designated Historic District.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA 2 Feb 1979. pA-3.
  3. ^ Massa, Joe. “Mr. Bagert Goes to Washington.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 20 May 1979.
  4. ^ Lynch, Bill and DuBos, Clancy. “Bagert Appointed to PSC; Hellmers Eyed for Council.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 27 Oct 1980.
  5. ^ Boyd, Richard. “Suit Asks $1.9 Billion for LP&L Customers.” The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 14 Jan 1981.
  6. ^ ”Where Consumers Want Their Own Electric Companies”. BusinessWeek. New York, New York. 23 May 1983.
  7. ^ Perry, James A. “Paternal Love in Poetry”. The Times Picayune. New Orleans, LA. 13 Sept 1981.
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