On ZOOM, January 11, 2022. Orel presented her book, Dancing Past the Light: The Life of Tanaquil Le Clercq, to the Rotary Club of Los Alamos, a group active in the eradication of polio worldwide. This event was for members only.

On March 26, 2022, Orel spoke about the subject of her biography, Dancing Past the Light: The Life of Tanaquil Le Clercq, sharing photos and films of Le Clercq in a talk at the Westport Public Library in CT. The talk was sponsored by the Weston Historical Society, the library, and the League of Women Voters.

"Encounter on East 92nd Street" (published in Poetry Bay)

"Stopping by a Darkening World"

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School

Orel appeared at this school in New Orleans on February 3, 2016, along with author Selene Castrovilla, thanks to PEN.

Pen Book Committee Authors Visit MLK Charter School

Orel's poetry workshops at the school engaged 3rd-5th graders.

Orel was awarded a first prize in the haiku contest, 2014, by the Performance Poets Association, Long Island, for this poem:

Spring fog in the park:
Young ducks and old statues
wear fresh coats of down.

You can read another poem about ducks (for children) in the center of this page, illustrated with some of the adorable, animated singing ducklings in Orel's poetry app for iPad, A Word's a Bird, Spring Flies By in Rhymes. The poems on this page, like the app, are all illustrated by Jeanne B. de Sainte Marie.

A Word's a Bird, Spring Flies By in Rhymes

Click here to learn more about the poetry app SLJ named one of the best of 2013!

The app has illustrations as poetic as the text. Tunes composed on the singing, flowering shoots of April are sung by animated ducklings. A treat for all ages that can be played over and over!

Paumanok and Paumanok Interwoven

Long Island Poets and Photographers Paired in Two Gorgeous Anthologies

Poetry and the Art of Eating

Orel's poem, "The Ballad of Tarte Tatin", appeared in this show at Gallery North.

Jeanne de Sainte Marie

To see more of Jeanne's work, click on her name.

Orel Protopopescu

Poems and books for Adults and Children

This poem was published in Better Than Starbucks! in 2020. It shows the singing ducks from the app, A Word's a Bird, illustrated by Jeanne de Sainte Marie.

Touch the flowers of May in the app to open them and see bees painted by Jeanne de Sainte Marie at work. This poem was published in Spider Magazine, April 2020 issue, with a different illustration, and now is part of The Beezantium, an exhibit at The Newt in Somerset, UK.

From Metaphors & Similes You Can Eat (Scholastic, 2003). This poem was also published in Better Than Starbucks! in 2020.

Quick Links

A Word's a Bird, Spring Flies By in Rhymes

Click here to read about the app in English or French

Jeanne de Sainte Marie

Illustrator of A Word's a Bird

Authors Guild

Advocates for published authors since 1912

Authors Guild Directory

A compendium of member websites

Selected Works

iPad App, Poetry

A Word's a Bird, Spring Flies By in Rhymes

"A Word's a Bird slows down the frantic speed of most apps for children to fit the slower pace of Nature. The beauty of the illustrations, the meticulous work of the artists, and the interactive play combine to make a wondrous learning experience, a terrific way to expose children to poetry, art and Nature itself."

--Billy Collins, Poet Laureate
of the United States from 2001-2003

"A truly enchanting and poetic journey, this application is a treat for the eyes and ears..."

-- iPadou

“In perhaps the app’s most engaging feature, tapping out any melody on the lilies causes the ducklings to mimic it.”

--Kirkus Reviews

Picture book (ages 4-7)

Thelonious Mouse

"Replete with scat-y, cat-and-mouse–y wordplay, this is giggle-worthy fun."

--Kirkus Reviews

"The hip rhythms and tongue-twisting humor in this jazzy, poetic, fun-to-read-aloud book make it a keeper your child will want to read over and over again."

--Cricket Magazine online

—

“Getting the beat and the tongue-twisting phrases just right takes some practice, but the outcome is well worth the effort.”

--SLJ

—

"Children will cheer for this rascally oddball rebel."

--Booklist

Thelonious Mouse got his name from the great American jazz composer and pianist, Thelonious Monk. This jazzy mouse risks his tail and more to fierce Fat Cat, because Thelonious has “too much music in him to stuff into a mouse hole.” Yet beneath the sometimes scary hilarity, young readers discover a vital message: It takes courage to be all we can be.

Thelonious Monk showed that creative courage all his life, persevering with his unique style of music when others called him “eccentric.” He was also a devoted family man, who composed songs for his son and daughter.

Poetry

What Remains

Orel Protopopescu is a poet of lyrical mastery and ease—and this, her initial volume of verse!

--Vince Clemente

Poetry and history (grades 5 and up)

A Thousand Peaks, Poems from China

Thirty-five poems, from the Han dynasty to the modern era, in English and Chinese. “It's about as close to Chinese literature as young English-speaking readers can get.”

--School Library Journal