If you've ever been to the Rochester Children's Book Festival, you've likely seen Joe "Silly" Sottile (yes, it rhymes!) decked out in his rainbow-colored propeller hat. But the truth is, Sottile wears many hats.
A longtime Gates resident, Sottile is a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He's also been a teacher for 33 years in grades two through six in the Gates Central School District. He wears the retiree hat now, but he doesn't let that slow him down. In fact, Sottile stays quite busy proudly wearing his poet's hat and spreading the joy he finds in writing.
Sottile believes, "Poetry can save the planet." Listen long enough to his earnest hopes for kids, language and life, and you can't help but believe it's possible. With a focus on humor, Sottile says, "It's exciting to see kids laugh and connect with you through poetry." Often, that bond has led students to share deeper emotions as well, providing a healthy outlet for kids to work through childhood issues.
Throughout his career, Sottile loved teaching reading and writing, and often shared his own poetry in class. His students urged him to put his poems in a book, and eventually, he published three books. His latest is Waiting to See the Principal and Other Poems. He is working on another book aimed at home-schooled children, Cooking Up Poetry with Homeschoolers, that will come out soon.
Ever the encourager, Sottile holds monthly poetry contests on his website, www.joe-sottile.com. Any student in grades one through 12 anywhere in the world can enter by submitting a poem. Each month, Sottile picks a winning poem and publishes it.
Sottile spends much of his time making classroom and library visits locally and in the Carolinas where he and his wife enjoy brief respites in the warmer climate. He has spoken to individual classes, conducted poetry workshops and run larger, assembly-style presentations for kids, teachers and parents. School visits feel good, he says, because of the mutual feelings of giving and respect.
"We all want to make a difference," he says, noting that we all want to be appreciated and live a life that matters. For Silly Sottile, making that difference comes in the form of sharing his life-affirming poetry. If you'd like Sottile to speak to your group, contact him through his website or by e-mail to jsottile@frontiernet.net.