Irene Latham's Blog, page 123

A Fiddle Named Half-Pint

illustration by Garth Williams,
LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODSOnce upon a time there was a little girl who loved the Little House books.

She also loved the TV show, in which Laura gained the nickname "Half-Pint."

Which might explain why, when, many years later, her fiddle teacher said, "You need to name your fiddle," that the name she selected was Half-Pint.
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I am brand-new to the fiddle... my husband says it's my mid-life crisis. :) I have long loved music and took piano lessons until I was a senior in high school. (I remember once my grandmother saying of me, "she just can't walk past that piano without playing it." I wish she was here to see that it's true of the fiddle as well!

So. Why the fiddle? Maybe because of Pa in the Little House books. Maybe because of THE FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, a show I adored as a teen. Maybe because I love the cello, but it's SO BIG, and I travel a lot and need something portable. Maybe because I love bluegrass music and all those old folk tunes. I guess there are a lot of reasons! And I am loving it!

Here we are, me and my new companion, taking a writing break:


Here's a picture of Half-Pint waiting patiently for my attention. (So lovely of Maggie to keep her company amid other treasures!)

Any other fiddler-writers out there?

NIGHT GARDEN: Poems from the World of Dreams by Janet S. Wong

Hello and happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Heidi at my juicy little universe for Roundup.

This week I've been savoring NIGHT GARDEN, by Janet S. Wong, illustrations by Julie Paschkis. It's a gorgeous book with poems about the people we dream of and nightmares and even dog dreams! My favorite poem is the final poem in the collection:






There Is a Place
by Janet S. Wong

There is a place

where the museum houses thousands of paintings
seen nowhere else in the world,
the colors so bright they grab your eyes
and hold you there, looking,

where the library is filled with brand new books
waiting for you to open them first,
to tell stories only you could know

where fresh cherries have no pits,
where puppies never grow old.

There is such a place,
hidden deep
in me.

----
Cherries with no pits! Puppies that never grow old!! Love the thought that those places exist in me... because they do, they really do.



And while we're on the subject of puppies, here's a pic (screenshotted from son's Instagram) of our 3 month old Aussie puppy Georgia with almost 4 year old Ruby:


Some funny things about Georgia:
She's not very lady-like... she always sleeps with her legs spread.
She has one pert ear and one floppy ear that gives her this kind of mischievous "I don't know what you're talking about" look.
She still lays on the ground to eat from her bowl (as if she is nursing), tail ticking like a speeding metronome.
While Ruby lives to fetch the rubber chicken, Georgia is like, mehhh, I'd rather just sit here. :) She DOES like digging herself a cool bed in the dirt under our deck and almost always has a dirty nose!
She's a climber. The other day I found her sleeping ON TOP of her crate. :)

THE ENCHANTED by Rene Denfeld

A couple of weeks ago I participated in an event to support Books to Prisoners Project. All kinds of authors where there, including Rene Denfeld, author of THE ENCHANTED, which is a beautiful, unexpected book set at an ancient stone prison, where, in the dungeon, exists a death row. Rene has worked as an investigator for Death Row cases, and she modeled her prison after one she visits in Oregon (where, she said, they like to give the death sentence, but then sometimes decades will pass before men are executed).

The event was to raise funds to ship books to prisoners. What I saw happening throughout the day was a development of compassion for the inmates -- not excusing the things they've done, but an empathy and understanding of the poverty and life circumstances that contributed. So may broken people.

Books, as any booklover can imagine, are a haven for prisoners -- an escape and a comfort and something to feed the imagination when life is confined to a dark cell. Rene writes beautifully of it in her book:

"Sometimes when reading a book, 
I would think of the other people who might have touched it before it was donated. A nice woman who lay down with her baby for a nap might have held the book I was reading. I could see her, lying in a sundress on faded rose-printed cotton sheets, the book splashed open in the sunlight. A little of that sun could have soaked into the pages I was touching.

After a time, it seemed that the world 
inside the books became my world. So 
when I thought of my childhood, it was 
dandelion wine and ice cream on a 
summer porch, like Ray Bradbury, and 
catching catfish with Huck Finn. My 
own memories receded and the book 
memories became the real memories, 
far more than the outside, far more even 
than in here."
Here are some pictures from the event:
Rene Denfeld
The poetry panel: Georgia Ann Banks-Martin, Jerri Beck, me, Doris DavenportBig thanks to Mary Ann Robbins for including me -- and for all the work she does so tirelessly and with enthusiasm.

11 Storytelling Tips from Storyteller & Author Bil Lepp

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a mini-conference organized by Jefferson County Children's Librarians here in Birmingham, Alabama. The featured speaker was Bil Lepp, nationally recognized storyteller and now author of oh so entertaining THE KING OF LITTLE THINGS, illustrated by David T. Wenzel.

Bil is known on the storytelling circuit for his tall tales, and he treated us to several during the workshop. Because I love the art of storytelling, and because I am constantly striving to improve my presentations, I was pretty happy to be there. And Bil was just a delight. Loved talking with him. AND I came home with a new book I am gifting to my young adopted siblings... and notebook full of takeways... like these:

1. Tell stories you are A) comfortable talking about and B) people want to hear. This means general/universal themes are best.

2. Goal is to get readers into the story and get them to react the way you want them to.

3. Important to use gradual exaggeration (don't do too much too soon!) so that your listener is with you and doesn't reject your story.

4. Use details, but only really important ones. Too many gives the reader too much to remember and not enough power to bring themselves/their world into the story, and too few affects believeability.

5. Visualize the story as a cartoon running inside your head as you're telling it.

6. Tell a story to 5 different audiences before you let it loose on the world.

7. Most of Bil's stories are 12-20 minutes long... but he has an arsenal of stories to fill pretty much any time slot required.

8. If you have a prop, make it purposeful. (Don't just dress in costume and do nothing with it.)

9. If telling a story about real people, use real names if you're saying something nice and substitute a fake name if not-nice. :)

10. Big audiences are more forgiving-- and more likely to laugh hysterically.

11. If you can reduce your story to one line, you just might be ready to tell it.
------------------------------------------

And, probably my favorite thing Bil said all day:

getting a book published comes down to magic.
Yep. Thanks, Bil! And thanks, amazing Jefferson Co. librarians!

ORDINARY THINGS & Cherries from Keri!

Hello, and happy Poetry Friday! Please visit poet-reader-teacher Mary Lee at A Year of Reading for Roundup. Also, don't forget to enter to win a copy of my new book DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST at Goodreads! It releases September 1, so you'll get a sneak peek. :)

I've been reading ORDINARY THINGS: Poems from a Walk in Early Spring by Ralph Fletcher, drawing by Walter Lyon Krudop. It's delightful! But before I share some poems, I have to share my latest Summer Poem Swap treasure. It's from Keri at Keri Recommends. I've met Keri -- she's wonderful... and she's a beekeeper, and a new quilter! I could talk with her for days. And, oh my, THIS POEM.

[image error] By Grzegorz Jereczek from Gdańsk, Poland (Cherries  Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)], via Wikimedia Commons
Breakfast Al Frescoby Keri Collins Lewisfor Irene Latham
Robinssing merrily,perched in the cherry tree,breakfast red and ripe for pecking:fruit course.
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Isn't that succulent? Love! Thank you, Keri!
Now back to ORDINARY THINGS. It contains poems about everyday things in nature, and manmade things. Here are a few of my favorite poems in the collection:
streamby Ralph Fletcher
No place better than a streamto think out a tough decisionor just sit back and dream.
No one built the winding pathsthat stream waters followexcept water and rock and land.
Stream decisions take timeand water is world famousfor stopping to change its mind.

mailboxesby Ralph Fletcher
When I step from the forestonto the hard black asphaltmy eyes start to play tricks.
That fire hydrant turns into a toddler dressed to the gillsin a snug winter snowsuit.
See those mailboxes over there?To me they look like old peopledancing slowly cheek-to-cheek.

railroad tracksby Ralph Fletcher
I got built ninety years back bysweating stinking swearing men.
For decades every kind of trainscreeched on my back. No more.
Winters here can be pretty bleakbut wildflowers always come back.
Empty nests have that forlorn look'till the songbirds return in May.
The swamp is quiet but soon frogswill take up their monotonous chant.
My back remains unbroken but onlyghost locomotives rattle these rails.

DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST Goodreads Giveaway!

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Goodreads Book Giveaway Dear Wandering Wildebeest by Irene Latham Giveaway ends August 19, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

Art & Love & Buttercups for Poetry Friday!

John Singer Sargent painting,
"Carnation, Lily, Lilly, Rose"Hello, and happy Poetry Friday! How can it be August? Be sure to buzz on over to Margaret Who Lights Up Louisiana and Beyond at Reflections on the Techie for Roundup.

Here, I am celebrating with what I received from one Robyn Hood Black as part of Tabatha's Summer Poem Swap.

Now, in order to full appreciate the beauty of this poem and understand what a gift it is to me, you have to know about Camp Buttercup.

Camp Buttercup is a little something I do with three Very Important Little Girls in my life -- it grew out of my need for girl-time in the midst of raising three sons! I am very fortunate to have some lovely nieces and a little sister to share time with. And Robyn, dear friend that she is, knows how much this means to me. So she took that theme, along with Tabatha's photo prompt (pictured above left), and wove in all these wonderful lines from other poems (no easy feat! I've linked to the complete poems so you can enjoy even more buttercup-themed poetry!!) to create this thing of beauty:

Have You Seen my Buttercup?by Robyn Hood Black
Pink and white carnations – one desires Art of snow – Or trick of Lily. While the Lily white shall in love delight, … my Luve is like a red, red rose. I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup somewhere on a sunny bank. Orchard, and Buttercup, and Bird— everything that grows goes golden-buttercup-wild.
--------------------------------------- Robyn's gift for me, ready to be framed!Don't you love it? I am fascinated by how Robyn creates these found pieces. It's like a puzzle. Or basket weaving. Braiding? I don't know exactly! But amazing, yes?YES!For those who don't have time for the links, here's a list of the poets whose lines are included in Robyn's poem.

Pink… Wallace StevensArt … Emily DickinsonWhile … William Blake… my … Robert BurnsI rose … Robert Louis Stevensonsomewhere … Mary HowittOrchard, …Emily Dickinson every … Shakespeare goes … May Sarton

-----------------------------------------Robyn also sent along some of her artsyletters.com goodies, so I sort of feel like the Most Artsy Girl on the Planet! If you haven't shopped Robyn's store, go. Now. Great gifts for yourself or your artsy/literary friends! gorgeous bookmark!
"Dearest Book... I shall return..." An "I" typewriter key ring. LOVE. :)






And this post would not be complete without a picture of the Buttercup Girls, so here it is: BrenLeigh, Georgia (Aussie puppy!), Anna & MadiLynn
Camp Buttercup, 2014Thank you, Robyn. Wishing everyone a wonderful first day of August... bring on the Dog Days!!

#bookaday Week Ten

 A Boy and a Bear in A Boat by Dave Shelton. The boy is not named. Neither is the bear. Yet they have an adventure and become friends, despite boredom and storms and the last sandwich. I'm not sure what the point was exactly... I like that it was different, but it wasn't quite for me.

 Landline by Rainbow Rowell. Another great read from Rowell! Love how she writes real characters... high schoolers in Eleanor & Park, college students in Fangirl and now the married-with-children crowd in Landline -- career-driven funny-writer Georgie and stay-at-home dad Neal. When their marriage is failing, the magic landline phone allows them to communicate as their younger selves and remember all the reasons they gave their marriage a go, despite their many differences. Really sweet read.

 Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. The book opens with a gun. Unfortunately our narrator plans to use it -- and not just on himself. It's kind of a disturbing book, but also relevant with the awful shooter stories in recent years AND with the CDC reports suicide as the #3 killer of youth ages 10 -24. Breaks my heart that this is true. The book feels like a realistic peek inside a depressed teen's head.
Neither a fun nor easy read for me, but raw and honest, and I can appreciate that.

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm. This middle-grade novel is a celebration of science with a crazy premise: main character's grandfather has discovered the fountain of youth and lives with the family not as himself, but as visiting cousin Melvin. I loved all the sciency-stuff, including famous scientists (like Marie Curie) and using a microscope to investigate mold on a hunk of cheese. Nice, as we've come to expect from 3 time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer Holm. It leaves one with a positive feeling about change (and don't we all experience change, at every age?), and I think teachers are going to love sharing it with kids.

A Day in Gee's Bend

sampler quilt that appears in the Gee's Bend side
ferry terminalWe had such a lovely time visiting with quilt lovers and quilters and each other on our trip last Friday to Gee's Bend. After an informative presentation about the Black Belt Treasures' Kristin Law (who told us Wilcox is one of 19 counties designated as cultural Black Belt counties -- the former economic designation only included 12 countines), we hopped the ferry for Gee's Bend!

It was hubby's first time on the ferry:
Eric, Paul, me
I have never seen the ferry so FULL, although the quilters told me a long time ago that she'd once seen 17 cars on the ferry. Our load was 15 (I think!).
Even though it was blazing, we all got out to enjoy the Alabama River and get to know each other better. Mary Allison Haynie, Claudia Pettway Charley, Deb Stern, and others!

We had lunch catered by Keitsha's (thanks, ladies -- delicious!), and I spoke about my work bringing Gee's Bend to 21st century families.... and then Mary Lee Bendolph spoke to us! She is no longer quilting, but is still a marvel and a joy. Mary Lee and me


me and Sylvia


me and ClaudiaWhat an amazing day! Big thanks to Alabama Folklife Association for making it possible. I'm excited about the next 4 quilting symposiums!

Remembering Walter Dean Myers for Poetry Friday

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! I can't believe it's the last Roundup of July... holy firecrackers, this month is disappearing. Be sure to visit Sylvia and Janet (and read their exciting PFA news!!) for Roundup.

What's up in my world? Well. Wonderful, wonderful things! Friday I am traveling to Gee's Bend, where I am giving the keynote for the 2nd of 6 quilting symposiums across the state organized by Alabama Folklife Association. I am beyond excited and thrilled and honored. After all I've written and all I've talked about my love for Gee's Bend, I've never given a talk IN Gee's Bend before! And the quilters will be there!! VERY excited.

I'm also excited to share with you some of my favorite poems by Walter Dean Myers. For a list of all his poetry books, be sure to see Sylvia's list at Poetry for Children. What a great resource. Thanks, Sylvia!

And now, the poems:


Prayer
by Walter Dean Myers

Shout my name to the angels
Sing my song to the skies
Anoint my ears with wisdom
Let beauty fill my eyes

For I am dark and precious
And have such gifts to give
Sweet joy, sweet love,
Sweet laughter
Sweet wondrous life to live

(from BROWN ANGELS: An Album of Pictures and Verse by Walter Dean Myers)

My Child
by Walter Dean Myers

There is no  math between us
no sharp angles to measure the world
No history to define
Who we are
or might become

There is no language, no
Words to stir
the moment

Only a curve
in your smile
that somehow matches mine
a familiar glint of morning light
in your eyes

All this vagueness and the
exact art of sending love
across a small space

(from ANGEL TO ANGEL: A Mother's Gift of Love by Walter Dean Myers)





Ernest Scott, 26
Poet
by Walter Dean Myers

I stood on the tree of life
Mouth gaped wide
Sucking in the music of the crosstown breeze
When I had filled my lungs near bursting (Cullen, Hughes, Hurston)
I began my song, a black melody
Gathered from the several seas
Warmed by the mistral winds
Rhythmed by the slapping Congo tide

I stood tall on the tree of life
Rapt with wonder
Listening to the resonance of the project walls
I claimed ownership of the joyful noise (Baldwin, Wright, Du Bois)
I was the chorus, the doo-wop from dim halls
My words fogged the neon night
My rhymes tamed the thunder

(from HERE IN HARLEM: poems in many voices by Walter Dean Myers)