Irene Latham's Blog, page 142
May 8, 2013
I JUST FELL IN LOVE AGAIN...WITH A YA BOOK
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Borrowed from the library and now have to go out and buy my very own copy. LOVE when that happens. :)
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
WHY IS POETRY IMPORTANT? & OTHER ANSWERS
Last week I shared the questions that would be addressed at the Experience Poetry! Panel in Vicksburg, Mississippi. What a wonderful event! Thanks to all involved.
This week I'd like to do a little roundup of some answers, including my own, as well as what some of you left in comments and what my fellow panelists Julie Kane and Jack Bedell had to say.
And then, as requested, I want to address a couple of questions from the student letter I posted on Wednesday.
1. Why is poetry important? Our moderator, author Howard Bahr answered it this way: It just is. Similarly, Myra said the question was like asking, Why is breathing important? Mary Lee said, poetry makes the imagination visible.Violet mentioned how poetry addresses the need to capture something in words, maybe squeeze a little meaning out of an experience or sight or idea, make a craft object out of words.
My answer: Poetry turns us into song. It sings us awake. It’s important because it’s a way of living this one life we’ve been given. Poetry allows us to swim in mystery. It’s a celebration, a way to praise. It begs us to question everything and invites us to pay attention to every leaf and acorn and ridge on the cap of an acorn. It helps us understand ourselves better, our world better. It encourages compassion and empathy. It challenges us with its heartbeat, What else? What else? What else? And it's a very personal thing. I wish for everyone the joy I find in poetry, though I understand that many will find that joy elsewhere. And that's okay.
2. Where do poems come from? Do you have a plan or a theory about what a poem should do; where it should go?I think the question means to be, What inspires poems? In which case, I say everything and anything.
As for the second part of the question, I sort of brace against that “should.” I don't know that every poem has a purpose or that it should have a purpose. For me, I enjoy poems best that surprise me. I want to be surprised. I want to read a poem and experience the unexpected inevitable -- That surprising image or analogy that when you see it on the page or hear it said, feels exactly true and right. AND I want to know What stays with you latest and deepest.
I also love what Tara said about poems bearing witness to history. And what Bridget said about howpoetry comes from close observation filtered through the poet's soul. And what Margaret said about how in a poemthe deeply personal becomes universal. And Linda's thoughts onso many small & important moments, sometimes discoveries of facts, & sometimes of feelings, but always connected to self. At the event, Jack Bedell talked about how poetry should share our human-ness and perhaps even help us to become better humans.
3. What are some of the developments in contemporary American poetry?I was interested to hear Julie and Jack's take on this, especially as they both teach at universities and experience a different corner of the Poetry Universe than I do. Turns out, they were nearly as befuddled as me. (Well, not quite. These are some savvy poets!)
My thoughts are this: There’s never been a better time to be a poet. There are more publishing options than ever before, and the internet has created a wonderfully supportive community. Poets have found each other. The downside of this is that it’s far more competitive.
4. Should poetry respond to the political/environmental challenges of our time, and if so, how?Laura said, it can, IF the poet feels those issues at a visceral issue but can also engage his or her inner editor and transform them into true poetry. I agree wholeheartedly, in that I am not much interested in reading a rant. Mary Lee said, Poetry should respond with compassion, originality, and imagination. (Again, that tip of the hat to imagination! Love it!)
My feeling is that poetry should respond to everything and anything, whatever the poet feels inclined to address. As to the second part of the question, my answer is simple: “in beauty.”
*************** And now, my answers for Kristina (and for Michelle, who challenged me to be as honest), who wrote me an adorable letter (that includes kittens!):
Do you have one (a kitten)?
I have two cats. Maggie, who loves high places, and Bobby, who is too fat to get himself to the high places, so he just stares and whines instead.
Do you like the zoo like I do?
I sure do love the zoo. I love seeing animals I'd never see otherwise. I love all the work zoos do to preserve species. My favorite time to go is first thing in the morning when all the critters are being fed.
What is I like to be an author and why is it important?
Being an author is awesome because I get to do the things I love best: play with words, tell stories, and connect with the world, including readers like you! It's important to me because it's the life I've chosen – and it's the life I keep choosing every single day. I don't know that it's all that important in the grand scheme of things, but it is one way to communicate. And communication could be the most important thing we do on this earth.
Do you like writing stories because I don't.
Most of the time I like it. Some days I'm positively giddy about it. Others days when I'm struggling, I wonder why I torture myself. Which is probably how mixed-up most of us feel about many of the things we choose to fill our lives with. :)
Thanks, all, for the great discussion! Be sure and visit Liz Steinglass for Roundup!
This week I'd like to do a little roundup of some answers, including my own, as well as what some of you left in comments and what my fellow panelists Julie Kane and Jack Bedell had to say.
And then, as requested, I want to address a couple of questions from the student letter I posted on Wednesday.
1. Why is poetry important? Our moderator, author Howard Bahr answered it this way: It just is. Similarly, Myra said the question was like asking, Why is breathing important? Mary Lee said, poetry makes the imagination visible.Violet mentioned how poetry addresses the need to capture something in words, maybe squeeze a little meaning out of an experience or sight or idea, make a craft object out of words.
My answer: Poetry turns us into song. It sings us awake. It’s important because it’s a way of living this one life we’ve been given. Poetry allows us to swim in mystery. It’s a celebration, a way to praise. It begs us to question everything and invites us to pay attention to every leaf and acorn and ridge on the cap of an acorn. It helps us understand ourselves better, our world better. It encourages compassion and empathy. It challenges us with its heartbeat, What else? What else? What else? And it's a very personal thing. I wish for everyone the joy I find in poetry, though I understand that many will find that joy elsewhere. And that's okay.
2. Where do poems come from? Do you have a plan or a theory about what a poem should do; where it should go?I think the question means to be, What inspires poems? In which case, I say everything and anything.
As for the second part of the question, I sort of brace against that “should.” I don't know that every poem has a purpose or that it should have a purpose. For me, I enjoy poems best that surprise me. I want to be surprised. I want to read a poem and experience the unexpected inevitable -- That surprising image or analogy that when you see it on the page or hear it said, feels exactly true and right. AND I want to know What stays with you latest and deepest.
I also love what Tara said about poems bearing witness to history. And what Bridget said about howpoetry comes from close observation filtered through the poet's soul. And what Margaret said about how in a poemthe deeply personal becomes universal. And Linda's thoughts onso many small & important moments, sometimes discoveries of facts, & sometimes of feelings, but always connected to self. At the event, Jack Bedell talked about how poetry should share our human-ness and perhaps even help us to become better humans.
3. What are some of the developments in contemporary American poetry?I was interested to hear Julie and Jack's take on this, especially as they both teach at universities and experience a different corner of the Poetry Universe than I do. Turns out, they were nearly as befuddled as me. (Well, not quite. These are some savvy poets!)
My thoughts are this: There’s never been a better time to be a poet. There are more publishing options than ever before, and the internet has created a wonderfully supportive community. Poets have found each other. The downside of this is that it’s far more competitive.
4. Should poetry respond to the political/environmental challenges of our time, and if so, how?Laura said, it can, IF the poet feels those issues at a visceral issue but can also engage his or her inner editor and transform them into true poetry. I agree wholeheartedly, in that I am not much interested in reading a rant. Mary Lee said, Poetry should respond with compassion, originality, and imagination. (Again, that tip of the hat to imagination! Love it!)
My feeling is that poetry should respond to everything and anything, whatever the poet feels inclined to address. As to the second part of the question, my answer is simple: “in beauty.”
*************** And now, my answers for Kristina (and for Michelle, who challenged me to be as honest), who wrote me an adorable letter (that includes kittens!):
Do you have one (a kitten)?
I have two cats. Maggie, who loves high places, and Bobby, who is too fat to get himself to the high places, so he just stares and whines instead.
Do you like the zoo like I do?
I sure do love the zoo. I love seeing animals I'd never see otherwise. I love all the work zoos do to preserve species. My favorite time to go is first thing in the morning when all the critters are being fed.
What is I like to be an author and why is it important?
Being an author is awesome because I get to do the things I love best: play with words, tell stories, and connect with the world, including readers like you! It's important to me because it's the life I've chosen – and it's the life I keep choosing every single day. I don't know that it's all that important in the grand scheme of things, but it is one way to communicate. And communication could be the most important thing we do on this earth.
Do you like writing stories because I don't.
Most of the time I like it. Some days I'm positively giddy about it. Others days when I'm struggling, I wonder why I torture myself. Which is probably how mixed-up most of us feel about many of the things we choose to fill our lives with. :)
Thanks, all, for the great discussion! Be sure and visit Liz Steinglass for Roundup!
May 1, 2013
WHY MY NEXT BOOK WILL BE ABOUT KITTENS
Thank you, Kristina, for one of my favorite letters EVER. :)April 29, 2013
WEE RHYMES by Jane Yolen
WEE RHYMES: Baby's First poetry Book by Jane Yolen with illustrations by Jane Dyer includes sweet, short verses on the topics of eating and sleeping getting dressed and playing -- which is, of course, exactly what babies do! Most of the poems are authored by Jane Yolen with a few Mother Goose rhymes thrown in to round out the collection.Here are two of my favorites:
OOPS, WHOOPS
by Jane Yolen
Oops, whoops,
Down the cup goes.
Now you have milk
All over your toes.
Now, little sweetling,
Don't you yowl.
Here comes Daddy
With a great big towel.
----
STROLLER ROLLER
by Jane Yolen
Your stroller rolls along-long-long,
And as it rolls, you sing this song:
The cars go beep!
The trucks go zoom!
The people shout!
The buses boom!
And we go whee-whee-whee-whee-whee,
All the way home.
----
This book would make a nice gift for a new grandmother. And hey, Mother's Day IS coming up...... :)
April 25, 2013
EXPERIENCE POETRY!
My sister took this picture in her yard!Thanks to Mississippi Writers Guild, Lorelei Books and Vicksburg Public Library, Saturday I will be in Vicksburg, MS, teaching a workshop on ekphrasis in the morning and sharing a panel/reading with Jack Bedell, Julie Kane and Howard Bahr (moderator) in the afternoon. I'm excited!Here's the questions we'll be discussing:
1. Why is poetry important?
2. Where do poems come from? Do you have a plan or a theory abut what a poems should do; where it should go?
3. What are some of the developments in contemporary American poetry?
4. Should poetry respond to the political/environmental challenges of our time, and if so, how?
Anyone care to take a stab at any of these? :) I'll share my responses and perhaps some responses from the other panelists next week!
Meanwhile, the Progressive Poem continues to progress over at radiant Robyn's Deckled Edge... and lively Laura Purdie Salas has Roundup. Happy last Friday of April, y'all. xo
April 24, 2013
JELLYFISH SKY
Can you see those jellyfish?? Or, if in a petri dish, sperm...
And here is a quote for you:
"The clouds, -the only birds that never sleep."-Victor Hugo
April 22, 2013
MAMA SAID...
All month I've been meaning to write about the awesomeness that is Poetry magazine, how they give away all those copies every year to anyone who wants them, and how this particular issue has much to love.
Like this poem, one of two by Mary Moore Easter:
Mama Said...
(there'll be days like this.)
- The Shirelles
These folks 'bout to respect me into the grave.
At eighty mama said, (mama said)
"People think you change when you're old
but you still got a girl inside."
And men could see her, too
complete poem here
----
Don't you love it? Of course I am found a Mama wisdom, as readers of LEAVING GEE'S BEND know.
Oh, and Happy Earth Day! My son who has been writing a poem a day this month had an extra requirement for today's poem... must include something from nature. I'm excited to read what he comes up with.
Yesterday I heard US Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway read and answer questions at University of West Georgia. She chose poems on the themes of ekphrasis and elegy, which was awesome for me, because I have a workshop to lead this coming Saturday in Vicksburg on the topic of ekphrasis. Now I'll be including one of Natasha's poems from her book BELLOCQ'S OPHELIA.
So, another busy week, as if oft the case in April. I'm excited to see the Progressive Poem continuing on its way -- and to see what everyone else has up their sleeves.
More soon!
Like this poem, one of two by Mary Moore Easter:
Mama Said...
(there'll be days like this.)
- The Shirelles
These folks 'bout to respect me into the grave.
At eighty mama said, (mama said)
"People think you change when you're old
but you still got a girl inside."
And men could see her, too
complete poem here
----
Don't you love it? Of course I am found a Mama wisdom, as readers of LEAVING GEE'S BEND know.
Oh, and Happy Earth Day! My son who has been writing a poem a day this month had an extra requirement for today's poem... must include something from nature. I'm excited to read what he comes up with.
Yesterday I heard US Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway read and answer questions at University of West Georgia. She chose poems on the themes of ekphrasis and elegy, which was awesome for me, because I have a workshop to lead this coming Saturday in Vicksburg on the topic of ekphrasis. Now I'll be including one of Natasha's poems from her book BELLOCQ'S OPHELIA.So, another busy week, as if oft the case in April. I'm excited to see the Progressive Poem continuing on its way -- and to see what everyone else has up their sleeves.
More soon!
April 18, 2013
ROUNDUP!
Hello, and welcome to Poetry Friday Roundup! It is my pleasure to host today on this, the 3rd Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month. Yay for all the lovely stuff everyone has going!
And lo and behold, the 2013 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem is parked here today.
What to say about this year's poem? We've got rhythm and dancing and words and music and circus acts and rhyme and alliteration... who knows what the last 10 lines will hold?! I'm excited to read, and yes, a little nervous to share my own line today as the poem makes another turn and begins to wind down, come back around, and I'm certain, surprise us.
Thanks to all of you for making this so much fun. Y'all amaze and inspire me. Please see the list of all participants in the left sidebar. And hey, if you haven't had a chance to check out Heidi's very similar (micro!) project this month, please do. Fascinating!
Without further ado:
When you listen to your footsteps
the words become music and
the rhythm that you’re rapping gets your fingers tapping, too.
Your pen starts dancing across the page
a private pirouette, a solitary samba until
smiling, you’re beguiling as your love comes shining through.Pause a moment in your dreaming, hear the whispers
of the words, one dancer to another, saying
Listen, that’s our cue! Mind your meter. Find your rhyme.
Ignore the trepidation while you jitterbug and jive.
Arm in arm, toe to toe, words begin to wiggle and flow
as your heart starts singing let your mind keep swingingfrom life’s trapeze, like a clown on the breeze.
Swinging upside down, throw and catch new sounds–
Take a risk, try a trick; break a sweat: safety net?
Don’t check! You’re soaring and exploring,
dangle high, blood rush; spiral down, crowd hush–
limb-by-line-by-limb envision, pyramidic penned precision.And if you should topple, if you should flop-------Hey, is anyone feeling a title yet?? I'm thinking something like "Writer Dance" or "How to Dance like a Writer" or "The Three Ring Writer." :) I'd love to hear your suggestions in comments... of course we've still got ten lines to go, so who knows what other titles might emerge...Please use inlinkz below to leave your link! I've set it for "unlimited" in the name/description field, so feel free to include specific info about your post. And if you have any trouble at all, please leave me a note in comments. Thank you!
And lo and behold, the 2013 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem is parked here today.
What to say about this year's poem? We've got rhythm and dancing and words and music and circus acts and rhyme and alliteration... who knows what the last 10 lines will hold?! I'm excited to read, and yes, a little nervous to share my own line today as the poem makes another turn and begins to wind down, come back around, and I'm certain, surprise us.
Thanks to all of you for making this so much fun. Y'all amaze and inspire me. Please see the list of all participants in the left sidebar. And hey, if you haven't had a chance to check out Heidi's very similar (micro!) project this month, please do. Fascinating!
Without further ado:
When you listen to your footsteps
the words become music and
the rhythm that you’re rapping gets your fingers tapping, too.
Your pen starts dancing across the page
a private pirouette, a solitary samba until
smiling, you’re beguiling as your love comes shining through.Pause a moment in your dreaming, hear the whispers
of the words, one dancer to another, saying
Listen, that’s our cue! Mind your meter. Find your rhyme.
Ignore the trepidation while you jitterbug and jive.
Arm in arm, toe to toe, words begin to wiggle and flow
as your heart starts singing let your mind keep swingingfrom life’s trapeze, like a clown on the breeze.
Swinging upside down, throw and catch new sounds–
Take a risk, try a trick; break a sweat: safety net?
Don’t check! You’re soaring and exploring,
dangle high, blood rush; spiral down, crowd hush–
limb-by-line-by-limb envision, pyramidic penned precision.And if you should topple, if you should flop-------Hey, is anyone feeling a title yet?? I'm thinking something like "Writer Dance" or "How to Dance like a Writer" or "The Three Ring Writer." :) I'd love to hear your suggestions in comments... of course we've still got ten lines to go, so who knows what other titles might emerge...Please use inlinkz below to leave your link! I've set it for "unlimited" in the name/description field, so feel free to include specific info about your post. And if you have any trouble at all, please leave me a note in comments. Thank you!
WHEN THUNDER COMES
I've just spent some quality time with WHEN THUNDER COMES: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders by J. Patrick Lewis with illustrations by Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra, and Meilo So.I really like the variety of civil rights leaders featured here. And while I worried that the wide variety of illustration may take away from the continuity of the book, that wasn't the case. At least not for me!
My favorite poem/illustration pair features Mitsuye Endo, Japanese American interned durning WWII, 1920-2006. This basic information is provided for each leader on the bottom right-hand corner of the page. More detailed information is included in the backmatter, which allows for a great jumping-off point for readers who want to discover more about these amazing individuals.
And here is the poem I love best:
The Captive
by J. Patrick Lewis
I was a typist, nothing more.
I loved my life, I hated war.
But it was war that stole from me
My job, my life, serenity.
They put me in a hateful house --
Internment camp -- and I, a mouse,
Refused to squeak like most of these
One hundred thousand Japanese,
Until the day I told the man
What constant thoughts my heart began:
I am a typsit, nothing more,
and I am no conspirator!
For 18 months, they tired the sun
With talking. In the end, I won
The freedom to resume all three:
My job, my life, serenity.
-------
Those of you who frequent my blog should find this choice as no surprise. I am often drawn to poems that explore the themes of captivity and freedom. And how great is "they tired the sun/ With talking." ?? Nice! And shout-out to John Parra, whose illustration is perfect for the poem. You can see it in John's portfolio here.
And now for some under sea fun: Greg at Gotta Book has an original, unpublished poem of mine as part of his annual National Poetry Month celebration, 30 Poets/30 Days project. It's called "The Octopus Postcards." Give it a read!
