Irene Latham's Blog, page 148

RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS

I was looking through all my cookbooks for a breakfast casserole recipe when I found this entry at the very back of a homemade cookbook that was assembled by Deb Dykes:

Recipe for Happiness

2 heaping cups of patience
1 heart, full of love
2 handfuls of generosity
plenty of faith
1 handful of understanding
dash of laughter
generous sprinkle of kindness

Combine patience, love and generosity with understanding. Add a dash of laughter and sprinkle generously with kindness. Add plenty of faith and mix well. Spread over a period of a lifetime. Serve everyone you meet.

Don't you love that last sentence?! Here's another recipe for happiness: visit poetry-goddess Robyn Hood Black for Poetry Friday Roundup!

THREE MORE REASONS TO LOVE MISSISSIPPI

I have never been shy about my love of Mississippi. I mean, how can you not love a state with all those hump-backs and crooked letters right in its name?

Mississippi is home to lovely people and beautiful land and such a great art and literary heritage. I'm always super-excited when my travels take me there. And now I have a few new reasons to love Mississippi:

1. LEAVING GEE'S BEND has been named a 2013 Magnolia Choice Award nominee! I'll be Skyping with some young Mississippi reader later this month. Thank you, Mississippi!

2. I will be presenting along with Robyn Hood Black and April Halprin Wayland (and a slew of Southern Breeze SCBWI members) at Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival in Hattiesburg this spring! This could be my favorite festival of the whole year. Yes, it's that good!

3. I recently had a poem accepted for publication entitled "Early Morning Drive Along the Mississippi Sound." (More on this later.)


Oh, and if you haven't had a chance, there's still time to enter the Fandango gift card giveaway over at Smack Dab in the Middle... that's right: $25 for some lucky commenter! Good luck. xo

On Writing for Fun... and Playing Golf

I guess when I say, "writing for fun," what I mean is, writing not necessarily for publication.

It doesn't make the job any easier -- it's still a job.

It does help me loosen up a bit and take more risks. When I tag the work as "just for fun," I can be brave and experimental. I can be bad.

And it helps me better accept the nature of writing for publication, which, I think, is very much like playing professional golf:



“Golf’s hard. Good gold is damn hard, and championship golf is so hard only a select few ever comprehend it. It’s a cruel game. Think about it. A hundred and forty-four people play in the tournament, and a hundred and forty-three of them are going to lose. That’s tough. The game chews you up, spits you out, and steps on you. It’s those who get up and dust themselves off that make it. But that’s how it should be. If it were easy, everybody would do it.”
- Claude "Butch" Harmon, Jr., THE PRO
Oh, and maybe - just maybe - there's a professional golfer in my wip. :)

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

As part of my Cybils panelist responsibilities, I've been reading Julie Andrews' TREASURY FOR ALL SEASONS: Poems and Songs to Celebrate the Year.

Generally I am not in favor of "celebrity" books, because they hog the media attention and publisher's marketing dollars, and the masses buy them simply because they're familiar, and the not-yet-famous, perhaps never-to-be-famous have an even more difficult time finding readers for their oh so beautiful books....

But. This one has such cheerful illustrations and so many lovely poems, and I like the way it is organized first, by month, then with special sections for "other celebrations & special occasions." And hello, there's song lyrics. Some of the best poetry EVER is found in songs, so I especially appreciate its inclusion here.

My favorite? Yep, a song. Lyrics and music by Fred Ebb and Jon Kander, from the section in the book titled "Coming of Age/Rites of Passage"

A Quiet Thing

When it comes all true,
Just the way you planned,
It's funny, but the bells don't ring.
It's a quiet thing.
When you hold the world
In your trembling hand,
You'd think you'd hear a choir sing.
It's a quiet thing.
There are no exploding fireworks
Where's the roaring crowds?
Maybe it's the strange new atmosphere,
'Way up here among the clouds.
But I don't hear the drums,
I don't hear the band,
The sounds I'm told such moments bring,
Happiness comes in on tiptoe.
Well, whatd'ya know!
It's a quiet thing,
A very quiet thing.

Listen to Eileen Farrell singing it on youtube!

And, because I've been wanting to share them, and Julie Andrews brings them to mind, here are a few of my favorite recent things, all somehow related to the release of DON'T FEED THE BOY:


"elephant" quilt from Pat
Framed signatures & messages from friends
and readers and loved ones who came to book release events
"Whit" doll from Phyllis
...and here's Whit with Ludelphia, the heroine
from LEAVING GEE'S BEND (also a gift, and one
of my favorite things). Don't the look cute together?!
Wishing everyone a happy Poetry Friday! Roundup is with one of my favorite poets Amy at The Poem Farm.

ME AND WALTER DEAN MYERS

Last month in Baton Rouge at the Louisiana Book Festival, I had the opportunity to meet and speak with the current National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Mr. Walter Dean Myers.

I loved listening to Myers' speech about children's literature, most especially the parts about his own life. (He dropped out of high school not once, but twice! And look where he is now!) He speaks to kids in a way that they can hear, because he WAS that kid.

Myers also had some great advice for writers. When asked about his writing process, he said he was very good at finishing books. Not all of them were good, or sale-able, but the man can get 'er done.

He also offered a method for determining whether a mere idea has enough potential for an actual full-length book: write a scene a day for 30 days. If you can write 30 scenes, it's a book!

So. Guess what I'm doing this holiday season? That's right: writing a scene a day. Today is day 7! It's not quite as loft a goal as you amazing NaNo writers, but hey, it's progress...........

Happy day to all of you, and thanks Mr. Myers for the inspiration!

NCTE REPORT

What to say about my first-ever, amazing, inspiring, crazy NCTE annual convention?

Yeah. Amazing, inspiring, crazy.

Here are some of the highlights:

Attending the Nerdy party and meeting so many awesome book-lovers, including the one and only Colby Sharp!
Lindsey Leavitt, Colby Sharp, Irene Latham
Attending the secondary section luncheon with keynote Sherman Alexie. 
Yes, Sherman is as good a presenter as he is at writing books. He was all sorts of inappropriate, had us all in the palm of his hand as he told an amazing story that started with a snowy morning in Minneapolis with he in only cotton and included a Somali cab driver... then he landed the big reveal: it was only a story after all, an example of how the writing mind is always working, creating, witnessing.
In fact, that was his big message: a writer's job is to witness, to pay attention, and of course, to write it down.
Another something that caught my ear: "we celebrate the ones who leave, but what about the ones who are left behind?" His companion book to DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN will address this very thing. Can't wait! Irene Latham & Sherman Alexie
Meeting the amazing marketing folks at the Macmillan booth! Thank you THANK YOU Angus, Emily, Michelle and Summer for showing me some book-love and sharing your stories!
Summer, me, Angus, Emily & Michelle
The POETS. Oh my goodness, what a happy day it was to finally meet IN PERSON these people whose work I admire?? While Sylvia Vardell was greatly GREATLY missed, it was all kinds of fabulous meeting panel-mates Amy VanDerwater, Mary Lee Hahn, Janet Wong, Leslea Newman and Laura Purdie Salas. We've need to do it again, gals! And yeah, didn't we work the pink... Publisher's Weekly Children's Bookshelf thought so too!
Amy VanDerwater, Leslea Newman, Mary Lee Hahn,
Irene Latham, Janet Fagal, Janet Wong, Laura Purdie Salas

Last but not least: seeing a book I ADORE in ARC form just waiting for readers at the Bloomsbury booth, GOING VINTAGE by Vegas girl Lindsey Leavitt. So great to hang out with you, friend! And the OMG cookie from Max Brenner? OMG, indeed!

THE OTHER SIDE OF LAS VEGAS

So there's the Strip, which everyone knows by sight and sound and reputation: the glitz & glam that's an introvert's nightmare complete with sensory overload and exhaustion and a general overwhelming-ness that really, why would I ever want to do again?

And then there's Red Rock Canyon, which I discovered on this, my second journey to Las Vegas. It's thirteen miles of bliss, right across the bridge, in the suburbs. Vegas resident & fabulous friend & amazing author Lindsey Leavitt and I went at sunset:





LL & moi!

Gorgeous, right? And serene and settling and inspiring.
HOWEVER. Some of you may not have a Lindsey to mooch a ride from. If you are stuck on the Strip, I've got another suggestion for you: The Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo Hotel. 
It's this tiny little garden/waterfall area strategically tucked between tall buildings and rock walls and towering palms to make you feel like you are out in the wilderness. And you know what? It's small, but it works! I spent about an hour and felt all kinds of rejuvenated:



And then there's Lake Meade and the Hoover Dam, which I explored last time I went to Vegas, and yes, it's interesting and away from the excess, but it was kind of a one-n-done thing for me.
Red Rock Canyon and the Wildlife Habitat? If ever I find myself again in Vegas they will be on the itinerary.
More on Vegas with a complete NCTE Report coming later this week!

SEE YOU AT NCTE!

I am super-excited to meet poet-friends Janet Wong, Mary Lee Hahn, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Laura Purdie Salas and Leslea Newman! Oh, and one of my most favorite people ev-ah --Lindsey Leavitt -- lives in Vegas, so yay yay YAY for whatever mischief she and I can create together.
Oh, and there's a Nerdy Book Club meet-up and Sherman Alexie lunch and time with old friends and new! I'm excited!!
If you are there, please come to our poetry panel and rouse these signings... I will be signing DON'T FEED THE BOY at Macmillan booth #508, 3 - 3:30 pm Saturday! Happy travels, and full report to come next week! xo

FUN IN FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY

Wow, what a great weekend in Frankfort, Kentucky, home of Kentucky Book Fair!

Frankfort is a neat little place with a charming downtown -- and they're pretty smart in Frankfort, too: it wasn't only Book Fair weekend, it was also the 31st Annual Candlelight Tour, which meant music and carriage rides and hot chocolate and Rudolph!
Pat & Rudolph
We ate supper at Gibby's (spaghetti & meatball special), then browsed the shops. Our favorite was Wilma's Linens & Lace. (Pat and I are quilters, remember?) We were thrilled to meet Wilma herself, who refashions old quilts pieces into new things of beauty, like Christmas stockings and table runners. Here she is with a piece I completely fell in love with:
Friday was Children's Day at the Book Fair, and it was so much fun to meet kids and teachers. What a great field trip! The best part was meeting the teenage volunteers. Hi Emily & Harper & Madison & Rachel, and all you others too!
And here's me & Pat keeping the booth warm:
Friday afternoon we visited the again History Center (We enjoyed Civil War music and dancing there the night before) and the Capital City Museum. We loved how everything was in walking distance of Capital Plaza Hotel, where we stayed. We also drank ourselves a little gulp of heaven when we sampled Bourbon Ball Hot Chocolate at Rebecca Ruth Candy Shop.

Y'all: BEST HOT CHOCOLATE EVER. We loved it so much we went back later for another shot!
We also took a little trip up the mountain to Daniel Boone's gravesite, which overlooks the river. I mean, if you've got to be buried, I don't think there's a better spot:



For supper we enjoyed some pizza and salad at Buddy's, popped inside Poor Richard's Bookstore and some other shops, then settled in at the old theater to view THE FEUDS OF BLOODY BREATHITT: KENTUCKY'S UNTOLD STORY, as told by life-long Breathitt County resident Jerry Deaton.
What an interesting history -- and oh how we Alabamians can relate to the way our sometimes awful history can create images and stereotypes of we, the people, that are so very difficult to overcome. 
For the record: everyone we met was WONDERFUL. Southern hospitality and grace is alive and well in Frankfort, and everyone we met was wearing shoes and could speak perfectly good English. So much strength and creativity of kindness in this state! Thanks for making us feel so very welcome.

Most of all, thank you, READERS and organizers of Kentucky Book Fair. You put on an excellent show. I was so pleased to participate.

Finally, you gotta meet three lovely authors with whom I had the pleasure of sharing the day: Bethany Griffin, author of MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (a re-imagining of Poe's story by the same name!), Julie Cross, author of TEMPEST (an international bestseller that has been optioned for film and doesn't that cover remind you of Becca Fitzpatrick's HUSH, HUSH?) and Katie L. McGarry, author of PUSHING THE LIMITS (recently nominated for GoodReads Choice award -- winners to be announced very soon!!!):
And MOST OF ALL: thank you, Pat, for being a really excellent friend. I enjoyed so much spending the time with you and appreciate your endless support and cheer and all around goodness. In my next life I hope to be more like you. xo

EINSTEIN'S DAUGHTER QUESTIONS HER FATHER'S THEORY

Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Ed (of March Madness fame!) for Roundup at Think Kid Think!

Me? I'm in Frankfort, Kentucky, getting ready for Children's Day at Kentucky Book Fair, but I wanted to share with you a super-cool poetic thing that happened a couple of weeks ago:

Librarian-extraordinaire Jennifer Butler Keeton of Florence-Lauderdale Public Library invited me to participate in a Poetry & Paint event.

Here's how it worked: attendees, for a fee, were provided with canvas and paints and some initial "inspiration" poems (penned by me!). Then, at the event, I read some poetry along with the talented Boxcar Voices  -- while the attendees created their masterpieces!

Here's a picture of a painting the lovely and enthusiastic Angela did for my poem "At Age Ninety My Grandfather No Longer Gardens" :

Someone was feeling saucy! Love it!! She also painted two others, one of which I told her I HAD to own, it is so freakin' gorgeous and in keeping with my own ideas about the poem. Will share when I have it in hand.

And then there was this one, which surprised me in the best way possible:


What surprised me was that THIS was a poem of mine that would inspire art. But it did! For Stephanie, it did. And isn't that what it's all about?
Here's the poem:
Einstein's Daughter Questions Her Father's Theory
It's all about timing, he says,She watches the circling second-handas it marks all the moments he's missed,
says, space-time is a lump of claywhose geometry can be changedby the gravity of stars and planets.
And I am neither clay nor star nor planet.
It was best for you, he says.Her jaw tightens, fists clench.I am not a spinning orb, she says.
Must you strap the fabricof the universe to my back,demand that I drag it behind me?
It must be proven, he says.
She shakes her head. It's as realas a wobbling spiral of gas that disappears into a black hole.
It changes nothing, he says. And sheclimbs back inside her super-luminal tunnel, leaves him to his work.
- Irene Latham

For those of you who don't know, in addition to his two sons, Einstein had a daughter. Trouble was, she was born to he and Mileva before they got married. Oh, the scandal! So, the couple opted to give this daughter away. (This was not discovered until after Einstein's death, and there is still some mystery as to what exactly happened to her.) I wrote the poem in an effort to give this abandoned daughter a voice. It appears in my book THE COLOR OF LOST ROOMS.
Thanks so much for reading!