Irene Latham's Blog, page 22
November 16, 2021
[VIDEO] 2-Minute Writing Tip Tuesday! Episode #1 "We Are Cups"
Welcome to my new video series for writers! I'm kind of amazed by how much inspiration can fit in just two minutes. :) In this (the very first episode) I riff off a favorite quote by Ray Bradbury. Enjoy!
November 12, 2021
Where Friendship Begins (poem)
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme for Roundup.
I started a new monthly feature at my blog this week: Homeschool Poetry Party!
I've done a lot of work with homeschoolers this past year, and I have loved it! So, on the 9th of each month (hello, nonets!!) I'll be posting something especially for homeschool families. If you know a homeschool family, and you think they'd benefit from a bit of poetry in their lives, would you please share the link with them?? Thank you for your help!!
When I went into my art folder to select a piece for today's poem, I noticed in the "Done in 2021" file a surprise miniseries of poem titles beginning with "question" words:
Why Evening Comes Early in Autumn
...so, I decided to add another Question-title poem this week to the series! (And perhaps I will continue for a few weeks, or at least until I lose interest. :) Thank you so much for reading.
Where Friendship Begins
on a hushed,
curving road
beside a slumberous field—
can I help you?
sunders autumn fog
- Irene Latham
November 9, 2021
9th of the Month Homeschool Poetry Party!
Hello, and welcome to a new feature here at Live Your Poem: Homeschool Poetry Party! Celebrating the joys of reading and writing poetry with Homeschool Families on the 9th of the month (all year long!)
This month we'll focus on GRATITUDE with blessings, prayers, and writing gratitude poems.
First: a Prayer poem from my 2019 ArtSpeak: Happy series.
Now listen to me reading the poem:
Question for discussion: When you think of God, what color comes to mind?
Next, a book recommendation:
Find out more about For Every Little Thing: Poems and Prayers to Celebrate the Day by June Cotner, Nancy Tupper Ling, & Helen Cann by visiting the blog interview I did with Nancy Tupper Ling back in September.
Finally, let's write a Gratitude poem!
1. make a quick list of some things you're grateful for
my list:
family timesreadingwritingmusic-makingexploring nature2. use the 5 senses to bring them alive
family times - together in the kitchen tasting pumpkin pie, nutmeg and allspice tickling our tongues (taste)reading - cozy under a blanket with a second-hand book (touch)writing - the characters in my new story dancing in my dreams (sight)music-making - "Ode to Joy" marching me across the hours (sound)exploring nature - the scent of woodsmoke as I crackle-crunch across fallen leaves in the woods (scent & sound)
3. put them in an order that's pleasing to you
cozy under the blanket,turning pages of a favorite bookcharacters dance in my dreamsOde to Joy marches meinto the woods where the scentof woodsmoke welcomes meas we crackle-crunch across fallen leavestogether, nutmeg and allspice tickling our tongues
4. make changes so that the words sound and mean even more (i.e. add rhyme, title, punctuation, choose more precise words; take away words, etc.)
Every Day is a Holiday
Cozy under quilt,flipping pages until characters dance dizzy in my dreams—
"Ode to Joy" marches me awakeand into the woods where woodsmoke welcomes allas leaves crackle-crunch underfoot
The best timesare together times, nutmeg and allspice tickling our tongues.
5. Share your poem with someone!I've created a special Homeschool Poetry Party! padlet, if you'd like to post your poem for others in this community!
Thank you for joining the Homeschool Poetry Party!! If you found value in this post, please share it with others. Thank you!
November 5, 2021
Learning from Birches (poem)
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading for Roundup.
Today's ArtSpeak: Four Seasons poem features birches. Many other poets have written about birches. Have you? Here are a few I found online:
how they remind of childhood: Birches by Robert Frost
how they are "all elbows" Birch by Cynthia Zarin
"white fingers" Russian Birch by Nathaniel Bellows
addressing the birches: Matins by Louise Glück
...and here is my birch poem. Thank you for reading!
when in doubt
bend
like birches—
curve—
a thousand
crooked forests
cannot be wrong
about how to catch
light
- Irene Latham
October 29, 2021
Why Evening Comes Early in Autumn (poem)
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Linda at TeacherDance for a Halloween themed Roundup.
It's Halloween weekend. Yay! My car and I will be participating in a community Trunk-or-Treat... I've even hobbled together a costume to wear: Spider Goddess? Web Mistress? Spider Charmer? I don't know, but you're probably getting the idea. I'm just glad it's not one of those sweat-while-you're-trick-or-treating times.
What are you doing to celebrate?
This week's ArtSpeak: FOUR SEASONS poem is about the short and getting-shorter days. Thank you so much for reading!
Why Evenings Come Early in Autumn
sky battered and bruised
by a million wings
lake a threadbare quilt
stitched with fading ripples
no wonder drowsy sun
refuses to hold up its head
- Irene Latham
October 22, 2021
It Takes Courage to be a Tree + WILD PEACE!
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jama's Alphabet Soup for what's sure to be a delectable feast for Roundup.
My latest picture book WILD PEACE was released this week! Thanks so much to those who helped me celebrate! 💜 And for those who don't know: Wild Peace a 150-word long poem about a girl who escapes her chaotic home life and enters the forest, where each wild animal teaches her something about peace. It's quiet and beautiful and meditative, thanks in no small part to the gorgeous art by Il Sung Na, who visited Live Your Poem earlier this year to share about his illustration process. Every book I've been lucky enough to be involved with feels like a miracle. I'm so grateful this book is in the world!
This week's ArtSpeak: FOUR SEASONS poem is short and not-exactly-sweet. Thank you so much for reading!
It Takes Courage to Be a Tree
with or without rainOctober leaves rust,
drop—
soon to reveal
winter's sharp edges
- Irene Latham
P.S. Tomorrow I'll be participating in a 5K Fun Run benefitting our local animal shelter...it's going to take all my self-control not to come home with a new pet! I suspect many of you can relate... xo
October 15, 2021
Cool Change / Gathering Season (poem)
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Bridget at Wee Words for Wee Ones for a celebration of her new book (!) and also Roundup.
Each morning, my husband's phone alarm wakes us to "Cool Change" by The Little River Band. (He changes the song each month, in keeping with the season!) That surely was in my mind as I was writing this week's ArtSpeak: FOUR SEASONS poem.
Fun fact: As is often the case, the "shape" of this poem changed as I was making the graphic. (It was 4 3-line stanzas; now it's not.) The visual is so important in poetry... and isn't that such a personal thing, and determined by space on the page and the poet's aesthetic, among other factors? I really enjoy playing around with that during revision. Thank you so much for reading!
Gathering Season
Farmer shapes
hay into round-house
mounds
Flock grazes away every last blade
Sky, too,
corrals fat-bellied
clouds—
first icy drops chase us all indoors.
- Irene Latham
And if you're gathering books this season (like I am!), WILD PEACE comes out next Tuesday!! Illustrations by Il Sung Na, coming to us from the good folks at Roaring Brook Press. I'm excited to share this gentle, meditative long-poem picture book with young ones, and I hope you will, too. More on this next week! xo
October 7, 2021
Ode to an Autumn Poetry Friday Roundup!
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Roundup is HERE!
So, I have a secret I'm ready to share: I'm in the process of creating a digital course called Wild & Precious Writer. (Mary Oliver fans will know exactly where this title comes from!)
My goal is to provide for others (you!) a path to higher joy and authenticity in your writing to create real change in your life and in the world. I'll be sharing things that have worked for me on my journey—ideas and practices that I've collected over the past twenty years from sources like The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez, and many others.
With that in mind, I want to invite you along to help me create the course you would want. You can help me right away by answering the following question in comments:
If you could wave a magic wand to make your biggest writing challenge disappear, what would that be?
Thank you for your help! I'm VERY excited about sharing so many of the things that have been transformative in my life... stay tuned! You, too, can become an official Wild & Precious Writer when I open the course in early 2022. :)
And now, please join me in celebrating the season with some excerpts from "Ode to Autumn" by Pablo Neruda... and then please leave your link below!
Ode to Autumn
by Pablo Neruda, trs. by Ilan Stavans
Autumn is modest
like the woodcutters.
It's hard
to remove all the leaves
of all the trees
of all the countries.
Spring
sewed them together on the fly
and now
one must allow them
to fall as if they were
yellow birds.
It isn't easy.
There's not enough time.
One must run down all
the roads,
speak languages,
Swedish,
Portuguese,
speak in the red tongue,
the green tongue.
One must know
how to be quiet in all
the languages
and everywhere,
always
allowing
the leaves to fall,
fall
allowing them to fall,
fall.
***
And here is my latest ArtSpeak: Four Seasons poem! Thank you for reading.
Autumn Puzzle
I will not ask why
because life has taught me
about cycles and seasons.
Today I will fit myself
into the mystery—
how time eats daylight,
and I am always always
grasping for more;
squirrels hoard exactly
as much as they need;
and maples, god bless them,
give away every
last
jewel.
-Irene Latham
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enterOctober 1, 2021
What the Deer Sees (poem)
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Catherine at Reading to the Core for Roundup. I'm out adventuring this week, but I will be back next week to host!
Today's poem was inspired by the many recent deer sitings on our morning walks and early evening drives. So. Many. Deer! Including this little cutie, just hanging out in the ditch.
Adorable, yes? So no wonder my heart went in this direction for this week's ArtSpeak: FOUR SEASONS poem. Thank you so much for reading.
Three figures
so silent, so still—
not deer
not bear
barest breath
salting the breeze
not bird
not dog
tiny wisp
of some wild scent
not sweet
not frightening—
friends, so long
as they move
not one step
closer
- Irene Latham
September 24, 2021
Celebrating FOR EVERY LITTLE THING!
It's my pleasure today to congratulate June Cotner, Nancy Tupper Ling, and Helen Cann for their newly released poetry anthology
FOR EVERY LITTLE THING: POEMS AND PRAYERS TO CELEBRATE THE DAY (Eerdman's). I'm always excited for a new poetry anthology, and this one is a beauty. I especially enjoyed seeing poems by our Poetry Friday friends Michelle H. Barnes and Charles Ghigna. Congratulations to all!
And now please welcome poet-friend-editor Nancy Tupper Ling, who stopped by to respond to a few prompts. Welcome, Nancy!
The delicious
Nancy Tupper LingNTL: As an author who can barely draw a stick figure, I find “the delicious” to be that moment when I receive the first sketch or two from the illustrator. In the case of FOR EVERY LITTLE THING, this happened when June Cotner and I got a sneak peak at a few of Helen Cann’s sketches, including the “Nightfall” chapter and a full-page spread, which reflected all four seasons in one glorious tree. Ultimately, the tree was paired with a poem by Jill Noblit MacGregor called "Simple Graces" and it is stunning (shown below!), That experience was as delicious as picking the first Empire apple in a New England fall. Ah!
IL: Have I ever had an Empire apple?! I don't think so! Must remedy. And as a long-time fan of June Cotner's thoughtful anthologies for the adult market, I'm just delighted about this partnership! And wow, when I popped on Nancy Cann's website, I fell in love with her maps. Go see!
The difficult
NTL: As an anthologist, I know you’ve experienced this too, Irene, but it’s always hard to let go of a poem that is beautiful. For some reason it doesn’t fit with the collection. This could be because there are too many similar poems on one spread, or because the poem itself is a bit too long. Often, we work with our contributors on a revision if it can make their poem stronger. Still, there are other times when we must say goodbye to a perfectly wonderful poem. That said, that very poem might be perfect for another anthology down the road.
IL: Yes! SO DIFFICULT to say goodbye to some poems. I want to keep them ALL. Alas...
The surprising
That there is a World Gratitude Day (September 21st)! Who knew? And that FOR EVERY LITTLE THING launches on this very day is a perfect fit. When June and I first put a proposal together for our book, gratitude was at the heart of it. Our hope was to foster “appreciation for the small and big gifts of the world,” and by journeying through a child’s day, from waking up to falling asleep, our selected poems and prayers will awaken a sense of gratitude in readers of all ages.
IL: Another "gratitude" poetry anthology to pair with this one: THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE selected by Miranda Paul, illus. by Marlena Myles.
Anything else
NTL: Yes, some very good news! Back in January, I left my position as a librarian at Morrill Memorial Library (after 10 years) so that I could devote more time to my writing. I wanted to give myself a full year to pursue this dream, even though it seemed quite risky with two daughters in college. Well, guess what? As announced in Publisher's Marketplace, June and I recently sold another children’s anthology entitled BLESS THE EARTH: A CHILDREN'S BOOK OF PRAYERS AND POEMS FOR HONORING THE EARTH to Keren Baltzer at Convergent/Penguin, thanks to our agent, Anne Marie O’Farrell at Marcil-O’Farrell Literary (world). Also, FOR EVERY LITTLE THING became a Gold Standard Selection, as awarded by the Junior Library Guild. Turns out, it was a risk worth taking!
IL: YAY for all this happy news! Yay for risk-taking, and for poetry reaching more children and families!!
illustration by Nancy CannSimple Graces
Simple graces are everywhere.under rocks and in the air—in crashing waves and tall, tall trees,simple graces for all to see.
Simple graces are near and far,the sun, the moon, and twinkling stars—refreshing rain, the air we breathe,God made every one of these.
Yes, simple graces are everywhere,in everything, here and there—summer, fall, winter, spring,simple graces in everything.
- Jill Noblit MacGregor
Learn more about this lovely book at other stops on the blog tour:
And yes, I have an ArtSpeak: FOUR SEASONS poem for you! It's the first "Autumn" poem of this series. Thank you so much for reading.
Then Sings My Soul
clothe yourself
as maples do,
in burnished gold
rest and reflect—
a puddle after rain
welcome the child's boots
as a way to give yourself
to the world
and when it is done,
gather light
in your damp hands,
let yourself
fall
- Irene Latham
...and... welcome to my first-ever fun quiz! (This was SO MUCH FUN to create. Go ahead, give it a go!)
