Irene Latham's Blog, page 32

"Nine Lives" poem from NINE: A Book of Nonet Poems, coming June 9!

Hello and Happy March 9. Did you know 9 is my favorite number? Want to know why?

Well. It's because I wrote this book called NINE: A Book of Nonet Poems, illus. by Amy Huntington, coming from Charlesbridge June 9.  This book is for 9 year olds and 99 year olds and anyone who remembers the wonder of age 9 or imagines the fun of age 9. Even the trim size of the book is a celebration of nine, as it measures 9 inches by 9 inches. Cool, huh?

If TLA happens as planned, I will be introducing the book to the world at Sylvia Vardell's Poetry Roundup, along with poets Vikram Madan (more on Vikram and his book A HATFUL OF DRAGON soon!), Carole Boston Weatherford, and others! I'm excited!

For today, I'd like to share the "Nine Lives" page. Didn't Amy do an amazing job?? And look: for the accountants among us... how many dogs do you see? How many "r"s in the last word of the poem? :)


Check back on the 9th of the coming months for more about this fun project. Thank you for reading!

Summer On My Mind

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Sloth Reads for Roundup.

So... this week I spent wonderful hours with retired teachers in Blount County, Alabama and also with students at Mt. Laurel Elementary. This weekend I will be visiting Camden and Gee's Bend, as well as sharing MEET MISS FANCY Monroeville Literary Festival, in yes, Monroeville, Alabama, home of one Harper Lee! I'm excited!

Yes, I've got a new ArtSpeak: RED poem for you! This one has a summer theme, and that's probably because the weather in these parts has made a shift toward warm with high daily temps around 70 degrees. Bring on the flip flops. YAY!


Late June Afternoon
Curious cloudsare first            to whisper
Blue wavesare first            to sigh
Summer-drunk ducksare first            to splash
Red boatsare first            to fly.
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></div><br />

David L. Harrison Puts His "Best Words Forward" in AFTER DARK

Today it's my pleasure to welcome David L. Harrison, in celebration of his latest book for kids AFTER DARK: Poems About Nocturnal Creatures, illustrations by Stephanie Laberis (Boyds Mills and Kane/WordSong). You may have seen something about this book already as part of the blog tour David and the publisher put together.

As my regular readers know, I have a tradition of giving book creators 4 simple prompts and asking them to respond specifically about the current project. I'm delighted to offer David's responses below. The italicized/bold bits are the bits that particularly resonate with me.  Enjoy! 
The delicious:
DH: When we look at a body of water, we wonder what’s going on below the surface where we can’t see. In the same way, I look into the night and try to imagine what creatures are out and about and what they might be up to. Mysteries of the dark abound. For about as long as I can remember they have beckoned to me, stirred my imagination, made me need to know more. When I was six years old camping in a tent with my parents beside a mountain lake in Arizona, I lay on my cot in the dark electrified by the sounds of bears down the lane banging on metal trash cans after a free meal. In third grade I draped a sheet over our back yard clothesline, lighted it from within, and marveled at the insects and bats that appeared out of the dark to dart and swoop around me. Today when a raccoon runs across my roof at night or my headlights startle a possum scurrying off the road or I spot a fox hurry/sniffing along a lake bank, I immediately want to know the rest of their stories. Writing this book was the result of my curiosity. Unraveling each story, forming each poem, was, for me, delicious. 
The difficult:
DH: In Egypt 3,000 years ago, a fact was that bees came from the tears of the sun god Ra. What makes any book based on fact difficult is making sure the facts are as true as current knowledge allows. I come with two degrees in zoology, dozens of nonfiction books, and a lifetime of observing animals, but for a book like AFTER DARK, experts on specific animals were called upon to critique my work and offer additional facts and insights. In all there were fifteen authorities who looked at the writing or illustrations to help make sure we were getting it right. For these I was grateful. The difficulty in writing books for young readers isn’t the writing itself, although that’s important, or in finding ways to make the material appealing, although that’s important, too; it’s in making sure the writer provides readers with the truth. Children believe in us. They trust us. If we get it wrong, they get it wrong. It’s a responsibility the writer carries with him/her throughout a project like this one.
The unexpected:
DH: I’ve written about most of these animals in previous books and poems so in some ways it was like greeting old friends. But a writer always begins from scratch as though he is meeting his subjects for the first time. Facts DO change. I’ve written three published books about caves but I started a fourth one recently and approached it as though I knew nothing about my caves. In the case of AFTER DARK, I had two nice surprises during the time I spent preparing to write the book. One was about male porcupines. I didn’t realize how vocal they can be or how viciously they fight during the mating season to determine which male will win the right to approach a female. If there’s anything I’d rather not see coming toward me more than a porcupine, it would be an angry, lovesick porcupine spoiling for a fight! The other surprise was that armadillos can walk under water. Most of the armadillos I’ve seen were dead ones beside the highway. I hadn’t read about their mastery underwater and that was a fact I took pleasure in learning and passing along to my readers. 
Anything else:
DH: At times I fear that poetry attracts more poets than readers. Somehow we have to entice busy children to slow down long enough to read a poem, roll it around in their heads for a moment, and decide to like it -- even though they might rather be reading another book in an unending series of action figures. That’s why poets need to put our best words forward. We need to provide a varied menu, rich in imagery, quick to capture interest, seasoned with surprises and, yes, sometimes even humor. Kirkus has given AFTER DARK a good review, and my favorite part is this: “Twenty-one animals who live by the light of the moon get profiled in Harrison's poems, written in a variety of forms, some rhymed and most not. . . a fine collection of poetical odes to a nicely diverse group of nighttime fauna." Yay. Someone noticed!----------
Thank you, David, so much for sharing yourself with us today. CONGRATULATIONS!! 

A Red Poem from CAST AWAY by Naomi Shihab Nye

<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit <a href="http://karenedmisten.blogspot.com/&qu... Edmisten</a> for Roundup. If I was really on it (as I'm sure many of you are), I'd have a Leap Day poem to share... as it is, I am just trying to keep my head above water this week, so I will just shout out my greetings to any Leap Day babies out there: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Also, so many thanks to Shelby County, Vestavia Hills and Hoover educators and students for giving me and Charles Waters such a lovely welcome this week! THANK YOU!!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3fe7btIPQ..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W3fe7btIPQ..." width="193" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Lucky me, I did have a chance to read <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062... AWAY: Poems for our Time</a> (from HarperCollins), the newest collection of poems from Naomi Shihab Nye. We learn in this collection that Naomi is a trash walker -- she collects bits of trash wherever she is in the world, and this collection is drawn from those adventures. You're going to love it! And... Naomi kindly gave me permission to share a (red) poem that caught my eye. I hope you enjoy this treasure... and I hope you pick up the book.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Red Ribbon on the Walk</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After the bulldozers,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">graders, noisy asphalt mixers,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">lumber away for the tenth time,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">trying to repave Sheridan Street,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">poor old Sheridan</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">keeps cracking again</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">the minute it's new</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">due to the weight of buses</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and ancient irrigation ditches</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">supposedly running beneath it,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I find you, long satiny red ribbon,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">lying in the street.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bulldozers dropping a red satin ribbon?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Seems unlikely.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Construction workers in helmets, orange vests...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">leave a red ribbon?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Like the world we're in now.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Things that don't go together</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">confounding at every turn.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sometimes we just have to close our eyes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Think of something better.</div><br /><br /><i>- Naomi Shihab Nye</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vyGBv2sPj2..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vyGBv2sPj2..." width="200" /></a></div>And now for my next ArtSpeak: RED poem! I decided to go with my main gal Mary Cassatt to the theater! Be sure and find the nosy fellow in the distance with the binoculars turned toward... YOU!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJORaofLfd..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJORaofLfd..." width="400" /></a></div><br /><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Show Time</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Heavy red curtain</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">soon to rise –</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">so many faces,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">         so many eyes!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>The play's the thing --</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">yes, those words are wise,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">but they don't explain</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">why this moment</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">someone's watching you</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">watching me</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">watch the red curtain rise.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></div><br />

If thirst has a color (poem)

Me with some fabulous
future teachers at Troy University-Dothan.Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Cheriee at Library Matters for Roundup.

It's been a busy week for me with travels to Troy, AL and Dothan, AL... and next up Auburn, AL! Then next week Charles Waters comes to Alabama, and we have quite a few groups we'll be working with in addition to dashing down to Mobile, AL, for some research on our work-in-progress.

I'm taking it one day at a time, focusing on gratitude. It's an honor to be asked to share my life and stories with others... so far on this busy spring stretch, I've taken good care of myself. Looking forward, it helps to know that on several ventures I will have friends/loved ones joining me. Yay!

I offer you my latest ArtSpeak: RED poem below!



<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>if thirst has a color</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">its color is red</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">its sound, </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">a lion's roar</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">thirst is gritty </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">as sand between my toes</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">its scent </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">is burnt almonds</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">it tastes </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">blade-sharp<br /><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">the moment<br />before water<br /><br />whisper-drips</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">onto my lips</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></div>------<br />Readers, have you ever been thirsty, so thirsty? What does it taste like to YOU? (That was the hardest sense for me to find in this poem!)

Warm Hearts, Cold Day (love poem for Valentine's Day)

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Linda B. at TeacherDance for Roundup.

Happy Valentine's Day to all you Lovelies! I know some complain about commercialized Valentine's Day, but I feel like any excuse to show people you love them is a good day... so bring on the hearts and chocolates and flowers and poems!

And on the theme of love...

driving along Oak Creek Canyon
at sunsetLast week Paul and I visited Arizona, where we stayed in Sedona surrounded by red rocks... and rode around in a rented red car! We also took a peek at the Grand Canyon (south rim), which is indeed, grand. Beautiful and inspiring!

As part of latest Adventures in Ink e-newsletter giveaway, I received so many wonderful word suggestions for DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD! Thank you!! Giveaway winners are:

Cathy Hall
Denise Panter
Barbara Schneider

Congratulations!! 
And here are the words readers want to add to our DICTIONARY:



And yes, I wrote another ArtSpeak! RED poem this week. I decided to stick with the Valentine's theme, which led me to my Valentine among artists: Vincent van Gogh. Enjoy!


<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Bedtime Love Song</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I love you</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">like red blanket</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">loves bed</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">like walls</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">love the color</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">blue</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">like chair</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">loves a body's</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">weight –</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">no room</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">can hold </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">the love I feel </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">             for you.</div><br /><br /><i>- Irene Latham</i><br /><i><br /></i>... and here is a <a href="https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2019... to another Valentine's Day set of poems: one by Aileen Fisher, one by me. :)

When Red Pours Down the Mountain

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Laura Purdie Salas for Roundup.

Thanks to everyone for helping celebrate the release of DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD! What a fun time. :)
This has been a travel-week for me, so filled with wonderful new adventures... and also a new "red" poem. Yay! This one kind of went in a direction I wasn't expecting... and I am still not sure what it means! You can read more about the beautiful art on Google Arts & Culture.




When Red Pours Down the Mountain
Dreams seethe,
possibilities slosh –
Red tumbles us highinto tomorrow.
With a gush, rush –
whether we're ready or not –
Red floods the sky.
- Irene Latham

The Other Side of Red

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jone for Roundup.

Please be on the lookout for my newest poetry book with Charles Waters, DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD: Poems, Quotes and Anecdotes, which releases next Tuesday (Feb. 4)! If you'd like a chance to win a copy, be sure to subscribe to my "Adventures in Ink" newsletter (button on the left of this post!). I'll be publishing an issue on release day that will include a giveaway opportunity. :)

So, all the "red" poems so far have been happy-red... but red isn't all roses and cherries! In fact, I just read the poem "Phobia of Red" by Sharon Olds, in her new (beautiful) book ARIAS. Check it out!

Red has a dark side, for sure. My goal for this project is to explore all the sides of red, and hopefully discover things I haven't even thought of yet. :) Today's piece is one I found on Google Arts and Culture. Enjoy!


Because a Church is Its People
still, children dance,      twirl
even as sanctuary      smolders,mothers shiver
in streets litby the red-wet        glow <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">              of hate</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></div><br /><br />

May Your Days Be Forever Red

me, Charles and Kat (at #NCTE2019)Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Kat at Kat's Whiskers for Roundup.

It's been a wintry week here in Alabama, but we've still managed to get out for our daily walks. I've been chipping away at my wip, and it's such slow-going... but yes, some rewarding moments along the way! I (finally) got the sewing machine out and accomplished a stack of mending... and I am working a new piece on my cello. Life is good!

Today I have for you another ArtSpeak: Red poem. This one's inspired by "Miss Mary Edwards" by William Hogarth. I do have a Miss Mary in my life -- though she is nothing like the Miss Mary pictured here! Do you know anyone who enjoys a "crimson life" like the person portrayed in the poem?


Miss Mary's Crimson Life
Mornings, a field of poppies
Noon, a crush of cranberries
Afternoons            lazy as strawberry jam
Evenings, a dream <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">of cherries.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></div><br />... and now that I'm looking again at the poem, I think I've got an alternate title to use if I pull this poem away from the art: "May Your Days Be Forever Red." (changing the subject heading now!)

Eat this (Apple) Poem!

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit for Catherine at Reading to the Core for Roundup. In this addition of ArtSpeak: Red, I write after another piece by Vincent van Gogh. (I've written more poems after van Gogh pieces than any other single artist.) And it took me to apple harvest time, which is NOT in January! So... hello, September!


September
her cheeks apple-sweet,round as morning
the world red with joyborne of rain, dirt, sun
life perfumed, glossy –go ahead, take a bite

- Irene Latham