Irene Latham's Blog, page 34
December 14, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: WAR
For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
WAR
For whatever reasons, I love reading about war. It's the EMOTIONS of war that get me... when the stakes are so high, the world so chaotic, it seems to put a person right into the heart of who they are and what's important to them.
My next middle grade novel (coming 2021) is set during a war. And here is a nonet (the first nonet I ever wrote!) about war, originally published 2012 here at Live Your Poem:
Al Tafar, Iraq, 2004
By winter the war feasted on fear:It chewed through dusty, low-slung hills,gobbled apricot orchards,rubbed its ribs against scrub.Eyes, red and searing,it was patient,not picky;wantedmore.
-Irene Latham
Here is a post about one of my favorite LBH poetry anthologies for children -- also about war. Also, one of my 2020 releases THE CAT MAN OF ALEPPO is set in Aleppo during the Syrian civil war... and I don't think I'm done yet writing about war. We'll see what happens next!
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
WAR
For whatever reasons, I love reading about war. It's the EMOTIONS of war that get me... when the stakes are so high, the world so chaotic, it seems to put a person right into the heart of who they are and what's important to them.
My next middle grade novel (coming 2021) is set during a war. And here is a nonet (the first nonet I ever wrote!) about war, originally published 2012 here at Live Your Poem:
Al Tafar, Iraq, 2004
By winter the war feasted on fear:It chewed through dusty, low-slung hills,gobbled apricot orchards,rubbed its ribs against scrub.Eyes, red and searing,it was patient,not picky;wantedmore.
-Irene Latham
Here is a post about one of my favorite LBH poetry anthologies for children -- also about war. Also, one of my 2020 releases THE CAT MAN OF ALEPPO is set in Aleppo during the Syrian civil war... and I don't think I'm done yet writing about war. We'll see what happens next!
December 13, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: UMBRELLA poem for Poetry Friday
book I'd like to give toeach and every one of you!Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Liz Steinglass for Roundup. December is certainly full of the hustlebustle, isn't it? I love this month's book lists and Twitter haiku and Christmas music and greeting cards and gatherings and year-end wrap-ups...
I myself put out a new edition of Irene's Adventures in Ink e-newsletter (The Happy Report!) which includes 5 Unexpected Things I've Learned in a Decade as a Children's Book Creator... and I've been clearing the nightstand to make way for the Christmas load that sure to come my way from loved ones who know my particular habits and passions... and I've played two holiday concerts (one with a community orchestra, another with a small group of cellists) and will play another concert tomorrow with my cello choir... and I've been working furiously on a new historical fiction project that has so many moving parts that my mind is churning 24/7!
And it's all good -- wonderful, in fact. Because today for my Butterfly Hours project (which is fast coming to an end), I wrote a poem in the voice of an umbrella. Read on!
For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
Dykes Family in ThailandI often share during school visits this picture of my family of origin and wee me with the pink pants, purple shirt, and yellow umbrella. Only, we didn't call it an umbrella when we were in Thailand. We called it a parasol.
Umbrella's Complaint
My human callsme parasol
but I don't like that nameat all –
it's too sunny, too sweet.
Give me wind,give me sleet!
Call me umbrella –
and if you're a storm,I can't wait for us to meet!
- Irene Latham
December 11, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: TYPEWRITER
For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
TYPEWRITER
a favorite children's book
that includes a typewriterMy experience with a typewriter is limited to my high school typing class. If there was a typewriter in my house growing up, I don't recall it. So I don't have any romanticized memories about typewriters.
The high school typing class was one of those offering deemed “practical,” so I took it. (Pre-internet, of course!) And you know, I've never been sorry. I got my job at Walt Disney World (Travel Company) because of my typing
my favorite movie
that features
a typewriterskills. With the onset of word processing programs, others of my generation had to acquire typing skills... but I already had them! I've always been grateful for my typing speed when I'm working on a story, and my brain moves so so fast – far faster than my hand can do and still be legible... but even with errors, I can generally interpret my typing, even when that typing has been achieved with my eyes closed (which is often the way I type when I am drafting!).
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
TYPEWRITER
a favorite children's book that includes a typewriterMy experience with a typewriter is limited to my high school typing class. If there was a typewriter in my house growing up, I don't recall it. So I don't have any romanticized memories about typewriters.
The high school typing class was one of those offering deemed “practical,” so I took it. (Pre-internet, of course!) And you know, I've never been sorry. I got my job at Walt Disney World (Travel Company) because of my typing
my favorite moviethat features
a typewriterskills. With the onset of word processing programs, others of my generation had to acquire typing skills... but I already had them! I've always been grateful for my typing speed when I'm working on a story, and my brain moves so so fast – far faster than my hand can do and still be legible... but even with errors, I can generally interpret my typing, even when that typing has been achieved with my eyes closed (which is often the way I type when I am drafting!).
December 9, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: TROPHY
For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
TROPHY
My sister was a pageant queen and collected LOTS of trophies. I wasn't, and didn't, although a few did come into my life. I received a few for school performance, and once, when I joined my sister for a pageant, I brought home a runner-up trophy along with a tiara. I don't really remember getting the trophy, but I do remember the pageant. We were required to compete in 3 different sections, so my mom created 3 different outfits for me. One was a royal blue pant suit. Another was a lavender church dress to wear while I played a piece on the piano (Homecoming by Hagood Hardy, which I got caught in the middle of, and couldn't find my way out for a minute! I don't think the audience noticed, but I sure did!). And of course there was a pageant dress. Mine was a soft pink with a hoop skirt – more like an antebellum costume than a glitzy pageant dress. But then I've always been a bit more homespun than glitz...
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
TROPHY
My sister was a pageant queen and collected LOTS of trophies. I wasn't, and didn't, although a few did come into my life. I received a few for school performance, and once, when I joined my sister for a pageant, I brought home a runner-up trophy along with a tiara. I don't really remember getting the trophy, but I do remember the pageant. We were required to compete in 3 different sections, so my mom created 3 different outfits for me. One was a royal blue pant suit. Another was a lavender church dress to wear while I played a piece on the piano (Homecoming by Hagood Hardy, which I got caught in the middle of, and couldn't find my way out for a minute! I don't think the audience noticed, but I sure did!). And of course there was a pageant dress. Mine was a soft pink with a hoop skirt – more like an antebellum costume than a glitzy pageant dress. But then I've always been a bit more homespun than glitz...
December 8, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: TRAIN
For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </span></div></div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><b>TRAIN</b></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I was 13 years old when we moved from Folsom, LA to Birmingham, AL. I did NOT want to move. After five years in one place, I finally felt “at home.” I had friends I could count on. I was enjoying school and piano lessons and church choir. There was a boy I adored, horses in the pasture, oak trees for climbing, and a gurgling creek where we could catch crawdads. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I tried to convince my parents I should move in with one of my friends, but, of course, they did not allow it. Instead, they sent me back for a visit just a couple of months after we moved. I boarded an Amtrak train all by myself, and for 7 hours I watched the world pass by my window, my stomach churning butterflies the whole time. I couldn't wait to see my friends! I was even going to be able to attend a day at my old school. I was so excited that I don't remember much about the train ride, except that it got me where I wanted to go. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Only, it wasn't anything like I expected it to be. Everyone had changed. They'd moved on without me. The school day was miserable... I didn't fit there anymore, and I didn't fit in my new place either. It was a brutal lesson in how you can't backwards in life. Only forward. Perhaps my parents knew this, that I would need a dose of reality. I have always been highly imaginative, and have often idealized times, places, relationships. Yet, here it was, here I was, and it wasn't the way I remembered it AT ALL. It was sad, but it was also easier to move on after that trip. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Someday I am going to write a poem in two parts: the first half about riding the train TO New Orleans, and the second part about riding it back to Birmingham. I kind of grew up in that few-days'-space between. Sigh.</div></span>
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above.
This (final!) month's prompts are train, trophy, typewriter, umbrella, Vietnam, war, washing machine, widow, window.
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </span></div></div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><b>TRAIN</b></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I was 13 years old when we moved from Folsom, LA to Birmingham, AL. I did NOT want to move. After five years in one place, I finally felt “at home.” I had friends I could count on. I was enjoying school and piano lessons and church choir. There was a boy I adored, horses in the pasture, oak trees for climbing, and a gurgling creek where we could catch crawdads. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I tried to convince my parents I should move in with one of my friends, but, of course, they did not allow it. Instead, they sent me back for a visit just a couple of months after we moved. I boarded an Amtrak train all by myself, and for 7 hours I watched the world pass by my window, my stomach churning butterflies the whole time. I couldn't wait to see my friends! I was even going to be able to attend a day at my old school. I was so excited that I don't remember much about the train ride, except that it got me where I wanted to go. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Only, it wasn't anything like I expected it to be. Everyone had changed. They'd moved on without me. The school day was miserable... I didn't fit there anymore, and I didn't fit in my new place either. It was a brutal lesson in how you can't backwards in life. Only forward. Perhaps my parents knew this, that I would need a dose of reality. I have always been highly imaginative, and have often idealized times, places, relationships. Yet, here it was, here I was, and it wasn't the way I remembered it AT ALL. It was sad, but it was also easier to move on after that trip. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Someday I am going to write a poem in two parts: the first half about riding the train TO New Orleans, and the second part about riding it back to Birmingham. I kind of grew up in that few-days'-space between. Sigh.</div></span>
December 5, 2019
Reflecting on Our 2019 One Little Words
Welcome to the final installment of Spiritual Journey Thursday for 2019! Per our tradition, today's posts will focus on our experiences with whatever was our 2019 One Little Word.
When I selected the word "Happy," I didn't know where it would lead our how it would impact my life. I guess we never do know at the start of the year! Choosing the word resulted in one of my favorite ARTSPEAK! projects ever: ARTSPEAK! Happy. I loved writing happy, joyful poems inspired by art featuring sunny oranges and yellows. It was definitely a highlight of my year. And it has indeed been a happy year, at least for the most part. One of the things I'm learning in my spiritual life is to not be so attached to my feelings. I've adopted the habit of acknowledging a feeling, and then allowing myself 90
seconds to feel it - and then letting it go. This has brought me a lot of relief from some painful feelings, and allows me to exist in a more contented (happy) place most of the time. Also, I've been reading this book: THE HAPPINESS PASSPORT: A World Tour of Joyful Living in 50 Words by Megan C. Hayes. Good stuff!
Usually by this time of year, I have an inkling as to what my next year's One Little Word might be. But this year I haven't a clue! So I am giving it to the universe -- I look forward to discovering the word in coming weeks.
For now I look forward to hearing about your experience this year with your One Little Word. Please leave your links in comments, and I will add them to the post. Happy day to all, and thanks for reading!
Ruth at no such thing as a godforsaken town talks about (im)possibility.
Margaret at Reflections on the Teche talks about grace.
Karen at Karen's Got a Blog takes us on an alphabet journey.
When I selected the word "Happy," I didn't know where it would lead our how it would impact my life. I guess we never do know at the start of the year! Choosing the word resulted in one of my favorite ARTSPEAK! projects ever: ARTSPEAK! Happy. I loved writing happy, joyful poems inspired by art featuring sunny oranges and yellows. It was definitely a highlight of my year. And it has indeed been a happy year, at least for the most part. One of the things I'm learning in my spiritual life is to not be so attached to my feelings. I've adopted the habit of acknowledging a feeling, and then allowing myself 90
seconds to feel it - and then letting it go. This has brought me a lot of relief from some painful feelings, and allows me to exist in a more contented (happy) place most of the time. Also, I've been reading this book: THE HAPPINESS PASSPORT: A World Tour of Joyful Living in 50 Words by Megan C. Hayes. Good stuff!Usually by this time of year, I have an inkling as to what my next year's One Little Word might be. But this year I haven't a clue! So I am giving it to the universe -- I look forward to discovering the word in coming weeks.
For now I look forward to hearing about your experience this year with your One Little Word. Please leave your links in comments, and I will add them to the post. Happy day to all, and thanks for reading!
Ruth at no such thing as a godforsaken town talks about (im)possibility.
Margaret at Reflections on the Teche talks about grace.
Karen at Karen's Got a Blog takes us on an alphabet journey.
November 30, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: TEST
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Hour... BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.</a><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="font-style: normal;"><div style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbJRbgZiKH..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbJRbgZiKH..." width="213" /></a>I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on <a href="https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/p/th... Butterfly Hours</a> tab above.</span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">This month's prompts are </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;">straws, studio, stuffed animal, summer job, tattoos, telephone, tennis court, test, theater.</i><br /><br /></div><b>TEST</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I was generally good at school – good at memorization and test-taking. But once in 3<sup>rd</sup> Grade we were required to memorize and recite in front of the class the names of the 50 states. Most (all?) of my classmates memorized the list alphabetically. But I, for whatever reason, learned my geographically starting with Florida (where we lived at the time) and then moving up and across the country from there. I was careful to remember Alaska and Hawaii, but still I somehow missed a state or two in the midwest. I was disappointed in my performance, and also embarrassed. It wasn't until afterward that my teacher pointed out my (different) memorization style might have played a part. She didn't say my method was wrong, just that it was perhaps more difficult. I' look back on the experience with some fondness, simply because it shows me being ME – imperfect and a little bit different. These days we have words for all different types of learners, but back then I just knew learning by a list was not for me! (I still love maps.) </div><br />
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: THEATER
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Hour... BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.</a><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="font-style: normal;"><div style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbJRbgZiKH..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbJRbgZiKH..." width="213" /></a>I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on <a href="https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/p/th... Butterfly Hours</a> tab above.</span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">This month's prompts are </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;">straws, studio, stuffed animal, summer job, tattoos, telephone, tennis court, test, theater.</i><br /><br /><b>THEATER</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The first musical theater I can remember was a church production of LIL' ABNER. I'm sure there is very much wrong with it, and likely today I wouldn't enjoy the (southern “hillbilly”) stereotypes presented, but wee me LOVED it! It was the beginning of a lifelong love of theater that has included many Broadway plays and musical, seen in New York, London, Birmingham (local theater as well as the Birmingham Broadway series), and most recently <a href="http://coveredbridgeplayers.com/"... Covered Bridge Players</a> located in Oneonta, AL. (Don't discount local theater! A passionate group of amateurs can be magical on stage!)<br /><br />Two pretty predictable favorites musicals: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and LES MISERABLES, both of which Paul and I have seen multiple times. As for plays, I am a huge fan of <a href="http://argurney.com/">A.R. Gurney</a>'s work. And Paul and I enjoy introducing youngsters to theater... most recently we've taken the Buttercups to see ANNIE, WICKED, THE LITTLE MERMAID, and MATILDA. We are lucky in Alabama to have a premier theater: <a href="https://asf.net/">Alabama Shakespeare Festival</a> in Montgomery, AL. I'm grateful to my parents for making theater a part of my life, and I look forward to whatever show we'll see next! (#1 on my to-see list: HARRY POTTER.)</div><br />
November 28, 2019
Thankful Poem
Hello and Happy Thanksgiving! On Friday be sure to visit Bridget at wee words for wee ones to partake of Poetry Friday Roundup!
I am still buzzing from the loveliness that was NCTE... and also enjoying a quieter week this week with my family. But I did want to pop in with a new thankful (love) poem...
... and a re-run of a favorite from ARTSPEAK: Happy! It's reminiscent of the "God is great, God is good" prayer from my youth. I hope it reminds you of a happy time in your life!
I am still buzzing from the loveliness that was NCTE... and also enjoying a quieter week this week with my family. But I did want to pop in with a new thankful (love) poem...
... and a re-run of a favorite from ARTSPEAK: Happy! It's reminiscent of the "God is great, God is good" prayer from my youth. I hope it reminds you of a happy time in your life!
November 19, 2019
5 Things I Love About NCTE #ncte19
1. So. Many. BOOKS! And so many ardent book-lovers (like me!).
2. Filling up my writer's notebook with tips and inspiration during panels.
3. Meeting readers, authors, educators and introducing my newest title(s) -- this year it's DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD: Poems, Quotes and Anecdotes from A-Z, co-written with Charles Waters.
4. Catching up with dear only-see-them-once-a-year-always-in-my-heart friends over tea, bagels, pizza, ice cream...
5. Learning: about the world, other people, books, and myself.
and, best of all:
(BONUS) coming home with the pockets of my soul so very full.
See you there!
2. Filling up my writer's notebook with tips and inspiration during panels.
3. Meeting readers, authors, educators and introducing my newest title(s) -- this year it's DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD: Poems, Quotes and Anecdotes from A-Z, co-written with Charles Waters.4. Catching up with dear only-see-them-once-a-year-always-in-my-heart friends over tea, bagels, pizza, ice cream...
5. Learning: about the world, other people, books, and myself.
and, best of all:
(BONUS) coming home with the pockets of my soul so very full.
See you there!
