Irene Latham's Blog, page 40
August 13, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: PAPER
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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
PAPER
During my senior year in high school we were asked to choose a topic for a research paper. I loved all things Renaissance, so I decided to write about what it meant to be a “Renaissance Man.” (An example of a Renaissance Man: Leonardo da Vinci, a person who was talented and knowledgeable in many areas and made contributions as a painter, inventor, engineer, philosopher, and more.) My teacher Mrs. Roby at Hewitt-Trussville high school was not a fan of my topic! Little did she know that I AM a renaissance woman – and that I would continue to develop these many facets of myself over my lifetime. I've recently learned another word for this: polymath – which isn't nearly so romantic a word! (I'm pretty sure it was the romanticism that Mrs. Roby objected to... sigh. Though wiser now, I will forever be a romantic!) Also, in this age of specialization, it seems polymaths are much less common. Most advice given to young people suggests they find their “thing,” and that they should find it early and stick with it. Well. That may work for some. But for me, the world is far to big and wondrous for me to stay in just one lane! I contain multitudes, and all that... I want to experience it all!Anyhow, I always got good grades on papers. I shudder now remembering those formulaic assignments... I love taking chances with words and form and content. It's one of the reason I love poetry so much!
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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
PAPER
During my senior year in high school we were asked to choose a topic for a research paper. I loved all things Renaissance, so I decided to write about what it meant to be a “Renaissance Man.” (An example of a Renaissance Man: Leonardo da Vinci, a person who was talented and knowledgeable in many areas and made contributions as a painter, inventor, engineer, philosopher, and more.) My teacher Mrs. Roby at Hewitt-Trussville high school was not a fan of my topic! Little did she know that I AM a renaissance woman – and that I would continue to develop these many facets of myself over my lifetime. I've recently learned another word for this: polymath – which isn't nearly so romantic a word! (I'm pretty sure it was the romanticism that Mrs. Roby objected to... sigh. Though wiser now, I will forever be a romantic!) Also, in this age of specialization, it seems polymaths are much less common. Most advice given to young people suggests they find their “thing,” and that they should find it early and stick with it. Well. That may work for some. But for me, the world is far to big and wondrous for me to stay in just one lane! I contain multitudes, and all that... I want to experience it all!Anyhow, I always got good grades on papers. I shudder now remembering those formulaic assignments... I love taking chances with words and form and content. It's one of the reason I love poetry so much!
August 12, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: PAJAMAS (poem)
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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
PAJAMAS
I'm not finding a lot of pajama memories in the vault. Maybe because I have always worn nightgowns, and I already wrote about that! I don't recall any of my siblings wearing pajamas either – my father and the boys pretty much just wore their underwear... and my mother and sister wore nightgowns, like me :) I do have some vague notion about us all wearing matching pajamas for Christmas morning – but I might be confusing that memory with my sister's family (who, does, in fact, dress in matching pajamas for Christmas morning photos). As an adult I wear pajamas quite a lot – but not to sleep in. It's one of the perks of being a writer and spending a lot of time at home. So I've decided to write a pajama poem!
P.J. Days
I spend most daysin my p.j.s
not sleeping, no –tapping away,
my mind ablazelost in a story-haze
as I search for wordsto delight and amaze –
so cozy in my p.j.son these always-writing days.
- Irene Latham
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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
PAJAMAS
I'm not finding a lot of pajama memories in the vault. Maybe because I have always worn nightgowns, and I already wrote about that! I don't recall any of my siblings wearing pajamas either – my father and the boys pretty much just wore their underwear... and my mother and sister wore nightgowns, like me :) I do have some vague notion about us all wearing matching pajamas for Christmas morning – but I might be confusing that memory with my sister's family (who, does, in fact, dress in matching pajamas for Christmas morning photos). As an adult I wear pajamas quite a lot – but not to sleep in. It's one of the perks of being a writer and spending a lot of time at home. So I've decided to write a pajama poem!
P.J. Days
I spend most daysin my p.j.s
not sleeping, no –tapping away,
my mind ablazelost in a story-haze
as I search for wordsto delight and amaze –
so cozy in my p.j.son these always-writing days.
- Irene Latham
August 9, 2019
"If You Bring a Mule to School" poem and Summer Reading Report #1
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone for Roundup.*First a moment of silence for one Lee Bennett Hopkins. I prepared this post before I heard the news of his death, as I am traveling. One of the great honors of my poetic life has been being included in some of Lee's anthologies and receiving awards in Lee's name. Lee has done so much to promote poetry and to nurture poets. What a gift to the world! I'm grateful for every word and interaction. My thoughts are with all whose lives were touched by him.
This year as my summer reading project, I decided to revisit Marguerite Henry's body of work. I'm on book #7 of the 16 volume boxed set, and today I'd like to share something from each book... and also a fresh poem inspired by one of the books. Here goes:
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>BENJAMIN WEST AND HIS CAT GRIMALKIN </b>- based on the true life of Benjamin West, known as "the father of American painting."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"The hours flew. Often he caught himself humming like a teakettle. Happiness seemed to bubble up inside him whenever he painted."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><b>BLACK GOLD</b> – based on the heartbreaking true story about 1924 Kentucky Derby winner whose trainer later decided not to do surgery to correct quarter crack in hoof, and Black Gold never won another race and then broke leg in final race and had to be put down. You can visit his memorial at centerfield of Fair Ground Park.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">“'Patience is the trick, Jaydee,' Griffin would explain. 'Time is like a rubber band. It stretches some, but if you pull it to the breaking point, it snaps back and hits you in the face. Never rush a colt. Long, slow workouts are the ticket. Colts are just like youngsters, Jaydee. Rush '</span><span style="font-size: large;">em and they get so excited they're too tired to rest at night; they want to bite and kick and play until they're clean tuckered out. You try it slow and patience, my boy, and you'll get results.'”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>BORN TO TROT </b>- about the beginnings of America's "Trotter" breed and sport.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"He had no oats to offer, no sugar. He wanted no cupboard love from Rosalind. She was no pet, no plaything. She was a magnificent creature of bone and brawn and satin, with years of trotting music bred in her. He wanted her only to accept him as part of the sights and sounds and smells of her life, to go on about her business aware of him but not wary."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>BRIGHTY OF THE GRAND CANYON</b> - a burro's adventures with man and nature in the place he makes his home. There's also a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061424/... by the same name</a>... anyone seen it? It's on my to-watch list!</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"With tired feet Brighty tested the welcoming green carpet. His hoofs sank deep. He doubled his legs like a jackknife and fell into its softness. A great peace came over him. For along time he lay still, as if bedding down for the night. Then wanting to feel more of it, he began rolling blissfully, this way and that, enjoying the springiness of the grass after his rocky canyon beds. At last he rose to crop the juicy blades. A doe and her spotted twins came to share his retreat, but they gazed wet-nosed at him from a little distance.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sun dipped low and purpled the shadows across the meadow. Brighty heaved a sigh. The meadow as just where it should be. He had rolled in it. He had eaten his fill of it. Now to find his secret cave and then to give himself to sleep."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>CINNABAR, THE ONE O'CLOCK FOX </b>- this one could be my favorite, and it's not even about a horse. :)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Cinnabar was, in truth, afraid of nothing. Neither of dark, nor of storm; nor of hunters nor hounds. He was free and unfearing, the very spirit of the wilds."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Though why they called it Honey Hill, he would never know. Not once had he seen or heard a single honeybee. Oh, well, man's ways were wondrous strange and he was not one to other his head trying to change things that were. They just were, and that was an end to it."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"By now the pot was boiling. 'The water has stopped smiling; it's laughing out loud!' Mischief announced as she looked into the steaming pot."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">“'Life is nice and round,' he continued reflectively. 'No beginning. No ending. I am now arrived at an age when you, my children, will carry on for me.'”</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>BROWN SUNSHINE OF SAWDUST VALLEY </b>- about a horse-loving girl who doesn't get the horse she wants at an auction... but gets a big surprise when the horse she does bring home foals a mule colt! I learned about Mule Day and mule parades, as Brown Sunshine was asked to be Mule King. Next year I'd like to go to Columbia TN for their Mule Day, which has a 100 year history <a href="http://muleday.org/">http://m... style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">And now.... a poem! Because there are a lot of stereotypes about mules. But what if we decided to learn from them instead of thinking we have them all figured out? Enjoy!</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aaSgVMZYPS..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aaSgVMZYPS..." width="400" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>If You Bring a Mule to School</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Don't be surprised</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">if your teacher learns a thing or two:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">what one calls <i>stubborn</i> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">is sometimes <i>patience</i> in disguise</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>mischievous</i> can be code </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">for <i>intensely curious</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and nothing is silkier</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">more miraculous</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">more rousing</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">than a long pair</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">of (teacherly) ears</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">listening, simply </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> listening.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><i>- Irene Latham</i><br /><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } A:link { so-language: zxx } </style> -->
August 7, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: OFFICE
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="font-style: normal; page-break-before: always;">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="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><span style="font-family: roboto, arial;">This month's prompts are</span><span style="font-family: roboto, arial;"> </span><i style="font-family: roboto, arial;">notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.</i><br /><b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b><b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">OFFICE</span></span></span></b><br /><b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">I was generally a good student, so it came as a surprise to me and everyone else when I found myself in the principal's office – getting a paddling! Yep. It happened when I was in 9</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><sup><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">Grade, the first year I moved to Birmingham. This was a tough, tough year for me, but I was not a trouble maker! So how did I end up in the principal's office? There was an incident on riding home on the bus in which the vinyl covering on the back of one of the seats had a tear in it. With a little help from some eager hands, the tear got larger, and some of the stuffing started to spill out. Mine was not one of the hands doing this damage, but because I was at the scene of the crime, I got paddled for it.</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">I should also note that I was paddled (3 licks, if I recall correctly) before my parents were ever contacted. I was alone in my (male) principal's office and asked to bend over and put my hands on his desk while he swung the wooden paddle at my rear. I remember feeling embarrassed, vulnerable, angry, misunderstood... </span></span></span></div><br />
August 5, 2019
Learning from Elephants
I've just read with great pleasure (and deep sadness, at the end) The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence, adapted for young readers by Thea Feldman.Here's a quote that resonates:
"The 'eureka' moment with Nana [matriarch elephant] really drove home to me the essence of communicating with any animal. Whether it is a pet dog or a wild elephant, communications is not so much about the reach as it is about the acknowledgment. It's the acknowledgment that does it. In the animal kingdom, communication is a two-way street, just as it is with humans. If you are not letting them know that their communication has reached you, if you don't acknowledge it somehow, there can be no communication. It's as simple as that."
August 4, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: NOTEBOOK
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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
NOTEBOOK
When I first moved to Birmingham, I soon made friends with Michelle, who lived near me and rode the same bus. Because we didn't share many classes, we started a notebook to help us survive the school days – she would write in it, and I would write back. Our letters to each other would go for pages and pages, and they are full of all the angsty stuff you expect from 9thgraders... lots of girl drama, like who said “hi” and who didn't, and “how could she do that” incidents, and how we didn't understand, and who we had crushes on, and what we were going to do that weekend, and how we were feeling, etc.
The notebook that survives is a 3 subject notebook, 120 pages of wide ruled paper with a blue cover. It chronicles just one week in our lives, after a fall-out with two other girls. (This totally sounds like a novel!) The title “Michelle & Irene's book” is emblazoned on the front with red marker in my handwriting, along with black-ink (in Michelle's handwriting) “Shell - - Rie: V/B/F/F/A/A (very best friends forever and always) and “David Lee Roth” and “4 our eyes only!” (the “eyes” are a drawing of actual eyes, not the word) and “me & Ken!” (Michelle dated my brother Ken for a time... I should write a blog post about all my crazy mixed up feelings about that!) and “I hate Shonda & Angie! X-friends forever!” (“forever” is underlined a few times for emphasis).
I kind of don't like the girl with my name writing in this notebook. But I have a lot of compassion for her, too. That was a tough time for me. 13/almost 14 year old me was in a lot of pain. I had just moved and was trying to find a place to fit in. I was confused and unsure about so many things. I didn't know where I belonged or who I wanted to become... so the notebook is pretty painful to read. What strikes me most is how deep the feelings about the tiniest interactions... a good reminder to take great care in speaking with kids in this age (or any age!) bracket. Important to acknowledge their feelings and to remember they may be confused and suffering, as I was. They need lots of smiles and patience and encouragement. Mostly I just want to give 9thgrade notebook-writing me a big hug and these words: Hang in there. It will get better.
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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
NOTEBOOK
When I first moved to Birmingham, I soon made friends with Michelle, who lived near me and rode the same bus. Because we didn't share many classes, we started a notebook to help us survive the school days – she would write in it, and I would write back. Our letters to each other would go for pages and pages, and they are full of all the angsty stuff you expect from 9thgraders... lots of girl drama, like who said “hi” and who didn't, and “how could she do that” incidents, and how we didn't understand, and who we had crushes on, and what we were going to do that weekend, and how we were feeling, etc.
The notebook that survives is a 3 subject notebook, 120 pages of wide ruled paper with a blue cover. It chronicles just one week in our lives, after a fall-out with two other girls. (This totally sounds like a novel!) The title “Michelle & Irene's book” is emblazoned on the front with red marker in my handwriting, along with black-ink (in Michelle's handwriting) “Shell - - Rie: V/B/F/F/A/A (very best friends forever and always) and “David Lee Roth” and “4 our eyes only!” (the “eyes” are a drawing of actual eyes, not the word) and “me & Ken!” (Michelle dated my brother Ken for a time... I should write a blog post about all my crazy mixed up feelings about that!) and “I hate Shonda & Angie! X-friends forever!” (“forever” is underlined a few times for emphasis).
I kind of don't like the girl with my name writing in this notebook. But I have a lot of compassion for her, too. That was a tough time for me. 13/almost 14 year old me was in a lot of pain. I had just moved and was trying to find a place to fit in. I was confused and unsure about so many things. I didn't know where I belonged or who I wanted to become... so the notebook is pretty painful to read. What strikes me most is how deep the feelings about the tiniest interactions... a good reminder to take great care in speaking with kids in this age (or any age!) bracket. Important to acknowledge their feelings and to remember they may be confused and suffering, as I was. They need lots of smiles and patience and encouragement. Mostly I just want to give 9thgrade notebook-writing me a big hug and these words: Hang in there. It will get better.
August 2, 2019
October Poem... Inside August!
Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Heidi at my juicy little universe for Roundup.
Today I've got a collision of two blog series: Poetry Friday and the Butterfly Hours. 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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
OCTOBER
I have written A LOT about October. It might be my favorite month. So instead of a memoir piece today, I've written a poem.
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </span></span></div></div><br /><div style="font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>October Dreams</b></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span></span><br /><br />Inside October<br />waits a field <br />of plump pumpkins. <br /><br />Inside a pumpkin <br />nests a clutch <br />of white seeds. <br /><br />Inside a seed <br />echoes a breath <br />of fresh hope. <br /><br />Inside hope <br />exists a world <br />where everyone holds hands. <br /><br />Inside a hand <br />rests a knife <br />to carve a pumpkin. <br /><br />Inside a pumpkin <br />lives a lifetime <br />of Octobers. <br /><br />Inside October <br />sleeps a child <br />with orange dreams. <br /><br /><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span></span><br /><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">----</span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><div style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal;">Wishing you orange dreams! xo</div></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span></span>
Today I've got a collision of two blog series: Poetry Friday and the Butterfly Hours. 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 month's prompts are notebook, October, office, pajamas, paper, party, pencil, perfume, phone book, photograph, pictures.
OCTOBER
I have written A LOT about October. It might be my favorite month. So instead of a memoir piece today, I've written a poem.
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </span></span></div></div><br /><div style="font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>October Dreams</b></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span></span><br /><br />Inside October<br />waits a field <br />of plump pumpkins. <br /><br />Inside a pumpkin <br />nests a clutch <br />of white seeds. <br /><br />Inside a seed <br />echoes a breath <br />of fresh hope. <br /><br />Inside hope <br />exists a world <br />where everyone holds hands. <br /><br />Inside a hand <br />rests a knife <br />to carve a pumpkin. <br /><br />Inside a pumpkin <br />lives a lifetime <br />of Octobers. <br /><br />Inside October <br />sleeps a child <br />with orange dreams. <br /><br /><div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span></span><br /><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">----</span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><div style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal;">Wishing you orange dreams! xo</div></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"></span></span>
August 1, 2019
On WHITE FRAGILITY (and Butterflies)
Hello and Happy Spiritual Journey Thursday! Today our topic is "change," and we're gathering at Margaret's Reflections on the Teche. Please take a look!My latest book with Charles Waters DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD: Poems, Quotes and Anecdotes from A to Z is thisclose to going to press. Hallelujah! This book was the most difficult book project I have encountered so far. It's 100% about CHANGE... mostly about how our first responsibility is to change ourselves.
As this kind of change is a lifelong journey, I come back often to this quote from Maya Angelou:
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
These words encourage me when I am neck-deep in revisions (like I am now, with a verse novel coming in 2021)... and they inspire me when I am working to achieve bigger changes, too. They've been in the forefront of my mind since reading WHITE FRAGILITY: Why It's So Hard for White People toTalk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br /><br />This book provides some useful language for talking about race, and some thoughts that were particularly helpful to me as I continue to learn and grow as a human. So much is about our simple willingness to change. Consider this excerpt from the book:<br /><br /><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">"</span>[Says the author to a person of color], “What would it be like if you could simply give us feedback, have us graciously receive it, reflect, and work to change the behavior?” Recently a man of color sighed and said, “It would be <i>revolutionary</i>.” I ask my fellow whites to consider the profundity of that response. It would be <i>revolutionary</i>if we could receive, reflect, and work to change the behavior. On the one hand, the man's response points to how difficult and fragile we are. But on the other hand, it indicates how simple it can be to take responsibility for our racism. However, we aren't likely to get there if we're operating from the dominant worldview that only intentionally mean people can participate in racism. <span style="font-size: large;">"</span></div><br /><br />I particularly appreciated the author's suggestions on receiving feedback from others about one's racist behavior:<br /><br />" 1. How, where, and when you give me feedback is irrelevant – it is the feedback I want and need. Understanding that it is hard to give, I will take it any way I can get it. From my position of social, cultural and institutional white power and privilege, I am perfectly safe and I can handle it. If I cannot handle it, <i>it's on me</i> to build my racial stamina.<br />2. Thank you."<br /><br />In order to truly change the world, I've got to be willing and committed to building my <b>racial stamina</b> (a term I love!). Which means being willing to be uncomfortable and to enter into conversations that might make me feel embarrassment, guilt, shame, and regret. I've got to walk around the world as a learner, willing to make mistakes in order to improve.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YJkjGhoGA5..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1440" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YJkjGhoGA5..." width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By © Derek Ramsey / <br />derekramsey.com, GFDL 1.2, <br />https://commons.wikimedia.org/<br />w/index.php?curid=1612827</td></tr></tbody></table>I know there's a butterfly waiting to emerge... and all my confusion and mistakes and scrambling around are just part of the process required for change. Thanks for being patient with me!<br /><br />As for those novel revisions, I've learned to just chip away at them every single day. All those little changes will eventually build up and become the story it was meant to be all along.<br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>
July 31, 2019
The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: NIGHTGOWN
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 month's prompts include: mail, moon, mouse, moving, museum, music, music lesson, name, necklace, neighbor, nightgown.
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </i><br />--> <div style="page-break-before: always;"><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"><b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">NIGHTGOWN</span></span></span></span></b></i></div><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"></i><div style="font-weight: normal;"><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">My mother has made many memorable gifts for me over the years, but one of the most beloved was the Christmas she made matching nightgowns for me and my sister and our two new dolls. The gowns were blue-speckled for me and my doll, red-speckled for Lynn and her doll. (This was before big-name companies offered this same service or could even create a doll that looks like the person.) All featured a Raggedy Ann & Andy, red rick-rack and lace trim. I can't remember the name of my sister's doll, but mine was called “Pamela Jane.” Fortunately a photograph of all four of us survives (and perhaps is the reason the memory survives):</span></span></span></span></i></div><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z60qlW9dA5..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z60qlW9dA5..." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irene & Lynn</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div></i>
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 month's prompts include: mail, moon, mouse, moving, museum, music, music lesson, name, necklace, neighbor, nightgown.
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </i><br />--> <div style="page-break-before: always;"><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"><b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">NIGHTGOWN</span></span></span></span></b></i></div><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"></i><div style="font-weight: normal;"><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">My mother has made many memorable gifts for me over the years, but one of the most beloved was the Christmas she made matching nightgowns for me and my sister and our two new dolls. The gowns were blue-speckled for me and my doll, red-speckled for Lynn and her doll. (This was before big-name companies offered this same service or could even create a doll that looks like the person.) All featured a Raggedy Ann & Andy, red rick-rack and lace trim. I can't remember the name of my sister's doll, but mine was called “Pamela Jane.” Fortunately a photograph of all four of us survives (and perhaps is the reason the memory survives):</span></span></span></span></i></div><i style="color: #222222; font-family: roboto, arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z60qlW9dA5..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z60qlW9dA5..." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irene & Lynn</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div></i>
July 29, 2019
Movie Monday: ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD
I can't think of another movie this year that my family and I have talked about more than ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD. And you know, I am not one for violent anything, so Quentin Tarantino films aren't typically my thing.But. Violence or no, Tarantino is quite a storyteller.
And this story... well, it's historical fiction, set in 1969 Hollywood. It features fabulous performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. I completely related to the young actress played by Margot Robbie -- her delight upon seeing her name on a marquis, how she had to tell the ticket taker she was in the movie, and how much she enjoyed being a witness to moviegoers' reactions to her performance. (Like walking into a bookstore and finding one's book... or hearing from readers... or visiting a classroom.)
There were so many beautiful things about this movie -- the music, the visuals, the sounds... this is like a love poem to old Hollywood. One of my favorites was the almost-dark shots where Hollywood businesses were turning on their neon signs. You could hear the click and buzz... and those old signs are stunning. There are actually quite a lot of moments like that in the movie.
And while it is a long movie (161 minutes), it didn't feel long. I totally wanted to see how the story ended. And THEN, I had to close my eyes through the final (violent!) scenes. But I still think this movie deserves Oscar consideration... lots to enjoy, and kind of a throwback to real, classic movies. And did I mention we're still talking about it? Yep.
