Irene Latham's Blog, page 79

To A Glorious Girl

"Glorious Girl" by Mimi DeitrichHello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure and visit beautiful Tara at A Teaching Life for Roundup!

Once again, this Friday has me traveling. But it's all good -- I am talking about many of the things I love: books and quilts and writing and history and family... I'm grateful to be invited to share these things with groups of all ages.

Tomorrow I will be in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sharing with a quilt group and also signing at Ernest and Hadley Books. Roll Tide! (says the Auburn fan. :)

Mimi & her quilt (and my poem)Today I'm delighted to share with you another happy National Poetry Month event. Thank you, Laura Shovan, for sharing with me about the Blossoms of Hope exhibit at the Columbia Art Center, which displayed, during the month of April, artworks and poems inspired by them.

I selected a quilt, of course! "Glorious Girl" by Mimi Deitrich (pictured above). Not only do I love the colors in the quilt, the quilting, but it also contains a line from THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES. I knew instantly that's what I wanted to write about! (Thank you, Laura, for sharing the pictures from the opening reception with me!) And here is my poem:

To a Glorious Girl
Girl, just look at your gloriousbrown-black-pink-tan-pale-freckled-red skin,your smile your teethyour hands your knees –
the way you thinkthe way you speak
and all the things you do –No one else in the worldis exactly like you, glorious you!
Sometimes it may seemlike the world is growing colder.Hold tight, glorious girl,tomorrow will be better.
And when you say to your best friend,you can do it; I'll be right beside you,
turn around and say those same wordsto those glorious eyes ears chinwrapped in that glorious brown-black-pink-tan-pale-freckled-red skin
you see in the mirror.
- Irene Latham <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=..." width="100%"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "bookman old style" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">And to all you mother's out there: Happy Mother's Day!</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "bookman old style" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "bookman old style" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "bookman old style" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span>

A Few Highlights from We Love Gee's Bend Day!

Claudia Pettway Charley, Irene Latham,
China Pettway, Mary Allison Haynie,
Mary Ann Pettway & Lillis Taylor
(now that's a quilt-loving bunch!)As I continue my catch-up posts, it seems particularly appropriate that I should be blogging about a Gee's Bend event on the very same day when I am driving down to Camden, where I will give presentations to students in both Camden and Gee's Bend! It's a beautiful time of year to visit Wilcox County, and I am so grateful to Sulynn Creswell at Black Belt Treasures for arranging my visit. More on this soon!

For now I just have to tell you: We Love Gee's Bend Day! was a-mazing. What a great launch for the new paperback edition of Leaving Gee's Bend . Here is a video of China Pettway and Mary Ann Pettway singing "Steal Away":




I was so touched by the things people shared about how their lives have been affected by the quilts and the quilters. What a warm, generous community! Here's a very special young reader sharing her thoughts and favorite passage:





And here is a link to Ann Griffin reading her favorite passage. (I had to link, or else Blogger might explode from all the video!)

Finally, here is a photo collage of a few of the speakers. I'm so grateful!

Claudia Pettway Charley and I decided we'd like to team up to do some presentations, so if your group is interested in hearing from and author AND a former Gee's Bend resident/quilter, we would love to share our stories with you! Contact irene (at) irenelatham (dot) com.

Bonus photo: Here's me with China and Mary Ann, way back at the 2010 launch party for Leaving Gee's Bend! (It was January. Brrr.)

Mary Ann Pettway, Irene Latham, China Pettway

When Poetry Meets Picasso (at Oakwood University)

Last month it was my privilege to visit Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, where, among other things, I hijacked Dr. Kem Roper's creative writing class for a session about poetry inspired by art. I shared with them some of the ways I approach writing after art, and also offered some tips and prompts for their own writing.

Here are the students choosing postcard images to write about:

To read a couple of amazing student poems at Dr. Roper's blog, click here ("Woman Enough") and here ("Keys"). SO inspiring!

Thierry LundyAlso inspiring was the performance poet Thierry Lundy who preceded me at the evening's reading. Wow! I loved the wordplay in his poem, his performance, and the message, which reminded me of this picture my son Eric snapped during spring break at Tybee Island (GA) pier:






on the pier at Tybee Island, GA

Dr. Benson Prigg
(head of the English Dept.
and all around inspiring guy!)I have said it before and I will say it again: it's an honor to be asked to do the thing I love, which is to share my stories and poems with readers -- and to help writers learn to tell their own stories. So often I come away inspired and rejuvenated, ready to tackle that revision or start some new piece. It's a gift TO ME to spend this time with students. I love it. Thank you for inviting me, Oakwood University! I was struck by the loving, nurturing environment at your school. What a lovely place to grow and write.

Dr. Ramona Hyman Because this event happened to coincide with the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I wanted to read a poem in his memory. I had selected a poem beforehand, but after Dr. Ramona Hyman shared her book of poems I AM BLACK AMERICA with me, I discovered a poem of hers that I had to share. Thank you, Ramona, for also giving me permission to share it here!

Psalms: for the Blues II
by Ramona Hyman

In the rain
We three drag a blues

This blues not
Musicology books about
One strand guitars
And Black boys blowing
Music from soda bottles

with Dr. Kem RoperThe blues is real
It's calluses for hands
Chicken, pig feet, and biscuits
On a Tuesday morning for food

It's real
Like bad feet, corns
And bruised bitten lips

This blues not
Intellectuals arguing
Authenticity in an old
Mississippi upper room
This blues: walking
Down highway 61
To a grave-digging job

It's a dirty boy's lyric
A laundry woman's lament
It's real

Chisels deacons, a church full
Singing gospel songs
Etches deaconess
Chanting, chanting

This blues sweeps
Trying' to purge a spiritual
In a country back room scene.
-------
This poem first appeared in African American Review.


Isn't that wonderful? I am honored to have my very own copy of this book, thanks to Ramona.

Also please keep in mind that while these were college students, students of all ages can write poems inspired by art! If you're interested in this workshop for your group, please contact me by email irene (at) irenelatham (dot) com.

Tiger Poems and the Problem with Reviewing Poetry Books

Isabella helping me during a poetry sessionHello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit delicious Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup for Roundup. (If I was really with it, I would have posted something food-related today! Alas. I know Jama's got us covered!)

A couple of posts I invite you to read:
Brenda's "Self-Portrait of a Wildflower" poem (which also includes my "Self-Portrait as a Tangerine" and some great interview questions). Thank you, Brenda!

A post I wrote for Smack Dab in the Middle about writing and quilting and words and... Anne Lamott. :)

MORE about Anne Lamott, including my takeaways from her recent visit to Birmingham. 

OKAY. And now for today's poetry post! Last weekend it was my distinct pleasure to share my work at the inaugural Reader Riot Book Festival in Florence, Alabama. It will take me a few posts to cover all the highlights, but I will get there!

One of my duties was to host a "My Favorite Poem" session, in which members of the community share favorite poems and tell why they are important in their lives. Imagine my surprise and delight when one little girl, Savannah (whose face was painted like a tiger), got up and read my "Tiger" poem from ARTSPEAK! Portraits! So so honored. Thank you, Savannah!




In my hunt for other tiger poems, I found an interesting post by Betsy Bird, about HYPNOTIZING A TIGER by Calef Brown. She praises the poetry, but admits her difficulty in reviewing poetry books. She also writes this sad sad line:

"They [poetry books] are the most unloved of the books for kids."

I guess it's true by the measures Betsy cites. BUT. All one needs to do is visit Poetry Friday to find out that we who love poetry are the most passionate readers of all! I would really love to hear your thoughts on this in comments.

And now for some tiger poems, beginning with arguably the most famous tiger poem of all:

The Tyger by William Blake
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night, 
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? 

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 
On what wings dare he aspire? 
What the hand, dare sieze the fire? 

And what shoulder, & what art, 
Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 
And when thy heart began to beat, 
What dread hand? And what dread feet? 

What the hammer? what the chain? 
In what furnace was thy brain? 
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp? 

When the stars threw down their spears, 
And water'd heaven with their tears, 
Did he smile his work to see? 
Did he who made the Lamb make thee? 

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night, 
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?--------------------
tiger by Valerie Worth

The tiger
Has swallowed
A black sun,

In his cold
Cage he
Carries it still:

Black flames
Flicker through
His fur,

Black rays roar
from the centers
Of his eyes.

---------------------...and this one from BOOK OF ANIMAL POETRY, edited by J. Patrick Lewis.

Anyone else have a tiger poem to share?

Reaching with Michelangelo and an Octopus Named Agnes

Hello and Happy Spiritual Journey Thursday! Today we are writing on the topic of "Reach," which is Donna's One Little Word. Be sure and visit Mainely Write to read everyone's responses!

When I think about "Reach," I think about getting out of my comfort zone. I think about trying new things, being willing to fail, s t r e t c h i n g.

Sometimes the hardest thing for me is reaching out to another person. I don't want to be rebuffed or rejected. It makes me think of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam." What beauty there is in that breath between those two fingers! And what makes it beautiful to me is the anticipation of touch, the reaching, the beauty and openness of that moment-- before we know what happens next.

What if reaching is its own reward? How would my life expand if I let go of the whatever-comes-after, and just be in that moment of reaching? Truly, I want to live in that space between the fingers, where what comes before or after doesn't matter.

Dear friends, today I will try.

Also, I wanted to share a poem that comes to mind -- one I shared in a post on this blog way back in 2005!

A Writer and an Octopus

A writer and an octopus
Share more than you may think
Their reach sometimes exceeds their grasp
As they waste a lot of ink

- Sue Walker, former Poet Laureate of Alabama

ha! ... and that reminds me of 2 things:

1. a prayer from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron:



2. My picture book THE OCTOPUS POSTCARDS, which started as a poem (you can read it at Greg Pincus's blog Gotta Book, from back in April 2013), coming from Lerner in fall 2018! Thea Baker is doing the illustrations. I can't wait to see her work! Here's what she said about the book:

"Brilliantly funny," y'all! I've never written a funny book in my life. Leave it to an octopus named Agnes to bring it out of me. :) Talk about reaching....
Happy Spiritual Journey Thursday! xo

HALLELUJAH ANYWAY and Other Wisdom from Anne Lamott

Now that ARTSPEAK! Portraits is a fait accompli, it's time to play catch-up. And boy oh boy, do I have a long list of posts to share with you!

Let's start with the one and only Anne Lamott, who visited Birmingham in early April. (My May 3 blog post at Smack Dab in the Middle also mentions Anne!) This was my second time to hear Anne speak, and this time Paul was with me. Anne's visit was part of her book tour for her latest book HALLELUJAH ANYWAY: Rediscovering Mercy. As always, there was much to celebrate in that room, and I came away with quite a few scribbles in ye ol' notebook. Here's a sampling:

Mercy is radical kindness.

Help is the sunny side of control.

Shade is a form of mercy.

Willingness comes from pain.

Every human deserves to feel loved, chosen, and safe.

Holding resentments is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.

If you don't reveal it, you can't heal it.

2 powerful words: "Me, too."

The opposite of mercy is shame.

What is GOD? a Gift Of Desperation.
---------------
Anne also shared an e.e. cummings poem and mentioned these three poets as ones she enjoys reading: Denise Levertov, Sharon Olds, Mary Oliver. The book opens with "Famous" by Naomi Shihab Nye. Do I have to say I felt right at home? Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

ARTSPEAK! Portraits poem "Wild Horse"

Hello and welcome to the final day (!) of ARTSPEAK! Portraits, my 2017 National Poetry Month poem-a-day project, during which I am looking, listening with my spirit ear, and asking these subject to share with me their secrets. 


It's also the final day of our Progressive Poem! Be sure to check in with Laura at Writing the World for Kids to read the poem in is entirety. We need a title, friends! Anyone?

And now, here are the ARTSPEAK! Portraits poems so far:
29. "Girl and Dog" after Girl with a Dog by Pierre Auguste Renoir
28. "Sun and Moon" after The Laughing Boy by Robert Henri
27. "Weather Report" after Self-Portrait 1923 by Abraham Angel
26. "The Way You Look at Me" after Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
25. "Gratitude" after Tahitian Woman's Head by Paul Gaugin
24. "The Postman in Spring" after Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, April 1888 by Vincent van Gogh
23. "Dark the Day" after Little Dutch Girl by Robert Henri
22. "Tiger" after Tiger by Hwang Jong-ha
21. "Self-Portrait as a Painter" after Self-Portrait as a Painter by Vincent van Gogh
20. "What to Do in the Desert" after Nubian Girl by Ervand Demirdjian
19. "In Summer" after In Summer by Auguste-Pierre Renoir
18. "Night" after The Outlier by Frederic Sackrider Remington
17. "Boy Blowing Bubbles" after The Bubble Boy by Paul Peel
16. "Morning" after Buki Rinsen by Tsuchida Bakusen
15. "When Papa Paints" after Portrait of Anne by George Wesley Bellows
14. "Whistler's Mother" after Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler
13. "In the Company of Kittens" after Contentment 1900 by Henriette Ronner-Knip
12. "Sixteen" after Jeanne Hubuturne-1919 by Amedeo Modigliani
11. "Promise" after Portrait of a Little Italian Girl by Maria Kroyer
10. "Portrait of a Writer" after Oskar Maria Graf by Georg Schrimpf
9. "Speaking of the Weather" after Profile of a Woman by Fujishima Takeji
8. "Happiness" after Self-Portrait with Straw Hat by Elisabeth Vigee le Brun
7. "Virginia, Sitting for a Portrait" after Portrait of Virginia (Little Girl) by Frida Kahlo6. "Paint-by-Number" after Portrait of a Woman by Alexei von Jawlensky4. "I Am" after The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas by George Catlin
3. "What If?" after Portrait of Camille Roulin by Vincent van Gogh2. "The Lady Confesses" after Portrait of a Lady with Mask and Cherries by Benjamin Wilson1. "Mona Lisa in Love" after Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Today's poem is on one of my most favorite things... which made it maybe THE most difficult poem for me to write! What hasn't already been written about a horse? What does this horse want me to know? I'm still listening, but here's what I've heard so far:

Wild Horse - after "Rearing Horse" by Leonardo da Vinci
unbroken geography
choreography      with hooves
calligraphy with      a heartbeat
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">               poetry </span></span></span></span></strong></div><span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times";"><i>- Irene Latham</i></span><br /><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=..." width="100%"></iframe><span style="font-family: "times";"><i>---------------------</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times";">And that's the end of ARTSPEAK! Portraits! Wow, what a fun month this has been! I am looking forward to sharing in the coming weeks about all my other April adventures... and the May ones, too. What a beehive spring! More soon. xo</span>

ARTSPEAK! Portraits poem "Girl and Dog"

Hello and welcome to day 29 of ARTSPEAK! Portraits, my 2017 National Poetry Month poem-a-day project, during which I am looking, listening with my spirit ear, and asking these subject to share with me their secrets. 

Today I am in Florence, Alabama for the inaugural Reader Riot Book Festival! Fun.

Can you believe we are almost done with our Progressive Poem? Be sure to check in with my good friend Charles at Poetry Time to read the latest.
And now, here are the ARTSPEAK! Portraits poems so far:
28. "Sun & Moon" after The Laughing Boy by Robert Henri
27. "Weather Report" after Self-Portrait 1923 by Abraham Angel
26. "The Way You Look at Me" after Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
25. "Gratitude" after Tahitian Woman's Head by Paul Gaugin
24. "The Postman in Spring" after Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, April 1888 by Vincent van Gogh
23. "Dark the Day" after Little Dutch Girl by Robert Henri
22. "Tiger" after Tiger by Hwang Jong-ha
21. "Self-Portrait as a Painter" after Self-Portrait as a Painter by Vincent van Gogh
20. "What to Do in the Desert" after Nubian Girl by Ervand Demirdjian
19. "In Summer" after In Summer by Auguste-Pierre Renoir
18. "Night" after The Outlier by Frederic Sackrider Remington
17. "Boy Blowing Bubbles" after The Bubble Boy by Paul Peel
16. "Morning" after Buki Rinsen by Tsuchida Bakusen
15. "When Papa Paints" after Portrait of Anne by George Wesley Bellows
14. "Whistler's Mother" after Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler
13. "In the Company of Kittens" after Contentment 1900 by Henriette Ronner-Knip
12. "Sixteen" after Jeanne Hubuturne-1919 by Amedeo Modigliani
11. "Promise" after Portrait of a Little Italian Girl by Maria Kroyer
10. "Portrait of a Writer" after Oskar Maria Graf by Georg Schrimpf
9. "Speaking of the Weather" after Profile of a Woman by Fujishima Takeji
8. "Happiness" after Self-Portrait with Straw Hat by Elisabeth Vigee le Brun
7. "Virginia, Sitting for a Portrait" after Portrait of Virginia (Little Girl) by Frida Kahlo6. "Paint-by-Number" after Portrait of a Woman by Alexei von Jawlensky4. "I Am" after The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas by George Catlin
3. "What If?" after Portrait of Camille Roulin by Vincent van Gogh2. "The Lady Confesses" after Portrait of a Lady with Mask and Cherries by Benjamin Wilson1. "Mona Lisa in Love" after Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Today's portrait is a really sweet one. Here's what this little girl wants you to know:

Girl and Dog - after “Girl with a Dog” by Pierre Auguste Renoir bone and holespoon and bowl
lick and wagbrush and rag
beg and fetchthrow and catch
feet and rugkiss and hug
lock and keyyou and me
- Irene Latham
<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=..." width="100%"></iframe>Keeping it simple today... I have been this little girl. :) Wishing everyone a happy Saturday! I will be at the festival all day today... just one more poem to go for this year's National Poetry Month!

ARTSPEAK! Portraits poem "Sun & Moon"

Hello and welcome to day 28 of ARTSPEAK! Portraits, my 2017 National Poetry Month poem-a-day project, during which I am looking, listening with my spirit ear, and asking these subject to share with me their secrets. 
Also: Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit JoAnn at Teaching Authors for Roundup.
I've got school visits today in Florence, Alabama, in conjunction with the inaugural Reader Riot Book Festival! Fun.

Can you believe we are almost done with our Progressive Poem? Be sure to check in with the oh so talnted Michelle Kogan to read the latest.

And now, here are the ARTSPEAK! Portraits poems so far:

27. "Weather Report" after Self-Portrait 1923 by Abraham Angel
26. "The Way You Look at Me" after Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
25. "Gratitude" after Tahitian Woman's Head by Paul Gaugin
24. "The Postman in Spring" after Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, April 1888 by Vincent van Gogh
23. "Dark the Day" after Little Dutch Girl by Robert Henri
22. "Tiger" after Tiger by Hwang Jong-ha
21. "Self-Portrait as a Painter" after Self-Portrait as a Painter by Vincent van Gogh
20. "What to Do in the Desert" after Nubian Girl by Ervand Demirdjian
19. "In Summer" after In Summer by Auguste-Pierre Renoir
18. "Night" after The Outlier by Frederic Sackrider Remington
17. "Boy Blowing Bubbles" after The Bubble Boy by Paul Peel
16. "Morning" after Buki Rinsen by Tsuchida Bakusen
15. "When Papa Paints" after Portrait of Anne by George Wesley Bellows
14. "Whistler's Mother" after Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler
13. "In the Company of Kittens" after Contentment 1900 by Henriette Ronner-Knip
12. "Sixteen" after Jeanne Hubuturne-1919 by Amedeo Modigliani
11. "Promise" after Portrait of a Little Italian Girl by Maria Kroyer
10. "Portrait of a Writer" after Oskar Maria Graf by Georg Schrimpf
9. "Speaking of the Weather" after Profile of a Woman by Fujishima Takeji
8. "Happiness" after Self-Portrait with Straw Hat by Elisabeth Vigee le Brun
7. "Virginia, Sitting for a Portrait" after Portrait of Virginia (Little Girl) by Frida Kahlo6. "Paint-by-Number" after Portrait of a Woman by Alexei von Jawlensky4. "I Am" after The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas by George Catlin
3. "What If?" after Portrait of Camille Roulin by Vincent van Gogh2. "The Lady Confesses" after Portrait of a Lady with Mask and Cherries by Benjamin Wilson1. "Mona Lisa in Love" after Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Today I have a piece that lives at our very own Birmingham Museum of Art! And, it's especially special to me because it also looks very much like our son Andrew did when he was young. (see pic below!) We have often visited this portrait of him at the BMA. Here's what "The Laughing Boy" would like you to know:


Sun & Moon - after “The Laughing Boy” by Robert Henri
Mama says I am her sunshine,and my brother is her moon.So I do my best to make her laugh –especially in the afternoon.That's when my brother gets      crankyand weariness clouds Mama's eyes. Look at this , I say, and make a face.I tell some silly jokes. Our laughter lifts into the airlike a pair of of dancing kites.     It's trueI am my mama'ssunshine.But I am also my brother's Northern Lights.
- Irene Latham
---------------------
Andrew - age 4Readers, this poem is sort-of inspired by real life. I have always called Andrew my sunshine, and his older brother Daniel my moon. (Younger son Eric is my Earth. :) But the dynamics portrayed in this poem? Nope, completely fictional! Our boys were pretty competitive as youngsters and have only recently grown to love one another. But Jopie van Slouten, the boy in the portrait? He has his own story. :) Thanks so much for reading!  <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />-->

ARTSPEAK! Portraits poem "Weather Report"

Hello and welcome to day 27 of ARTSPEAK! Portraits, my 2017 National Poetry Month poem-a-day project, during which I am looking, listening with my spirit ear, and asking these subject to share with me their secrets. I gotta say: I'm getting a little giddy here at the end of the month! Also, I am traveling today to Florence, Alabama, for school visits and the inaugural Reader Riot Book Festival! I love Florence. More on that soon!

But first: Be sure to check in with Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing! Hard to believe we're almost at at the end!

And now, here are the ARTSPEAK! Portraits poems so far:

26. "The Way You Look at Me" after Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
25. "Gratitude" after Tahitian Woman's Head by Paul Gaugin
24. "The Postman in Spring" after Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, April 1888 by Vincent van Gogh
23. "Dark the Day" after Little Dutch Girl by Robert Henri
22. "Tiger" after Tiger by Hwang Jong-ha
21. "Self-Portrait as a Painter" after Self-Portrait as a Painter by Vincent van Gogh
20. "What to Do in the Desert" after Nubian Girl by Ervand Demirdjian
19. "In Summer" after In Summer by Auguste-Pierre Renoir
18. "Night" after The Outlier by Frederic Sackrider Remington
17. "Boy Blowing Bubbles" after The Bubble Boy by Paul Peel
16. "Morning" after Buki Rinsen by Tsuchida Bakusen
15. "When Papa Paints" after Portrait of Anne by George Wesley Bellows
14. "Whistler's Mother" after Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler
13. "In the Company of Kittens" after Contentment 1900 by Henriette Ronner-Knip
12. "Sixteen" after Jeanne Hubuturne-1919 by Amedeo Modigliani
11. "Promise" after Portrait of a Little Italian Girl by Maria Kroyer
10. "Portrait of a Writer" after Oskar Maria Graf by Georg Schrimpf
9. "Speaking of the Weather" after Profile of a Woman by Fujishima Takeji
8. "Happiness" after Self-Portrait with Straw Hat by Elisabeth Vigee le Brun
7. "Virginia, Sitting for a Portrait" after Portrait of Virginia (Little Girl) by Frida Kahlo6. "Paint-by-Number" after Portrait of a Woman by Alexei von Jawlensky4. "I Am" after The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas by George Catlin
3. "What If?" after Portrait of Camille Roulin by Vincent van Gogh2. "The Lady Confesses" after Portrait of a Lady with Mask and Cherries by Benjamin Wilson1. "Mona Lisa in Love" after Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Today's poem is another (the last!) self-portrait. I didn't know anything about Abraham Angel before I selected the painting... his story is tragic.  Here's what he'd like for you to know:



Weather Report - after “Self Portrait 1923 ” by Abraham Angel
This city cracksme            openlike parchedground.
Would youhave me    prayfor la lluvia or la sombrilla ?
All I wantis to hold your         hand. <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> </div>--> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">- Irene Latham</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=..." width="100%"></iframe>------------------------</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is the second time this month I've used weather as a theme! Poem #9 is titled <a href="http://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2017/... of the Weather."</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As with my Frida Kahlo-inspired poem <a href="http://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2017/..., Sitting for a Portrait"</a> from earlier in the month, I wanted to be sure and incorporate some Spanish words. Again, I leaned on Google. And I had a little lesson in what translators must go through: there were two choices for umbrella: <i>el paraguas</i> and <i>la sombrilla</i>. I chose <i>la sombrilla</i> because it sounded better with <i>la lluvia</i> (which means "rain.") </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So much of poetry is about sound! Which is part of what makes recording these poems on SoundCloud as much a learning experience as anything. I find that I often make revisions after I hear myself stumble or stutter or, often, say a completely different word!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Anyhow, I chose not to incorporate the English meaning into the poem. I'm hoping there are enough other clues to make the poem comprehensible without an in-poem translation. What do YOU think?</div><span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span>