Irene Latham's Blog, page 83

What I Learned About Books, Writing and Writers at UGA's Children's Book Festival

Wow, what a great festival! I loved meeting Georgia book-lovers, and the facilities at UGA were perfect! Here are some of the highlights:

1. Listening again to Natalie Lloyd talk about the magic of books. I heard Natalie speak last year at TLA, so I knew to expect bubbly inspiration -- and pics of her dog Biscuit -- and Natalie did not disappoint. I love what she shared about the impact of books on her own childhood, particularly THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE and THE BABYSITTER CLUB. You can definitely see these elements in Natalie's books! When she read the opening to A SNICKER OF MAGIC, I realized she did on page one what I've just been reading about in WIRED FOR STORY by Lisa Cron, which is to show the reader right away that something is amiss. This creates intrigue and the desire for the reader to read on! (Seriously, writers, you want this book. It's a life-changing book for me!)

2. Being reminded by international-spotlight author Kathryn White that it's important to create books that deal with tough issues, like in her book WHEN THEY FIGHT. It was inspired by her childhood experiences of her parents fighting, and in the book, it's BADGERS who are fighting -- which gives the reader some distance while still allowing them to relate... and to know they are not alone.

3. Talking about resilience and resistance with author Lois Ruby. Lois provided an amazing bibliography of historical titles that incorporate these two qualities. I LOVE these kind of books, and I was thrilled to hear about so many that I haven't yet read. So many good books to look forward to!

Duncan from the side, just like he draws
all his characters!4. Getting a peak into Duncan Tonatuih's process. Duncan enjoys creating books about social justice issues, and he demonstrated how he uses photoshop to make his books. His style is distinctive in that he only ever shows one side of a character's face, and he draws stylized ears and feet and hands. He also uses a lot of texture that he scans from real life (hair, blue jeans, etc.) and "paints" digitally onto his sketch. Fascinating!

5. Listening to local-author spotlight Kelly Bingham and making a connection about how writing verse novels (and any poem) is like animation art: one quick moment to show emotion/story. I also was reminded of my days working at Disney (I worked at the travel agency for a semester in college... while Kelly was an animation artist/story director!) and also of Sesame Street when Kelly mentioned THERE'S A MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK being the inspiration for her book Z IS FOR MOOSE.

Book people are so very fascinating, aren't they? And that was just the speakers.... I loved meeting so many teachers and librarians! The best thing I came home with was hope for this novel I have rewritten 548 times... (sorry to say that is only a slight exaggeration). But, YAY!

This Poem is Green

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit that sweet-singing Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge for Roundup.

I am away from my desk today, attending the Georgia Children's Book Festival, but I did want to pop in for St. Patrick's Day to share a green poem. :)

Also, if you haven't signed up for our 2017 Progressive Poem, there are just two slots left! Sign up here.

About St. Patrick's Day: I have never felt a particular affinity for the holiday, even though during the years we lived near New Orleans, participating in the St. Patrick's Day parade was a pretty big deal. All the guys would dress up in green-trimmed tuxedos and march through the streets kissing girls. We watched safely from a balcony -- yes, there was alcoholic beverages involved, and this is the Big Easy we're talking about... not the best place for a tween girl!

Anyhow, fast forward to last year, when I visited Bismarck, North Dakota for some sessions on One Little Word, but mostly to see my father. Not only did I find out we actually DO have Irish blood (something about a fiery red-headed great-grandmother?!), but someone also snapped what would turn out to be the last photo of me and my father together.


Isn't he adorable in his leprechaun hat? So now St. Patrick's Day fills me and empties me. I'm glad to be busy today.

And here is a poem, freshly written, green spots and all:

This Poem is Green
Green like a hillsidegowned in clover,green like sea-washed glass.It's pushing up through hardscrabble soil,tender leaves unfurlingon a frosty March morning.Each day it begins,or begins again –there is always something new to learn.Sometimes it gets wobbly,like now: it's queasy heartsqueezed by the tidesof opinion.Sometimes it sees other poemsthat are far better-dressed,poems with wings,and this poem grows even green-er.What else is there to do then,than retreat to the forest?This poem knows to listento giants. It carried their wild songslike DNA in each syllable,it holds lost fathers and daughtersin its branches,and when it breathes,the sky tastes like salt. See? This poem is so greenit's already turning blue.
- Irene Latham

Children's Book Festival in Athens, GA!

veggie painting at COMO (Athens, GA) Oct. 2016I am excited to be traveling today to the Children's Book Festival in Athens, Georgia. I am a Georgia peach, after all!

This is my first time to attend the festival, and I am delighted to be presenting once again my FRESH DELICIOUS program "Reading is Delicious: Fun, Fresh Programming for Kids." Among other things, we will be using jeweler's loupes to create analogies AND painting with asparagus. :)

I also have a new veggie book to share with the librarians: FRESH-PICKED POEMS: A Day at the Farmers' Market by Michelle Schaub. It was my good fortune to meet Michelle at Poetry Camp last summer, and she is a peach for sure! When I asked her about sharing a poem, she sent me "Pile Up," and added these comments: "I probably had the most fun writing this poem.  I got a little carried away playing up the alliteration and assonance when choosing words, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the process.  I also liked coming up with the twist, or maybe I should say "tumble" at the end."

Here is the poem:

Pile Up

Farmer Rick's meticulous
when setting up his stand.
He places all his items
into stacks precisely planned.
His cauliflower towers
take him eons to align.
His pyramids of peppers
show impeccable design.
No one sloppy heap of beets,
no single misplaced pea.
Each veggie castle he constructs
has perfect symmetry.
But when Miss Mallory arrives
Rick sports a wary smile -
she always picks her produce from
the bottom of the pile!

- Michelle Schaub
Isn't that fun?! Congratulations, Michelle!
Speaking of fun, the festivities in Athens also include an SCBWI sponsored "authors in your backyard" session, as well as a reception. I am excited to meet more Georgia educators, librarians and book-lovers -- and of course to see SCBWI friends!

Jazzing it Up with Poetry at Young Author's Conference (Mobile, AL)

This past Saturday it was my honor and privilege to be the speaker at the "Jazz it Up with Poetry" Young Author's Conference at West Regional Branch Library in Mobile, Alabama. This is an annual event sponsored by Mobile Public Library, Friends of the Mobile Public Library and Metro Mobile Reading Council. And It. Was. Amazing!

I met so many wonderful young authors and artists who shared their work with me in a lovely bound edition... of course I asked them to sign my book for me! And I met some fabulous adults, too, all of whom are dedicated to promoting the love of books. So much volunteer energy goes into an event like this, and I am grateful to have been a part of it.
Busy young authors just before my presentation!One highlight was getting to see fellow Birmingham author-friend Chandra Sparks Splond and her daughter Jessica. Here is our selfie:


I talked about poetry and my other books and how making connections with readers has brought so much meaning to my life. I was thrilled when they gifted me with this t-shirt, which I will be wearing during April (National Poetry Month) for sure!


Check out these signatures from young authors... one in particular fills me with tenderness:



Big thanks to everyone involved, especially Nancy Anlage and Elizabeth Gillespie, for taking such good care of me and making me and Paul feel so very welcome. I'm in awe of the work you do -- what a gift to the community!

Sign Up Here for 2017 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem!

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Michelle at Today's Little Ditty for Roundup.

I do have a poem to share with you today, but first:

It's that time again! National Poetry Month (April) will soon be upon us, which means it is time again to sign up for our annual KIDLITOSPHERE PROGRESSIVE POEM. This year -- our 6th year! -- our goal is to create a poem for kids, and Heidi Mordhorst will be launching our first line! The rest is up to all of YOU! I invite you to choose your day in comments, and I will update the calendar below as we go along.

ETA: I am on the road today and will update as quickly as I am able. Thank you!

Here's how it works:
Poetry Friday Friends and other poetry lovers are invited to join in a community writing experience during National Poetry Month (April).
What is it? a poem that travels daily from blog to blog, with each host adding a line, beginning April 1. Anyone who wants to join in the fun can sign up below. First come, first served. If you are new to the Progressive Poem, please include your email and blog url in comments -or- send via email: irene (at) irenelatham (dot) com. 

April
1 Heidi at my juicy little universe
2 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
3 Doraine at Dori Reads
4
5 Diane at Random Noodling
6
7 Irene at Live Your Poem
8
9 Linda at TeacherDance
10 Penny at a penny and her jots
11
12 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
13 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
14 Jan at Bookseedstudio
15
16
17
18
19
20 BJ Lee
21 Donna at Mainely Write
22
23 Ruth at no such thing as a godforsaken town
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Once we have a complete schedule, I will be send via email the HTML code to include in your post and/or sidebar so that readers might follow along/look back/look forward. And feel free to snag the above graphic!
Can't wait to see where our poem will take us this year! (To view poems from previous years, click on the Progressive Poem tab above.)

And now, a poem for you. I've just finished reading PIECING ME TOGETHER by Renee Watson. It's the story of Jade who is poor and black and attending a white private school in Portland as she navigates race and privilege and relationships on the road to success. And it ends with a poem by Jade's best friend Lee Lee:

Black Girls Rising
by Lee Lee Simmons

Our black bodies, sacred.
Our black bodies, holy.

Our bodies, our own.
Every smile a protest.
Each laugh a miracle.

Piece by piece we stitch ourselves back together.
This black girl tapestry, this black body
that gets dragged out of school desk, slammed onto linoleum floor,
tossed about at pool side, pulled over and pushed onto grass,
arrested never to return home,
shot on doorsteps, on sofas while sleeping
and dreaming of our next day.

Our bodies a quilt that tells stories of the middle passage,
of roots yanked and replanted.

Our bodies a mosaic of languages forgotten,
of freedom songs and moaned prayers.

Our bodies no longer
disregarded, objectified, scrutinized.

Our bodies, our own
Every smile a protest.
Each laugh a miracle.

Our bodies rising.
Our feet marking, legs dancing, our bellies birthing, hands raising,
our hearts healing, voices speaking up.

Our bodies so black, so beautiful.
Here, still.

Rising.
Rising.

- Renee Watson

An Abundance of Photographs

loose photosWhen I chose Abundance as my 2017 One Little Word, I wasn't sure what it would mean in my life. I never really know where a OLW is going to take me. But Abundance has really been helping me take stock: what do I have? where can I cut? how can I give?

Last month I wrote about an Abundance of Notebooks. This month I've discovered my Abundance of Photographs.

an abundance of scrapbooksI'm a historian, a memory-maker and a memory-keeper. I have always always loved photographs. And I come from a family of avid photographers: my father, my younger brother and my sister. We have each spent hours, days, weeks of our lives devoted to recording and preserving our experiences. We've gone through slides and snapshots and film. I, alone, have made dozens and dozens of scrapbooks. Reliving and remembering my life is almost as fun as the original experience!

photo ornamentsWhy all this mad need to document? I don't know. It kind of goes against everything I am moving toward these days in my effort to be present for my life. When one has a camera trained on every experience, one is at least one lens away from actually being there. And why must the sunrise be captured on film, instead of simply enjoyed? I don't know.

I guess taking a photograph is one way to hold on to something, to preserve it. A way to go back, to experience the joy all over again.

photo collageI have learned things from photographs. I have treasured the ones I have that include loved ones no longer on this planet. I have loved getting to know a younger ME in photographs. And I have loved sharing photographs with our children of themselves when they were wee. It's a way to say, see, there you are, a version of you, and that version still exists.

photos in framesBut I do wonder: what happens to all these photographs when I am gone? Who will care? And how sad that many of these faces will turn nameless, unknown?

And then I think: it's okay. There is enough time and space in the world for everyone. It's good and right that we should all move on.

I don't know what will happen to all my photographs, but I am sure that they have been a huge source of joy for me. And maybe not quite as necessary as they once were? Yes, I can feel myself trusting that these things, these experiences will continue to exist even without photographs as proof.

But still: is there anything more precious than a photograph?

a new father, my Papa, holding his
third child/firstborn baby girl - me

The Unexpected Magic of Author Visits

This past week it was my privilege to visit two local schools: Thompson Intermediate School in Alabaster, Alabama, where I shared time with 4th and 5th graders, and Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama, where I spoke with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Read all about it in the Hoover Sun ! Attention local schools: I offer half-price visits to schools in the Birmingham metro-area who schedule visits one year in advance. Now booking for 2018! More details at the School Visits page of my website.

These are both big suburban schools, with 400-500 kids in each grade level, so in each case, I spoke to one grade-level at a time, in the gym. And It. Was. Awesome.

First, Thompson. This was librarian Christi King's first author visit, and wow, did she do a great job! She was even able to overcome a last minute book-ordering issue with grace and success. Everyone I met was so sweet -- these kids are getting a lot of love! I am so grateful to be even the tiniest part of that.

One of the best parts was lunching with a few students who asked me questions for a school newspaper article. These girls were so fun and savvy... I predict great things in their future!

And check out this cake for Dr. Seuss's birthday! (From Edgar's Bakery. It was delicious.)

Now for Berry Middle. Many authors are intimidated by middle schoolers. They are notoriously hard to engage. NOT THESE STUDENTS.
I loved my time with these kids, how we visited while signing books, and the great questions they asked during my sessions. What a great learning environment! And educators and parents, you know this doesn't just happen. It starts at the top! Thank you to principal Chris Robbins and especially to librarian Ginger Hewitt, who took such great care of me (reminding me to take a potty break, giving me a few minutes of down-time, etc...) and had things so well-organized, it was a dream.

A highlight of this visit was during the special lunch when students (and a teacher!) read their favorite parts from both LEAVING GEE'S BEND and DON'T FEED THE BOY. It's been a while since I wrote those books, so it was like hearing someone else's words... and I was touched by their choices... and also, unexpectedly, inspired.

I have struggled lately with new projects, and this made me feel like, yes, I can do this. I have done it before. And it just made me really want to hang in there, to give great kids like these a new, exciting reading experience. It's an honor to be a part of anyone's reading life. And it's a little bit magic: the magic of connection. Of people. Of hope and love and literature. I can't think of a better reason to write books.

Finally, here is a bonus gift from a sweet, talented 5th grader:

Thank you, Amelia! And thanks everyone so much for reading!

Billy Collins on How to Live Your Poem

Thanks to one Heidi Mordhorst, we are celebrating Billy Collins' 76th birthday (March 22) today. Be sure to visit Heidi at my juicy little universe for Roundup. Happy Poetry Friday, everyone... and to you, Billy! We actually met oh about ten years ago... remember?

Oh, before we get to Billy, I need to let everyone know that I will be posting the signup for our annual Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem next Friday, March 10. It's first-come, first-serve... I hope you'll join us in the collaborative fun!

An interviewer asked me recently, "What does it mean, to "live your poem?" I wish I'd thought to share this poem by Billy Collins, which shows us several ways to live a poem.


Japan by Billy Collins

Today I pass the time reading
a favorite haiku,
saying the few words over and over.

It feels like eating
the same small, perfect grape
again and again

I walk through the house reciting it
and leave its letters falling
through the air of every room.

I stand by the big silence of the piano and say it.
I say it in front of a painting of the sea.
I tap out its rhythm on an empty shelf.

I listen to myself saying it,
then I say it without listening,
then I hear it without saying it.

And when the dog looks up at me,
I kneel down on the floor
and whisper it into each of his long white ears.

It’s the one about the one-ton
temple bell
with the moth sleeping on the surface,

and every time I say it, I feel the excruciating
pressure of the moth
on the surface of the iron bell.

When I say it at the window,
the bell is the world
and I am the moth resting there.

When I say it into the mirror,
I am the heavy bell
and the moth is life with its papery wings.

And later, when I say it to you in the dark,
you are the bell,
and I am the tongue of the bell, ringing you,

and the moth has flown
from its line
and moves like a hinge in the air above our bed.'
----------------------And for the curious (like me!), here is the aforementioned "favorite" haiku:



On the one ton temple bell
a moon-moth, folded into sleep, sits still.

- Yosa Buson

That Sweet Moon Language of Connection

Hello and welcome to this month's installment of Spiritual Journey FIRST Thursday, during which we are all writing about Doraine's 2017 One Little Word "Connection." Visit Dori Reads for the Roundup!

Right way, it's got me thinking about Kermit and Miss Piggy and their "Rainbow Connection." Here's a version with Kermit and Debbie Harry:

Someday we'll find it... I love how hopeful that is! And I think it's what I am looking for every time I write a poem or a story, or when I walk in the early mornings or when I pray: connection. Connection to the universe, to nature, to other people. To myself, to the mystery of living, to a higher power...

Here is a poem I adore by the Persian poem Hafiz:

With That Moon Language
Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them, "Love me."
Of course you do not do this out loud, otherwisesomeone would call the cops.
Still, though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect.
Why not become the one who lives with afull moon in each eye that isalways saying,
with that sweet moon language,what every other eye inthis world isdying tohear?
----------------------This reminds me of a conversation I had this past week with my 17 year old who this school year started at a new (giant) school where he knew no one... and this past week he started a new job, where he also knew no one. 
He said the girls working there looked really mean, and he was a little intimidated and wondering if they would even talk to him. But the one who looked the meanest ended up being the sweetest in terms of helping him learn the ropes. He said he realizes now that she's just shy -- just like he is. 
And that got us talking about how so few kids have reached out to him at school. They have their friend groups, and they just ignore him because they don't know him. 
What if HE was the one to reach out to them? How could we all change our lives if we just took that teeny-tiny risk? If WE were the ones to reach out first?
Today may I be the one to live with a full moon in each eye, telling the world and the people I meet how I love them.

A Poem for Johnny Cash's Birthday

I share a birthday with Johnny Cash. And Buffalo Bill. Recently I read FOREVER WORDS: The Unknown Poems by Johnny Cash. I especially loved the handwritten bits included.

Here's the poem/song I'd like to share with you today. Happy birthday, Johnny! And Buffalo Bill! And me! :) We will be celebrating tonight with a La La Land themed Oscar-viewing party! :)




Let's Put it To Music
by Johnny Cash (1960s)

How do you feel about me
Now that you've learned to know me?
Why don't we both admit
That something is happening
And we would feel better if
We'd just tell each other
No need to keep it to ourselves
Let's put it to music
Let's put it to music
Let's sing about it
Laugh about it
Clap our hands
And shout about it
Let the whole world hear it
In a sweet, sweet melody
Let's put it to music, you and me