Irene Latham's Blog, page 87

Poetry & Fiction About the Refugee Experience

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jone (whom I am so happy to have met in person!) at Check it Out for Roundup.

I've been reading a lot lately about Syria and the refugees, and it's heartbreaking to think about these families, right now, today, so desperate for safety and food that they must leave their homes for the great unknown. It's a terrible situation. It leaves me feeling a little lost because I want to help, and what can I do from my snug little studio? Donate to the cat sanctuary in Aleppo.

I've also just read three novels about refugees:

1. SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys. Set during WWII, it follows 4 teens fleeing the Russians for the coast where they will board a ship for freedom. Powerful writing, rich characters. And based on a true story! Books like this one are why I love historical fiction.


2. THE ONLY ROAD by Alexandra Diaz. A contemporary novel that follows 2 teens from Guatemala who travel across Mexico, surviving hunger, gangs, and the dangerous trains to get to their uncle in the United States. At one time I was working on a similar (middle grade) book, and I am really in awe of the details included in this book! I have learned so much -- mostly what courage and faith it takes to embark upon such a journey.

3. BONE SPARROW by Zana Fraillon. This one is not about the journey, but about being detained in a refugee center in Australia -- and the conditions there are pretty horrific. The book is like a cross between ROOM by Emma Donoghue (young narrator who was born at the center and has never known life outside) and THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS by John Boyne (unlikely friendship between one on the inside and one on the outside).

And I've also been reading SOMOS COMO LAS NUBES/ WE ARE LIKE THE CLOUDS by Jorge Argueta, illus. by Alfonso Ruano. Like Alexandra's book, it's about children leaving their homes in Central America. The two poems that follow are appear on the same spread and are presented in both Spanish and English, as are all the poems.


Caballo de carrera

En la espalda de m i papa
me pongo a cabalgar.
No me puedo quejar.
No hay en todo el
   desierto
caballa tan hermoso
no tan veloz
como Felipe, mi papa.

Racehorse

I get up on my father's back
for a ride.
I can't complain.
Here is the desert
there is no horse as
beautiful
or as fast
as my father, Felipe.

Cantamos

Desde que salimos de casa
no dejamos de cantar.
Dice mi papai
que si cantamos,
espantamos el cansancio
y el miedo
y nos volvemos cancion.

We Sing 

Since we left home
we haven't stopped singing.
My father says
if we keep singing,
we'll scare away all the tiredness
and the fear
and become a song.
----------------
I love the idea of becoming a song. And who needs a racehorse with a father like that? xo

"People Equal" by James Berry

Today I'd like to share with you a poem by James Berry. It appears in the book A NEST FULL OF STARS (Greenwillow Books, 2002).

People Equal

Some people shoot up tall.
Some hardly leave the ground at all.
     Yet--people equal. Equal.

One voice is a sweet mango.
Another is a nonsugar tomato.
     Yet--people equal. Equal.

Some people rush to the front.
Others hang back, feeling they can't.
     Yet--people equal. Equal.

Hammer some people, you meet a wall.
Blow hard on others, they fall.
     Yet--people equal. Equal.

One person will aim at a star.
For another, a hilltop is too far.
     Yet--people equal. Equal.

Some people get on with their show.
Others never get on the go.
     Yet--people equal. Equal.

- James Berry
-------------
I love this poem! Love the rhythm and repetition, and how James Berry's Caribbean heritage shines through every line.

And, I have been all of these people at one time or another. It's important when we talk about people and equality to remember how people change from moment to moment, year to year. We aren't static. We make mistakes. There's no one right way to be. We can be mango sweet AND nonsugar tomato. Hard AND soft. Go-get-em AND sit-tight.

In fact, one of the things that makes humans so interesting is how we can hold all of these different qualities at the same time.

Today I am mango-y and happy to rest at the bottom of the hill. How 'bout you?

Because Doing the Right Thing Hurts Sometimes #NCTE16

Jason's latest GHOST, which won
 NCTE's Charlotte Huck award
 for fiction!So I am still processing some of the things I heard at NCTE. One of them was a fish story, as told by Jason Reynolds. It goes something like this: One day Jason's eccentric high school teacher brought in an expensive exotic fish for the classroom aquarium. He told the kids, "you can feed the fish, but whatever happens, do not TOUCH the fish. Ever." The teacher went on to say that the principal knew about the fish rules and would back him up should anyone feel inclined to test the rule. Then one day, much later in the year, this teacher scooped the fish out of the tank and dumped it on the floor. All the kids stood around in horror as the fish thrashed about, obviously dying. But they had been told "do not touch the fish." Finally a couple of girls DID touch the fish and returned it to its aquarium. The teacher said, "go to the office. You touched the fish." And this was his way of teaching them that doing the right thing hurts sometimes. There are consequences for our actions, even if they are right. But that doesn't mean you don't do the right thing.

Pretty powerful, right? We need more teachers like that. Thank you, Jason, for sharing the story! (Jason told the story much better than I have... any mistakes my own.)

Celebrating THE BEST OF TODAY'S LITTLE DITTY compiled by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Please visit beautiful Bridget at wee words for wee ones for Roundup.

I got myself an early Christmas present: THE BEST OF TODAY'S LITTLE DITTY compiled by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes.
Michelle is such a gift to this world, isn't she? And this book is, too. I loved reading these 75 poems from so many poets (55!) I've come to love in our Poetry Friday community, and just yesterday one of the challenges (David Elliott's letter poems) gave me some direction for a poem-in-progress. What a fun, beautiful and useful ditty of a book! So I asked Michelle to stop by and respond to a few prompts. Here's Michelle:
The Difficult: Leaving out some really excellent poems. While I had a terrific ditty committee to help narrow down the choices, sometimes it came down to which poems more closely reflected the challenge, conformed to a particular format, or even fit best on the page. I also felt strongly that I wanted to reflect the breadth of the DMC community, so no one, including myself, had their work appear in more than three challenges.


The Delicious: Oh my, it all feels pretty delicious right now! But I'd have to say the most delicious is that I never felt alone in this undertaking. (I'm quite sure it wouldn't have happened otherwise!) I discovered that the same community that generously contributes all these wonderful poems month after month, is also generous with their time, knowledge, and, in some cases, hand-holding. All I needed to do was ask. I'm especially grateful to Renée LaTulippe for being my sounding board and proofreader throughout the process and to Michelle Kogan for the gorgeous cover.


The Unexpected: A few squiggles can wreak havoc at crunch time! Because I'd never self-published before, I knew the learning curve would be steep. I did my reading, asked for help when needed, and allowed enough time for each step in the process. It all went smoothly until I submitted the book at the beginning of November and was informed that nearly all the decorative borders I had chosen were not high enough resolution. Really??? I spent an inordinate amount of time choosing those squiggles, and higher resolution versions were not to be found. I had put far too much work into this book to have it be marred by fuzzy lines, so that's when the panic set in. You can thank Carrie Clickard for those nice crisp lines, but don't ask me how she pulled it off!
-----------And now for four of my favorite poems included in the book. Just like Michelle, it's difficult to select. There's always some other poem calling... but these are the ones that are whispering sweet somethings to me today. Enjoy!
Today's Piggies
This little piggy had an iPadThis little piggy Skyped home.This little piggy watched YouTube.This little piggy ran Chrome.This little piggy went...tweet, tweet, tweet,all the way home!
- Buffy Silverman, based on the traditional nursery rhyme(I know I am not the only one giggling... what a timely and entertaining poem!)----------------
Dr. Plover, DDS
Crocodile,open wide:it's checkup time!I'll come insideto see if you havetooth decay --bits of fleshI'll eat away.It seems you haven't flossed of late.that's good news --you're doing great!Okay, my friend,they're good to crunch.See you next time --thanks for lunch!
- Michelle Heidenrich Barnes(Don't you love how imaginative and fun this one is?! I want to see it paired with an illustration... and it reminds me of my own "Oxpecker Cleaning Service" -- another cleaner-upper bird!)------------------
Lemon
Lemon is a sunny yellow word.It speaks of summer,days sliced thin and swirledwith sugar nights.I halve one,squeezea stinging spray,raise the rind to my lipsfor a sour-pucker kiss,my hands perfumed with happiness.
- Renee M. LaTulippe(I want to kiss this summer-sugar sour-pucker happy-making poem! Love the way it tastes in my mouth.)-----------------
Scissors
Scissors is a sharp word,a thin word, a steel word,an I-can-hear-it-click word,a catching-the-light word,a see-it-flash word, a fast word,cutting here, clipping there,a round-metal-eyes word,a long-pointed nose word.It sews as it goes,and it sings its own name:Scisssssssssors--snip!Scisssssssssors--snap!
- Julie Larios(I love all those dashed-together words, and yes! It sings its own name, doesn't it?)
Thanks and congratulations to everyone who's a part of this lovely collection!

SHINE BRIGHT: A Poetry Reading in Celebration of the Winter Solstice

Free Poetry! Free Poetry! Free Poetry! 
 Featured poets will read on the topics of "light" and "winter." 
Adam Vines, Seth Tanner, Jim Reed, Barry Marks, Kwoya Maples, Irene Latham, Matt Layne, Ashley Jones, Bob Collins, Alicia Clavell, Tina Braziel, Tabitha Bozeman, Robert Boliek, Jerri Beck
 Light refreshments will be served. (hot cider and cookies!)
Open Mic to follow. 
 Alabama Friends: Y'all Come!!!  Wednesday, December 21, 2016, 7 pm  Desert Island Supply Co.

Writing from a Place of Anger

One of the amazing sessions I attended at NCTE included Laurie Halse Anderson on a panel with Jason Reynolds and Patricia Hruby Powell.

I don't remember what the question posed to the authors was, but I can't forget Laurie's answer. She said, "The angrier I am, the better the book."

Anger inspires her. And that got me thinking about what inspires me, and about my relationship with anger.  Because anger is not generally a source of inspiration for me. I'm kind of scared of anger... yet aren't we supposed to write what scares us? What would happen to my writing if I allowed anger to fuel it? Where would my stories and words take me?

I want to be a brave writer. I also want to write what brings me pleasure - to write from a place of love and celebration. Where is that place where bravery and love meet?

All of a sudden I am thinking of Katniss Everdeen when she shoots the arrow at the gamemakers. They're ignoring her, and she's mad, she turns the arrow on them.



That's the kind of anger that has the power to change a life. Thank you, Laurie, for making me think!

My Secret Santa

Last week I received in the mail a package from one of my favorite catalogs to browse: Uncommon Goods.

Inside was a beautiful glass "Wishing Ball & Gratitude Globe."
Along with the glass piece, it included small slips of paper for writing your wishes or gratitudes to insert into the globe.

I love it! For me it's most certainly a Gratitude Globe. And the design is for the month of April, which was also noted in the packaging. Not my birthday, but National Poetry Month. Hmmm...

What wasn't noted in the packaging was who sent it to me!

Maybe this was a mistake. Or maybe this giver wishes to remain anonymous. Either way I want to share here today that the first slip I put inside the globe said, "whoever gave me this gift." Thank you!! I'm keeping the globe in my studio, right beside my desk. It's gorgeous, and I am delighted every time I think of it!

And, note to self: give more gifts anonymously. How beautiful!

Movie Monday: THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN

O frabjous day! Holiday movie season is upon us.... seems like all the most anticipated movies arrive within the last six weeks of the calendar year.

After viewing the trailer a number of times, we were pretty excited to see THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN. And it did not disappoint! (I do wish maybe they hadn't shown so much in the trailer, much as I loved it... what fun those surprises would have been!) Really great casting and well-rounded characters. Plus I could relate to main character Nadine who is still struggling 4 years after her father's sudden death with normal teen angst and her relationship with her mom and with the fact that her best friend is now dating her brother... yep. Been there! Several of my best friends ended up dating my brother Ken... one of them even married him! I hated that. And just like Nadine, I blamed my brother for stealing my best friend.

Nadine is really trying to figure some things out, and in the process she makes some crazy decisions. As we all do! One of the best things in her life is a caring, funny (and thank goodness not an inappropriate) teacher. He does what the best teachers do: he listens. And he helps Nadine get through a critical moment.

This movie had some powerful moments that were well-earned. Plus it was funny! And it felt real to me, not just from my own memories of that time, but in light of all the amazing teens I am privileged to know and love.

And to Ken, if you happen to be reading this: I love you!

If you like smart family relationship movies, then you'll like this one. And if you are writing YA, you MUST see it!

Poetry is truth. (more from #NCTE16)

How 'bout this day-before-Thanksgiving sky?Hello and happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Carol at Carol's Corner for Roundup.

So I am full of turkey at the moment and thinking back over some of the poetic highlights from NCTE16. There were so many! I'll just mention a few of them here.

* Pomelo Books supper at BoccaLupo.http://boccalupoatl.com/ Those who know Janet Wong know she is kind of famous for selecting really great restaurants. She chose this one because it was on several lists -- one of them a "last meal" list written by chefs! A couple at our table enjoyed a Tasting Meal, which was small portions all several of their specials. It was pretty amazing, and inventive... and if memory serves, it included things like a parmesan crusted meatball... calamari over shrimp pate...a fancy piece of steak... carrot cake.... All excellent! And the company was, too!

* Session on Risking Writing with Poetry-Friday-ers Mary Lee Hahn and Heidi Mordhorst. It was about writing WITH your students, and the panel modeled this for us. It takes a lot of bravery to share our early drafts with anyone, and how powerful for students to see that the work takes... work. Here's the work and photo we started with... and then you'll find mine as it stands now... I was in an imaginative mood!


At the Harvest Ball

Deer look on as dancers twirl
in their starlight gowns --
Listen: maraca-song!
They dance until they collapse
into their cardboard-castle beds
to dream of leave and rain,
and sometimes,
a white eggplant moon.

- Irene Latham


* Books. I picked up F&G's of forthcoming books by THUNDER UNDERGROUND by Jane Yolen and KEEP A POCKET IN YOUR POEM by J. Patrick Lewis. And I got to admire Laura Purdie Salas's forthcoming IF YOU WERE THE MOON. Beautiful!

* Our panel on Writing for a Better World. At the end, the radiant Katherine Bomer summed up everything with one line from each of us, and it IS a poem! Here it is:
The panel - all except Margarita,
who had to dash to her next session!


To the Poets on the Panel, Your Words Coming Back

- Irene, Amy, Laura, Margarita, Tara, Margaret, (& Katherine)

Err on the side of love,

Amplify the light,

Hold the space for children to enter in,

Words are bridges,

Develop our empathy muscle as the reflex response,

When we provide poems in our classroom, we get to the heart of our children,


Poetry is truth.
------

And here is a Visual of our session created by Paula Bourque. Love it!

I have several more odds-n-ends to share with you about NCTE -- I came away so very inspired! I will be posting about these things in the weeks to come. Thank you for reading!

Poetry Brain

Well hello there!

You've heard of "squirrel brain," right? Well, since NCTE, I've got Poetry Brain. If you popped open my skull, I think it would probably look kind of like those small leafy tornadoes that spin in the yard during fall... my mind has been swirling with wise words I heard, like "Poetry is about bearing witness." and pieces of books I've been reading, like SOMOS COMO LAS NUBES/WE ARE LIKE THE CLOUDS by Jorge Argueta and fragments of poems I want to write. It's kind of crazy in there right now, but beautiful, you know?

And today I am cooking. I tend to tackle Thanksgiving dinner in stages, preparing a couple of dishes a day beginning the Monday before the BIG day. Yesterday I made cranberry festival (gelatin) salad, and this morning I made the sweet potato casserole and the pumpkin bread. It smells like love and family and all that is good in the world.

I will be back for Poetry Friday to share with you some goodies from NCTE, including a poem I wrote in a brave, excellent session led by Mary Lee Hahn and Heidi Mordhorst.

OH. Did you hear Marilyn Nelson won the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry? Congratulations, Marilyn!! And to the committee: well done, all!