Irene Latham's Blog, page 99

ARTSPEAK! 2016: "At the Vegetable Market"

Hello, and welcome to day 2 of my National Poetry Month poem-a-day-project ARTSPEAK! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art.

Before we get to the poem, please don your leis and visit Joy Acey (in Hawaii!) to see how our Progressive Poem is progressing! There's quite an unexpected word in the line today. Enjoy!

Back to ARTSPEAK! This year's theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market. Here's yesterday's poem:"Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro
I selected today's poem because many farmers' markets happen on Saturdays, so what better way to celebrate the first Saturday of National Poetry Month? And yes, this is a piece by the same artist as yesterday. We will be seeing more of Mr. Pissarro before the month is through!
What caught my eye in this poem was the little girl hidden behind the basket. I've been that little girl at the market with Mama. I know the rules. I decided to give my experience to the girl in the art.

At the Vegetable Market- after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro
Mama says,never go to the markethungry.
Shesays I can't sayI want I wantor Pleeeeeeeease.
no matter how bluethe blueberriesor how perfectthe potato.
But I don't careabout money,and I am always hungry.
So I smile wider thana watermelon rindand my cheeks turn round as tomatoes
when the lady with the basketleans in close,
says, want a taste?

- Irene Latham

Listen to the poem on Soundcloud! (still having trouble embedding... grr)

ARTSPEAK! 2016: "Triolet for Planting Day"

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! I am out adventuring with my family this week -- living my poem! -- but please be sure to visit Amy at The Poem Farm for Roundup.  
Also, be sure to check out the first line of our Progressive Poem, over at Laura's blog!
Woohoo, it's NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!!!
Here at Live Your Poem I am celebrating by continuing the poem-a-day-project I started last year: ArtSpeak! in which I respond to images found in the online collections at the National Gallery of Art. This year's theme is "Plant. Grow Eat." It was inspired by the release of my latest book FRESH DELICIOUS: Poems from the Farmers' Market.
This year I decided to start off with the "title" image. I don't know why -- it just sort of happened! 
The piece is "The Artist's Garden at Eragny" by Camille Pissarro. I love this image of the woman planting... I have known this woman (my grandmother, my mother) and I have been this woman. 
Planting a garden is full of hope, the weather is generally lovely, and there aren't yet any weeds. (Of all the garden chores, I HATE weeding. Grr.) But planting -- it's the most fun part of gardening, if you ask me! Yet, it's quite repetitious, isn't it? 
Which is how I came to write this poem as a triolet. (Remember Laura Shovan's "wild" triolet? I love it!) You'll notice that mine isn't a strict triolet, but a variation. I love variations. Truly. 
And isn't the whole poem a metaphor for what we poets are doing today, on this first (quiet) April morning of National Poetry Month? Enjoy!


Triolet for Planting Day
- after “The Artist's Garden at Eragny” by Camille Pissarro

This is the way we plant the seeds

on a quiet April morning:

Poke, press, cover is our mantra, our creed.

This is the way we plant the seeds,

as soil favors gentleness over speed.

Later, weeds may offer warning,

but today, this is the way we plant the seeds.

The garden starts on a quiet April morning.

- Irene Latham

**Listen to the poem on Soundcloud! (I am having issues embedding the track... hmmm...)

Five Ways to Be Bold

Hello! It's Spiritual Journey Thursday, and I'm out adventuring, but I couldn't NOT leave a post in celebration of Donna's One Little Word BOLD.

When I look back over my life, I realize that even though I am a self-professed shy, introverted person, I have also had some really bold moments -- one such moment came to me this morning: when I was 11, I was the first girl acolyte at Christ Episcopal Church in Covington, Louisiana.

 I've also had plenty of wish-I'd-been bold moments. That's sort of what I want to talk about today. Because I'm learning being bold isn't always about being loud or brash or outlandish or first. For me, lately, it's about these five things instead.

How To Be BOLD

1. Be honest. About who you are, what you like, what you want, what you think.

2. Speak up.  Even when no one asks. Maybe especially when no one asks. Who you are and what you like/want/think is important, and no one will know unless you tell them.

3. Try something new. Read a book in a genre you don't usually choose. Sign up for sushi lessons -- even if you don't like sushi. (It will grow on you, I promise.) Go to a thrift store and buy something you'd never wear -- and wear it!

4. Say Yes. And NO. Yes to adventure, to an invitation for coffee, to getting up in the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower. Say NO when it interferes with what you really want to be doing or when it hurts you (or others) or when what you need more than anything is a nap.

Bold Oliver!5. Wear rainbow shoelaces. Walk around in the world like it's a beautiful place to be, and you are so delighted to be in it. Smile at strangers. When someone says, I like your shoelaces, do a little dance step and invite them to join in. Sure, they might say no, they might think you're crazy. But this is a way to reach out and connect with the world. And I can't think of anything BOLDer than that.

Please come back tomorrow for the kickoff of my 2016 National Poetry Month project ARTSPEAK! Plant. Grow. Eat. Yay!

Can I Get an ECHO ECHO?

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe (still one of my favorite book and blog titles EVER!) for Roundup.

Hard to believe it's the last Friday of March... next week we'll all be full steam ahead into National Poetry Month!

It's been ever so rollercoasterish in my life lately... I'm excited that today starts my kids' spring break. And I'm excited to share my favorite poem with you from ECHO ECHO: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer, illus. by Josee Masse (Dial/Penguin, 2016). But first....

The winner of POET: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate is BRENDA HARSHAM. Yay!

And here's sneak peek at the line-up for this year's Progressive Poem!

2016 KIDLITOSPHERE PROGRESSIVE POEMApril1 Laura at Writing the World for Kids2 Joy at Joy Acey 3 Doraine at Dori Reads4 Diane at Random Noodling5 Penny at A Penny and Her Jots6 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink7 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem9 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche10 Pat at Writer on a Horse11 Buffy at Buffy's Blog12 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty13 Linda at TeacherDance14 Jone at Deo Writer15 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme16 Violet at Violet Nesdoly17 Kim at Flukeprints18 Irene at Live Your Poem19 Charles at Poetry Time20 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town21 Jan at Bookseedstudio22 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge23 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page24 Amy at The Poem Farm25 Mark at Jackett Writes26 Renee at No Water River27 Mary Lee at Poetrepository28 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe29 Sheila at Sheila Renfro30 Donna at Mainely Write
.................................................

Another sneak peek: Here at Live Your Poem I will celebrating National Poetry Month by continuing ArtSpeak!, the project I started last year in which I respond to images found in the digital collections at the National Gallery of Art. This year's theme "Plant. Grow. Eat" was inspired my latest book release, FRESH DELICIOUS. I'm excited! The trick will be getting these poems written and posted during a month when I have 4 out-of-state trips and a slew of school visits. Whew! I'm tired already! But you know what? Poetry keeps me sane. It is a spiritual practice for me -- a way for me to feel connected with myself and the world. So, yes, it will be hectic, but it will also be beautiful and important. I do hope you will stop by and share the journey with me!

And, now, a poem from ECHO ECHO by Marilyn Singer:

King Midas and His Daughter

Golden
girl,
alas, my
good father
still dares to call me,
who
would never offer a gentle hand.
What kind of man would for years not give a caress?
I must confess
I suffer much.
Today --
so needy
so greedy -
for one magic touch.

-----------------

For one magic touch --
so greedy,
so needy --
today,
I suffer much,
I must confess.
What kind of man would for years not give a caress,
would never offer a gentle hand?
Who
still dares to call me
"good father?"
Alas, my girl!
Golden.

- Marilyn Singer

Isn't that wonderful? I so admire the skill the reverso form requires... it partly seems a matter of punctuation, doesn't it? Very much like a puzzle. Each spread also includes a short summary of the related myth, which should help those of us who aren't all that well-read in mythology!

This Little Light of Mine

Hello, and welcome to Spiritual Journey Thursday! Please join us as we discuss Doraine's One Little Word SHINE.

I love this word. I love how warm it is, how it brings to mind the sun and all its magic, and light of all kinds. I want my life to shine, my words to shine, my heart to shine, every single day. And I don't mean this in a "look at me" way... more of an inner shine, a me-at-my-best way, a me-experiencing-life-fully way.

I want to stumble in and sit down at a piano and tease out "Flight of the Bumblebee" the way Geoffrey Rush does as pianist David Helfgott in the movie SHINE.



Mostly I want to shine like the woman in this article -- a story I have revisited and revisited, and it still chokes me up. A shining not just for myself, but for others. Shining as a way to love this world and all the people in it -- even on days like today when I'm not feeling particularly shine-y.

Looking forward to everyone else's thoughts!

One Not-So-Little Word for Last Week

ROLLERCOASTER

Actually, according to ye ol' internet, that's TWO words: Roller Coaster.

Anyway, one or two, that's what last week was.

I traveled to Bismarck, North Dakota, where I got to see my father. UP!

I saw for myself how sick my father is. DOWN.


Stones painted by members of
the Cancer Support GroupI presented three talks on One Little Word. UP!

I realized how little I can do to help my father. DOWN.

I got to experience snow in Bismarck! UP!

I had a come-apart with very kind people in Bismarck. DOWN.

I found out my book DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST: AND OTHER POEMS FROM THE WATER HOLE was named an SCBWI Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book. UP!

I found out my first novel for children LEAVING GEE'S BEND is going out of print. DOWN.

The announcement was published about my first historical fiction narrative picture book. UP!

 Stacey Barney at Putnam has acquired world rights to Frank and Miss Fancy by Irene Latham, to be illustrated by John Holyfield. Inspired by true events and set in 1913 Alabama, a retired circus elephant is purchased by the city of Birmingham, where an African-American boy is determined to meet her up close in spite of segregation laws. It is scheduled for spring 2018; Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had to leave Bismarck, North Dakota, without my very sick father. DOWN!

I came home to my loving family. UP!

And now, here we are... it's another week, it's spring, and yet -- I'm still reeling from last week. It's okay. Some things in life take a while. I'm being patient with myself. And right now, I am off to play my cello. Thank you for reading!

Because George Loved Words... and So Do I

Just popping my head in to wish everyone a poetry-filled day! Be sure to visit radiant Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge for Roundup!

I'm in Bismarck, enjoying time with my father and also talking about my experiences with One Little Word. And while we're on the topic of words...

if you haven't checked out POET: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate (Peachtree, 2015), you're missing out!

It's a beautiful book -- for word-lovers and poets and anyone who has ever dreamed an impossible dream. Like the little plaque on my wall says... "the impossible dream...isn't."


George Moses Horton was a slave who taught himself to read. At age seventeen, he was separate from his family. He read books and shared information. He created and recited verse for others -- selling love poems for 25 cents each. He was published in newspapers. He published books. But he was not free.

My favorite line in the book: "George's love of words had taken him on a great journey."

Words have taken me on a great journey, too. I'm so grateful!

Thanks to Peachtree Publishers, I have one copy of this book to giveaway. Simply leave a comment by Tuesday, March 22 about YOUR word-journey, and our cat Maggie will choose a winner. :)

There are still a few slots left in our 2016 Progressive Poem... sign up now!

How to Simplify Your Life

Hello! It's Spiritual Journey Thursday, and I am traveling (Hello, Bismarck!), but I did want to post a little something in honor of Linda and her One Little Word SIMPLIFY.

Life is complicated. Love is complicated. The world is complicated. That's part of what makes it beautiful.

But when there is so much chaos that we can't be present, can't identify our feelings, much less FEEL them, we often feel split, spread thin, like we aren't really participating in life, just existing.

We want to simplify.

For me, what that really means, is I want peace, serenity, quiet -- in my heart and in my mind.

I ran across this quote: "People say "I want peace."  If you remove I (ego), and your want (desire), you are left with peace." -  Satya Sai Baba 

It's hard for me to admit and accept that in order to get what I really want -- peace -- that I need to let go of ego and desire. Don't ego and desire define a person? Well, no, they don't have to. What if I allow this very moment to define me instead?

Whenever I'm feeling particularly attached to ego and desire, it helps me to look at the wall above my writing desk and read another quote:

"I you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down." - Toni Morrison

In other words: SIMPLIFY. Which brings us full circle, doesn't it?

Wishing everyone PEACE today!

The Power of One Little Word

This week I am traveling to Bismarck, North Dakota to be with my father. He's had a tough 2016 so far, and I will be so glad to be with him in person!

Yes, I will be bringing a coat. Bismarck has enjoyed a warm couple of weeks, but wouldn't you know a cool wind will be blowing while I am there? I've got my boots and scarves ready!

While I am there, I will be working with Bismarck Cancer Center and sharing my experiences with One Little Word. My talks will include all kinds of snippets from blog posts over the past 9 years... I'm thrilled and honored to share this part of my life with others. Thank you, BCC for having me... see you soon!

Celebrate Polar Week!

Until I wrote a book about Antarctica, I didn't know such a thing as APECS Polar Week existed! But it does, and folks across the globe are celebrating.

Here at Live Your Poem, I am celebrating new members of The Antarctica Explorers Club! Welcome Catherine, Candace, and Hunter! Here's what I got in the mail:




I love learning what poems students most respond to! Candace is the first person to mention "Flora in a Frozen Land." Yay!


I love the "nuzzle" in this poem. :)


... when I go to Antarctica, I want to look for a cute penguin, too! (Apparently they are not hard to find and are very curious about we humans.)


I love how Hunter mentions the amazing Emperor Penguin fathers. What a winter they endure.. and all the while keeping the egg warm. Love that drawing, too.
Isn't that fabulous?! Thank you, Mrs. Flynn. :) In return, I am sending each a membership button and a signed bookmark. I invite you to join, too! Simply visit my website and download the form. Happy Polar Week!