Sally Murphy's Blog, page 27
August 16, 2018
Poetry Friday: Photo Bomb
It’s Poetry Friday and this week Christie has issued a challenge for Poetry Friday: she has asked Poetry Fridayers to share a bird poem.
I instantly knew just what I wanted to write about. I had a perfect photo of a bird, which I have shared here on my blog previously. Except it was never supposed to be a picture of a bird. It was supposed to be a picture of a lighthouse. But, in a moment of perfection I could never have planned, just as I snapped the photo, a seagull ducked (seagulled?) in front of my camera and ‘click’ I took the shot – and I had a photo which will always be one of my favourites.
With all that in mind, knowing what to write about to go with the photo was very easy. I give you: Photo Bomb.
Thanks to Christie for hosting this week’s roundup at Wondering and Wondering. Head there now to see lots more poetry, birdy goodness.
August 15, 2018
Author Visit in 2019? Book Now (And get a free book!)
It’s August, my busiest month of the year. With Bookweek next week, I am busy visiting schools and libraries, talking about books and writing. Lucky me! This is one of the best parts of my job.
But, when August is over, so too are my author visits for 2018. This is sad for me, because I love what I do, but also exciting for me, because I am spending 12 weeks in Hanoi, Vietnam, where I will be busy writing new things. More about that in an upcoming blog post.
So, no more bookings for 2018. But, when the calendar ticks over to 2019 I will be ready once again to visit schools, libraries, festivals, writing groups, community centres – you name it. I want to fill my diary to overflowing!
So, if you want to see Sally Murphy in person next year, now is the time to book. Booking early gives you the pick of the dates! And, as an August and September bonus, if you book now I will donate a free signed copy of one of my books to your school/library/organisation. You can add it to your collection, use it as a prize, or whatever you like!
So, what are you waiting for? Book now!
August 9, 2018
Poetry Friday: Imperfect Poems
I have to admit I make lots of mistakes. Little mistakes, like calling one of my children the wrong name (okay, that could be a big mistake, but in my defence there are SIX of them, and at least I rarely call one of them the dog’s name. Rarely.) and big mistakes like saying something truly horrible to or about someone I love. And when I make those mistakes I feel bad. The good news is that I have also learnt, or at least am constantly learning, that most mistakes can be either fixed or at least forgiven. Get a a name wrong? Correct the mistake and say sorry. Offend someone? Say sorry, but also know that sometimes it takes more than just words to actually show you are sorry and that the person may need time to forgive.
So where is all this leading? To poetry of course (because today is Poetry Friday!). See, I made a bit of a mistake recently. When I got home from my wonderful trip to Europe there, amongst the pile of mail waiting for me, was a copy of a 
wonderful anthology in which one of my poems was included. And I was really happy about that and browsed the whole anthology over the next week or so.
But my mistake was, in the business of my return, I forgot to post about that wonderful anthology here on my website, to celebrate it’s release, and let the world know about it. Which is a bit bad, but also ironic, because, as it happens, the anthology’s theme is, you guessed it, mistakes.
So, to rectify my mistake, today I am pleased to announce (drum roll please ba da bada bada bada badaaaaa), the release of IMPERFECT: poems about mistakes[image error], edited by the amazing Tabatha Yeatts, and with poems from many fellow Poetry Friday-ers as well as a bunch of other mistake-makers/poets.
Look at the amazing cover:
[image error]
If you are very clever, you will notice the vase is cracked. And, if you are even cleverer you might know about the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold or other precious metals, making a mistake a work of art. And this book is a work of art, made from poems which represent mistakes of all kinds and how to fix them. Some poems actually present solutions to the mistakes, and others, I believe, fix them by making us think about and learn from them.
I was delighted to see poems from many of my Poetry Friday friends, and poems that made me laugh out loud as well as ones that made me want to cry. The message of the book is that mistakes are everywhere and every one of us makes mistakes.
To give you a taste of the book, I would like to share my poem, which you will find on page 61:
Time Bomb
There’s a time bomb
in our letterbox
tick tick ticking
insidiously ticking.
No one can hear it but me:
tick tick ticking
counting down the time
till Mom checks the mail.
When she opens it
she will explode.
Letter from school.
(Poem copyright Sally Murphy 2018)
For my Australian readers, yes I know we spell it Mum not Mom, but I haven’t made yet another mistake. The book is, at present, not available in Australia. The good news is, it can be ordered online here[image error], and, if you want to read more about the anthology, and the poets and poems featured, head over to the special Mistakes Blog.
I started this post talking about making and rectifying mistakes, and I hope I have rectified mine by FINALLY sharing news of this amazing book. And, of course, because I always look for the silver lining, I guess it’s nice to be spreading out the love for, and celebration of, a new book.
Congratulations to Tabatha for gathering, editing such a wonderful collection of poetry for young people, and thanks for letting me be part of the fun.
Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is being hosted by Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone. Head over there for lots more poetry goodness. And make sure you read Molly’s amazing poem, which I swear was written about me 
August 2, 2018
Poetry Friday: Rug Hug
Some weeks it takes me ages to come up with a Poetry Friday post. Other times it’s easy. This week was one of those.
Last Friday, as I read and commented on fellow Poetry Friday-er Kimberley Hutmacher‘s poem about her granddaughter’s Blanket Buddy (you can read her poem here), the opening line of my own rhyme about my own blanket came to me. See, although I am maybe too old (what? never!) to carry a blanky around me, I DO have a ruggy, which I make good use of cold days to snuggle on my recliner. So, I just had to write about it. Then, as I wondered how to get a good photo of my rug to go with my words, I remembered that only a week before I had snapped a photo of Murphpup who, very naughtily, had borrowed my rug for a hug of his own. Perfect!
Here’s the result.
The guilty look on his face is because he was caught – but how could I growl at a (slightly scruffy but nevertheless cute) face like that? And its is very wintry here at the moment.
This week’s Poetry Friday roundup is hosted by Mary-Lee at A Year of Reading. I’m snuggled up under my rug, ready to explore lots of poetic goodness.
July 26, 2018
Poetry Friday: The Apostrophiser
Welcome to Poetry Friday. I’ve had a busy week this week, including a lovely visit to Helena College in Darlington, my first school visit for the term. The year ones and twos were very curious when I told them I was officially Doctor Murphy, and amused when I told them I’m a Doctor of Poetry (weeeeell, it’s complicated to explain that I’m technically a Doctor of Philosophy, but that my topic was children’s poetry). The rest of the week I’ve been busy with my university job and also preparing for my upcoming trip to Vietnam.
In all this busyness, I wasn’t quite sure what I would share for Poetry Friday. But, as often happens, a poem idea presented itself to me, this time as I muttered to myself about yet another misplaced apostrophe on a sign I read. As I muttered and grumbled to myself – and wished I could reach the sign to correct it – I realised that there was a poem just waiting to be written. So, instead of defacing the sign, I came home and drafted this little offering. I do feel better now, but can’t vow not to keep apostrophising (or de-apostrophising) when the need arises.
Image from clipart-library.com
The Apostrophiser
She could never ever stand to see
A misplaced, misused apostrophe.
Hanging somewhere that it shouldn’t
Trying to do that which it couldn’t
To see this item thus abused
By a punctuator so confused
Left her feeling rather sad
Or, oftentimes, a little mad
Her editing hand would start to itch
An overwhelming symptom which
Would see her reaching for a pen
And correcting errors again and again
On pamphlets, posters, leaflets, signs
Apostrophes are everywhere!
Anything with errors in its lines
In menus, notes home, emails, books
Not caring if she garnered looks
From embarrassed kids, or passers by
Or angry owners who wondered why
She couldn’t let the errors rest
Instead of fixing them with zest
But her red pen was always ready
Her apostrophising hand ever steady
Ridding the world, one at a time
Of dastardly apostrophe crime.
(Copyright Sally Murphy, 2018)
Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is at Reading to the Core, where you will find links to lots of other poetry goodness.
Enjoy!
July 19, 2018
Poetry Friday: Too Many Books!
What I love about Poetry Friday is that bloggers from all over the world share their favourite poems and poets each week. What I am challenged about each Poetry Friday is the temptation to buy more poetry books, as my fellow Poetry Friday-ers give tantalising glimpses into collections, anthologies and verse novels that I haven’t yet read. And of course, I can rarely make it through a Poetry Friday without buying a new book or at the very least adding several to my wish list.
Of course, it’s a nice problem to have, but my house is already overflowing with books, so each new book adds to the unending problem of where to shelve them and how to keep track of them. But this week that problem lead to something else: a new poem about, of course, books.
Too Many Books
by Sally Murphy
“Too many books?
Too Many books?
One can never have too many books,” she said
And just to be sure
She added one more
To the teetering pile by her bed.
“Too many books?
Too Many books?
One can never have too many books!” she cried
As she purchased ten more
From her favourite store
Staggering home with bookwormish pride.
“Too many books?
Too Many books?
One can never have too many books,” she stated
Cramming case after case
Filling every space
With books that she shelved, stacked and crated.
“Too many books?
Too Many books?
One can never have too many books!” she boomed
Till her house overflowed
And she finally knowed
That her book collection days were
.
.
.
.
.
On hold till she purchased a bigger house.
(And her rhyme pattern was doomed).
Poem copyright Sally Murphy, 2018
Have a great Poetry Friday. Today’s roundup (where you can find plenty of poetry goodness) is hosted by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe. I’m off to see what my poetry friends have been up to and buy more books.
July 12, 2018
Poetry Friday: A Shelly Monogram
It’s Poetry Friday and, after a long, unscheduled absence I am delighted to be back posting a little something – an impromptu poem, written in my head on my morning walk yesterday after I snapped a photo of something I found on the beach.
See, when I spotted a curly squiggly piece of shell (or coral? I have never quite figure out what makes these squiggles), I stopped to take a picture – then realised that it looked remarkably like a letter S. And, since everything is about me, I decided it was an S for Sally; but as I walked along, I started thinking about all the other things at the beach that started with S. And, by the time I got to the stairs, a poem had started to form. Which was wonderful, because not only did I have little poem to go with my photo, but I had something to post in time for Poetry Friday. And here it is:
Have a great Poetry Friday. I’m off to check out what my Poetry Friday friends have been up to this week. Can’t wait to catch up with them! You can, too, by visiting the Poetry Friday roundup, which this week is hosted by the team at the Poetry for Children blog, who are celebrating a Great Morning.
July 11, 2018
ANZAC Day 2018 – an Overdue Report
It’s been nearly three months since I last posted here, and since in that last post I shared how excited I was about my upcoming visit to Villers-Bretonneux, it’s been very remiss of me not to post sooner. But of course I was on the road, travelling Europe for six weeks (how lucky am I?) and then, once home, there was so much to catch up on, and then I started to wonder how I could possibly capture the awesomeness of that visit to Villers-Bretonneux. And then I realsied that I could never capture it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give you a glimpse. So here it is.
Here I am rugged up in about a million layers waiting for the dawn service to start. You can see that even though I was freezing, and had been up since 1 am, I’m super excited to be where I am. It’s been a long long time in the planning to be here.
Here are a couple of snaps of the service and the crowd. Because of the light it was difficult to capture the scene or even the size of the crowd (over 8000 people). And, of course, what no photo can capture is the feeling – the most emotional dawn service I have ever attended.
And, of course, the school. Surreal to visit a place I have researched, written about, and longed to see for so long. What you can’t see in the photos is that I had to stand in the rain to get these pics – but I didn’t care a jot!
Only a taste of my visit because oddly, I think the experience was so emotional that, for once, I am lost for words when trying to describe it. But that doesn’t mean I will ever forget.
April 18, 2018
Do Not Forget
Tom helps lay a wreath in 2008
Ten years ago my son Tom was chosen to go on an amazing trip to France to visit the Western Front as part of the premier’s ANZAC Tour. When he attended the dawn service at Villers-Bretonneux I watched on television back at home, and marvelled not just at my son being on the other side of the world, but also at the amazing connection between the small village of Villers-Bretonneux and the children of Australia.
It was a story I had only recently come to know, but it was also a story I knew needed to be shared so that it wouldn’t be forgotten.
That was the day that I sat down and drafted the story which would become my picture book Do Not Forget Australia.
Ten years later, and at last it is my turn to visit Villers-Bretonneux for myself. On ANZAC Day next week I’ll be attending the dawn service at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux and later getting to see the school at the centre of the story for myself.
I’m excited. Watch this space for photos and a report.
I’ve packed a copy of the book.
March 3, 2018
What I Read in February
February was a really busy month for me – lots of good stuff happening as well as just general busyness. So i guess I shouldn’t be surprised to realise that I only managed to read eight books this month, which is my lowest in a very long time. Lucky there were some good ones there. My favourite this month was, I think, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (though it must be said that this book has an inconveniently length name!) which is great fantasy quest for younger readers (and older ones too!) in sumptuous hard cover with brilliant illustrations by the talented Kelly Canby.
As alwways, links to reviews, or to the book online, are included. Have a great month!
Children’s BooksAustralia’s Great War: 1918, by Libby Gleeson
The Subtle Knife, by Phillip Pulman
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventure of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty
Pepsi the Problem Puppy, by Sandi Parsons
Stories of Life at Sydney Cove, by Susan E. Boyer
How to Feel Awesome Every Day, by Elly Awesome
Adult Fiction
The Hangman, by Jack Heath
Suddenly One Summer, by Fleur McDonald
