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Holly Thompson's Blog, page 11
June 16, 2017
2017 AFCC Retreat and Conference
In May, I had the good fortune to attend the 2017 Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC--held May 17-21) in Singapore. Prior to the conference I served as Retreat Director for the AFCC Writers and Illustrators Retreat (May 13-16), held every other year. On May 13 the selected writer and illustrator participants, the retreat facilitators--myself, author Holly Thompson; editor Sayoni Basu of Duckbill Books, illustrator Amy Ng, plus Premadevi Perumal of the National Book Development Council of Singapore, gathered and boarded a ferry from Singapore to Bintan Island, Indonesia, then bused a short distance to the Angsana Bintan Resort--this was our lovely base for our creative endeavors over the next four days.
On Day 1 of the retreat we settled in, got to know each other over ice breaker activites, and the three facilitators presented lectures about our creative journeys. After dinner (on the beach the first evening!), we met in mentor groups to discuss two group members' works in detail.
On Days 2 and 3, we facilitators led a broad range of workshops on craft technique, audience, revision, publishing and more, with some sessions for writers and illustrators together, and others separate. I'd been able to hand select stacks of picture books from the Singapore National Library to take with us to the retreat, and these were an essential ingredient, used again and again in sessions for both writers and illustrators. Facilitators supported and augmented each other, and participated in each others' sessions, and seemed to enjoy the workshops as much as the writers and illustrator participants. And the writers and illustrators worked hard!
In the afternoons, we held afternoon individual critique sessions with illustrators and writers--these were an opportunity for the creators to receive in-depth feedback by facilitators on manuscripts or artwork. After lavish dinners, we rallied and gave our full attention to our mentor group discussions.
On Day 4, our final day, we held participant readings and reflections, and shared accomplishments, goals and next steps. After four days we were a close group of friends, united in support for one another, and with renewed determination to create quality, diverse Asian content for children.
In Singapore, we went our separate ways, tired and inspired, but most of us crossed paths again and again during the subsequent AFCC conference in Singapore.
At the AFCC conference, held at the National Library in Singapore . . .
I presented sessions on writing nonfiction and tools for managing a novel, and I joined an author panel with authors Paolo Fabregas, Wai Chim and Heidi Shamsuddin discussing Who Gets to Write Asian Stories? Indonesia was the country of focus this year, and I loved attending sessions by Indonesian illustrators and writers, as well as sessions by illustrator Orit Bergman on illustrations beyond the page; author Angela Cerrito on tension; illustrator James Mayhew on picture book as theatre; first look illustration critiques; books for Indonesian girls by Indonesian girls; and so much more. And it was great to see some of our retreat participants presenting.
In between sessions, in the bookstore, at readings, over the lunch buffet and tea-time Singaporean sweets, I loved running into our family of writers and illustrators from the AFCC Retreat--how nice to be able to carry on with our conversations and continue exchanging information.
There were opportunities at AFCC for SCBWI Regional Team leaders to meet and for members from various continents, regions and countries to connect.
And there was time to peruse the Book Illustrators Gallery.
AFCC is always a deeply inspiring and rewarding experience for me. This year, with the added opportunity to serve as Retreat Director, the experience was all the richer. Thank you to all who make AFCC possible year after year, especially the National Book Development Council of Singapore.
Next year AFCC is shifting to a September schedule. So mark your calendars for September 5-9, 2018 and plan to be in Singapore to focus on Asian children's content!
On Day 1 of the retreat we settled in, got to know each other over ice breaker activites, and the three facilitators presented lectures about our creative journeys. After dinner (on the beach the first evening!), we met in mentor groups to discuss two group members' works in detail.
On Days 2 and 3, we facilitators led a broad range of workshops on craft technique, audience, revision, publishing and more, with some sessions for writers and illustrators together, and others separate. I'd been able to hand select stacks of picture books from the Singapore National Library to take with us to the retreat, and these were an essential ingredient, used again and again in sessions for both writers and illustrators. Facilitators supported and augmented each other, and participated in each others' sessions, and seemed to enjoy the workshops as much as the writers and illustrator participants. And the writers and illustrators worked hard!
In the afternoons, we held afternoon individual critique sessions with illustrators and writers--these were an opportunity for the creators to receive in-depth feedback by facilitators on manuscripts or artwork. After lavish dinners, we rallied and gave our full attention to our mentor group discussions.
On Day 4, our final day, we held participant readings and reflections, and shared accomplishments, goals and next steps. After four days we were a close group of friends, united in support for one another, and with renewed determination to create quality, diverse Asian content for children.
In Singapore, we went our separate ways, tired and inspired, but most of us crossed paths again and again during the subsequent AFCC conference in Singapore.
At the AFCC conference, held at the National Library in Singapore . . .
I presented sessions on writing nonfiction and tools for managing a novel, and I joined an author panel with authors Paolo Fabregas, Wai Chim and Heidi Shamsuddin discussing Who Gets to Write Asian Stories? Indonesia was the country of focus this year, and I loved attending sessions by Indonesian illustrators and writers, as well as sessions by illustrator Orit Bergman on illustrations beyond the page; author Angela Cerrito on tension; illustrator James Mayhew on picture book as theatre; first look illustration critiques; books for Indonesian girls by Indonesian girls; and so much more. And it was great to see some of our retreat participants presenting.
In between sessions, in the bookstore, at readings, over the lunch buffet and tea-time Singaporean sweets, I loved running into our family of writers and illustrators from the AFCC Retreat--how nice to be able to carry on with our conversations and continue exchanging information.
There were opportunities at AFCC for SCBWI Regional Team leaders to meet and for members from various continents, regions and countries to connect.
And there was time to peruse the Book Illustrators Gallery.
AFCC is always a deeply inspiring and rewarding experience for me. This year, with the added opportunity to serve as Retreat Director, the experience was all the richer. Thank you to all who make AFCC possible year after year, especially the National Book Development Council of Singapore. Next year AFCC is shifting to a September schedule. So mark your calendars for September 5-9, 2018 and plan to be in Singapore to focus on Asian children's content!
April 28, 2017
Freeman Book Award
I was so pleased to learn recently that my verse novel Falling into the Dragon's Mouth won a National Consortium for Teaching About Asia 2016 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention in the Young Adult/Middle School Literature category.
2016 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention
These awards "recognize quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia. Awards are given in two categories: Children’s and Young Adult on the several countries of East and Southeast Asia." See detailed information about the Freeman Book Awards here.
Here is the Freeman Book Award description of my novel:
Honorable Mention: Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth by Holly Thompson (Henry Holt BYR/Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)Fiction – Set in JapanTold through the eyes of a middle school American boy who is living in Japan, students have a compelling account of issues ever present in society today and how to deal with them: bullying, feeling isolated, not fitting in, cross-cultural understanding, and how to survive teenage years. It is also a window into Japanese culture and school life, while exploring emotions and issues that all teenagers are constantly facing when “friend groups” dominate and exclusion is visible and difficult, especially when moving across the cultural pathways.Check out the complete list of six winners, which includes Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu's verse novel Somewhere Among; the picture book Are You an Echo: The Lost Poetry of Mizuzu Kaneko from Chin Music Press; and Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story, the biography of Sachiko Yasui told to Caren Stelson.
2016 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention These awards "recognize quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia. Awards are given in two categories: Children’s and Young Adult on the several countries of East and Southeast Asia." See detailed information about the Freeman Book Awards here.
Here is the Freeman Book Award description of my novel:
Honorable Mention: Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth by Holly Thompson (Henry Holt BYR/Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)Fiction – Set in JapanTold through the eyes of a middle school American boy who is living in Japan, students have a compelling account of issues ever present in society today and how to deal with them: bullying, feeling isolated, not fitting in, cross-cultural understanding, and how to survive teenage years. It is also a window into Japanese culture and school life, while exploring emotions and issues that all teenagers are constantly facing when “friend groups” dominate and exclusion is visible and difficult, especially when moving across the cultural pathways.Check out the complete list of six winners, which includes Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu's verse novel Somewhere Among; the picture book Are You an Echo: The Lost Poetry of Mizuzu Kaneko from Chin Music Press; and Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story, the biography of Sachiko Yasui told to Caren Stelson.
December 30, 2016
Bokusui Wakayama in Numazu
Last week Poetry Friday found me in Numazu City in Shizuoka. So I stopped in at the memorial museum of the naturalist tanka poet Bokusui Wakayama (若山牧水 Wakayama Bokusui in Japanese name order; 1885-1928).
Bokusui Wakayama was born in Kyushu and traveled extensively around Japan and Japan's colonies, but he settled in Numazu City in his later years (a heavy drinker, he died quite young). The Numazu City Wakayama Bokusui Memorial Museum (info in Japanese here) is located near the famous beach edged with a pine forest Senbonhama (Thousand Tree Beach) that stretches along the bay and provides a buffer from storms.
Unfortunately Numazu City was a target of American B29 bombings during WWII and in July of 1945 most of Numazu, including the home of Bokusui Wakamatsu, was razed.
But inside the museum, you can glimpse the past through photos . . .
Bokusui Wakamatsu at his writing desk
Bokusui Wakayama with his wife and four children his belongings . . .
Bokusui Wakayama's satchel
Bokusui Wakayama's writing implements and maps of his journeys through Japan.
I loved this photo of the bay and the stretch of pine forest that Bokusui Wakayama had campaigned to preserve.
So after visiting the museum I visited the Senbonhama.
That day the wind gusts were so powerful it was difficult to walk along the seawall by the shore. Yet inside the pine forest, all was muffled.
Bokusui traveled extensively throughout Japan, so there are stones inscribed with his poems in many places. See my previous post about a stone with one of his tanka in a West Izu village.
One of Bokusui's famous poems is inscribed on a stone in Yokosuka City in Kanagawa. Click here for a page on the Bokusui Wakayama website showing photo of the stone. This poem about a seagull is from his 1908 tanka collection Umi no koe (Sea Voices).
In closing, I'd like to share an excerpt from the Japan P.E.N. Club's Digital Library "A Poet's Anthology: The Range of Japanese Poetry" with commentary and translations by poet Makoto Ōoka. About a quarter of the way into the anthology is a translation of Bokusui's white bird/seagull poem:
Bokusui Wakayama was born in Kyushu and traveled extensively around Japan and Japan's colonies, but he settled in Numazu City in his later years (a heavy drinker, he died quite young). The Numazu City Wakayama Bokusui Memorial Museum (info in Japanese here) is located near the famous beach edged with a pine forest Senbonhama (Thousand Tree Beach) that stretches along the bay and provides a buffer from storms.
Unfortunately Numazu City was a target of American B29 bombings during WWII and in July of 1945 most of Numazu, including the home of Bokusui Wakamatsu, was razed.
But inside the museum, you can glimpse the past through photos . . .
Bokusui Wakamatsu at his writing desk
Bokusui Wakayama with his wife and four children his belongings . . .
Bokusui Wakayama's satchel
Bokusui Wakayama's writing implements and maps of his journeys through Japan.
I loved this photo of the bay and the stretch of pine forest that Bokusui Wakayama had campaigned to preserve.
So after visiting the museum I visited the Senbonhama.
That day the wind gusts were so powerful it was difficult to walk along the seawall by the shore. Yet inside the pine forest, all was muffled.
Bokusui traveled extensively throughout Japan, so there are stones inscribed with his poems in many places. See my previous post about a stone with one of his tanka in a West Izu village.
One of Bokusui's famous poems is inscribed on a stone in Yokosuka City in Kanagawa. Click here for a page on the Bokusui Wakayama website showing photo of the stone. This poem about a seagull is from his 1908 tanka collection Umi no koe (Sea Voices).
In closing, I'd like to share an excerpt from the Japan P.E.N. Club's Digital Library "A Poet's Anthology: The Range of Japanese Poetry" with commentary and translations by poet Makoto Ōoka. About a quarter of the way into the anthology is a translation of Bokusui's white bird/seagull poem:
白鳥はShiratori wa哀しからずやkanashikarazu ya空の青Sora no ao海のあをにもumi no ao ni mo染まずただよふsomazu tadayouExcerpted from "A Poet's Anthology" (Japan P.E.N. Club Digital Library)
若山牧水Wakayama Bokusui
White bird,are you not sad ?You drift, never dyedby the blue of the seaor the sky’s azure
From Umi no Koe (Sea Voices,1908), Bokusui’s first volume of tanka, published privately the year he graduated from the English Literature Department of Waseda University. The famous poem beginning“Iku yamakawa”(How many mountains and rivers) is in the same volume.“White bird”means a seagull here. The cover illustration by Hirafuku Hyakusui must have been based on this poem. Contrasting the white of the bird to the blue of the sea and sky, the poet grieves over the bird, alive in the midst of nature’s vastness, and over his own youthful loneliness. Contemporary tanka poets avoid repetitions like“sora no ao umi no ao”(literally,“the blue of the sky, the blue of the sea”*) but in Bokusui’s poems they work wonderfully to express feeling.*Translated as “blue”and“azure”because of the shift from kanji to hiragana.―Tr.
December 8, 2016
This December
This week marked the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In this complicated year, the political winds are harsh, and yet this August, President Obama visited Hiroshima and later this month Prime Minister of Japan will visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor—see this AP coverage here.
The Asia-Pacific Journal’s Japan Focus, just published “Japan, Pearl Harbor and the Poetry of December 8th””by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew Campana.
Many poems composed in Japan in 1941 in the weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack were full of nationalism and vengeance. But poems of shock and disapproval were also penned. The article by Yellen and Campana shares originals, translations and accompanying context of poetry composed as patriotic propaganda, as well as poetry composed in resistance or private dissent. Poems included in this post are shared with permission from Asia-Pacific Journal Japan Focus.
This Japan Focus article and the poems in translation shared within would, I believe, be of interest to both high school English and history classes.
_______________________
The following poem by Chōku Shaku conveys the sense of victimization of Japan by colonial powers and justification for aggression.
Poem by Chōku Shaku, translation by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew CampanaJapaense original: 神怒り かくひたぶるにおはすなり今し斷じて討たざるべからず Kami ikariKaku hitaburu niOhasu nariImashi danjiteUtazaru bekarazu The wrath of the godsWith absolute wildnessHas drawn nighWithout hesitationWe cannot but strike
Yet the following poem, kept hidden until several years after Japan’s surrender in 1945, reveals distress over the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Poem by Shigeru Nanbara, translation by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew CampanaJapaense original: 日米英に開戦すとのみ八日朝の電車のなかの沈痛感よ Nichi Bei-Ei niKaisen su to nomiYōka asa noDensha no naka noChintsūkan yo Only the attackOn America and EnglandExplains the sorrowPermeating the train carOn the morning of the eighth
And the below poem by Yukio Ozaki, compares the declaration of war and militarization as a “fool’s errand” akin to pressing on with a losing game of shogi.
Poem by Yukio Ozaki, translation by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew CampanaJapanese original: 詰手なき将棋をさしつつ勝ち抜くと嘯く人のめでたからずや Tsumete nakiShōgi o sashi tsutsuKachi nukuUsobuku hito noMedetakarazu ya A fool’s errandTo press on playing shogiDeceiving oneselfThat victory lies aheadDespite no hope of checkmate
And here is my own December poem, a tanka, for this #PoetryFriday—written amid these turbulent times, thinking of children and families in Aleppo, and hoping we may avert and resolve rather than escalate and fan the flames of conflicts and aggressions at home and afar.
This December
as north and south windsknock the neighborhood with gustsblasting right and leftthe balcony hibiscus opens one, two, three red blooms
© Holly Thompson All rights reserved.
The Asia-Pacific Journal’s Japan Focus, just published “Japan, Pearl Harbor and the Poetry of December 8th””by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew Campana.
Many poems composed in Japan in 1941 in the weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack were full of nationalism and vengeance. But poems of shock and disapproval were also penned. The article by Yellen and Campana shares originals, translations and accompanying context of poetry composed as patriotic propaganda, as well as poetry composed in resistance or private dissent. Poems included in this post are shared with permission from Asia-Pacific Journal Japan Focus.
This Japan Focus article and the poems in translation shared within would, I believe, be of interest to both high school English and history classes.
_______________________
The following poem by Chōku Shaku conveys the sense of victimization of Japan by colonial powers and justification for aggression.
Poem by Chōku Shaku, translation by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew CampanaJapaense original: 神怒り かくひたぶるにおはすなり今し斷じて討たざるべからず Kami ikariKaku hitaburu niOhasu nariImashi danjiteUtazaru bekarazu The wrath of the godsWith absolute wildnessHas drawn nighWithout hesitationWe cannot but strike
Yet the following poem, kept hidden until several years after Japan’s surrender in 1945, reveals distress over the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Poem by Shigeru Nanbara, translation by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew CampanaJapaense original: 日米英に開戦すとのみ八日朝の電車のなかの沈痛感よ Nichi Bei-Ei niKaisen su to nomiYōka asa noDensha no naka noChintsūkan yo Only the attackOn America and EnglandExplains the sorrowPermeating the train carOn the morning of the eighth
And the below poem by Yukio Ozaki, compares the declaration of war and militarization as a “fool’s errand” akin to pressing on with a losing game of shogi.
Poem by Yukio Ozaki, translation by Jeremy Yellen and Andrew CampanaJapanese original: 詰手なき将棋をさしつつ勝ち抜くと嘯く人のめでたからずや Tsumete nakiShōgi o sashi tsutsuKachi nukuUsobuku hito noMedetakarazu ya A fool’s errandTo press on playing shogiDeceiving oneselfThat victory lies aheadDespite no hope of checkmate
And here is my own December poem, a tanka, for this #PoetryFriday—written amid these turbulent times, thinking of children and families in Aleppo, and hoping we may avert and resolve rather than escalate and fan the flames of conflicts and aggressions at home and afar.
This December
as north and south windsknock the neighborhood with gustsblasting right and leftthe balcony hibiscus opens one, two, three red blooms
© Holly Thompson All rights reserved.
November 24, 2016
Community Meals
Today I'll join a group of educators for a potluck Thanksgiving meal in Yokohama. For my contribution, I chose to cook up locally grown vegetables that I bought from the Kamakura Ichiba--Kamakura Vegetable Market.
As I was peeling and chopping, I was thinking about Kodomo-Shokudo, also described in English as children's cafés. Japan has a high relative poverty rate--one of the highest for OECD countries, and the poverty rate for single parent, and especially single mother families is particularly high. Yet in Japan, poverty is often deeply hidden.
Kodomo Shokudo provide free or reduced-rate meals to children--in safe-space shops, homes, restaurants and temples--with the key element of community. They are typically opened several times per month through local volunteer and, in some cases, municipal, support. In Japanese, here is the Kodomo Shokudo Network website's help page, where you can learn about volunteering and donating.
I love the concept of Kodomo Shokudo--with local community involvement and the opportunity for connections across generations. Here is a link to a Kodomo Shokudo in Yokohama.
So here is my poem for #PoetryFriday in hopes that we may all become more aware of the social realities in our communities and find ways to assist groups that are providing support to children around us who may be struggling through childhood in conditions of poverty.
Just This
a place
you can go for
warm meals at a table
seated together with strangers
now friends
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
As I was peeling and chopping, I was thinking about Kodomo-Shokudo, also described in English as children's cafés. Japan has a high relative poverty rate--one of the highest for OECD countries, and the poverty rate for single parent, and especially single mother families is particularly high. Yet in Japan, poverty is often deeply hidden.
Kodomo Shokudo provide free or reduced-rate meals to children--in safe-space shops, homes, restaurants and temples--with the key element of community. They are typically opened several times per month through local volunteer and, in some cases, municipal, support. In Japanese, here is the Kodomo Shokudo Network website's help page, where you can learn about volunteering and donating.
I love the concept of Kodomo Shokudo--with local community involvement and the opportunity for connections across generations. Here is a link to a Kodomo Shokudo in Yokohama.
So here is my poem for #PoetryFriday in hopes that we may all become more aware of the social realities in our communities and find ways to assist groups that are providing support to children around us who may be struggling through childhood in conditions of poverty.
Just This
a place
you can go for
warm meals at a table
seated together with strangers
now friends
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
November 11, 2016
"Fear" and "Kudzu"
On the day the election results were announced, I arrived in Western Massachusetts for a brief visit. The Pioneer Valley is a rich center of activism, education, arts, and revived small farms.
Here are my two poems for this #Poetry Friday.
Fear
does not dissolve in waterbut sinks as sediment collectedat the baseof a vessel
then swirlswhen stirredinto individualparticles agitated turning
in suspension
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
Kudzu
already in this valleytendrils of hatredintended to stranglelong-tended fields
epithetsthreatsgraffiti
to defeat kudzu do not just whack locate and removethe root crowns
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
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Here are my two poems for this #Poetry Friday.
Fear
does not dissolve in waterbut sinks as sediment collectedat the baseof a vessel
then swirlswhen stirredinto individualparticles agitated turning
in suspension
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
Kudzu
already in this valleytendrils of hatredintended to stranglelong-tended fields
epithetsthreatsgraffiti
to defeat kudzu do not just whack locate and removethe root crowns
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
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November 4, 2016
Snow Bones and Japan Writers Conference
On October 29-30 the annual Japan Writers Conference (JWC) was held at Tokushima University in Shikoku. JWC is held at a different location in Japan each year, and I welcomed the excuse to journey to the island of Shikoku.
At the two-day conference for writers of all genres and styles, I attended sessions on crafting short stories, academic writing, mysteries, and short poems, a panel on getting ideas for fiction, and a session on Japan and Young Readers. I also presented two sessions: one on verse novels and the other a narrative poetry workshop.
And one of the highlights of the conference for me was participating in a Sunday afternoon session which included readings by various poets published by Isobar Press. One of Isobar's 2016 releases is Snow Bones by Masaya Saito, a book of four narrative haiku sequences, spoken by seven different voices. Two of the sequences are set in northern Japan in winter.
Snow Bones is a stunning book, slim and spare, and perfectly suited to high school and poetry classes ages 14 and up. Snow Bones provides a model of narrative poetry crafted from the shortest of poems, ideal for students to read and discuss, and even perform, before having a go at crafting their own haiku sequences.
The two interior haiku sequences in Snow Bones--"Metropolis" and "Countryside" are narrated by three voices each. The speakers do not directly interact with one another, but are in the same vicinity and are connected on the pages through related observations, actions or objects. As poet Masaya Saito himself says,
Here are three pages (posted with permission) to give an idea of the narrative structure and the particular poetics of the haiku sequences:
First page of first voice in "Three Voices: Countryside" from Snow Bones by Masaya Saito (Isobar Press, 2016)
First page of second voice in "Three Voices: Countryside" from Snow Bones by Masaya Saito (Isobar Press, 2016)
Second page of the third voice in "Three Voices: Countryside" from Snow Bones by Masaya Saito (Isobar Press, 2016)
I soon hope to share Snow Bones with students and narrative poets and see how Saito's work might inspire other writers.
And if you will be in the Tokyo area on Friday, November 18, consider attending the Isobar Press Book Launch: The Year's Work at Isobar Press, at the Wesley Center. Four poets will read from their work, including Masaya Saito from Snow Bones.
And we may reprise the three-part reading from Snow Bones, too!
At the two-day conference for writers of all genres and styles, I attended sessions on crafting short stories, academic writing, mysteries, and short poems, a panel on getting ideas for fiction, and a session on Japan and Young Readers. I also presented two sessions: one on verse novels and the other a narrative poetry workshop.
And one of the highlights of the conference for me was participating in a Sunday afternoon session which included readings by various poets published by Isobar Press. One of Isobar's 2016 releases is Snow Bones by Masaya Saito, a book of four narrative haiku sequences, spoken by seven different voices. Two of the sequences are set in northern Japan in winter.
Snow Bones is a stunning book, slim and spare, and perfectly suited to high school and poetry classes ages 14 and up. Snow Bones provides a model of narrative poetry crafted from the shortest of poems, ideal for students to read and discuss, and even perform, before having a go at crafting their own haiku sequences.
The two interior haiku sequences in Snow Bones--"Metropolis" and "Countryside" are narrated by three voices each. The speakers do not directly interact with one another, but are in the same vicinity and are connected on the pages through related observations, actions or objects. As poet Masaya Saito himself says,
"Each of the narrators in Snow Bones lives through his or her daily life experiencing the transience of its moments. Their inner worlds leak through their monologues -- and yet we never really know who they are."At the Japan Writers Conference, Isobar Press publisher Paul Rossiter, Isobar poet Christopher Simons, and I each read one of the voices in the 3-voice haiku sequence "Countryside." While the sequences in the book are not presented on the page as alternating voices, we opted to read the haiku in turns--a haiku from the first voice, then one from the second, then one from the third--alternating all the way through in a sort of dramatic reading.
Here are three pages (posted with permission) to give an idea of the narrative structure and the particular poetics of the haiku sequences:
First page of first voice in "Three Voices: Countryside" from Snow Bones by Masaya Saito (Isobar Press, 2016)
First page of second voice in "Three Voices: Countryside" from Snow Bones by Masaya Saito (Isobar Press, 2016)
Second page of the third voice in "Three Voices: Countryside" from Snow Bones by Masaya Saito (Isobar Press, 2016)I soon hope to share Snow Bones with students and narrative poets and see how Saito's work might inspire other writers.
And if you will be in the Tokyo area on Friday, November 18, consider attending the Isobar Press Book Launch: The Year's Work at Isobar Press, at the Wesley Center. Four poets will read from their work, including Masaya Saito from Snow Bones.
And we may reprise the three-part reading from Snow Bones, too!
October 13, 2016
Mikan Groves
It's that season! The mikan harvest is in full swing. This week I spent a day working at the farm where I did my research for my verse novel Orchards and an adult novel (currently taking a nap). See some of my other mikan farming posts: here, here, here and here.
Mikan make their way into just about any story I write that is set between September and February--did you know there is a mikan in the first chapter of Falling into the Dragon's Mouth? Find it in the school lunch scene.
On the Izu Peninsula, currently the gokuwase (the very early variety of Aoshima) mikan are now being harvested--after harvest, these are aired for a few days, then shipped straight to market.
So if you are in Japan, grab your shopping bags, head to the market, and pickup some fresh harvested mikan. If you are elsewhere, see if you can find some early mandarins or satsumas to taste.
And it's Poetry Friday, so here is a poem that riffs on the complicated series of connections made in order for me to be introduced to a farmer who was willing to take me on as a sort of apprentice, learning everything I could about mikan cultivation for my books. In Japan, connections are everything.
These Are The Groves
these are the groves described in this novel written by an author who dreamed about mikanwho worked on the farm owned by the farmer whose wife’s cousin’s fish fry the author had eaten whose friend was a journalist two villages down whose coworker’s husband ran a scuba dive inn whose childhood friend had worked for the U.N. whose wife did translation reports for the man who’d moved to Japan and married the womanwho worked in the orchards owned by the farmerwhose family shared their secrets of farming
these mikan grown in the groves of this novel
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
Mikan make their way into just about any story I write that is set between September and February--did you know there is a mikan in the first chapter of Falling into the Dragon's Mouth? Find it in the school lunch scene.
On the Izu Peninsula, currently the gokuwase (the very early variety of Aoshima) mikan are now being harvested--after harvest, these are aired for a few days, then shipped straight to market.
So if you are in Japan, grab your shopping bags, head to the market, and pickup some fresh harvested mikan. If you are elsewhere, see if you can find some early mandarins or satsumas to taste.
And it's Poetry Friday, so here is a poem that riffs on the complicated series of connections made in order for me to be introduced to a farmer who was willing to take me on as a sort of apprentice, learning everything I could about mikan cultivation for my books. In Japan, connections are everything.
These Are The Groves
these are the groves described in this novel written by an author who dreamed about mikanwho worked on the farm owned by the farmer whose wife’s cousin’s fish fry the author had eaten whose friend was a journalist two villages down whose coworker’s husband ran a scuba dive inn whose childhood friend had worked for the U.N. whose wife did translation reports for the man who’d moved to Japan and married the womanwho worked in the orchards owned by the farmerwhose family shared their secrets of farming
these mikan grown in the groves of this novel
© Holly Thompson, All Rights Reserved
October 7, 2016
Poetry Camp!
Last week I was a camper again.
I joined with forty Poetry Friday Anthology poets for a day of professional development workshops and discussion, followed by a day of poetry presentations and activities for the public.
Poets came from far and wide.
Verse novelists included!
Stephanie Hemphill, Jeannine Atkins, Lorie Ann Grover, Nikki Grimes, Kathi Appelt, Holly Thompson
Our panel presentationAnd all of this took place in Bellingham, Washington, on the beautiful Western Washington University campus, home of the Poetry for Children and Teens collection (Poetry CHaT).
There were poetry stretches.
Pirate antics.
And fun with the incomparable Jack Prelutsky.
There were conversations with teachers.
Happy meetings.
David Jacobson with his recently launched Are You An Echo?A makerspace workshop with found word poems thanks to Robyn Hood Black.
Even poets on the streets.
And there were oh, so many poetry friends.
Brod Bagert, Carmen Bernier-Grand, Janet Wong, Joy Acey
Nikki Grimes, Holly ThompsonAnd now, all I want to do now is read, write and translate poetry.
Thank you to Poetry Friday dynamos Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, and to Sylvia Tag and Nancy Johnson of WWU for putting together an unforgettable poetry experience.
I joined with forty Poetry Friday Anthology poets for a day of professional development workshops and discussion, followed by a day of poetry presentations and activities for the public.
Poets came from far and wide.
Verse novelists included!
Stephanie Hemphill, Jeannine Atkins, Lorie Ann Grover, Nikki Grimes, Kathi Appelt, Holly Thompson
Our panel presentationAnd all of this took place in Bellingham, Washington, on the beautiful Western Washington University campus, home of the Poetry for Children and Teens collection (Poetry CHaT).
There were poetry stretches.
Pirate antics.
And fun with the incomparable Jack Prelutsky.
There were conversations with teachers.
Happy meetings.
David Jacobson with his recently launched Are You An Echo?A makerspace workshop with found word poems thanks to Robyn Hood Black.
Even poets on the streets.
And there were oh, so many poetry friends.
Brod Bagert, Carmen Bernier-Grand, Janet Wong, Joy Acey
Nikki Grimes, Holly ThompsonAnd now, all I want to do now is read, write and translate poetry.Thank you to Poetry Friday dynamos Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, and to Sylvia Tag and Nancy Johnson of WWU for putting together an unforgettable poetry experience.
September 30, 2016
After
It's Poetry Friday, and I'm in Western Washington for a Poetry Friday Anthology Day with an amazing gathering of children's poets on, fittingly, Friday, and Poetry Camp (for adults!) on Saturday at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Thank you to Sylvia Vardell, Janet Wong and Sylvia Tag for organizing this outstanding poetry program.
Yesterday I visited with fifth grade classes of budding poets at a school in the Bellingham area.
We talked about narrative poetry and ways to tell stories through poems. Referencing my Notice Poems series, I had students take a photograph in their mind, sketch that photograph, then write a story poem.
Here, with permission from the students' teachers, is a sampling of the poems created. The simple titles added, in most cases, are mine. One poem is in Spanish.
Some of the students had been impacted by the recent mall shooting in Burlington and chose to work through their thoughts in their poems. I include one poem on that difficult topic. And I title this blog post "After" in memory of the lives lost and with deepest condolences to all those affected by the incident. May we find some hope and consolation in poetry.
AFTER
MY DAD'S TRUCK
WILLOW
LOST
BUS STOP
TRAMPOLINE
DANCING FOUNTAIN
I applaud these fifth-grade writers. I was so impressed watching them experimenting with various poetry elements--figurative language, rhythm, repetition, lineation, imagery--and I loved reading the poems they discovered in just 20 minutes of thinking, drawing, and drafting. Bravo!
Yesterday I visited with fifth grade classes of budding poets at a school in the Bellingham area.
We talked about narrative poetry and ways to tell stories through poems. Referencing my Notice Poems series, I had students take a photograph in their mind, sketch that photograph, then write a story poem.
Here, with permission from the students' teachers, is a sampling of the poems created. The simple titles added, in most cases, are mine. One poem is in Spanish.
Some of the students had been impacted by the recent mall shooting in Burlington and chose to work through their thoughts in their poems. I include one poem on that difficult topic. And I title this blog post "After" in memory of the lives lost and with deepest condolences to all those affected by the incident. May we find some hope and consolation in poetry.
AFTER
MY DAD'S TRUCK
WILLOW
LOST
BUS STOP
TRAMPOLINE
DANCING FOUNTAIN
I applaud these fifth-grade writers. I was so impressed watching them experimenting with various poetry elements--figurative language, rhythm, repetition, lineation, imagery--and I loved reading the poems they discovered in just 20 minutes of thinking, drawing, and drafting. Bravo!
