Holly Thompson's Blog, page 21
April 4, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 4
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 4 In Chapter 14 Emma reads to Zena the beautiful poem “Early in the Morning” by Li Young-Lee (poetryfoundation.org).
Prompt Day 4: Write a poem rich with detail, observation, and insight about a particular routine.More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 4 In Chapter 14 Emma reads to Zena the beautiful poem “Early in the Morning” by Li Young-Lee (poetryfoundation.org). Prompt Day 4: Write a poem rich with detail, observation, and insight about a particular routine.More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 3, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 3
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 3 In Chapter 14, Emma reads to Zena “Homage to my Hips” by Lucille Clifton (poetryfoundation.org). Here is a video of her reading the poem courtesy of BillMoyers.com.
Lucille Clifton Reads 'homage to my hips from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
Prompt Day 3: Write a poem of homage to one of your physical attributes. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 3 In Chapter 14, Emma reads to Zena “Homage to my Hips” by Lucille Clifton (poetryfoundation.org). Here is a video of her reading the poem courtesy of BillMoyers.com.Lucille Clifton Reads 'homage to my hips from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
Prompt Day 3: Write a poem of homage to one of your physical attributes. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 2, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 2
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 2 In Chapter 10, Emma and the stroke patient Zena take turns writing lines to create the poem that begins with “I open the door ” (p. 104). This is the collaboriative poem they create:
I open the door to my dreams and see the face of the one I love gazing back at mein fearand adorationand wonderthen I knowthis is the faceof the one who ismy daughterto bePrompt Day 2: Create a collaborative poem or a class or group renku, which is a Japanese form of linked poetry.More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 2 In Chapter 10, Emma and the stroke patient Zena take turns writing lines to create the poem that begins with “I open the door ” (p. 104). This is the collaboriative poem they create:I open the door to my dreams and see the face of the one I love gazing back at mein fearand adorationand wonderthen I knowthis is the faceof the one who ismy daughterto bePrompt Day 2: Create a collaborative poem or a class or group renku, which is a Japanese form of linked poetry.More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
April 1, 2015
The Language Inside 30 Prompts--Day 1
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., and for the month of April, I am posting 30 poetry prompts from my verse novel The Language Inside. Some of the prompts relate to poems referenced in the book, such as poems that the main character Emma reads to the patient Zena in the long-term care facility. Other prompts derive from poems that Emma, Zena or her friend Samnang draft and share during the story.
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 1 In several pages of Chapter 4, Emma lists the destruction she found at her friend Madoka's grandparents' home in Miyagi Prefecture after the March 11, 2011 tsunami. Here is an excerpt:
a car stood on its nose between the kitchen wall and a neighbor’s wall
another had bashed down a shed and four were crumpled against a broken utility pole
the garden was littered with splintered chairs, a drum shredded mats, plastic crates, clothes a urinal and dresser drawers
trees crusted with mud were hung with trash tangled in string and weighted with dead fish
Prompt Day 1: Create a list poem of detailed description to tell a story or reveal an emotion. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)
YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
The Language Inside 30 Prompts: Day 1 In several pages of Chapter 4, Emma lists the destruction she found at her friend Madoka's grandparents' home in Miyagi Prefecture after the March 11, 2011 tsunami. Here is an excerpt: a car stood on its nose between the kitchen wall and a neighbor’s wall
another had bashed down a shed and four were crumpled against a broken utility pole
the garden was littered with splintered chairs, a drum shredded mats, plastic crates, clothes a urinal and dresser drawers
trees crusted with mud were hung with trash tangled in string and weighted with dead fish
Prompt Day 1: Create a list poem of detailed description to tell a story or reveal an emotion. More prompts from The Language InsideThe full reader's guide to The Language Inside--A Discussion, Reading and Activity Guide for Teachers and Readers--with these and other prompts, discussion questions and activities is HERE.
About The Language Inside
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan. The Language Inside is a verse novel rich in language both spoken and unspoken that crosses boundaries to create a story layered with love, loss, movement and words. (Delacorte/Random House)YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults Notable Books for a Global Society 2014 Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2014 Notable Books for the Language Arts 2014 A Librarians' Choices 2013 Book
March 29, 2015
Spring Sea Harvests
Winter and early spring in many coastal areas of Japan is a time of harvest--that is, seaweed harvests from the sea. In March, Kamakura and other communities are busy with wakame harvesting--cutting from rocks or cultivation ropes the long fronds, blanching in water that is boiled on the beach, and hanging to dry.
Ordinary folk also get caught up in wakame gathering--stepping into the bay to pluck wakame from the surf, boiling, then hanging to dry from laundry hangers in gardens and on balconies.
wakame gatherering
harvested wakame drying
second day of wakame drying
wakame, konbu and tengusa--three types of seaweed harvested and drying in a small garden!
see the wakame drying above the covered bicycle?
On a recent visit to the Koshigoe area of Kamakura, I said hello to my favorite wakame growing family, with their set-up featured in The Wakame Gatherers (Shen's/Lee & Low). Do you recognize these scenes?
the woman who was the model for Baachan in The Wakame Gatherers
wakame drying
Kamakura coastline
natural or tennen wakame (cut from rocks not cultivated on ropes) dried and packaged, purchased on the beach
I love to do author visits to schools to talk about wakame and Japanese seaweed harvesting. And what a treat when those visits fall during wakame season!
wakame salad prepared for students
with a wakame-loving librarian, all ready for the students to arrive
Fresh wakame is available in winter and early spring, but dried wakame is available year-round. Beware in the U.S. of sweetened MSG-flavored "wakame salad" in some Asian markets--stick to pure wakame which rehydrates in moments, and is perfect added to salads and soups.
Enjoy!
Ordinary folk also get caught up in wakame gathering--stepping into the bay to pluck wakame from the surf, boiling, then hanging to dry from laundry hangers in gardens and on balconies.
wakame gatherering
harvested wakame drying
second day of wakame drying
wakame, konbu and tengusa--three types of seaweed harvested and drying in a small garden!
see the wakame drying above the covered bicycle?On a recent visit to the Koshigoe area of Kamakura, I said hello to my favorite wakame growing family, with their set-up featured in The Wakame Gatherers (Shen's/Lee & Low). Do you recognize these scenes?
the woman who was the model for Baachan in The Wakame Gatherers
wakame drying
Kamakura coastline
natural or tennen wakame (cut from rocks not cultivated on ropes) dried and packaged, purchased on the beachI love to do author visits to schools to talk about wakame and Japanese seaweed harvesting. And what a treat when those visits fall during wakame season!
wakame salad prepared for students
with a wakame-loving librarian, all ready for the students to arriveFresh wakame is available in winter and early spring, but dried wakame is available year-round. Beware in the U.S. of sweetened MSG-flavored "wakame salad" in some Asian markets--stick to pure wakame which rehydrates in moments, and is perfect added to salads and soups.
Enjoy!
March 10, 2015
Four Years After 3/11
Four years ago today a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, resulting in many thousands of lost lives, lost homes, lost communities and lost livelihoods. The destruction was mind-numbing--long swaths of coastline communities obliterated.
In late April/early May of 2011 I volunteered for an 8-day stint with Peace Boat (read about this experience in these posts) in the badly hit city of Ishinomaki to assist with tsunami cleanup. The experience was profoundly moving--traumatizing and both physically and emotionally exhausting. But the people I met--the locals, many of whom, while struggling to cope with grim destruction, homelessness and deep personal loss, were striving to clean up their city, move forward, and help others; the caring members of my team and other volunteer teams who were offering their assistance under difficult and risky circumstances; and the many around the world offering financial support--left me inspired and determined to take further action.
Thus began Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Fiction. I consulted with Japan-connected writer friends, who expressed nothing but total enthusiasm for my project--an anthology of YA fiction to raise money for teens in Tohoku. Publisher Peter Goodman of Stone Bridge Press committed, and the race was on--to create an anthology to publish in time for the one-year anniversary.
Of the stories submitted, I selected 36, including ten in translation, including one from Ainu. The editing process began. On the Tomo Anthology Blog I began posting in-depth interviews of author and translator contributors. A Reader's Guide was created. The anthology was launched on March 12, 2012.
Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction was a labor of love. The authors, translators and illustrators who contributed to the collection worked under extremely tight deadlines with the most generous of hearts, and Peter Goodman was a phenomenal force behind the book.
Please visit the Tomo Anthology Blog--have a look at the extensive list of interviews, peruse the Reader's Guide--and then, if you haven't already, order a copy of Tomo to immerse yourself in collection of fiction like no other. Proceeds from the sales of Tomo continue to support teens in Tohoku affected by the earthquake and tsunami via the NPO Hope for Tomorrow.
I wish for all of the people of Tohoku to be surrounded by strong and caring communities, both local and global, full of kindness and peace.
In late April/early May of 2011 I volunteered for an 8-day stint with Peace Boat (read about this experience in these posts) in the badly hit city of Ishinomaki to assist with tsunami cleanup. The experience was profoundly moving--traumatizing and both physically and emotionally exhausting. But the people I met--the locals, many of whom, while struggling to cope with grim destruction, homelessness and deep personal loss, were striving to clean up their city, move forward, and help others; the caring members of my team and other volunteer teams who were offering their assistance under difficult and risky circumstances; and the many around the world offering financial support--left me inspired and determined to take further action.
Thus began Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Fiction. I consulted with Japan-connected writer friends, who expressed nothing but total enthusiasm for my project--an anthology of YA fiction to raise money for teens in Tohoku. Publisher Peter Goodman of Stone Bridge Press committed, and the race was on--to create an anthology to publish in time for the one-year anniversary.
Of the stories submitted, I selected 36, including ten in translation, including one from Ainu. The editing process began. On the Tomo Anthology Blog I began posting in-depth interviews of author and translator contributors. A Reader's Guide was created. The anthology was launched on March 12, 2012.
Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction was a labor of love. The authors, translators and illustrators who contributed to the collection worked under extremely tight deadlines with the most generous of hearts, and Peter Goodman was a phenomenal force behind the book.
Please visit the Tomo Anthology Blog--have a look at the extensive list of interviews, peruse the Reader's Guide--and then, if you haven't already, order a copy of Tomo to immerse yourself in collection of fiction like no other. Proceeds from the sales of Tomo continue to support teens in Tohoku affected by the earthquake and tsunami via the NPO Hope for Tomorrow.
I wish for all of the people of Tohoku to be surrounded by strong and caring communities, both local and global, full of kindness and peace.
March 9, 2015
Intersections and Arches
While based in Boston this year, I've had the chance to connect with poetry and lit circles, take advantage of libraries, and take part in collaborations. On Saturday, Intersections, a collaborative project was staged at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston; a second staging will take place on Sunday March 15 at the Dance Complex in Cambridge.
The group I was privileged to work with chose the theme of Arches.
Our process, and the process followed by the other groups, is featured on the process posts on the Intersections blog. Our group consisted of a musician (cellist), sound and video artists and me, writer. We kicked around our ideas in a brainstorming session, then I composed "Arches in Five Movements," a series of prose poems around the concept of arches.
Intersections was the brainchild of Kelsey Trottier, a senior at MassArt--her idea was to bring together artists--visual, performance, literary, musical--to collaborate on projects. Her first aim was "bringing together artissts of different disciplines from neighboring communities to collaborate and work alongside each other on a common concept."See her "Why, When, Where and How" post on the Intersections blog.
Here are a few photos from the three performances/installations that resulted.
"The Reading" which included improvisation of gestures and music that was used as raw material for paintings.
"Arches" took advantage of the Pozen center's arches, and combined spoken poetry with video narratives, movement, and cello music.
Here is one segment of "Arches" with apologies for poor video quality
"TBD" combined spoken word and movement with blackout poetry.
Huge thanks to Kelsey Trottier for making this all happen, to my talented "Arches" team, to MassArt, and to the Dance Complex. Wouldn't it be great if Intersections could become an annual event to bring Boston artists from different disciplines together in collaboration?
In the meantime, if you are in the area, there is another show on March 15, at 6:00 pm at the Dance Complex in Cambridge.
May you, too, find inspiring influences through artistic intersections.
The group I was privileged to work with chose the theme of Arches.
Our process, and the process followed by the other groups, is featured on the process posts on the Intersections blog. Our group consisted of a musician (cellist), sound and video artists and me, writer. We kicked around our ideas in a brainstorming session, then I composed "Arches in Five Movements," a series of prose poems around the concept of arches.
Intersections was the brainchild of Kelsey Trottier, a senior at MassArt--her idea was to bring together artists--visual, performance, literary, musical--to collaborate on projects. Her first aim was "bringing together artissts of different disciplines from neighboring communities to collaborate and work alongside each other on a common concept."See her "Why, When, Where and How" post on the Intersections blog.
Here are a few photos from the three performances/installations that resulted.
"The Reading" which included improvisation of gestures and music that was used as raw material for paintings.
"Arches" took advantage of the Pozen center's arches, and combined spoken poetry with video narratives, movement, and cello music.
Here is one segment of "Arches" with apologies for poor video quality
"TBD" combined spoken word and movement with blackout poetry.
Huge thanks to Kelsey Trottier for making this all happen, to my talented "Arches" team, to MassArt, and to the Dance Complex. Wouldn't it be great if Intersections could become an annual event to bring Boston artists from different disciplines together in collaboration?
In the meantime, if you are in the area, there is another show on March 15, at 6:00 pm at the Dance Complex in Cambridge.
May you, too, find inspiring influences through artistic intersections.
February 9, 2015
SCBWI Winter Conference
New York was like a tropical escape compared to Boston!
A few highlights from my New York weekend . . .
A visit to the offices of Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, publishers of my verse novel Falling into the Dragon's Mouth (winter 2016) and a chat with my editor Laura Godwin about verse novels, poetry, upcoming projects and a peek at the design pages for Falling into the Dragon's Mouth. Cover art is in the works! It is such an honor to work with Laura Godwin and everyone behind the scenes at HH.
Laura Godwin also spoke on the Editors' Panel at the SCBWI winter conference.
A highlight of every SCBWI conference is meeting up with writer, illustrator, editor and agent friends from previous converences and making new friends. I especially enjoy the meet-ups with international members. The International Tables at the Gala Dinner and the International Social at the conference drew attendees from Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, Iran, Ireland, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Ukraine, France, Germany, Hong Kong . . . to mention a few. Translator is now a new category for SCBWI members, and I was glad to have the chance to shout out about new translator opportunities within SCBWI.
Some of my favorite sessions and keynotes of the conference included the following, all covered by the SCBWI Team Blog:
Stacy Whitman: Writing for a Diverse Audience
Laura Vaccaro Seeger: The Making of a Picture Book
Agents' Panel with Brenda Bowen moderating
Kwame Alexander: Dancing Naked on the Floor: How to Say Yes to the Writerly Life
Kwame Alexander was still flying high from his Newbery Medal Award for his verse novel The Crossover, and of course, his line at the autograph party went on and on and on . . .
What an inspiration he has been to so many students and writers already, and how great that his poetry, his literacy work and his influence will now sail even farther.
And, naturally, I am beyond thrilled that a verse novel won the Newbery this year. Bravo, Kwame Alexander!
A few highlights from my New York weekend . . .
A visit to the offices of Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, publishers of my verse novel Falling into the Dragon's Mouth (winter 2016) and a chat with my editor Laura Godwin about verse novels, poetry, upcoming projects and a peek at the design pages for Falling into the Dragon's Mouth. Cover art is in the works! It is such an honor to work with Laura Godwin and everyone behind the scenes at HH.
Laura Godwin also spoke on the Editors' Panel at the SCBWI winter conference.
A highlight of every SCBWI conference is meeting up with writer, illustrator, editor and agent friends from previous converences and making new friends. I especially enjoy the meet-ups with international members. The International Tables at the Gala Dinner and the International Social at the conference drew attendees from Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, Iran, Ireland, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Ukraine, France, Germany, Hong Kong . . . to mention a few. Translator is now a new category for SCBWI members, and I was glad to have the chance to shout out about new translator opportunities within SCBWI.
Some of my favorite sessions and keynotes of the conference included the following, all covered by the SCBWI Team Blog:
Stacy Whitman: Writing for a Diverse Audience
Laura Vaccaro Seeger: The Making of a Picture Book
Agents' Panel with Brenda Bowen moderating
Kwame Alexander: Dancing Naked on the Floor: How to Say Yes to the Writerly Life
Kwame Alexander was still flying high from his Newbery Medal Award for his verse novel The Crossover, and of course, his line at the autograph party went on and on and on . . .
What an inspiration he has been to so many students and writers already, and how great that his poetry, his literacy work and his influence will now sail even farther.
And, naturally, I am beyond thrilled that a verse novel won the Newbery this year. Bravo, Kwame Alexander!
John Ashbery--Poetry and Visual Art
Last week at the NYU Creative Writers House, I attended a discussion event with poet John Ashbery, in conversation with poets Bianca Stone and Ben Pease. The two-hour discussion touched on comics and poetry, ekphrastic poetry, referential poetry, influences and visual art, long poems, and the mixing of high and low culture.
John Ashbery (right) reads from "Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror"Ashbery read an excerpt from "Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror." For background on this poem see "Ashbery, Parmigianino, and the Convex Mirror." Ashbery said that as a child and young student he'd dreamed of being a visual artist but switched to poetry. He spoke of his background in writing art criticism and the differences between writing a poem about a painting versus writing art criticism:
John Ashbery (right) reads from "Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror"Ashbery read an excerpt from "Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror." For background on this poem see "Ashbery, Parmigianino, and the Convex Mirror." Ashbery said that as a child and young student he'd dreamed of being a visual artist but switched to poetry. He spoke of his background in writing art criticism and the differences between writing a poem about a painting versus writing art criticism:"In writing poetry, the seeing happens through writing; writing a poem is making something that's not there, whereas writing about art is a critique of something already made."Later he read from "Daffy Duck in Hollywood," his most referential poem. Regarding the inclusion of references in poems that may be obscure or unfamiliar to a reader, Ashbery said:
"You can't be assured of total mutual comprehension between the reader and the writer. But if you think about that, it can keep you from writing a single line. So I don't."Ashbery's poetry often reads like a visual collage, and regarding his process of choosing references he said:
"You just get into a writing mode. I don't know why I choose these references and not others. But I find it exhilarating to escape from one reference to the next."On writing long poems Ashbery said:
"There is a built in layer of anxiety--you're always wondering if you'll be able to get back into the mood you were in when you started the poem."Intersections of visual art and writing always intrigue me and this conversation with John Ashbery gave me plenty to mull and had me immediately seeing new poems.
January 29, 2015
Books for a Global Society
Recently the Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) a nonprofit organization chartered by the International Reading Association, released the Notable Books for a Global Society--2015 List of Winners. The CL/R SLG website explains the list:
You can print and share the list of the 25 winning books for all the global readers in your midst.
I was honored to learn that my YA verse novel The Language Inside was on the list of 2014 winners. Somehow I have only just learned this news! Thank you, CL/R SIG!
And here I'd like to share, with his permission, the comments of a grade nine Japanese boy living outside of Japan who recently read The Language Inside:
And yes, I've read John Green's The Fault in Our Stars and I am totally honored by this boy's comment. And yes, I'm working on a complicated bicultural mystery!
Students everywhere, of all backgrounds and experiences and living in all the patchwork parts of the globe, deserve to be able to recognize themselves in books. With my novels set in Japan and elsewhere, I shall continue to do my best to write books for a global society.
"Annually, a committee of the CL/R SIG (Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group) of the International Reading Association selects 25 outstanding trade books for enhancing student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world. The committee reviews books representing all genres intended for students K-12."
You can print and share the list of the 25 winning books for all the global readers in your midst.
I was honored to learn that my YA verse novel The Language Inside was on the list of 2014 winners. Somehow I have only just learned this news! Thank you, CL/R SIG!
And here I'd like to share, with his permission, the comments of a grade nine Japanese boy living outside of Japan who recently read The Language Inside:
"Have you read The Fault in Our Stars? If not, you should. The Language Inside was kind of like An Imperial Affliction for Hazel Grace. It represented a lot of my struggles, being a Japanese in a foreign country . . . Maybe you should try writing a mystery/thriller/crime novel! It may be interesting to include a detective who is not only struggling with a crime, but also is struggling because of his nationality!"
And yes, I've read John Green's The Fault in Our Stars and I am totally honored by this boy's comment. And yes, I'm working on a complicated bicultural mystery!
Students everywhere, of all backgrounds and experiences and living in all the patchwork parts of the globe, deserve to be able to recognize themselves in books. With my novels set in Japan and elsewhere, I shall continue to do my best to write books for a global society.
