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By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 12/4/2015
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Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday! Buffy hosts today--her link is at the bottom.
The topic we TeachingAuthors are tossing around now? A favorite children's book we've read this year. Esther's weighed in with a touching picture book; I'm up to bat.
I almost went with the audio book of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (read by the author!). This classic celebrated it's 50th anniversary three years ago, but it was in September, as I zoomed up the 405 freeway to pack up family memories, that I was transported by L'Engle's words...and her worlds.
But the book which electrified the poetry particles in my brain is Deborah Ruddell's inventive collection, The Popcorn Astronauts--And Other Biteable Rhymes, whimsically illustrated by Joan Rankin.
As soon as I read it, I searched for Ms. Ruddell on Facebook and (blush) sent her this fan mail:
Hi, Deborah! I just read The Popcorn Astronauts and I'm blown away by your oh-my-gosh-REALLY?? metaphors that are so out-of-the-box they leave me gasping. And inspired.
Here's just a taste of how Ruddell sees at the world: fresh-popped kernels of corn are astronauts, a strawberry is royalty in a beaded suit, and raisins are wrinkled rocks with "the bold, enchanting taste of well-worn pirate socks."
Raise your hand if you've ever struggled to describe peach skin. In fact, stop reading this and close your eyes. Try to imagine peach skin with fresh eyes. Can you describe it in a completely original way?
Okay--open your eyes.. Now, raise your hand if you came close to this: "flannelpajamaty skin."Here's a snippet of
Jama Rattigan's fabulous book review and interview of Deborah Ruddell this spring:
Jama: Which poem was the most fun to write and why? Which poem was the hardest? Do you have a favorite?
Deborah: NO poem is ever easy for me to write. I am a slow and tormented poet! The hardest part is when I think I’ve almost got something, but it’s just out of reach. That happened with “Welcome to Watermelon Lake.” I had the image of the pink lake and the pale green shore, but making that image work as a poem was a struggle. Just when I thought I finally had it made, my editor suggested a third stanza in which I introduce the seeds! Argh!
Deborah's answer makes me feel better--I'm not alone! And yet, look how effortlessly that poem seem to flow (click to enlarge):
In the same interview, Deborah said that the poet who most inspires her is Alice Shertle. Me, too, me, too! posted joyously by April Halprin Wayland, with help from her elves, Monkey and Eli
.
Howdy, Campers--and Happy Poetry Friday! My poem is below, as is the link to PF.
What are you thankful for? Since 2011, we TeachingAuthors have each written a thanku (a haiku expressing gratitude) every November. Join us--use it as today's writing prompt!
.
Carmela started this round expressing her thanks in a graphically beautiful thanku about being in the middle of a house remodel.
Esther's post followed--she's jumping up and down with gratitude for a particular sports team. Now it's my turn.
I was noodling around last week, thinking about which of my many blessings I wanted to write about here: I'm grateful for monthly hikes with five amazing women; for my best friend who taught me that if I ever think about doing something nice, don't question the thought--just do it; for my husband, who taught me that a fork in the sink does not mean he doesn't love me. It's just a fork in the sink.
That's just the tip of the iceberg, the edge of the forest, a lick of the frosting, the preface in my gratitude book, of course.
Just this weekend I was strutting around like a proud you-know-what,
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congratulating myself that I hadn't gotten a flu shot and grateful that I was just fine, thank you very much, while several of my friends and family who HAD gotten flu shots were sick as dogs. Ha, ha, HA, said the
evil green woman inside me!
And then...well, you know what happened.
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| from morguefile.com |
BUT...I'm sure you'll be glad to know that the raging headache has abated and my eyes don't hate bright sunlight this morning. Yay, health, yay, sunlight (especially the glorious slant of morning sun)!
So...here's my...
THANKU FOR GOOD HEALTH
by April Halprin Wayland
Bees stopped stinging my
eyes...raise our curtains! The light
now tastes like honey. poem (c) 2015 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.(And if you ever want to know anything about REAL haiku, click on over to the wonderful Robyn Hood Black's
bounty of haiku resources.)
So, You, reading this...what are YOU thankful for? Join us in one of FOUR ways:
1. Share a thanku--or simply tell us what you're grateful for--in a comment to any of our blog posts from November 6th through Friday, November 27th.
2. Send them via email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com, with "
Thanks-Giving" as the subject. (Depending on the number of emails we receive, we may share some of your gratitiudes in our posts.)
3. Post them on your own blog, on your Facebook page, etc., and then share the link with us via a comment or email. Feel free to include our
Three Weeks of Thanks-Giving image (above) in your post. On Saturday, November 28, Carmela will provide a round-up of all the links we receive.
4. And
NEW THIS YEAR: share them as a comment on our
TeachingAuthors Facebook page. While you're there, we hope you'll also "Like" our page.
posted by April Halprin Wayland, who is grateful she is no longer in bed, but bouncing on her bosu:
.
Howdy, Campers! Happy Poetry Friday...and Happy Internet Day on October 29th!
The P.F. link and my poem are below (and trust me--today's host posts a tasty Poetry Friday!)
The Internet: it all began 46 years ago with Leonard KleinrockWith this post, TeachingAuthors launches a short series celebrating the birth of the internet. And we want to hear from
you: has the internet changed you? In what ways? What comes to mind when you think of the internet?
According to
TheInternetDay.com, on October 29, 1969, under the supervision of UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock, the first message was sent over an internet connection.
(Click here for the sound of connecting to the internet via dial-up...)
When I think of the internet, I think of moving to a new town, into our new house and connecting to the internet, in 1994. Not long after, my friend Barney Saltzberg (whom we've
featured several times on this blog) and I began to
email each other. We could read each other's thoughts--instantly! We could complete each other's sentences! We could talk deep into the night without speaking! We could collaborate on stories through the air! It was
A-freakin'-MAZING.
My. Brain. Exploded. Were our lives ever going to be the same again?
Mine was not. Not long after, I met
Courtney Campbell, who regularly tours schools in Europe. She was incredibly generous, sharing the contact information of her host in Germany. If she had simply given me his snail mail address, I may have stuck that note in my desk and never done a thing about it. Instead, she gave me magic: his email address. I emailed him that evening: "Hello! Would you be interested in having an author visit your schools?"
In the morning, his reply arrived: "How soon can you come?"
And so began several years of my touring schools in Europe. Yup. My life had changed forever.
When I think of the internet, I also think of how each freshly-baked email, each amazing link, each post by every dear friend is a pretty shiny thing which grabs my attention...again and again and again...
...wait, what was my point?
My brain on the internet.
from www.gifbay.com
...and I see how the very structure of my life has changed since that initial euphoria Barney and I tasted, splashing in the shallow end of the 'net.
When I think of the internet, I also feel weighted down.
Off to chop down a few emails...
These days the internet is an unending desire to send a friendly and intelligent reply to every message in my inbox.
It's perpetually polishing my shiny online portrait.
It's forever unfinished homework.
How did we go so quickly from "Oh, WOW--this internet thing is
AMAZING!" to "I can't drive with you to the party tonight--I'll meet you there. I need to finish my blog post and I have too many emails to answer" which--and I swear this is true--I just said five minutes ago (paraphrased) to my husband.
Still,
when I think of the internet, I
also think of Paul Simon's stunning song (co-written by Forere Mothoeloa),
The Boy in The Bubble, on Simon's Graceland album, 1986.
Here is the chorus:
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long-distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby don’t cry
Don’t cry
(here are the rest of the lyrics)
(If you'd like to simply listen to the song, then you can stare at a static image of the Graceland album's cover as you listen here. On the other hand, if you'd like to see Simon's official music video--i.e. pretty shiny stuff--here 'tis.) In the spirit of that song, here's a poem I wrote in April 2012--which I rewrote last night and again (and again) today--thank you, Bruce and ADR, through the miracle of the internet!
MIRACLES AND WONDER
by April Halprin Wayland
"The average farmer’s wife is one of the most patient and overworked women of the time." ~ The American Farmer, 1884
Illinois, spring,
I am descending fifteen flights of stairs
from my lonely hotel room
to a breakfast of buttered toast and eggs.
Each empty floor’s the same:
the same metal stairs,
the same smell of dust and cleanser,
the same beige walls...
so I pull my cell out of a zippered pocket,
dial my sister to say hi, to keep me company,
and as her phone rings in California,
I am descending in time.
I imagine a prairie wife,
one who helped lace the land with barbed wire,
churned butter, gathered eggs, fed the fire,
birthed and buried babies.
No time for mourning.
As winds scratched the plains,
she murmured to the hens.
She had no other company.
She might have called her sister
if she had had a phone,
might never have wandered off,
head tilted back, mumbling to the wide sky.
Each day was the same,
the same metal horizon,
the same smell of dust and scrub,
the same beige crops...her solitary lot.
If only a phone
instead of a lonely yearning;
with a single cell she might have kept
her own fire burning.
poem and drawing (c) 2015 by April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
So now,
when I think of the internet--when I think of
any technology--I may be overwhelmed (a dilemma which the next generation of users will undoubtedly solve) but I'm also singing about Miracles and Wonder.
Are you?
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby don’t cry
Don’t cry
posted in waves of wonder by April Halprin Wayland
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 10/2/2015
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Howdy, Campers ~ and Happy Poetry Friday! My poem's below, as is the link to today's Poetry Friday round-up.
The topic we TeachingAuthors are knocking around this time is Making a Living as a Writer.
Carmela starts us off with a TeachingAuthors' Book Giveaway of the 2016 CWIM which includes two of her articles, once of which is aptly titled, Making a Living as a Writer; Esther addresses the many ways she's made writing pay...and other pay-offs that result, and our Wednesday Writing Workout, written by former TeachingAuthor Laura Purdie Salas, is titled Is Writing on Assignment Right for You?
So--what are my 3 Tips to Make a Living as a Writer?
1) Write a Classic.
2) Find a Secondary Occupation which actually pays.
3) Define Making a Living
(Hmm...maybe Define Making a Living should come first.)
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| from morguefile.com |
And now for a story about making money as a poet.
I've sold poems to anthologies, testing services and magazines. Between 1995 and 2011 I sold 30 poems to
Carus Publishing Company (publisher of
Cricket Magazine and many others). I'm going to brag here because it still makes me proud: in 2003 they asked me to write a poem for a progressive story in honor of the 30th anniversary of
Cricket.At the time, they paid $3 per line.
In 1997 I asked
John D. Allen, my
all-time favorite editor, if I might possibly be given a raise.
John's response: "As for $4.00 per line...well, I'm afraid we can't do that. Our policy is to keep the same pay scale for all poems. Sorry. I hope that's not too much of a problem."
Okay, I wrote. Could you give me a free subscription to
Cricket? My son was then eight years old.
He replied: "I wish I could offer you an author discount or a subscription credit against your sales, but I'm told I can't. We don't give out much of any discounts besides the early renewal one you checked on your form. And shifting author payments toward subscriptions would create some sort of accountant's nightmare around here. (Actually, that's all a lie. I was told I could offer you any sort of discount I wanted, as long as the difference came out of my salary. So I thought, Well, I could make April's life a little easier, and it wouldn't cost me much--probably just the price of the cinnamon Pop-Tarts I was planning to buy for an afternoon snack. But then, well, one thing led to another, and to make a long story short, the Pop-Tarts were delicious.)
I loved working with John. I loved seeing my poems in
BabyBug, Ladybug, Spider and
Cricket. I surrendered. Sort of.
In 1998, I responded to his suggestion that I cut a repeated stanza from a poem he'd accepted:
"I'm so glad you like the poem, "Music Critic"! I have enclosed the poem as it reads without the repetition and also another version to see if there might be some way we could keep the repetition in the poem. Do the new repeats make it any clearer for your readers? If not, I'd be glad to omit the second stanza. I do like the repetition and will probably re-insert it if it gets published again...but I also trust your judgment for your readers.
My husband Gary, who is a CPA (deep into Tax Season as I write this) asked me to ask you if you were going to pay me for the invisible stanza."
Here is the poem John critiqued--without the repetition:
MUSIC CRITIC
(THE OCEAN’S OPINION)
by April Halprin Wayland
This guy drags his drum set onto the sand
so that I have a front row seat
takes off his jeans jacket
snaps his wide red suspenders
and lets loose:
he is in his space
sun is on his face
gulls in the air
clouds in his hair
Go man, go!
I clap against the shore,
rise up and give him a standing ovation
More!
published in Cricket Magazine December 1999
© 2015 by April Halprin Wayland. Used with permission of the author, who controls all rights
This poem was subsequently awarded
SCBWI's 1999
Magazine Merit Award for Poetry. (You're right, John! I take it all back!)
* * *
If you haven't already done so, enter
our latest Book Giveaway of the 2016 Children's Writer's & Illustrators Market
posted with love by April Halprin Wayland, who just got home after a beautiful and challenging six mile hike in Malibu followed by an electric car adventure (long story)
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 9/24/2015
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I'm back!
Carmela here. I've been on a blogging break for much of this year, busy working on other projects, both personal and professional. (I have continued behind-the-scenes as our TeachingAuthors blog administrator, though, so I haven't been completely out of touch.) Today, I'm back to celebrate the publication of two of my articles in the just-released 2016 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (also known as the CWIM) edited by Chuck Sambuchino (Writer's Digest Books).
At the end of this post, you'll have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win
your very own copy of the
2016 CWIM (courtesy of Writer's Digest Books)!
Since today is
Poetry Friday, I'll also be sharing a poem--an excerpt from Barney Saltzberg's new picture book
Inside this Book (Are Three Books), published by Abrams Appleseed. One of my articles in the 2016 CWIM is an interview with Barney, who is an amazing author, illustrator, singer, and songwriter. More about him and his new book below.
First, I'd like to talk a little about my other article in the 2016 CWIM:
"Make a Living as a Writer."[My original title was
"Making a Living Writing, Even If You’re Not a Bestselling Author" but I guess that was too long. :-) ]
For
"Make a Living as a Writer," I invited four traditionally published trade book authors who are also successful freelancers to share their experiences and advice regarding ways to supplement book royalty income. The four authors included my fellow
TeachingAuthor,
JoAnn Early Macken, former
TeachingAuthor,
Laura Purdie Salas, author and writing coach,
Lisa Bullard, and scientist-turned-children's author,
Vijaya Bodach. The article includes their tips on landing work-for-hire assignments, balancing work-for-hire with other career goals, and preparing submission packages for educational publishers.
The four authors also shared specific resources for finding supplemental income, including:
Over the next few weeks, my fellow TeachingAuthors will continue the conversation on this topic by sharing their own advice related to finding supplemental income. And Laura Purdie Salas will return to post a special Guest Wednesday Writing Workout on September 30, called "Is Writing on Assignment Right for You?" If this topic is of interest to you, be sure to enter our giveaway so you can read more about how to "Make a Living as a Writer."
Even if you're not looking for ways to supplement your writing income, you'll want your own copy of the 2016 CWIM for my interview with the amazing Barney Saltzberg, along with all the other helpful articles, interviews, and market information!
Barney Saltzberg, for those of you who may not know, is the author and/or illustrator of over
FIFTY books. Back in January,
April wrote a great post in honor of Beautiful Oops! Day, a day inspired by Barney's wonderful book,
Beautiful Oops! (Workman Publishing). Since then, Barney has published three more books: The first two books in a new board book series from Workman Publishing,
Redbird: Colors, Colors Everywhere and
Redbird: Friends Come in Different Sizes, and the picture book
Inside this Book (Are Three Books), published by Abrams Appleseed. Here's a brief description of
Inside this Book:"Inside This Book is a tribute to self-publishing in its most pure and endearing form. Three siblings create three books of their own using blank paper that they bind together (in descending sizes to match birth order). One sibling's work inspires the next, and so on, with each book's text and art mirroring the distinct interests and abilities of its creator. Upon completion of their works, the siblings put one book inside the other, creating a new book to be read and shared by all.
The second sibling in the book is named Fiona. She is "an artist and a poet," so her "book" is filled with poetry. In honor of
Poetry Friday, here's an excerpt from Fiona's section of
Inside this Book.
from Inside this Book, Too, by Fiona . . . Can you tell I love to rhyme? I play with words all the time. I write a poem every day. My new favorite is “Who Wants to Play?” . . . © Barney Saltzberg, used with permission, all rights reserved I've kept this excerpt short to inspire you to get Barney's book for yourself. After you've read it, you'll understand why the
School Library Journal review of
Inside this Book said:
"Readers may well be empowered to write their very own stories or books."
Be sure to check out today's
Poetry Friday roundup over at the
Poetry for Children blog
AFTER you enter our giveaway drawing.
And now, for our giveaway info:Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win your own copy of the
2016 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market , You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.
If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY'S blog post. If your name isn't part of your comment "identity," please include it in your comment for verification purposes!(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to:
teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.)
Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.
The giveaway ends
October 10 and is open to U.S. residents only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 8/21/2015
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Howdy, Campers--happy Poetry Friday (link at the bottom) and happy home grown veggies to all! (Did you know that August 2-8th was National Farmers Market Week? Or that August 22nd is National Honey Bee Day and September 7th is National Acorn Squash Day?)
We're blogging about going back to school this round. Esther starts us off with a review of Kate Messner's book on revision, a useful and inspiring book; JoAnn writes about using repetition and how to Write a Poem Step by Step, and you can win her book of that very title by entering the latest TeachingAuthors' book giveaway (which ends tonight at midnight) Then Carla shows how to approach the familiar How I Spent My Summer Vacation essay as a non-fiction writer, and Mary Ann tells us the story behind her wonderful book, First Grade Stinks!
Now it's my turn. I'm here to suggest two very different books for this time of year. One about food, one about forgiveness...and the new year.
This collection,with photographs by Norie Wasserman (wonderful cover!) includes poems about small gardens, free range chickens, bees, farmers' markets, fair trade, food banks, a poem that mentions Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, and more.
Any of these would be a wonderful topic for student poems, stories or a class discussion about food and farming. And the remarkable
Renee LaTulippe, at
No Water River, has created what she calls
"poet-a-palooza" about Dear Tomato. which includes videos of some of the poets reading their poems from this book. Many of the poems are by friends from the Kidlitosphere, including B.J.Lee, Mary Lee Hahn, Charles Waters, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Bridget Magee, Buffy Silverman, Stephen Withrow, J. Patrick Lewis, Elizabeth Steinglass, and I'm sure I've missed some others.
This is the book I've been giving my neighborhood gardeners with whom I trade homegrown veggies. Here's one of my poems from the book:
HOE OBSERVING THE FARMER
by April Halprin Wayland
.
He knows a hoe.
Never letting go.
Holds me steady in his grip,
lifts me up to rip against the weight of air.
Then he pulls me back, bearing down,
yielding to the power of the ground.
Holds me steady in his grip,
never letting go.
He knows
a hoe.
poem (c)2015 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
my father and mother on the farm
The second book, relevant this time of year is:
The Jewish New Year--Rosh Hashanah--is on September 13-15th this year, so now is a good time to read my picture book,
New Year at the Pier--a Rosh Hashanah Story illustrated by Stephane Jorisch. Here's Dial Books for Young Readers' summary:
Izzy's favorite part of Rosh Hashanah is Tashlich, a joyous ceremony in which people apologize for the mistakes they made in the previous year and thus clean the slate as the new year begins. But there is one mistake on Izzy's I m sorry list that he's finding especially hard to say out loud.Humor, touching moments between family and friends, and lots of information about the Jewish New Year are all combined in this lovely picture book for holiday sharing.
Winner of the Sydney Taylor Gold Medal for best Jewish picture book of the year
Here are four ways to use
New Year at the Pier with kids--and adults:
1) Use it to explain to students where absent schoolmates may be during the Jewish New Year.
2) Use it to open discussions about
how to apologize and forgive.
3) Use it to show how other cultures celebrate New Year.
4) Give it to someone you’ve wanted to apologize to for a long time
Click here for more activities,and for New Year rituals around the world.
It's been nice chatting with you today--thanks for allowing me to share ~ April Halprin Wayland
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 6/26/2015
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Howdy, Campers--and Happy Poetry Friday (original poem and PF link below)!
This is the last of our series about punctuation and related topics. Bobbi started us off with For the Love of Comma (her post was mentioned in Quercus), Esther offers A New Mark of Punctuation (sort of)...,Carla illustrates her point with specific examples from her books in How You Tell the Story Makes a Difference, and Mary Ann pleads, Can We Give the Exclamation Point a Rest?
* * * *
When my son was four, he was lying on the floor leisurely looking at a book one morning when I rushed in. "C'mon, honey--we've gotta
go!"
"Okay, Mommy," he said marking his page, "lemme put it on pause."
Don't you love that?
my kiddo...who will be entering medical school in January
Put it on pause. Commas, line breaks and periods give pause; they remind us to breathe. Like Bobbi, I love commas. My summer present to you: three things about commas to make you smile:
1) A few years ago, I bought my mom (a true Punctuation Queen) this plaque.
(Mom loved it.)
2) When my son was in elementary school, I read poetry to his class once a week. I was trying to be like my teacher,
Myra Cohn Livingston: I wanted to share poetry with no strings attached. As I read, they listened, just listened. Nothing was expected of them. I read every poem twice.
At the end of each year, I gave them each a collection of the poems they loved; in third grade, this was one of their favs (make sure to take a big breath before attempting to read it aloud!):
Call the Periods
Call the CommasBy Kalli Dakos
Call the doctors Call the nurses Give me a breath of
air I’ve been reading all your stories but the periods
aren’t there Call the policemen Call the traffic guards
Give me a STOP sign quick Your sentences are running
when they need a walking stick Call the commas Call
the question marks Give me a single clue Tell me
where to breathe with a punctuation mark or twoFrom
If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand; Poems about School by Kalli Dakos, illustrated by Brian Karas (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1995) 3) We're told so much about the health benefits of deep breathing; of taking time to slow down.
Remember to Breathe, they say.
And just think: as writers,
with our very own fingers, we have
magic power. Add a comma, push the pause button.
Applause for the Pauseby April Halprin Wayland
A comma,a breaking linea period.
A day off,a week awaysummer.
poem (c)2015 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
* * * *
And finally, congratulations to TeachingAuthors' latest Book Giveaway Winner:
Poetry Friday is at
Carol's Corner this week--thanks for hosting, Carol!
As I said,
TeachingAuthors is taking our annual Summer Blogging Break after this post (our
sixth annual blogging break, for those of you who are paying attention). We'll be back in
two shakes of a lamb's tail--which technically is Monday, July 13th. So, grab your towel, dive into the pool, and swim a few laps while we're gone ~ TTFN!
posted on a summer's day by April Halprin Wayland--with help from Eli (dog), Snot (cat), and Monkey.
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 6/5/2015
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Howdy Campers!
I'm wildly inspired by the postings of my fellows at Poetry Friday today--see the link below.
Bobbi begins our What-Inspires-You series with Inspirations and Geniuses; Jo Ann is up next with the help of her camera: Zooming in on Inspiration; Esther offers An Inspiring Weekly Digest You Need to Know About; Carla opens our eyes to Inspiration From the Library of Congress; and Mary Ann touches us with tales about family members in Inspiration is a Blast From the Past.
So what are the top three things that inspire my daily poems?
1) Um...deadlines.
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” ~ Douglas Adams
I was inspired to write this post today when I was putting an appointment in my calendar...and saw that I was supposed to have posted this morning. Oops!
"My sole inspiration is a telephone call from a director." ~ Cole Porter, composer and songwriter
Deadlines and assignments mean that I cannot take all day cleaning my proverbial closet. I write and rewrite...and bam!--even if it's not the world's most perfect piece, I post it or send it off--done!
2) Life. Especially the sad parts. "I've had an unhappy life, thank God." ~ Russell Baker, author, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist
The difficult and/or unhappy times of my life are rich grounds for writing. I can create this richness, though, even when my life is humming along, if I listen to what's happening in my chest cavity. If I walk into the world looking for my poem, all senses open.
The last time my mom and I took a nature walk. She's the shorter one.
3) Someone who believes in me. Two or three someones is even better. "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher
My husband came with me on a quick trip to meet with my agent and two of my editors this week. I wanted him to meet these significant people in my work life. New York can be exhilarating...and it can scare the pants off me, too. It always takes me a day to remember how to use the subways and navigate the city. His presence on the subway and in those meetings meant the world to me.
My sailing-around-the-world friend,
Bruce, is a daily supporter of my work, even when he says the poem doesn't work (which of course I know he's just not reading correctly--he's clearly tired from working on the boat all day).
Every writer in my critique groups past and present and everyone in the
Kidlitosphere community: we cheer each other on; that cheering echoes and echoes and echoes inside all of us.
my team
And so? Here's today's (raw) poem written 1) for a
deadline, 2) based on
life, and with the
support of--well, all of you.
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATIONby April Halprin Wayland
bald little godsits on the pond’s rim, his feet all in
his head turning side to sidetoward fluttering leavestoward ebbing tide
below impatient cloudsthat mumble, This is going too slow
so they snap out a spiky lighting streak and Man—does little god go!
He jumps right up and does he run!He’s going, going, getting thingsDONE!poem and drawings (c) April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.Get inspired by the bounty at
Buffy's Blog today--thanks for hosting, Buffy!
posted by April Halprin Wayland, Monkey, and our always inspired dog, Eli
So,
I’d like to take a side road of sorts in continuing our TeachingAuthors discussion on writers’ reader considerations.
Yes, indeedy, I agree with my fellow bloggers: writing with passion trumps every consideration when we are writing to tell ourselves the story.
That kind of telling is the stuff of our firstdraft, our first pass, at who and what grabbed our hearts.Our second draft, though?
That’s the draft in which we make choices to grow a story and tell that story the best way possible to our intended reader.IMHO, the “best way possible” considers where that reader is chronologically, emotionally and cognitively so he or she can easily travel the story, can emotionally connect with the characters, can live inside the story and take its truths into his or her heart.When I read a student’s or writer’s manuscript for the very first time, when I read my own first drafts readying to finally revise, I read on behalf of the intended young reader.
Both the story and the format must be age-appropriate, of course.But do I know who claims the story and what it’s about? Am I grounded in the story’s time and place? What kind of story am I expecting? Left unanswered, those questions will likely force the intended reader to leave the story.Language must also be considered – word choice, sentence structure, metaphorical language, as JoAnn noted when she wrote about assessing reading levels in her Friday post.And richness of language need not be sacrificed – ever (!) - for clarity.JoAnn’s post brought a smile as I remembered my experience this past September attempting to write original poems for the newest addition to THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGYseries (Pomelo Books), THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR CELEBRATIONS, scheduled for an official April 1, 2015 pub date. The book features 150 poems in Spanish and English versions for preK and up, covering a wide variety of celebrations: Poem in Your Pocket Day to National Pet Week to Juneteenth to International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day to World Bread Day to Winter Solstice. Invited writers could choose a day that spoke to them and try their hand at creating a poem.Hmmm…National Hat Month? I loved that idea and began fingering my way through my Roget’s Thesaurus, having a high ol’ time.
Here’s the poem I first submitted, in celebration of National Hat Month: Mixed-up Mad Hatterisms to Celebrate Hat Month
Bees in your beanie.
A feather in your fez.
Pass the fedora.
Bearskin in hand.
Tom scored a tam trick!
Talking through your cap.
Tip o’ my turban.
Pass the sombrero.
Helmets off!
At the drop of a wimple.
Home is where you hang your beret.
(Copyright 2014 Esther Hershenhorn)
The anthology editor Janet Wong returned the poem, kindly reminding me of the designated preK-and-older audience.
Hmmm…National Write a Letter of Appreciation Week?That’s the ticket! I thought.I brainstormed all sorts of letter-writing possibilities and settled on our TeachingAuthors Thank-u’s.Here’s the second poem I sent off to Janet:
A Haiku Thank You Dear (fill-in-the-blank),
You knew how to make me smile.
Thank-u very much.
(Copyright 2014 Esther Hershenhorn)
Janet remained kind while again reminding me of the designated preK-and-older audience.
“How about St. Patrick’s Day?” Janet wrote me. “There’s St. Patrick and everyone dressed in green and folks even dye their rivers green!”
I think I got this now! I thought. And I was off and running.
This time, though, after brainstorming All Things St. Patrick’s Day, I thought about my pre-K and K readers. I even Googled “St. Patrick’s Day curriculum for preschoolers” to learn the top 3 take-aways for little ones about this day.
I’m currently unable to share my finally-accepted poem, “St. Patrick’s Day.”Happy Writing!
Our young readers deserve our passion, our best writing – and – IMHO, our consideration of their chronological, emotional and cognitive needs.
Esther Hershenhorn
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 10/17/2014
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Happy Poetry Friday, Everyone! Today I'll be sharing a fun, "spooky" poem by David L. Harrison. But first I'll tell you about my latest publication, an article in the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market (Writer’s Digest Books), edited by Chuck Sambuchino. Then, at the end of this post, you'll find instructions for how to enter to win your very own copy of the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market!
If you're not familiar with the
Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market (also known as the
CWIM),
here's an excerpt from the book's blurb.
"If you write or illustrate for young readers with the hope of getting published, the '2015 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market' is the trusted resource you need. Now in its 27th edition, 'CWIM' is the definitive publishing guide for anyone who seeks to write or illustrate for kids and young adults. Inside you'll find more than 500 listings for children's book markets (publishers, agents, magazines, and more)--including a point of contact, how to properly submit your work, and what categories each market accepts."
In addition to the market listing, the CWIM includes great articles, interviews, and success stories. This year's edition features my interview roundup article, "Writing for Boys (and other 'Reluctant Readers')." The piece contains advice and insights from four award-winning authors known for writing books that appeal to reluctant readers:
Matt de la Peña,
Lenore Look,
David Lubar, and
Steve Sheinkin.
Although these authors write a wide variety of books, and everything from picture books to young adult novels, there was one bit of advice they all agreed on: If you want your writing to appeal to boys and other reluctant readers, don't try to target this particular audience. That's right, DON'T target them. Instead, write what moves, excites, or interests YOU. Then, "revise it over and over until it hums," as Matt de la Peña said. All four of the authors shared additional, specific advice on how to reach reluctant readers, especially boys. So be sure to enter our giveaway below for a chance to win your own copy of the CWIM!
In researching "Writing for Boys (and other 'Reluctant Readers')," I discovered some very discouraging statistics about boys and reading. Not only do girls, on average, score higher on reading tests than boys, but the gender gap is widening. Fortunately, the news isn't all dire. As
Jon Scieszka, the first
National Ambassador of Young People's Literature and founder of Guys Read points out on the
GuysRead website:
". . . the good news is that research also shows that boys will read—if they are given reading that interests them."
Poetry can be a great way to hook boys (and other reluctant readers), especially if it's short, funny, and/or focuses on boy-friendly topics, such as sports, adventure, animals, and the supernatural. You'll find some wonderful books that fit this bill on the
GuysRead list of poetry books. I also recommend just about anything written by David L. Harrison. His book
Bugs: Poems about Creeping Things (Wordsong), illustrated by Rob Shepperson, is chock-full of poems with lots of boy-appeal. Here's one example:
cicada ghosts
Haunted skins cling emptily to the rough bark of the hackberry tree,
and farther up where I can't see, ghosts are buzzing eerily: zz-zz-zz-zz zeeeeee! © David L. Harrison, all rights reservedIf you'd like to see the wonderful illustration that accompanies this poem in
Bugs: Poems about Creeping Things, visit
this page on David's blog (after you enter our drawing below!).
Finally, before you head over to check out these resources or the other great poems in this week's
Poetry Friday round-up at
Today's Little Ditty, you'll want to enter to win your own copy of the
2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market. You can do that via the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post. You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options.
For option 2, "Leave a Blog Post Comment," you must share a comment to TODAY'S blog post and include your name!(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to:
teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com. )
The giveaway
ends on Oct. 31.
Good luck and happy writing!
Carmela
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how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the
difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address. Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.
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By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 10/3/2014
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Howdy, Campers!
The winner of our latest autographed
book giveaway is....KAY S! Congratulations, Kay!
Today is Poetry Friday and the fabulous
Jama Rattigan is hosting. A poem from my first verse novel is waiting for you at the end of this post. The poem is about...
Creativity!
In case you've missed
TeachingAuthors' series on Creativity,
JoAnn started us off with kindness and community, Jill left us on a high note with
5 secrets of creativity, Esther got our juices flowing with a
Writing Workout inspired by punctuation, Carmela offered "
4 Ways I Boost my Creativity", and Mary Ann, back from a TA sabbatical (yay!),
grants us permission.
My turn!
Here are four reasons why I think you should give up trying to be creative:
1)
Don't you dare tell me what to do; 2)
Get miserable; 3)
Find someone so frickin' honest you want to hit them.4)
Write weird things. Other peoples' brains are are loony as yours. Trust me.1)
Don't you dare tell me what to do. For me, authentic ideas come most easily when no one is expecting a product; when I let myself play with words...the reason I fell in love with writing.
If you're our regular reader,you know I've been writing a poem a day since April 1, 2010. I send them to my best friend, author
Bruce Balan, who sails around the world in a trimaran, and he sends me his poem. (BTW, Oct. 2nd was Bruce's birthday. Since it's past his birthday, kindly sing to him
the Birthday Song...backwards.)
Bruce can always smell if a poem is an assignment. "It's stiff," he'll write. "It's not you."
After I shake my fist at his sail mail critique, I pretend I'm not writing on assignment. I toss out everything I think I'm
supposed to write and stand on my head...because I WANT to stand on my head. That's when words begin to flow from my heart.
%2Bby%2BApril%2BHalprin%2BWayland.JPG) |
| Me, writing a poem...okay, not LITERALLY on my head... |
2) Get miserable...(if you're already depressed, think of it as a big mud hole of ideas made especially for you!) Some of my deepest, truest words are written when I am in a muddle of misery...or when I think back to some terrible time in my life, feeling every heartsick, petrified or bewildered feeling. (Why would anyone want to bring back life's worst moments in living color? You think writers might be just a teensy bit cuckoo?)
So, how can you stimulate creativity in students? Make sure there's misery in their lives. When I read my students the tender book,
I Remember Miss Perry by
Pat Brisson, illustrated by
Stéphane Jorisch (about the death of a beloved elementary school teacher), the topics they choose to tackle are much deeper than if I give them time to write without reading it first.
3)
Find someone so frickin' honest you want to hit him. I write better when someone who believes in me and who is on the writing path with me (usually Bruce) reads my work and tells me his truth. (Sometimes I want to throw darts at him for his stupid, doo-doo head honesty--good thing he's in Thailand right now.)
Exhibit #1--recent correspondence between us:
From: Bruce To: April Subject: RE: poem for September 25, 2014 Hi You,This feels more like a very short story than a poem.Doesn’t have your heart in it. It feels like an assignment.Love,B
(See what I mean? Can't he just pretend a little bit that he likes it?)
From: April To: BruceSubject: Re: poem for September 25, 2014
Well, damn.
I read it again tonight and see that you're right. But maybe I can do something with it. But maybe I can't.
Not sure it's worth it.
I am so tangled up in my novel. I wish I could hire someone to sit with me and figure the darn thing out.
Why do we do this, again? I forget.xxx,April
From: Bruce To: April Subject: RE: poem for September 25, 2014
"I wish I could hire someone to sit with me and figure the darn thing out."Unfortunately that is not possible. I, too, wish I could hire someone to fix so many problems but those problems always seem to be ones I need to deal with…not someone else.I hate that part about writing.B
4)
Write weird things. Other peoples' brains are as loony as yours. Trust me. Go ahead, unlock the heavy wooden door in your brain and let the odd stuff out.
 |
| Let the odd stuff out (this odd stuff is from morguefile.com) |
For example, here's a poem I thought no one would get. I wasn't even sure
I got it. And listen to this: my editor didn't throw it out--it's in my book,
Girl Coming in for a Landing--a novel in poems (Knopf 2002)!
WRITER: CREATOR
I want to
make something
beautiful.
Peaches.
If I could
make peaches--grow them
from my pen...
or stretching my palms
up to the sun, watch as
they grow from my lifeline,
that
would be something
beautiful.
drawing and poem (c) 2014 by April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved. Okay, I'm done. I order you to be creative.
GO. And remember, Poetry Friday is at
Jama's today!
Posted by April Halprin Wayland, who thanks you for reading all the way down to the end.
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 8/22/2014
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Howdy, Campers and Happy Poetry Friday!
We
TeachingAuthors are discussing handwriting versus keyboard typing--read which
Carmela,
Laura, and
Esther prefer.
Me? I'm bi.
When I'm in a boring meeting (or even an interesting meeting), under the hair dryer at the beauty parlor, or the passenger on a long trip, I'm happy to write poems in my little notebooks with my
favorite pen.
.
But I became a writer as on one of these:
and my brain and fingers still adore keys.
So I wrote two poems today in honor of both:
TYPING
by April Halprin Wayland
It’s a sound idea—a muscular,a strong one.
It’s strapping, able-bodied oneit’s beefy—it’s a long one.
It’s a strapping noun,it’s her fingers plunked downwith a most decisive click.
It’s a piece of punctuationthat’s sealed—it sticks.
LONGHAND.by April Halprin Wayland
liquid longhand sometimes flowsor oozes slowit drains from a dream to its place on the page
where it will not linger no, the pen seeps deeperbeneath each linewhere longhand makes its own design
poems (c) 2014 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
And if you haven't already done so, don't forget to enter our current giveaway for a chance to win the historical middle-grade novel Odin's Promise (Crispin Press) by Sandy Brehl. See JoAnn's post for all the details.(We're supposed to sign our names at the bottom of each post...so hi, it's me--April Halprin Wayland! G'bye!)
.
Howdy Campers and Happy Poetry Friday!
Perhaps my ritual is Doing Everything But Write First (which can be incredibly productive or incredibly fattening.)
I actually call it Circling the Chair Time:
PROCRASTINATION
by April Halprin Wayland
Ancient dog
circled in the grass
round and round
to tamp it down
I am dog
circling, too
round and round
as all dogs do
round my homework,
round my desk
finally, working
then I rest.
published in Cricket Magazine
poem and drawing (c) 2014 April Halprin Wayland all rights reserved
BTW, the above is a mask poem--written from the point of view of something that doesn't speak.
What's your ritual? Monkey wants to know.
Yep, the images are small--but that's to entice you...check it out! posted by April Halprin Wayland with help from Monkey and Eli.
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 9/27/2013
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Howdy Campers and happy Poetry Friday!
See the end of this post for a link to the Poetry Friday round-up at Amy LV's and for info on our Book Giveaway.
Today we're celebrating author Alexis O'Neill's newest book with Book Giveaway! Hark! Here comes Alexis now:
Yes, that's Alexis wearing the crown--and she deserves it as the author of
THE RECESS QUEEN (Scholastic),
THE WORST BEST FRIEND (Scholastic),
LOUD EMILY (Simon and Schuster),
ESTELA'S SWAP (Lee
& Low) and her newest offspring,
THE KITE THAT BRIDGED TWO NATIONS:
Homan Walsh And The First Niagara Suspension Bridge
(Calkins Creek). She's also written fiction and nonfiction for
Cricket, Spider, Cobblestone, Calliope, Faces, and
Odyssey.
I've known Alexis since
Janet Wong founded the
Children's Authors Network (CAN!) during the classical era of the children's literature movement.
Alexis is an absolutely amazing teacher. In one memorable workshop, she taught CAN! authors how to create and present teacher inservices. It was an extraordinary presentation and it formed how I respond and present to teachers to this day.
Alexis has golden credentials in the field of education: she's a former elementary teacher with a Ph.D. in teacher education, she's an instructor for the
UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, a museum education consultant, a
Regional Advisor for SCBWI in California, and a contributor to the
SCBWI Bulletin, writing her column, “
The Truth About School Visits.” Her blog,
www.SchoolVisitExperts.com, offers practical advice to published authors and illustrators who are trying to navigate the world of public appearances.
This August, she was named
SCBWI Member of the Year --and though it was a complete surprise to her (though to no one else), she sang a sea shanty as she accepted the award.
Because that's who Alexis is--generous, original and dramatic. It's as if her goal is always to bring the classroom, the auditorium, fellow authors--whoever is around--together. As if she is a shepherd and we are the community she's teaching and keeping safe.
This is Alexis, keeping us safe.
Her new book,
THE KITE THAT BRIDGED TWO NATIONS: HOMAN WALSH AND THE FIRST NIAGARA SUSPENSION BRIDGE (Calkins Creek, September 2013) tells the true, dramatic story of how an ordinary boy earned an extraordinary place in history, using his kite to lay the first line for the first suspension bridge at Niagara Falls in the winter of 1848. Watch this 1:42 minute book trailer for a taste of the book:
So, Alexis, how did you become a TeachingAuthor?
I’ve been a
TeachingAuthor all my life! As a kid, I convinced my dad to hang a blackboard in the garage and persuaded the neighborhood kids to sit in my “class.” After school, I wrote (and sold) a neighborhood newspaper which I composed on my mom’s portable typewriter. As a grown up, I’ve taught elementary school students, teacher education candidates, and, as a published author, writers.
What's a common problem/question that teachers or students have and how do you address it?
Students of all ages are so afraid of being “wrong.” My advice to them is to just play with words! Don’t worry about what other people think of your work. Can’t find a word? Make it up! Or make a mark to come back to that spot later. Just mess around, and in that mess, you might find the seed of an idea that can sprout into a full-blown piece of writing that you will want to share later on. To address this problem when we do writing exercises, I tell students up front that no one will collect their writing – and that they can decide when and what they will share with the group.
Was there a moment in your life when you knew you were a writer?
The moment I knew I was a writer was when my sixth grade teacher read my report on Ireland out loud to the class. Instead of a dry, factual presentation, I had “pretended,” in my narrative, to be a tour guide who was taking the whole class with her on a trip. First, I was surprised that he read it out loud, then I was really surprised when, at recess, my classmates came up to me and said how much they liked what I had written. That’s when a big light bulb went on over my head. “Wow! I can write for an audience, and not just for my teacher!” I thought.
From that moment on, I made all of my reports as creative as possible. For example, my report on the Alamo was told from the point of view of the only survivor (there were none in reality, but that didn’t stop me.) Now I know I was writing historical fiction. But I kept doing this, and teachers kept reading my work out loud in my classes. The birth of a writer – writing for an audience and not just for a grade from my teachers!
And finally, since it's Poetry Friday in the Kidlitosphere, do you have an original poem you'd like to share with our readers?
THE FALLS
by Alexis O'Neill
I am thunder and roar
I am rain and river
Green and white magnificence.
You try to tame me
and you fail.
In barrel and boat
I spin you,
plunge you
crush you,
drown you.
A filmy fairy curtain?
Not I!
A lacy veil?
Not I!
I gnaw at rock
bite through cliffs
claw the very bed
across which I race
oceanward.
Out of my way!
I am the great Niagara
poem © 2013 Alexis O’Neill. All rights reserved
Wow--what a powerful waterfall of words! Thank you for stopping by and thank you for offering our readers a chance to win a copy of your new book (details below), Alexis!
Here's a peek at Alexis's touring schedule for A Kite that Bridged Two Nations. Be sure to visit her at AlexisONeill.com, follow her on Twitter, and friend her on FaceBook.
And now, for the Book Giveaway details:
We use Rafflecopter. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, you may want to read their info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and/or the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.
To enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Kite That Bridged Two Nations log into Rafflecopter below (via either Facebook or an email address). You'll see that we've provided three different options for entering the giveaway--you can pick one or up to all three.
The more options you choose, the greater your chances of winning. While
we haven't made it a requirement for entering, we hope that everyone will WANT to subscribe to the TeachingAuthors
blog. We give you several ways of doing so in the sidebar, for example,
via email, Facebook Networked Blogs, Jacketflap, Bloglovin', etc.
If you're already a TeachingAuthors subscriber, you need only click on the first option below and tell us how you follow our blog, which will give you THREE entries in the giveaway! (If you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter giveaway link below to enter.)
As it says in the "Terms and Conditions," this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
You must be 18 or older to enter. And please note: email addresses will
only be used to contact winners. The giveaway will run from now through October 9, 2013.
If you have any questions about the giveaway, feel free to email us at teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.
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Posted by April Halprin Wayland with help from the Link Fairy.
Happy Poetry Friday, all! The poem I'm sharing today isn't my best, but it's near and dear to my heart. See the end of this post for a link to today's Poetry Friday round-up.
In case you missed it, in her last post, April tagged me in the brand new Children's Poetry Blog Hop (CPBH). I'm writing this post in advance because of other commitments, so I haven't yet seen Janet Wong's CPBH post, also scheduled for today. I hope you'll hop on over to the PoetryFridayAnthology.blogspot.com and/or PoetryForChildren.blogspot.com to read it when you're done here.
In April's Sept. 6 post, she introduced Mortimer as the CPBH meme:
And she also explained how to participate in the CPBH:
1) Make up three questions you've always wanted to be asked in an interview about children's poetry and then answer them on your own blog;
2) Invite one, two or three other bloggers who write poetry (preferably children's poetry, but we're broad-minded) to answer any three questions that they make up on their own blogs (they can copy someone else's questions if they'd like)
3) In your post, let us know who your invitees are and when they're are going to be posting their own Poetry Blog Hop questions and answers...if you know the dates.
4) You do not have to use Mortimer, the CPBH meme.
Pretty simple.
I've tagged two fellow children's poets to participate in the
Children's Poetry Blog Hop:
Laura Shovan, a children's author and poet-in-the-schools who blogs at
Author Amok, and
Tabatha Yeats, author of nonfiction children's books as well as poetry, who blogs at
The Opposite of Indifference. (As you'll see below, Tabatha is hosting today's Poetry Friday round-up.) Be sure to hop on over to read their CBHP posts next week. Laura will share hers at
Author Amok on
Tuesday, Sept. 24, and you'll be able to read Tabatha's at
The Opposite of Indifference on
Friday, Sept. 27.
Now for my three (actually four) CPBH questions:
1) When was your first poem published? Would you share it with us?
2) Who was your first poetry teacher?
3) What poetry forms do you like best?
And here are the answers:
1) When was your first poem published? Would you share it with us?
I began writing poetry when I was in sixth or seventh grade, and my first poem was published when I was in high school (I won't tell you what year!), in
Crystals in the Dark: An Anthology of Creative Writing from the Chicago Public Schools. I was immensely proud to have my writing in this collection (which you might guess, since I still have my copy of the book.
J)
However, I had to resist the urge to edit the poem as I typed it up. Here it is, in original form:
My Sanctuary
If I could find a place far away from the world and its sounds,
Distant from the din and clatter of civilization;
Far away from pollution, politics, and people,
Away from worry, death, sorrow, and pain;
The only place that I could think of where I would be
undisturbed, tranquil, and at peace,
is within myself.
© Carmela A Martino. All Rights Reserved.
I went on to have several of my poems published in our high school yearbook,. After that, though, I pretty much gave up on writing poetry until many years later, when I began writing for children. Which leads into my second question:
2) Who was your first poetry teacher?
In high school and college, I studied poetry only as a reader, not a writer. While I did participate in some workshops on using poetry techniques in fiction at
Vermont College, I didn't take my first poetry-writing class until 2002. That's when I attended a four-week workshop by poet and author
Heidi Bee Roemer, "The ABC's of Children's Poetry.
" I learned so much from Heidi in that short time. The weekly assignments challenged us to write poetry in a variety of forms. And that leads into my third question:
3) What poetry forms do you like best?
The poems I wrote in junior high and high school were usually either free verse or rhyming couplets. It wasn't until I was in Heidi's class that I dared experiment with other forms, including triplets, quatrains, limericks, terse verse, and shape poems. Thanks to the confidence I gained in Heidi's class, I went on to have a terse verse poem published in
Pocket's magazine, and a poem in two voices published in
Chicken Soup for the Soup: Teens Talk High School. Since then, I've tried my hand at list poems, found poems, diamante poems, sonnets, and just about any form that strikes my fancy. Heidi's class, along with poetry-related posts by my fellow
TeachingAuthors, and inspiring posts by members of the Poetry Friday community, have opened me to new poetry worlds.
That's it for today. Now hop on over to the
Poetry Friday round-up at
The Opposite of Indifference .
Happy Writing!
Carmela
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 9/6/2013
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Howdy, Campers! You have just a few more hours to enter our latest book giveaway (details below)! AND today we celebrate not one, not two, but three things! Rosh Hashanah, the new Children's Poetry Blog Hop, and Poetry Friday (hosted today by Laura Shovan at Author Amok)!
My PF poem is below.
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Thanks, Laura!
* * *
1) Let's start with Rosh Hashanah. Happy New Year (both the Jewish New Year and the New School Year) to all! After I put the finishing touches on this post, I going to walk to the end of our pier and toss bits of bread to seagulls and fish as part of a Jewish New Year ritual called
tashlich.
2) And now on to the Children's Poetry Blog Hop. Having heard of other blog hops, poet Janet Wong and other
kidlitosphere poets have decided to start a Children's Poetry Blog Hop (CPBH) for...who else? Children's poets.
I nominate Mortimer as CPBH's meme:
To participate in the Poetry Blog Hop, simply:
1) Make up three questions you've always wanted to be asked in an interview about children's poetry and then answer them on your own blog;
2) Invite one, two or three other bloggers who write poetry (preferably children's poetry, but we're broad-minded) to answer any three questions that
they make up on their own blogs (they can copy someone else's questions if they'd like)
3) In your post, let us know who your invitees are and when they're are going to be posting their own Poetry Blog Hop questions and answers...if you know the dates.
4) You do not have to use Mortimer, the CPBH meme.
That's it!
I've invited author, poet, and web mistress extraordinaire
Carmela Martino to the Children's Poetry Blog Hop (it sounds like a sock hop, doesn't it?) Carmela will be posting
right here at
TeachingAuthors.com on September 20th.
On the
same day, the marvelously creative author, poet and poetry supporter
Janet Wong promises a surprise twist on the blog hop theme. Find her guest post at
PoetryFridayAnthology.blogspot.com and
PoetryForChildren.blogspot.com on September 20th!
Okay...here are my three questions:
1) What children's poem do you wish you had written? Include the poem or link to it.
2) What's your process? How do you begin writing a poem?
3) Please share one of your poems with us.
And here are my answers:
1) What children's poem do you wish you had written? Include the poem or link to it.
There are so many! The first that pops into my mind is Deborah Chandra's "Cotton Candy" from her book, Rich Lizard and Other Poems (FSG)
I met Deborah years ago in Myra Cohn Livingston's master class in writing poetry for children. Deborah's a stunning craftswoman and looks at the world in madly original ways. And, as you're about to read, her metaphors are spectacular.
COTTON CANDY
by Deborah Chandra
Swirling
like a sweet
tornado,
it spins itself
stiff.
A storm
caught on a paper cone.
I hold it up,
the air grows
thick and
sticky
with the smell of it.
A pink wind
made of sugar
and smoke,
cotton,
earth crust,
delicious dust!
poem © Deborah Chandra. All rights reserved
2) What's your process? How do you begin writing a poem?
Sometimes
my process is to start with a word and I spin out from there. Sometimes I find a poem I admire and imitate its rhythm, meter and form. Sometimes it's a feeling. I ask myself,
what are you feeling today? What is true? What is authentic? And sometimes it's just,
you have ten minutes. Write the damn poem. (I don't actually use the word damn because, as I'm sure you know, children's authors and poets don't swear.)
3) Please share one of your poems with us.
Here's a
Rosh Hashanah/tashlich poem
first published in Jeanette Larson's book,
El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community
SAYS THE SEAGULL
by April Halprin Wayland
Shalom to slowly sinking sun
I sing in salty seagull tongue.
But who're these people on my pier?
I sail, I swoop and then fly near.
They're singing, marching up the pier
I think they did the same last year.
A father gives his girl some bread
she scans the waves then tosses crumbs.
I dive, I catch, I taste
and...yum!
I like this ritual at the pier.
I think I'll meet them every year.
I screech my thanks, and then I hear
"L’shanah Tovah! Good New Year!"
note: Shalom can mean hello, good-bye and peace.Copyright © 2013 April Halprin Wayland
Walking up the pier for tashlich in my hometown.
photo by Rachel Gilman
Thanks for stopping by TeachingAuthors today
--but wait! Before you head off,
be sure to enter for a chance to win a copy of Lisa Morlock's terrific rhyming picture book, Track that Scat! (Sleeping Bear Press).
posted by April Halprin Wayland 
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 4/30/2013
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Howdy Campers!
Remember to enter to win in our 4 x 4 Blogiversary Celebration!
Today I have the absolute honor and (as Esther would say) knee-buckling responsibility to write the last line of 2013's
Progressive Poem. Yay! And yikes!
The brainchild of
Irene Latham,
this Progressive Poem has been moving from blog to blog, growing poet
by poet, for 29 days until it's come here for one final line. For the
poem and a list of contributing poets, see below.
.
At the end of a
month posting
rough drafts of poems about dogs, I think you could say
that this, too, is a rough draft. As Laura Puride Salas says, it's
poetry improv. Yes, and a poetry game. It's been fascinating to
read the process of those who've proceeded me.
When I got the line by
Denise Mortensen,
it's such a great line, I thought I should just write THE END. Then I
could talk about how a poet needs to know when to quit and when a good
line's a good ending. That would be funny. If only I had the courage!
But I don't. So off we go!
Here
is the list of the poets who each contributed a line (in this space, some appear to be a line and then some, but they are all really one line each), and below their
names is the (yikes!) finished poem. Take a bow, poets!
.
DAY/LINE + POET
P.T.
BARNUM'S GREAT TRAVELING MUSEUM, MENAGERIE, CARAVAN, AND HIPPODROME*
by Thirty Poets on a mission in the Kidlitosphere...see list above
When you listen to your footsteps
the words become music and
the rhythm that you’re rapping gets your fingers tapping, too.
Your pen starts dancing across the page
a private pirouette, a solitary samba until
smiling, you’re beguiling as your love comes shining through.
Pause a moment in your dreaming, hear the whispers
of the words, one dancer to another, saying
Listen, that’s our cue! Mind your meter. Find your rhyme.
Ignore the trepidation while you jitterbug and jive.
Arm in arm, toe to toe, words begin to wiggle and flow
as your heart starts singing let your mind keep swinging
from life’s trapeze, like a clown on the breeze.
Swinging upside down, throw and catch new sounds–
Take a risk, try a trick; break a sweat: safety net?
Don’t check! You’re soaring and exploring,
dangle high, blood rush; spiral down, crowd hush–
limb-by-line-by-limb envision, pyramidic penned precision.
And if you should topple, if you should flop
if your meter takes a beating; your rhyme runs out of steam—
know this tumbling and fumbling is all part of the act,
so get up with a flourish. Your pencil’s still intact.
Snap those synapses! Feel the pulsing through your pen
Commit, measure by measure, to the coda’s cadence.
You've got them now--in the palm of your hand!
Finger by finger you’re reeling them in—
Big Top throng refrains from cheering, strains to hear the poem nearing…
Inky paws, uncaged, claw straw and sawdust
Until… CRACK! You’re in the center ring, mind unleashed, your words take wing--
they circle, soar, then light in the lap of an
open-mouthed child; the crowd goes wild.
* * * * * * *
* Barnum's circus was originally called "P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling
Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome,"
which is pretty much what
our poem is. ("Greatest Show on Earth" was
added later...that's us, too!)
It never hurts to join forces...
...ask all the thirsty pooches at the dog park!
Let's play some more!
Hey--where'd everybody go???
G'bye to Poetry Month 2013! See you next year!
Posted by April Halprin Wayland
By:
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on 1/16/2013
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Howdy Campers! Welcome to...
My mother says that everyone remembers the trees of their childhood.
I recently attended the annual
FOCAL (Friends of Children and Literature) Luncheon hosted by the Los Angeles Public Library Children's Literature Department. Each year, FOCAL gives an award to an outstanding children's book with California content. This year's award deservedly went to my friend
Joanne Rocklin for her wonderful book,
One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street (Abrams).
Joanne's acceptance speech was thoroughly
Joanne: full of enthusiasm, aware of her audience, bursting with love.
Each detail of this inspired centerpiece references her book.
Joanne's memories of her beloved orange trees inspired my poem that day (I write
a poem a day); I thought perhaps a memory of a tree in your life might inspire you, too.
I wrote about our Meyer Lemon tree and how incredibly generous it is. See for yourself:
I want to share my lemon tree poem with you...but here's my dilemma: dozens of my poems have been published in poetry anthologies...but recent contracts specify that poems can never have been published--even on a blog. ACK!
WINNING
by April Halprin Wayland
I sit under this tree
to sit under this tree.
Not to win anything.
Just me and tree.
If the wind happens to drop
a sweet plum in my lap, though,
I would never say no
to a plum.
poem © 2013 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved
Now it's your turn.
1) Close your eyes. Think of a tree from your childhood...or any tree of significance to you.
2) List details of that tree that cover all five senses, or write snippets of your memories of the tree.
3) Or you may want to simply plunge in, and see what memories sprout from your pen or keyboard.
4) Consider putting your poem (or was it a story that emerged?) into a
form...or not.
5) Consider sending your poem to someone who would remember that tree.
6) Leave a comment about this exercise. :-)
poem and lemon tree photo © 2013 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved
.
Howdy, Campers!
Today's poem and writing prompt/
Writing Workout is below.
My fellow bloggers have covered the topic of
Digital Learning fabulously (scroll below).
Today, I want to list some of the ways I use these new tools...
~ Every day I use an online
thesaurus and
rhyming dictionary to write my poetry.
~ I decided which version of
Ashoken Farewell I wanted to play at a recent tribute to the journalist
Daniel Pearl by watching different versions on
YouTube; then Freda Sideroff posted a snippet she'd filmed of me and hammer dulcimer player,
Phee Sherline at the tribute concert (what goes around comes around!...)
I learned how to pronounce author
Jon Scieszka's name (and lots of other authors and illustrators names) by listening
here.(hint: it rhymes with the soda, Fresca)
Raise your hand if you get overwhelmed. Do you? Whew! And I thought I was the only one. Well,
JoAnn is right. I just need to try one new thing. And I'm going to change the adjective: try one
small thing.
So...here's my poem, based on an old song. But just one verse, not all of them. That's my one small thing!
(listen to the song on this video first, so you know the tune, then read the new words...)
THE BLOGGER BEARS' POETRY FRIDAY
by April Halprin Wayland
with apologies to Jimmy Kennedy and John W. Bratton
If you go onto the internet
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go onto the internet
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear who hopes to express
Will gather there to write on Wordpress
Today's Fri-day, when every bear posts a poem!
Poem time for blogging bears
The Kidlit blogging bears are having a lovely time today.
Watch them, catch them unawares,
And hear them rhyming on their holiday.
See them tweet their permalink
They love to click in sync
And never have any cares.
At night they share on Mister Linky
now they can go to bed
Because they're tired little blogging bears.
If you go onto the internet
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go onto the internet
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear chewing sunflower seeds
Will gather there to read RSS feeds
Today's Fri-day--when every bear posts a poem!
12 Comments on Happy Poetry Friday! Write your own Lingo Poem--and then sing it to your cat!, last added: 2/25/2012
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 1/27/2012
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Howdy, Campers! Author and illustrator Barney Saltzberg is a generous soul, and in his Friday the 13th interview, he offered an autographed copy of his fun and amazing book, BEAUTIFUL OOPS to one of our readers.
And the lucky, randomly chosen winner is...
Sarah Albee--yay, Sarah (who's an amazing author--check out her
website)!
Here's Sarah's
Beautiful Oops:
My oops moment happened when I was a very junior editor at Sesame Street. I was editing my first big book, a SS songbook (because I was the only editor in my dept who could read music and play piano). I went over to Jeff Moss's house (composer of Rubber Duckie) to show him some song arrangements, and when we got to People In Your Neighborhood (his song) we both stared at the composer credit, which read Joe Raposo (his long-time rival and writer of Bein' Green, among many others). Jeff was notoriously curmudgeonly, and I knew there was a good chance he would flip, even though of course it was just galleys and there would be plenty of opportunity to change it. So I quickly made a joke about it (along the lines of how interchangeable he and Joe were, whatevs). After five tense seconds, he grinned broadly. And we became fast friends.
So...drawing the winning name, watching the exciting
announcements of the ALA awards (I felt as if I were in the audience!) and reading
Carmela's,
Mary Ann's,
JoAnn's,
Esther's, and
Jeanne Marie's fabulous and thought-provoking posts about awards, got me to thinking about winning...
...which inspired this poem for Poetry Friday, graciously hosted today by Jim at
HeyJimHill!
WINNINGby April Halprin Wayland
I sit under this treeto sit under this tree.
Howdy Campers!
Carmela did a fine job of wrapping up our First Annual Ten Days of Thanks-Giving this week. Yay, Carmela!
Today was my monthly hike with the women I've fallen in love with as we leaped from rock to rock to cross creeks, dripped sweat up impossible hills, walked quietly under arched tree ceilings, and been photographed with in front of waterfalls, oceans and boulders. So today I write a thanku to the universe for giving me my hiking buds:
THANK YOU...
...for hard trails up to
egg-blue skies, for red leaves, for
six sweaty friends.
~ April Halprin Wayland
Here the last few thankus or simple thank yous:
From Joyce Ray:
I'm pretty late, but want to share my Thanku to my granddaughter Lindsay for terrific help in revising a poem recently.~you oiled mired wheelspushed my poem from its rutyour words, my words - WOW BEAUTIFUL, Joyce.
And Jan Godown Annino is the last in with this fitting contribution to our First Annual Ten Days of Thanks-Giving:
~Grateful to the 10 Days (catching it at the tail end. was in a cave of thesis-writing.)Grateful to be able to try to learn to say Thank You in many languages.
This includes some of the
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 8/12/2011
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~
Howdy, Campers! Happy Poetry Friday!
Poetry Friday is hosted by
Karen Edmisten this week.
Thank you, Karen!
I was fiddling and with dactyls and double dactyls this week. A dactyl contains three syllables: one stressed followed by two unstressed (/ - - ). So, for example, the word
marmalade (MAR-ma-lade), which we say with a stress on the first syllable, is a dactylic word. The phrase,
"Talk to me!" is also a dactyl.
The rhythm of a dactyl makes you want to dance. It's light and suits playful topics.
Dactyls remind me of pterodactyls. But that's not where I went. Instead, I took out a handy can of Play Doh and opened it. WOWZA!
I read a bit about Play Doh's
inventor and
history and then, in honor of
National Play Doh Day, (September 18th), I wrote this poem:
AN ODE TO DOH
by April Halprin WaylandPlay Doh, invented by Joseph McVicker,
is putty that's squishy and spongy and soft
and supple and yielding and malleable colors--
its bouquet bewitches, it lingers, it wafts
across much of our planet--
over two billion sold!
There's even a
fragrance (and who wouldn't want it?)
a perfume in honor (it's fifty years old!)
The recipe's classified--
water and flour, and a sprinkling of salt?
I can fiddle with Play Doh for hour after hour
and if I'm not writing, it's McVicker's fault!
poem (c) 2011 April Halprin Wayland, all rights reserved
x
Howdy to all February Picture Book Marathoners, you can do it, you can do it--you can, you can!
Similes. Metaphors. You know them well.
Similes compare two unlike objects using "like" or "as": That dog is like a lump of clay--he never chases balls.
Metaphors, in contrast, don't: That dog, a lump of clay, never chases balls. Or simply, That lump of clay never chases balls.
Eli being a lump of clay.
"Metaphor" sounds like someone saying, "May the Force," doesn't it? (It does if you tilt your head sideways and sing LALALA really loudly...) Their force, their power can create vivid images in our minds.
When I was writing
It's Not My Turn To Look For Grandma!, my editor asked me to clarify that the story starts at sunrise and ends at sundown. I had no idea how to communicate this without being
too wordy or clunkily obvious. I was actually pretty frightened.
I flailed about. My flailing is not pretty. Want to see what it looks like close up? This Monday I had a boatload of writing to do in the afternoon. But first I had to have lunch--I mean, c'mon. Since I was a little lost and didn't quite know how to start any of the projects looming over me, another helping of veggies and rice seemed like a jolly good idea and oh, that left-over clam chowder sure looked yummy.
After my large lunch, the flailing continued. I had a poem due and no ideas. None. Nada. I lead a pretty pathetic little life, I decided. Except for the dog park and the gym, I'd had no human contact. So I looked around my room. Eli was a lump of clay on the love seat--no help there.
I was too lazy to actually stand up and walk to my bookshelf (sometimes I'm inspired by the pattern or subject of other poems). There was a lemon next to my computer because I'd picked it from our tree and meant to drop it off in the kitchen but brought it into my office instead.
Not to make those of you shivering under snow jealous or anything, but this is our Meyer lemon tree righ
xxxx
Howdy! Happy Poetry Friday! Today's poem and your Poetry Writing Workout are below.
But hold on...there’s A LOT going on this week, including National Picture Book Writing Week, Mother’s Day, and Teacher Appreciation Week!
And I’ll bet there’s a mother reading this who's also a teacher and is writing a picture book a day for a week. So, Triple Threat, if you’re out there, we want to hear from you (but not until you’ve written today’s picture book!)
I can relate to those who are writing a picture book a day for a week. I took the National Poetry Month Challenge this year, writing a poem a day (many are birthday poems) for the month of April. I'm not sure if I'd call that a challenge...or insanity.
But is was life-changing. If you want to know why, you can read all my poems (or if the mere idea of reading all thirty poems exhausts you as much as it does me, just read the last poem, the one posted closest to the top.)
WRITING WORKOUT ~ writing a Zeno poem
I learned about Zeno poems from Greg Pincus’ fabulous blog, GottaBook. Greg learned about it from The Miss Rumphius Effect,
who interviewed J.Patrick Lewis, the inventor of Zeno poems. According to Pat, a Zeno is a 10-line verse form with a repeating syllable count of 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1. The rhyme scheme is abcdefdghd.
Here's how I wrote a Zeno:
A) Pick a topic. I wanted to write about teachers and why I appreciated them.
B) Spill memories about this topic on paper. I wrote about Mr. Campman, my 10th grade biology teacher; about my father—how no question was a bad question, how he was always engaged and focused when taking about science with me; about my mother—how she helped me learn a violin piece and coached me for the Shakespeare competition; about my poetry teacher, Myra Cohn Livingston—how we rose to meet her very high expectations; about Professor Willis, who on a dare, taught all of Western Civilization in one quarter—the best college class I ever took.
C) Choose one of the memories.
D) Decide on the one-syllable word on which you’d like your poem to end.
E) List at least three one-syllable words which rhyme with the word you chose above and which could somehow be related to your subject. Find the rhymes by using your noodle, opening up a handy rhyming dictionary or using this one online.
F) Review the structure of a Zeno. It helped me to write out the pattern this way (the numbers indicate how many syllables, “A” indicates the same rhyme):
8
4
2
1
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Good morning, April! I met Alexis at an SCBWI conference years ago. She's a joy to be around, and that shows in this interview! Looking forward to checking out her book. What a great topic.
Wow, April, this post is chockers! I suspected by the post's title it would be filled with good stuff... it certainly didn't disappoint. Thank you for introducing me to Alexis! I am enchanted by the trailer of her new book and humbled by the Great Falls depicted in her poem.
Hi there April, thank you for sharing this detailed interview with Alexis. I confess I haven't read any of her books yet, but your interview just makes me want to grab one of her books right away. I love teaching authors and her advice for kids to just make a mess and to find the seeds of ideas from there. Lovely! :)
After reading this post, I can see why Alexis should always wear that crown. What a multi-talented dynamo!
Enjoyed her poem and hearing about her new book. :)
Thanks for the informative post and the great giveaway. Yet another piece of history of which I was unaware. I think the kids will really enjoy this one, thanks!
Wow, what a lot of accomplishments by Alexis. Niagara Falls has a fascinating history, so I'm sure this new book will be good. Thanks!
Thanks for this great interview, April and Alexis, and for sharing the poem. I especially liked these lines:
>>I gnaw at rock
bite through cliffs
claw the very bed
across which I race
oceanward.<<
I'm looking forward to reading the book!
Way to go Alexis! I look forward to reading the book.
Kathryn Hunley
We live but 30 minutes from Niagara Falls, and this poem is true true true! So perfect. I can't wait to get the book, and man I wish I was in a class taught by Alexis too. Thank you for this rich post!
What a very fun, vibrant and accomplished person. That poem is fabulous! Thanks April and Alexis.
Thankk you for this wonderful interview - and for sharing both the book trailer (I must have tis book!), and the poem, which I can't wait to share with my students.
Wonderful post! I want to win this giveaway! My colleagues and I are leading 6th grade students in a year long enrichment project and this year's theme is bridges. We have been discussing metaphorical bridges as well as actual bridges. This book would be a great bridge for that purpose! Count me in!
Thank you for introducing me to the dynamic Alexis. Love the Niagara Falls poem and history!
It was nice to "meet" Alexis...I've always loved the story of Homan Walsh and Niagara Falls! The text and the illustrations are lovely.
I enjoy the variety of information on Teaching Authors. Thanks for sharing :)
Excited to read this nonfiction!
So true about water! It's one of the strongest forces on earth! I like the poem.
I am so looking forward to reading this book. I've been working on a historical MS myself and could definitely use this as a mentor text. Alexis is so kind to beginning writers. I remember her asking me, "What are you working on?" when she signed RECESS QUEEN for me. When she found out I write nonfiction, she gave me lots of great information. Kirsten Larson