How to use this Page

From TWT_2  My dog died on Saturday around 5:30 pm.  Actually, it’s unfair to say my dog, because during the school year, she was Andy’s dog.  She was my dog during the summers.  It’s funny how I feel just a little out of sorts.  In all fairness, she was just a dog — it’s not something catastrophic.  Still, [...]

the first page of my new idea notebook Originally uploaded by teachergal Ruth’s Fierce Wonderings Post inspired me to take my M.M. Post in a completely different directions. I started a new notebook today (below) since my students decorated their Idea Notebooks and Writer’s Notebooks today. Hence, I couldn’t resist making the first page of [...]

Leave a link to your memory/post by using Mr. Linky.

Welcome to the first M.M. of September. Leave a link to your memory/post by using Mr. Linky. Note: I’m no longer posting charges on the weekend since I don’t think anyone who participates in M.M. needs them anymore. Everyone’s been coming up with their memories in their own special way. [...]

My first trip to Newport, RI occurred when I was seven or eight years old. It rained. The entire time. Mansion tour memories are clouded up with memories of rain. It was so rainy that my parents and I left early. Therefore, my Newport memories weren’t all that great. In 2004, [...]

An optional charge for August 11th’s Memoir Monday… I was thinking about some of my lifelong friends I made in college the other day. There are four (Lori, Marc - not my husband -, Rachel, and Stacey) who I’ve been close with since the first semester of freshman year. I encourage you to go [...]

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in my parents’ home staring at the inside of the door jam that leads to their laundry room. It still held the markings my father made to it over the course of 20 years with measurements and dates that represented my height at various points in [...]

It’s that time of the week again! Please link your post here using Mr. Linky. NOTE: We’ve been having trouble with Mr. Linky, so if you want others to read your post, then please leave a comment with your URL in case Mr. Linky doesn’t fix itself today! Sorry for the inconvenience. [...]

I graduated from college with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in U.S. History. Even though I decided to move to NYC to work in the cosmetics industry, I secretly wanted to become a teacher. However, due to the low salaries, I decided against it, even though I loved the two years [...]

On Friday I posted about reading at the Francelia Butler Conference at Hollins University. It was the first time I shared my poem publicly. I know, I know, I post poems here all the time. BUT there is a net of safety there. I don't have to see your faces when you read my poetry. I don't hear your comments like "She thinks she's a POET?!" And of course, I share my poetry with all of my fourth graders all of the time. But once again, there is a net of safety there. They think everything I write is wonderful, which is probably why I've continued to write poetry all of this time.

This summer I have been writing poems, not just for me, but I got brave enough to share with other people. I grew up overseas and the collection of poems I'm working on is based on some of my experiences trying to fit in and be comfortable in multiple cultures, yet still be who I am. The poems are set in Salem, Virginia, ChiangMai, Thailand, and Penang, Malaysia--three places I have spent significant time.

A few weeks ago I submitted some of these poems for consideration in the Francelia Butler Conference. My poems were chosen, which meant that I would be one of seven people with creative submissions to read aloud at the conference. Seven critical papers were chosen also.

I was a bundle of nerves because I knew there were poets in the audience, and I wondered if they would know I didn't know what I was doing.

This year's theme was a Dr. Seuss theme, because Philip Nel, author of The Annotated Cat:Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats and Dr. Suess: American Icon, was the keynote speaker. Fellow students performed a Suessical Musical between readings, and it kept the day lively and fun. There was a silent auction, in which I won three things: a picture from The Tale of Despereaux, a lovely photograph of a clemetis donated by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, and a book of poetry by Billy Collins.

There is always a winner for each category: creative, critical, and art. After listening to the amazing stories crafted by my six other fellow readers, I knew I didn't stand a chance of winning. That's what's so amazing about Hollins--being in the company of so many good writers that you admire. I am always very impressed at how much good writing is produced in such a small group.

But when the winners were announced, they called my name! Yes, I won the Shirley Henn Award for Creative Scholarship. Wow! I was humbled and surprised!

Even if I hadn't won, this reading gave me a chance to share my work publicly. Several people came up to me during the break and shared how much they liked it. Two people introduced themselves: one is from Taiwan, and one lived in Malaysia, and both said they related to my poems. What a huge compliment. That's what I was hoping for. Other people were kind enough to just give me words of encouragement. Thank you! Thank you!

Hollins students are the ones who actually narrow down all of the submissions to a list of finalists. Then other writers actually judge the finalists. When I read the list of judges, I was so excited. The judges were: Bruce Coville, Steve Jenkins, Kerry Madden, Claudia Mills, and Janet Wong. I'm fans of all of their work, and it was an honor just to have them take the time to read something I had written.

The Memoir Monday prompt was to write about something that you did that you didn't think was possible. Believe it or not, this was it. I really never imagined I would share my poetry with anyone but my students. Now, thanks to a lot of encouragement from my friends at Hollins, I have the courage to share it with others.

Beech Street

I pass by the red brick house
where I climbed in the dogwood tree,
crashed my sled into a fence,
caught frogs in the creek,
danced to the high school band,
transformed into Princess Lea,
hunted for Easter Eggs,
first got stung by a bee.

Now, it’s no longer my tree,
my fence,
my creek,
my band,
my imagination,
my eggs,
my hurts.

Someone else lives there.
I feel like someone crawled
underneath my skin
and tried to be me.

Copyright Marcie Flinchum Atkins, all rights reserved.

Head over to Two Writing Teachers to read other Memoir Monday posts.

I'm so excited about all of the people who do "challenges" for those of us who love to write. I'm taking some of the challenges. Some I'll just do in my journal. Others I'll share with the blog readers.

Here's some of challenges I'm taking on:
1) Laurie Halse Anderson's Write 15 Minutes a Day Challenge. She gives writing prompts/exercises too.
2) Two Writing Teachers Memoir Mondays. I'll try to write some memoir piece and post it when I think it's postable.
3) Monday Poetry Stretch with The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Why am I taking the challenges? Well, I work well under structure and deadlines. So, if that means it will help "prime the pump", then so be it.

Do you know of another good challenge I should participate in? Leave me a comment.

Have you ever done an activity with a family member or a group of kids where you thought, “Wow! I got lucky that worked!”??? That happened to me the first time I did the “Million Dots Display” with my former fifth grade students. The results were amazing… …but the process was [...]

I’ve come to believe that sometimes we (i.e., teachers) need to be silly. That could mean jumping into a fountain or jumping into a photograph with a student that you weren’t exactly supposed to be in. I remember eating nachos and salsa alongside my students during the second of three mini courses. One of [...]

We’ve changed our Slice of Life Challenge Page to a generic Challenge Page, where you can find more information about the following: Memoir Mondays (Every Monday — just like the name says!) Slice of Life Story Challenge (Every Tuesday) Student Stories (Every Thursday) We hope that streamlining this page will encourage new participants so that they don’t have to [...]

Think back to a graduation you can remember: middle school, high school, college, graduate school, or even your pre-k stepping-up ceremony (Personally I don’t remember the last one!). Write about how you felt that day knowing that your life was about to change. Give it a go, if you’d like, and then link [...]

Grandpa seemed startled when we arrived! Originally uploaded by teachergal I love surprising people, especially family members. Hence, when I looked through my Grandma’s photo album this morning (I’m in the midst of preserving family photos since her albums are not exactly a scrapbookers’ dream at-present.) I discovered photos from the time my parents and I flew [...]

Ever do something that you look back on and think, “What was I thinking?” Well, when I came across this photo of my feet (Sorry, but I have to post it for you to get the full effect!) from 2001, I was horrified at what I allowed someone to do to my feet: You know [...]

My father began taking me to Thomas Sweet Ice Cream Shop when I was around six or seven years old. He introduced me to Blend-Ins, which is ice cream that is blended with candy in a special machine. YUM! I started off with Sweet Cream Ice Cream and [...]

My best friend and I went to Newport in August 2004. Since then, I’ve been back quite a few times, including yesterday, with Marc (my husband). Therefore, this Monday, I’m going to reflect on how my attitude and feelings towards Newport have changed in just a few short years. Make a Smilebox [...]

Please join us! Click here to learn more about our newest writing challenge.