December 31 & Looking Into 2012

1970s New Year Parties

by Amy LV

Students - When I was a young girl, my little sister Heidi and I would always celebrate New Year's Eve with our Grandma Florence.  My parents would go out dancing, and the three of us (plus our dog Thor or later, Valentine) would set up a small card table with a cloth and all manner of goodies from shrimp cocktail to Cheez Whiz and Ritz Crackers.  Of course we would use Mom and Dad's wine glasses to toast the new year with sparkling apple juice, and of course we would blow noisemakers and wear sparkly crowns!

My grandmother has been gone for thirteen years now, but to me, New Year's Eve will always remind me of a party with Grandma, Heidi, and all of our stuffed animals...spraying cheese into our mouths and counting down from 10 until the glittery ball dropped on our TV screen.  I'm ready for it once more, this circle of planet and clock and life that twirls and twirls, just like a dancing dress.

What to write about?  Well, what have you ever waited for?  I remember choosing all of those yummy party goodies at Loblaws and then just waiting for New Year's when we would be able to eat them up.  And then I remember watching our small mantel clock clock tick away until midnight.  When would it ever come? Try this - write about waiting.

Speaking of waiting, on New Year's Day, the shortlists for the CYBILS will be announced on the CYBILS website.  I feel grateful to have served on the panel of first round judges for poetry, and it was a challenge to choose which titles to send on.  Don't miss the list, and be sure to revisit the CYBILS site again on Valentine's Day for the winners in all different categories.

2012 will bring some good news for my poetry.  I look forward to a poem about writing coming out in TRAITS WRITING by Ruth Culham, a lice poem in NASTY BUGS edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Will Terry, a poem about reading alongside Sylvia Vardell's March column in BOOK LINKS, and a poem in THE ARROW FINDS ITS MARK edited by Georgia Heard and illustrated by Antoine Guillope.  I also hope that Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell will continue their work with e-books such as POETRY TAG TIME, P*TAG, and GIFT TAG.  And by next fall, I should have news about my own book, FOREST HAS A SONG, to be published by Clarion and illustrated by Robbin Gourley in the Spring of 2013.  As always, my fingers are continually crossed for a couple of manuscripts which are out there in the woods, tossing breadcrumbs from their wee hopeful pockets.

In terms of projects, 2012 plans include establishing at least two tiny libraries of poetry around Buffalo and working with Amy Souza and Jamie Palmer to launch SPARK for kids.  Too, I hope to be selected to speak at a couple of national conferences in addition to regular teaching travel in Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, South Dakota, and around New York State.  THE POEM FARM blog and SHARING OUR NOTEBOOKS will continue on as they have for the past several months, with weekly-ish posts, and I will continue my Notes from Heart Rock Farm column in EDIBLE BUFFALO.

At this time of year, I am grateful for many many things...including all of the kind and wise friends I have met through this space.  May your 2012 be joyous!

Julie Larios is hosting the final 2011 Poetry Friday roundup over at The Drift Record.  Happy New Year!

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Early

Present-Giving

by Amy LV

Students - Everyone is full of secrets at our house these days, stealing off to bedrooms with scissors and tape, paper and bows. Between sips of egg nog and licks of peppermint, we're all getting excited to give gifts to one another. I love thinking about what my family will like to open on Christmas morning and I love making, finding, and wrapping gifts. Just like when I was a little girl, it is difficult to wait! Writing today's poem, I took that waiting-feeling and wrapped it up inside a poem.

I remember many years ago when Hope (now thirteen) was four years old. Mark had taken her to go Christmas shopping, and she was intent on keeping my present a secret. Hope was fascinated with bathrooms at that age, and I was charmed to hear her exclaim, "Mommy! There was a potty at the watch store!" Mark's secret was out, but we will tell that adorable story forever.

In happy poetry-news, I am pleased to share that I AM THE BOOK, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, has won a Nerdy Book Club Award, and my poem from that book ("Book") appears on the award posting.  It was a gift to be a part of this book-love anthology...thank you, Lee!

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Many good wishes to all of you and your loved ones during this beautiful time of love and light.

Dori is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Dori Reads. Cheers!

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Finding Answers - A Poem for Two Voices

Students - Earlier this week, I had the chance to visit Dale Sondericker's looping third grade students at Marilla Primary. They invited me to their classroom because they were having difficulty reading one of my poems - Two Hemispheres - and they wanted me to tell them how I thought it should be read.

We had an interesting talk about the different ways they tried reading the poem and what I had in mind. It was a treat to hear these children's voices read that poem aloud (it's hard to revise a poem like this when you're only one voice reading aloud), and I liked their way as much as the way I'd envisioned the poem being read. As I left the classroom, Dale stressed to his young writers that if you don't know something in reading, if you can't talk with the author, you can figure out what makes the most sense to you. Wise words.

Later in the day of my visit, Dale told me that when I left, one girl said, "I still like our way better." Hooray! So, today's poem is for Mr. Sondericker's third grade writers who read aloud together, who ask questions, and who find answers inside of themselves.

Kate Coombs is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Book Aunt. Along with sharing everyone's dish to pass today, Kate gives us a peek at some of the "magic tinged" poems that did not make it into her forthcoming book, WATER SINGS BLUE. Visit, read, ask questions, feast!

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London Dreaming, Umbrella Path, & SPARK 14

,

London Dreaming

(oil on canvas , "40 x 30")

by Alixandra Martin

Students - sometimes I find that my writing is best when I am inspired by someone else's idea. This may sound funny since I often write about the many different ways that I try to find topics on my own. But there is something neat about writing from someone else's work, writing to deadline, writing about something that first grew in someone else's mind. That's the work of SPARK, connecting writers, artists, and musicians...allowing each to inspire the other.

This is the third time that I've participated in SPARK, founded by Amy Souza and described below in her own words -

Open to writers, musicians, and visual artists of all kinds, SPARK is a participatory creativity event that takes place four times each year.

During each 10-day project round, participants create a new piece of work using someone else's art, writing, or music as inspiration. All resulting work is then displayed online, alongside the piece that inspired it.

For this round, I connected with artist Alix Martin, my talented friend who painted all of the images you see on my website and blogs. Honestly, I was a little bit nervous to write from "London Dreaming" because Alix is my friend, and I wanted her to feel that my words met her image well. So day after day in the 10 days of SPARK, I went back to my notebook -- writing the poem, writing the poem again, circling the poem, stalking the poem. I even used a prose writing exercise from Ursula K. Le Guin's book, STEERING THE CRAFT, to help me with the sounds in "Umbrella Path."

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Exercise from p. 26 - BEING GORGEOUS - Write a paragraph to a page (150 - 300 words) of narrative that's meant to be read aloud.  Use onomatopoeia, alliteration, repetition, rhythmic effects, made-up words or names, dialect -- any kind of sound-effect you like -- but NOT rhyme or meter.Doing this exercise gave me some snips and snaps that helped to build the foundation for my finished poem

I feel very lucky to have written from Alix's work in this round, and early next week I will post the inspiration poem I sent to Alix along the artwork she created in response.

It is exciting to write from someone else's art and to wonder what an artist will do with your words. These are the pieces I've written for previous SPARK rounds along with the images.

SPARK 15 will take place in February, and this time there will hopefully be an experimental Kids' SPARK too. SPARK founder Amy Souza, Webster teacher Jamie Palmer, and I are putting our heads together about how we will do this, so please stay posted for details at SPARK and here as well.

This week was marvelous in more ways than one. Last Friday, I had the good fortune to hear Naomi Shihab Nye speak at Kleinhans Music Hall. Her great soul and words have stayed with me all week. When she read "Kindness," I looked at my friend Nancy. It's one of our favorite poems ever. And when Naomi closed with "Gate 4-A," I felt forever new. Should you ever have the chance to hear Naomi speak (she will be back in the Buffalo area this spring) -- go. You will be renewed.

Robyn Hood Black is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Read, Write, Howl. Thank you, Robyn, for weaving such a lovely post for us today!

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Button in My Hand & Poems Around Town

Hope's Hand with Button

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I adore buttons.  I like their smallness and their mystery.  I like how they do so much for so little.  So sometimes, I write about them.  Once for SPARK, I submitted a poem about a button which Nancy Claeys responded to with beautiful photography, and I love Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, Famous, which honors the humble work of buttonholes.  Tonight I will hear Naomi read here in Buffalo, at Kleinhan's Music Hall!  Buffalonians...I hope to see you there!

One of the great gifts of my life is the opportunity to work with inspiring teachers. Annemarie Jason is a tremendously talented and dedicated librarian at Marilla Primary in the Iroquois Central School District, and today's poetry peek comes straight from her soul and her love of children and words.

From librarian Annemarie Jason --

It was exploding all over the place. Wherever you looked, there it was -- in the library, in the hallways and classrooms, in purses and backpacks and even in the air! Poetry was a'poppin at Marilla Primary this past Spring. One second grade student, Morgaine Marshall, wrote so many poems that she inspired students in all grades to write poetry too.

Poets Morgaine Marshall and Maggie Lenda

Photo by Annemarie Jason

Morgaine started her own poetry gallery in her classroom. There, she posted new work daily for visitors to view. Her teacher, Colleen Logan-Bruce, says that Morgaine opened and closed her gallery for limited viewing times and called it her poetry store. It cost viewers not one penny to enjoy Morgaine's wonderful words.

We read, wrote, and celebrated lots of poetry in the library. New student poems popped up daily outside of the library. My fingers nearly fell off from typing them all so that they'd look "professional". When one first grader handed me a poem that he'd written at home, he said, "You'll make sure the whole world reads it now, won't you?" I told him that I'd try my best to cover a lot of territory. That's when I got the idea to share our poetry in the community.

I contacted local libraries and businesses. Soon, our poems arrived in poetry baskets at each location. Anyone could take one home for free. Students loved it, and soon I got happy comments from adult poetry recipients too. I hope to spread "the word" again in this school year.

Poetry Basket

Photo by Annemarie Jason

We're all sad that our Morgaine has moved to Florida, but here are some of the poems she left behind. The first is a poem Morgaine wrote in the library in response to hearing other poems I read. I did not read snow poems, so this is Morgaine's original concept. When she read it to me, I knew that I was in the presence of someone who was born to write.

Snow

Plop! Plop! Plop!
Snowflakes tapping on our windows
with their icy snowflake fingers.
Plows are picking up little baby snowflakes off the ground.
Falling down from heaven,
snowflakes drift down with parachutes.

Morgaine Marshall

The next poem was included in the Western New York Writing Project's YOUNG WRITERS' ANTHOLOGY. Morgaine got to read it to hundreds of people at a reception for young writers.

Poets

Poets are graceful with words
and creative with titles.
Poets write poems
that change a person's attitude
and soon spread over the world.

Morgaine Marshall

Good writers are thinkers and observers. Poets put words in tiny packages that make readers say, "Yes! You made me look at that so closely, see it so clearly" or "That is so true. Why, that's just the way it is!"

Ocean

The ocean shakes and turns in its bed
as the storms rage.
The ocean wakes up when it's sunny
and sends its friends, the seashells, to the shore
and hopes that a human will find them
and make them special.

Morgaine Marshall

Raindrops

Raindrops gracefully fall
like birds fly
and they're falling
from the clouds
on bungee cords.

Morgaine Marshall

Friends

Friends are like guardian angels.
They're always here for you.
They live in a house in your heart.
All the windows and doors are locked
So they'll never leave
your heart.

Morgaine Marshall

What a treasure! For more such loveliness...head on over to Carol's Corner for today's Poetry Friday smorgasbord.

And if you have not visited my new blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, I invite you (and your students if you have students!) to stop by and take a peek into illustrator Shirley Ng-Benitez's drawing process. Please consider joining that blog so you receive new updates as new notebooks and sketchbooks are added.

Happy Poetry Friday!

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