Thursday, December 31, 2009

Six Word Resolutions & Goals! A Book Giveaway! And a New Year's Poem For You!


Hiya and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Before we get to the book giveaway and the poem, I want to share my all-time favorite New Years song with you.  Singing folk songs is one way I learned how to write poetry.  This song is by the wonderful folksinger/songwriter Bruce Phillips, aka Utah Phillips—“The Golden Voice of the Great Southwest—a legend in his own time”.  It’s alternately called Here with You or I Believe if I Lived My Life Again.  One reason I love this tender song is the setting in which we sing it: in a big circle, arms around each other, acappella, exactly at midnight.  My favorite part is the chorus:

I believe if I lived my life again
I'd still be here with you
I believe if I lived my life again
I'd still be here with you


I can’t find an easy download of the music, but the lyrics are here.

Okay…and now, on with our Teaching Authors
New Year contest and book giveaway!


Remember our post (and book giveaway) about setting goals for the new school year?

Remember your own goals?  Well, the six of us at Teaching Authors can’t wait to hear how you’re doing.  And because there are SIX of us, we’d like you to send us a SIX word progress report.   To jog your memory, here's Carmela Martino’s original post about six word memoirs and here is my follow-up post about six word resolutions.

So--how did you do with those fall resolutions?   Who or what hindered you?  Who or what helped you?  Here's the place to 'fess up!  (And remember, we writers also edit—both our writing and our lives.  So if you didn’t quite make that goal, revise it and let us know your new one—in six words or less, of course!)

Here’s my own progress report:
Writing, submitting, teaching—I’m on fire!


What’s yours?  Post it by January 13th and you could win my picture book NEW YEAR AT THE PIER, which Tablet Magazine just named it Best Jewish Picture Book of the Year!  Contest details below.


Wanna Win a Book? Rules:
1) Post one six word progress report on your writing, reading or teaching goal…or your revised goal.
2) Provide your email address or a link to your own blog in your comment so that we can contact you. (U.S. residents only, please.) 
3) Entries must be posted by 11 p.m. Wednesday, January 13, 2010 (Central Standard Time).
4) The winner will be announced by 11 p.m., Friday, January 15, 2010.
Here are the complete rules (scroll down)--g'luck!

And now for the poem...from me to you. (Please imagine that the first stanza below is four lines and all the rest are three lines...this format doesn't allow lines quite that long!)

THIS YEAR
by April Halprin Wayland

Because we lost Fred last year, because I had one last kiss from

Aunt Rose, from Aunt Cissy, from Aunt Polly, from Morrie…
because I want to hold on, hold back, hold them,
because I can’t, because you can’t, because we can’t,

because of this slant of sun on bees buzzing from their white boxes,

because of one spoonful of custard apple, because of this persimmon,
because your guitar, all wood and gut, echoes in rings around these things,

this year

let’s not miss present tense, salty pistachio, soft pianissimo,
let’s not miss sage incense, Native flute, one bite of fruit,

and let’s not miss these arms, these generous arms,

these loving arms, wrapping warm around us
this year.

© April Halprin Wayland

Two things in this New Year: remember to breathe and write with joy.



all drawings by April Halprin Wayland--please credit.

15 comments:

Carmela Martino said...

April, congratulations on NEW YEAR AT THE PIER being named Best Jewish Picture Book of the Year by TABLET MAGAZINE. What an honor!

Carol said...

I loved your poem. 2009 has been a year of goodbyes- selling a much loved home, watching a much loved friend/mentor go into the darkness of Alzheimers, watching my teenagers become men (a happy and sad thing). Your poem reminds me to breathe, and not miss the goodness. Thanks.

Kym Brunner said...

My six-word resolution:

Revise and submit until it sells.

I just received my revision notes from my agent and want this third novel to be THE ONE THAT SELLS! Come on, Karma, be good to me.

Margo Dill said...

Six-word resolution:

Submit Young Adult Manuscript to Agents

Margo Dill
margodll@aol.com
http://margodill.com/blog/

Unknown said...

Release procrastination and write,revise,submit.

Anonymous said...

My six-word resolution:

Continue small steps. Find slushpile summit.

Sheri Dillard
thedillard5 at yahoo dot com

Charles Ghigna said...

Happy New Year and a Happy New Inspiring Decade to you all! BALD EGO blog

Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford said...

As someone who has never made a New Year's resolution (until now), I have very much enjoyed reading everyone else's. Kym, you pretty much encapsulated it all --"revise and submit until it sells." Mazel tov to us all!

Dixie Phillips said...

Writing to shape small souls forever!

Can you tell I love to write for wee ones? ;-)

Chris Mandelski said...

Great post and poem! Loved it. Here's my 6-word plan for the new year:

Seeking sweet spot on library shelf.

Laurie L Young said...

Create empty space, fill with words.

laurielyoung@live.com

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Mazel Tov, April!! It's so well-deserved.

No need to enter me. I'm dropping in 'cause Carmela asked me to post about this at Win a Book. Which, of course, I'm glad to do.

Colleen Stratton said...

Expect Goals Realized, Envision Miraculous Results

KR said...

Teaching touches hearts, minds and souls

mj.coward[at]gmail.com

Mary Jo said...

Forget resolutions - Dream your best life!