Friday, February 4, 2022

3 Things You May Not Know About Me

Howdy, Campers, and happy Poetry Friday! (My poem, the links to PF and to my upcoming classes are below).

We in the TeachingAuthors treehouse 

decided to get personal this 'round, so hold onto your hats as we blog about the 3 Things You May Not Know About...

Carmela started our 13th(!)-year with a bang: 3 Things You May Not Know About TeachingAuthors and a Trimeric Poem which details our new posting schedule, new calendar, and her terrific trimeric poem; Mary Ann reveals the famous children's author/illustrator she kissed, a shocking newspaper interview, and the book series she--a former children's librarian--has never read. 

And here are 3 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1) About 700 years ago at a conference far away, Nikki Grimes and two of her friends I'd had dinner with, knocked on my hotel room door past midnight. 

I was in my pajamas. 

They plopped down on my bed. 

I did my best to wake up. (I felt as if I were thirteen again, this time with the "in" girls who wanted to talk to me...in my pjs...on my bed!) 

Three older white men had had dinner with us--possibly publishers or book sales reps--I don't remember now. Nikki asked if I was aware of the racial slurs they had flung across the table at dinner. 

Now I was wide awake. Whaaa...? 

Those remarks had flown invisibly past me. 

These women were sitting on my bed, in the middle of the night, to open my eyes.

Maybe those remarks were dog whistles, meant only for the ears of the three black women at the table. 

Or maybe I was focused on the salmon, maybe I was dying for another roll but didn't want to look like a glutton, or maybe my monkey mind was buzzing from the conference.

They did their best to help me see that night, but I don't think I really understood. Though my family--grandparents, uncles, aunts, mother, father, sister and I--had been activists first and foremost in our lives, I'd never endured what Nikki and her friends had.

I look back with embarrassment. But also with gratitude. 

Thank you, Nikki, for trying that night, though I didn't understand. 

I am just beginning to understand, 700 years later.

[Addendum posted 2/9/22: I appreciate Heidi Mordhorst's comment below (and our subsequent correspondence): The stories that we white people can tell each other of our ignorance, our safety, our privilege are really important, April. Thank you. I'm so interested in how you characterized the "dog whistles" as meant for Black ears, when usually they're meant from white mouths for other white ears. Some of the ignorance of us "good white people" is that we don't suspect others of being racist; we don't hear what they're really saying. Let us be owls in all seasons, listening for what's underneath the surface.  

I now realize that it may be hardest for those of us from activist families to shift from believing that not being blatantly racist is enough. It's up to me to become anti-racist, an upstander and an ally.]

2) My picture book, MORE THAN ENOUGH ~ a Passover Story, illustrated by the wonderful Katie Kath (Dial Books), is coming out as a paperback and an audiobook on 2/22/22 🌞What a happy date🌞 (You can pre-order it from an indie bookstore now!)

(For those of you with an iron stomach, here's the whole, bloody creation story behind More Than Enough...which you can wash down with these delicious reviews.)

3) I recorded the author's notes for the audiobook in a fancy Santa Monica studio(The author's notes are just seven sentences long.)

Moi, after reading the author's notes
from More Than Enough...stoked with coffee

4) A bonus fact you may not know about me: my intention this year is to be present. So my word for 2022 is presence. When we're truly present, our  presence is a present 🎁

About a year ago I learned something (which you'll read in the backstory) that made me appreciate how focused owls are...how present they are, which inspired today's poem:

OWLS
by April Halprin Wayland


They are a special breed,

those focused listeners

who block out all

 

as if they're owls,

who hear

a mouse's heart

 

beat 

under

snow.

poem © 2022 April Halprin Wayland
=====================
Backstory:

I heard on the radio that "Owls can hear a mouse's heartbeat under a foot of snow"!  Isn't that MARVELOUS?

I did a virtual cartwheel when I heard that.
======================
Thank you for stopping by today! One final note:

I'll be teaching Introduction to Writing Children's Poetry on Saturday, March 26, 2022 12 noon-3pm PST, and Introduction to Writing a Children's Picture Book on Saturday, April 9, 2022 12 noon-3pm PST. Both are virtual classes; enrollment is limited to 20 students.

Thank you, Elisabeth, for hosting Poetry Friday at Unexpected Intersections


posted by April Halprin Wayland, with love

24 comments:

Linda Mitchell said...

So much to love about this post and you! I think owls must be poets...if they can hear mouse heartbeats under a foot of snow they must have ways of thinking about that...and describing it to their friends.

Linda Mitchell said...

ooops! I commented before saying Congratulations! on your new book. How exciting. And, how wonderful. Very few students in my school know a Jewish person. So, the books I stock our library with are a way of introduction. Thank you!

Irene Latham said...

Dear April, YAY for More than Enough going to paperback AND audio! That's so great. Glad too for your learning with Nikki and for your gorgeous owl poem. Cartwheeling with you! xo

Amy said...

Congrats on your book coming out in paperback and on audio! What fun! I just signed up for your poetry class and will do so for the picture book class as soon as it opens! Yay! I can’t wait!

Carmela Martino said...

I'm so happy for this topic so I can learn more about you, April! And congrats on the paperback and audio release. Marvelous!
Love the owl poem, though I suspect the fact behind it doesn't make mice very happy.

jama said...

Love your story about Nikki and hearing your good news. More Than Enough marches on. Hooray!

Liz Steinglass said...

Love all of this!

Linda B said...

Congrats for your book coming out in paperback, April. I know about those owls but that story reminds me of those pictures we see of a fox leaping for a mouse catch also below the snow. They, too, can 'hear' something, movement of the tiny creature? Great story about Nikki and her friends feeling good about telling you about that dinner, too. Happy Friday & best wishes for a good weekend, too!

Elizabeth Howland Forrest said...

What a privilege a joy to have known you since we sat underneath your mother's piano on that thick soft rug! You continue to delight my heart and I rejoice in knowing you

April Halprin Wayland said...

Linda! I love the way you turn the idea around so beautifully. I hope you do write a poem about owl as poets!

April Halprin Wayland said...

And thank YOU, Linda, for opening their eyes to another culture in our country 💞

April Halprin Wayland said...

Irene, Namaste. I've never actually been able to do a cartwheel... But tonight I'm inspired by young athletes.who never give up. So I'm never going to say I'll never!

April Halprin Wayland said...

Amy ~hooray! I'll get to meet you on my screen! Thanks for signing up for my class.

April Halprin Wayland said...

Carmela ~ I like the way you think! Maybe you could write a poem from the point of view of a mouse under the snow?

April Halprin Wayland said...

Hey, Liz ~ thanks! And don't I owe you a lunch or a walk along the beach in Southern California? Poetry Camp feels so long ago, doesn't it? Ages and ages ago...

April Halprin Wayland said...

Linda ~ This morning I emailed Nikki, warning her that I had posted a story about her, and asking her to let me know if she needed me to correct any of the details.

She responded quickly, saying she didn't remember the event at all! Isn't that funny... How someone's action can affect you so deeply... but they don't actually remember it? I think it happens to all of us all the time.

April Halprin Wayland said...

Elizabeth ~ What a great gift to see you here! Thank you so much for stopping by! Lots lots of love!

Mary Lee said...

Thanks for these 3 (or 4) fascinating things about you and congratulations on the book!

April Halprin Wayland said...

Dear Jama ~ I've been remiss and haven't visited your page in forever. Darn! Thank you for stopping by. Once again, I wish you lived nearby so we could take a walk together

April Halprin Wayland said...

I SO appreciate you stopping by, Mary Lee. Thanks for the congrats!

Heidi Mordhorst said...

The stories that we white people can tell each other of our ignorance, our safety, our privilege are really important, April. Thank you. I'm so interested in how you characterized the "dog whistles" as meant for Black ears, when usually they're meant from white mouths for other white ears. Some of the ignorance of us "good white people" is that we don't suspect others of being racist; we don't hear what they're really saying. Let us be owls in all seasons, listening for what's underneath the surface.

Elisabeth said...

Congratulations on the new book! I love the idea of sharing "three things ..." and am intrigued by all of the facts and stories you shared. Thanks for your post and for being a part of the Poetry Friday party this week!

April Halprin Wayland said...

Heidi ~ Thank you. Of course you're right! Thank you for reaching out and pulling me forward on our common path.

April Halprin Wayland said...

Elisabeth ~ isn't Poetry Friday the best?