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Friday, April 1, 2022

51 Poets on Being Imperfect ~ Middle School Poems

Howdy Campers ~ and happy Poetry Month 2022, Poetry Friday and April Fools Day! (my poem and the link to Poetry Friday are below) 

Carmela and I are excited to announce that our poems have been included in the poetry anthology, IMPERFECT II: Poems About Perspective: an anthology for middle schoolers, edited by the wonderful Tabatha Yeatts (History House Publishers, April 2022)


IMPERFECT II features poems by:
Robert Schechter * William Peery * Laura Mucha * Lisa Varchol Perron * Buffy Silverman * Heidi Mordhorst * Mary Lee Hahn * Mia Perron * Myrna Foster * Laura Purdie Salas * Tricia Torrible * April Halprin Wayland * Christy Mihaly * Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer * Diana Murray * Rebecca Gardyn Levington * Rochelle Burgess * Liz Garton Scanlon * Linda Kulp Trout * Alan J. Wright * FranΓ§ois Villon * Michelle Heidenrich Barnes * Linda Mitchell * Alana DeVito * Elisabeth Norton * Carmela Martino * Molly Hogan * Michelle Schaub * Laura Shovan * Catherine Flynn * Carl Sandburg * Abby Wooldridge * Sydney Dunlap * Marzieh Abbas * Donna JT Smith * Paul Laurence Dunbar * Suzy Levinson * Helen Kemp Zax * Kathleen McKinley Harris * Margaret Simon * Ella Wheeler Wilcox * Ruth Bowen Hersey * Diane Mayr * Mizuta Masahide * Michelle Kogan * Charles Ghigna * Jone Rush MacCulloch * Richard Schiffman * Tabatha Yeatts * Robyn Fohouo * Isaac Leib Perez

Look for Carmela's poem in this book, Backyard Dandelionsin her May 20, 2022 post.

Here's one of my poems in this collection: 

FINGERPRINT  by April Halprin Wayland 

There’s a tiger in my fingerprint.

And fret and tire and ping.

And maybe also ripening:

ignite and fire and ring.

 

On grey days there’s no tiger,

just pine, inept, infringe.

I cannot roar with pen or print

there’s only grief and only rip

 

But maybe also...

tiger grit.

poem (c) 2022 by April Halprin Wayland, from IMPERFECT II: Poems About Perspective ~ an anthology for middle schoolers, edited by Tabatha Yeatts (History House Publishers 2022)
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This is an In One Word poem, a form I invented. (Does one really "invent" poetic forms?)

The word I repeat a lot to myself lately is “fingerprint”...which to me means that no one can say what I need to do to get through the hard times, to right a wrong; no one can tell me how to create or live my life. The hard work is this: I need to discover my own fingerprint. 

This applies to how many potato chips are okay and how many are too many, as well as who do I want to hang out with? Where do I want to put my energies? And what time do I need to go to bed tonight? (I'll probably to ignore my own advice on that one...)

I wish someone I trusted, someone I looked up to had taken me aside in the crowded hallway of Lincoln Middle School, looked me in the eyes, and helped me understand that there is no perfect way to live your life. 

The question for each of us is: what's your fingerprint?

And one more thing: Sylvia Vardell's blog highlights Pomelo Books' newest anthology--this time for younger kiddos--THINGS WE EAT, which features full-color photos of foods in alphabetical order accompanied by a poem. JUST published, it's already a A Children's Book Council Hot Off the Press Selection!

Here's mine in this beautifully presented collection:

Thank you, Heidi, at my juicy little universe for hosting PF this week!


posted with lots of love and a little bit of brain fog by April Halprin Wayland

36 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your tiger grit with us, April! "In One Word" is a fun form. Appreciations to both you and Carmela. xo

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  2. Tabatha ~ thank you for creating this book for middle schoolers. It will give them permission to live bigger, brighter,or whatever their fingerprint really is. It will be life changing.

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  3. So much fun, April. I'm a fan of spelling bee and wordle, and have made a few poems with lists from those games, but have not heard of In One Word poems before. Off to write some!

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    1. PS: I'm proud to say I "invented" this poetic form 😎

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  4. Buffy! I'd love to see where it takes you. Thanks for coming by 🌟🌱

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  5. It took me just a bit to intuit that your poem was an In One Word poem...but I LOVE it! Tiger grit for the win!

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    1. It is always fun to play with unexpected words within words, isn't it, Mary Lee?

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  6. Congrats for the poems "in", April. I will purchase this new "Imperfections II" for a granddaughter, 13 in a few days, needing to know about her own 'fingerprint'. Middle schoolers are very hard on themselves. Thanks for the peeks!

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    1. Hey, Linda ~ yes, middle schoolers ARE hard on themselves...but so are many of us, right? I am learning slowly, so slowly...😌

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  7. Love your In One Word poem, April, especially the Tiger Grit!
    Thanks for sharing your Taco poem too. What great fun.
    I'm so honored to have a poem in a collection with yours and those of so many other amazing poets!

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    1. I can't wait to read yours, Carmela πŸ’•πŸ’•πŸ’•

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  8. I love how your post about "Fingerprint" is written for middle-schoolers, how you reach back to yourself in the poem and in your comments. Looking forward to this book so much!

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    1. Thank you, Heidi. Don't you wish someone had looked you in the eye and talked about how only you could do it only you could do?

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  9. A perfect poem for such a challenging time in the life of a young person. For this long-ago former middle schooler, the struggle was real! Congrats all around for so many accomplishments, too! -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/

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    1. Yes, Christie ~ that struggle.. I almost said "that long ago struggle," But I still sometimes struggle as an adult. We're such crazy humans!
      Thanks for your wonderful compliment.

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  10. I can't wait for the newest IMPERFECT book, and have already ordered my copy (now I'm wondering where the first one might be, probably in someone's desk or locker!) I can't wait to share your poem with my students. Adolescence is such a hard, hard time for them and poems like this help! And I can't wait to try your one word poem! Thank you!

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    1. I'd love to hear what you come up with, Carol! Thanks for stopping by.

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  11. Ahoy April,
    I love "Fingerprint" -- thanks so much for this. This would be great fun with middle schoolers.
    Keep up the good work.

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    2. Isn't it funny how you and I met at a conference so long ago and yet I feel so connected to you. Also guilty because I never stopped by and read what you've written wherever you are... (sorry ~ know that it's not just you that I ignore... It's everyone!)

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  12. I love the idea of thinking about your own creative footprint!

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  13. I too love the idea of considering one's own fingerprint. What an interesting way to see things. And, true! Congrats on Imperfect II. It's great to see all the links of poets in one place. Thanks for that. Happy Poetry Month!

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  14. What a wonderful poem, April! I love your explanation of what "fingerprint" means to you. Perhaps your poem will be a guide for others, even if you (and I) missed out on that lesson when we were in middle school. I look forward to reading Carmela's poem, as well!

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    1. Yes... We missed out on it, Michelle, but I think every generation stands on the shoulders of the one before it...

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  15. April, I love your "fingerprint" poem! Such a great message -- not just for middle schoolers! I'm excited for IMPERFECT II - One of my CPs (Alana DeVito) has poems included too! Thank you!

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    1. I'll look for Alana's poem, Patricia! Thank you for stopping by πŸ’•

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  16. Your fingerprints are powerful in this post, April. As a *ahem* year old person I need to remember the words, "there is no perfect way to live your life". Congrats on your poems! :)

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    1. I think you and I are the same age, Bridget! 🀣

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  17. YAY! and HOORAY! to our talented TeachingAuthors poets, Carmela and April!

    You two are always teaching THIS author more than a thing or two.

    Your Fan Esther

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    1. And you are always teaching me about energetic writing, Esther!

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  18. I like the "tiger grit" ending your poem April, and the whole idea about figuring out one's fingerprint–lots of pondering there… I'm looking forward to reading both your poem and Carmela's my "Imperfect II" just came today!

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  19. Man, oh, man, Michelle... I can't wait to read the poems in it!

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  20. You make my heart sing, April - not to mention my brain expand and tummy purr.
    Your Fan Esther

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