I'M GRATEFUL FOR THREE MILES OF HOPE

Howdy, Campers ~ and Happy Poetry Friday! (My poem, the link to Poetry Friday, and info on my next FREE class are all below)

I'm back from the NCTE convention in Denver!

This year, the theme of the convention, DREAM BOLDLY, inspired uplifting and galvanizing sessions for the 8,000 educators, reading specialists, administrators, librarians, authors, poets, readers and more.

I just finished my second exhausting/exhilarating year of a three year term on NCTE's Poetry Awards Committee.  I've learned so much being on the committee. Last year--my first--was hard--a shock to my system, as I am not a fast reader. At first, books came a box at a time, and every day felt like Christmas.

Eventually? It felt like the sorcerer's apprentice--GAH! My bookshelves overflowed with magnificent and not-so-great books, and I stopped reading the morning paper because there were books to read and review on a daily basis. I could swear we were mailed 30,000 books each, give or take. 

This year was much easier. I was prepared. I asked for help from fellow committee members when I was brawling with google docs (where we posted our reviews), and they generously helped me.

Here's my wonderful committee feeling relieved, after finalizing our award choices (from right to left): Glenda Funk, Jongsun "Sunny" Wee, Junko Sakoi, Willeena Booker, Kasey Short, & me

The members are listed in more detail here.

And here are our winners:

(To read the list which includes the titles, authors, and illustrators, click on this link)

This the beautiful 40-foot high Big Blue Bear peeking into Denver's Convention Center

I felt a marked rise in hope for our democracy--both at home and at the convention. 

But today, I'm frightened by the news about Three Mile Island restarting operations. 

Even at the end of an exhilarating 3-mile hike with Sadie. Because I remember that terrifying spring day in 1979.   And I remember what I learned from the brilliant crusader, Dr. Helen Caldicott. When I heard her speak at UC Santa Barbara in the late 1970s or early 1980s, she changed my life.

Fear wound around me like thick rope. 

But...

For years, I've listed five things I'm grateful for each night and send it to a dear friend. Last night's gratitude list included:

*I'm grateful for today's outrageously, courageously wonderful 3-mile hike with Sadie.

*I'm grateful for my imagination. 

Still, Three Mile Island was too big. It took up too much space in my brain and my body. 

WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?” I kept thinking. 

Then I thought back to my gratitudes.

My imagination piped up: "Honey, maybe you need to write about how you're coping (or not coping) right now. In fact," it continued, "listen to Pete Seeger and Joe Hickerson's song." Whereupon my imagination started singing Where Have All The Flowers Gone?...a little off-key, but still, it was moving...as is its refrain "When will they ever learn?"

"So," my imagination said, shoving me towards my laptop, "go copy that song's pattern. Make it a song of hope. You can do this!" 

(My imagination often scares the dickens out of me, but it can also be a compassionate cheerleader.)

And so, I limped to my laptop and wrote a rough draft of a poem...or perhaps it's a song. It only has two verses--it needs more. But it does contain seeds of hope:

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? 
by April Halprin Wayland
sung to the tune of the original song

We are planting flowers, child.
They’ll be rising
We are planting flowers, child
We’ll watch them grow
We are planting flowers, child
To share these seeds, let’s pass them on
Each day there’s more to learn
Each day there’s more to learn

We are shining beams of light
In the shadows
We are shining beams of light
Let’s make them glow
We are shining beams of light
Guide our neighbors through the night
Each day there’s more to learn
Each day there’s more to learn

poem © 2025 April Halprin Wayland.

Oh--I almost forgot--here's a bit of hope:

Come join my next 3-hour class on March 4, 2026 through UCLA Extension's Writers' Program class, INTRO TO WRITING THE CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK ~ A Workshop for Absolute Beginners 

Enrollment ends January 11^th...and classes fill FAST. Why? Because UCLA Extension offers 3-hour classes for FREE!

(After 26 years of teaching, do I still get nervous as my class begins? You betcha. But the moment I know my students and I are in that flow--that's the Great Gift.)

many thanks to Barney Saltzberg for this illustration

Note: this is a basic workshop for absolute beginners.

Learning to write a picture book in three hours is like

speed-dating.

On roller skates.

Down Mt. Everest.

Can you really learn everything you need to know in three hours?

No.

Still, the chase is quite exciting.

* * *

Thank you for reading this post. 

Now, it's your turn. 

What makes you grateful? 

What gives you hope? 

Thank you, Irene, for hosting Poetry Friday at Live Your Poem!

written with hope and gratitude for each of you
by April Halprin Wayland

with help from Sadie

Sadie this summer, taking a break
on a hot hike in Southern California