POETRY STICKS TO YOUR CLOTHES and PHOTOS OF POETS!

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Howdy, Campers!

And yes, it's National Poetry Month!

But first...midnight tonight is the deadline to enter our book giveaway for a chance to win 30 PEOPLE WHO CHANGED THE WORLD (Seagrass, 2018).  Check out Carla Killough McClafferty’s March 26 interview with the book’s editor Jean Reynolds, then scroll down from the interview to enter our TeachingAuthors drawing.

Esther started off our celebration of National Poetry Month; now it's my turn.

I'm at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference, #TLA18, having a fabulous time at the Poetry Rodeo created and sponsored by Pomelo Books.  Truly P-o-e-t H-e-a-v-e-n.

Poets included:  KathiAppelt, Jorge Argueta, Brod Bagert, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Jen Bryant, Shirley Smith Duke, Margarita Engle, Nancy Bo Flood, David L. Harrison, Juan Felipe Herrera, EricOde, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Ann Whitford Paul, Greg Pincus, BobRaczka, Laura Shovan, Elizabeth Steinglass, Holly Thompson, Sylvia Vardell, April Halprin Wayland and Janet Wong. Wow, right?

Here are a few photos from My Most Excellent Adventure:

me, ready for the conference!

Janet Wong

Dr. Sylvia Vardell & Juan Felipe Herrrera

David Harrison

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand  & Ann Whitford Paul

 the best 1/2 of Margarita Engle, Kathi Appelt, Nancy Bo Flood, Bob Raczka

my apologies to the rest of my poet friends whose photos were too blurry to share!

Ah, poetry.

Poetry Month inspired me to begin writing a poem a day in 2010...and I've never looked back. Maybe it will inspire you to write a poem each day, too.

This one is from August, 2013:

A POEM STICKS TO YOUR CLOTHES
by April Halprin Wayland

It's like something that clings to your shirt—

one of those blue sticky flowers,

or a foxtail.

At the end of the day,

you take off your jacket

and there it is,

soft like a real fox's tail,

tenacious,

pointed,

and sometimes

painful.

It must be dealt with.

poem (c) 2018 by April Halprin Wayland, who holds all rights

...here's the backstory, which I wrote to my friend Bruce, who also writes a poem a day--we send them to each other:

Gary came home last night and I was frantic because I like to write my poem before he comes home.  At least THAT.  So he came home and I asked him if he had any ideas for a poem, for something that sticks...and as I said it, I got an image of the things that stick to my clothes on a hike and I was off and running.

Sometimes God is good to me.

Well, most times, actually.

Make sure you check out Jama Rattigan's Kidlitosphere Poetry Events Round Up...

Then scoot on over to Amy at The Poem Farm, this week's Poetry Friday host

posted with love by April Halprin Wayland, who is grateful to our kind and inclusive Poetry Friday tribe