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

3 things I've learned About Conferences & Me

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Howdy, Campers--and happy Poetry Friday!
(See below for a poem about being a writer by Richard Wilbur and for today's PF host.)

We're in the middle of TeachingAuthors' series on Summer Learning Opportunities.

So far we've heard from JoAnn--who, through her own fascinating Summer Science Experiments, is learning more about hatching monarchs in her backyard; Esther--who's learning about authors from her own fair city (Chicago), discovered four "eye-openingly insightful" blogs, learned about the "3-paragraph query," and how to "attend" the National SCBWI conference if you can't be there in person. Carla shares what she's learned about the unexpected benefits from attending an SCBWI conference, and Mary Ann inspires us with her summer Young Writer's Camp.

As for me, I'm looking forward to being on the faculty of the National SCBWI Conference from July 31 through August 2nd (with intensive workshops available for an additional fee on Monday, August 3rd). Once again I'll be critiquing manuscripts submitted by conference attendees who've paid extra for written and face-to-face critiques.

My very smart friend, author and poet Greg Pincus (who blogs at GottaBook) posted the link to this fabulous blog post on attending an SCBWI conference by art director Giuseppe Castellano...and our own Esther has written what is by now a classic essay on attending an SCBWI conference.

Esther and I come at conferences from two very different perspectives. Basically, She jumps into the fray carrying a bunch of balloons; I get overwhelmed by more than 10 people at a party.

So, here are three things I've learned about conferences (how they affect me and how I cope) in the 24 years I've attended SCBWI in Los Angeles:

1) Be kind to yourself.  This conference can be overwhelming. No--I take that back: this conference is overwhelming. This summer 1000 people are attending from around the world.

A few of the attendees at this year's SCBWI Conference
(from morguefile.com)

We crowd into a posh hotel over a long summer weekend. The excited, anxious, ecstatic, frightened, enthusiastic, vibrating energy of 1000 friendly/shy/talkative/mute children's book professionals and pre-professionals (thanks for that term, Carla!) can be paralyzing.  The air in any hotel over that many days with that many people gets used up. And so do I.

2) Take breaks. I usually stand in the back because there's simply TOO MUCH SITTING!  That's one way I've learned to give my body a break. I've also learned (to my astonishment) that it's okay not to attend every single session. I can actually go outside and gulp fresh air...sit on the grass with my eyes closed for a few minutes. It's amazing how so simple an action as breathing can change my body chemistry.  Ahhhhhh....

No--not me.
(from morguefile.com)

3) And I've learned that some years I just need to be VELCRO®.

from morguefile.com

Although there have been many years I couldn't wait to sign up for the conference, couldn't wait to bond with new peeps, couldn't wait to find out what everyone was doing and share what I was up to, there have been other years, too.

Years when I couldn't figure out how to write that book--the one that was going to put me on the map, years when no one had invited me to submit a poem since the Ice Age, years when I was raw, raw, raw from rejection, Those are the years when I did NOT want to attend that stupid conference.  Nope.  Not gonna do it. And you can't make me.

It's about the shame, of course. I'm judging my insides against everyone else's outsides. It's like that false fog which hovers over FaceBook where I see those sparkling photos and know that every one of my FB friends are completely fulfilled, are always at goal weight, and have (just yesterday) signed a three-book deal.  (It's true--they have, you know.)

That's when I've learned I need to VELCRO® myself to real-life friends at the conference.  Hang with them. Go into the hall with them. Choose whatever breakout session they choose--it doesn't matter. They're my peeps. My buds. The ones who believe in me...and I believe in them. They save me from the darkness every time.

So, if you're coming to the SCBWI conference, please come up and say hello!We can VELCRO® together for awhile.

And Campers--if you are going to any gathering this summer that makes you a teensy bit uneasy, a little bit insecure, maybe the following quote will help. It's helped me.

Just for today, be open to the possibility
that there is nothing wrong with you.

Finally, here is a poem to inspire you:

THE WRITER
by Richard Wilbur

In her room at the prow of the house
Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden,
My daughter is writing a story.

I pause in the stairwell, hearing
From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys
Like a chain hauled over a gunwale.

Young as she is, the stuff
Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy:
I wish her a lucky passage.
click here for the rest of this poem

The poetry gods and goddesses bring Poetry Friday to Keri Recommends today. Thanks for hosting, Keri!

posted live from the floor of SCBWI's National Conference in living color and with love by April Halprin Wayland

POV: Greg Pincus' Wednesday Writing Workout & One Thing for 2014

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Howdy Campers! 

It's time for TeachingAuthors' first WWW of 2014!

Starting this year, we're cutting back a bit: we'll be featuring WWWs just once or twice a month. Why? It's our collective New Year's Resolution so each of us has more time to...W R I T E.

In fact, in our cozy TeachingAuthors's treehouse lounge this month,we're each sharing One Thing for 2014 to support our writing. Just One!  What a fine idea.

JoAnn talks about "developing fresh ideas while kneading, baking, and eating fresh bread" (yum!) while Esther plans to spend the first hour of her writing day (at least) living inside her own heroine's story--before she edits her students' work.

Me? I resolve to...wear more fun earrings--not just the default pearl studs I've worn forever.

Wait--what? A resolution about my writing?  Oy--it scares me to make a resolution about my writing.  What if I never actually do it?

But maybe I can make a teeny resolution.  Just One Thing.  Baby steps.

Okay...deep breath.  I'm going to focus on writing what's fun to write, whether it makes sense for my career or not: picture book, adult article, poem for kids or adults. 

And now...it's Wednesday--time for our guest author WWW!

In case you missed it, author Greg Pincus stopped by for a fabulous chat a few weeks ago about his debut novel, The 14 Fibs of Gregory K  and promised to come back with a writing exercise for you...and here it is!

No!!!! Anything But That!
A Prompt from a Different Perspective
Writing Prompt Thingee
by Greg Pincus

Playing with different perspectives can be a lot of fun as a writer...  but putting yourself into another person's mind can also be daunting.  One way to simplify that is to eliminate the other person and instead take the perspective of something inanimate. 

So... look around you right now. What do you see?

An apple? A pencil? A window? The floor?

morguefile.com

Whatever it is that you saw has a purpose in our world (a window can be to see through or serve as for decoration, for example) or is used by humans in some specific way or another (we walk on a floor; we eat an apple).

The writing workout is to write from the perspective of what you saw... and tell a story that will prevent a person from using "you" in the way we usually would.

For example, here's me as an apple...

morguefile.com

...who doesn't want to be eaten:

You can't see it, I know.
But a worm's just below
My glistening skin.
So when you bite in,
You won't get a crunch
But rather you'll munch
That poor worm's guts and pieces
And the gunk it releases.
Yes, I expect if you ate me
You'd expectorate me.
So please leave me be.
Go try cookies and tea.

poem © 2014 Greg Pincus. All rights reserved

morguefile.com

While this is a poem of simple couplets, the prompt can work as the way to start a  persuasive essay or as a way into perspective taking in poetry or fiction or, really, any sort of writing.  Unless, of course, the object you see is an essay and it tries to convince you NOT to write an essay. Then, well, who knows what happens?
Thank you, Greg--this sounds like fun!  I can hear my earrings talking to me now...

Readers: what object is calling you?  What is your One Thing for 2014? Fess up!

posted by April Halprin Wayland.

Book Giveaway, Author Interview with Greg Pincus & Poetry Friday!

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Howdy, Campers!  
There's lots going on today, including a funny math poem (fractions!) for Poetry Friday--so let's get started!

First of all, thank you, Buffy, for hosting PF!

It is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to my friend,
Greg Pincus.

 

Greg's a poet, novelist, screenwriter, volunteer elementary school librarian, and social media consultant. He’s also a blogger, writing about children’s literature and poetry at GottaBook (including his annual Poetry Month feature, 30 Poets/30 Days.) 

Through the wonders of social media, he’s sold poetry, helped himself land a book deal, ended up in the New York Times (!), the Washington Post, School Library Journal (multiple times), and spoken to students all around the U.S.

Greg's poems for children can be playful, deceptively smart, and tender, too.  They are always well-crafted--his rhyme is pitch perfect.

But more important than all of this: Greg Pincus is a compassionate and incredibly giving person, both personally and professionally.  There is never a time Greg posts on our Los Angeles SCBWI listserv that he isn't sharing a link about our industry or practical tips on using social media or something equally helpful.  He's constantly lifting up all of us.  It's never about Greg; it's always about what he can give to you.  

Greg Pincus is on the right, helping an SCBWI member
over a publishing dilemma.

Greg is also very funny.  And so is his debut middle grade novel, The Fourteen Fibs of Gregory K (Arthur A. Levine Books) -- which you could win!  See below!

From Publisher's Weekly:
Everyone in Gregory's family adores math—everyone, that is, except Gregory. While his parents and siblings live for the yearly City Math contest, Gregory prefers writing, especially poetry...Gregory is a buoyant narrator whose extreme math phobia and obsessive love of pie (and definitely not pi) give his character an idiosyncratic shine. Hyperbolic details, like his mother's "Weird Wednesday" family dinners, are interspersed with passages from Gregory's extra credit math journal, where his ruminations on the Fibonacci sequence and "Fib poetry" give readers access to deeper reflections on mathematics, metaphor, and the places where they might overlap. Pincus's story explores struggles with friends, family, and learning while remaining exuberant and relatable, a winning equation.

The real Greg actually invented the “Fib” — a form of poetry based on the Fibonacci sequence — read about it at his original Fib post, and in The New York Times and at Poetry Foundation. (Remember I know him!  I've had had actual coffee with him!)

Pretty impressive bio and review, right? So without further delay, let's hear from the author himself! 
So, Greg--how did you officially become a TeachingAuthor?

Inertia! I was spending time as a volunteer elementary school librarian, so I was reading/working with a lot kids already. As I published my poetry and then The 14 Fibs, it was just a natural outgrowth to get into classes and not just talk about poetry and the like but teach it... workshop it... explore it. So, I did!

What's a problem you've seen students having when writing poetry?

I've found that many students simply don't know how to start writing a poem - as though there's some code they haven't been taught or some permission they need. So, besides giving permission to write a lousy draft of a poem, I also work with them on looking around wherever they are and seeing something... anything, really... that's of interest to them. And if that fails to spark an interest, we look internally, too, because there's always a feeling to write about. So far, a bit of gentle guidance has always been enough.

And when did you know you were a writer?

I always loved to write, yet I never really thought about it separate from school work. Until, that is, I was part of a writing competition - the Ready Writing Contest, competing against other kids my age (which was around 12 at the time). Yes, there I was with other kids who liked writing! That was exciting by itself... and then there was the fact that it was a competition which, well, at the time I could be a little competitive.

The funny thing is that I remember the contest being inspiring, but I haven't a clue how I did in it. And that's really as it should be, as writing isn't a competition (though since I can't remember, I'm guessing I didn't win... and lived to tell new tales anyway).

What's on the horizon for you besides pie? (There's a lot of pie eating in Greg's book...)

I'm working on a new novel to join The 14 Fibs of Gregory K. and working on a whole assortment of poems (Fibs included) and picture book manuscripts, too. Plus, I'm trying to get into the classroom as often as possible so I can share my love of poetry with anyone who will listen!

I've gotta ask, Greg...how did you decide to name your character Gregory?

Great question!  Arthur (his editor, Arthur A. Levine) came up with the title The 14 Fibs of Gregory K. when we first talked about the book in 2006. There was no manuscript at the time. Instead, there was a vague idea about a kid who writes Fibs and tells fibs. A lot of my poems are written from the point of view of a kid who was unnamed... but I used to write those poems as Gregory K. instead of Greg Pincus. We decided the book should about that kid, then Arthur used "Gregory K." as part of the title. I thought it sounded great.

That I happen to be Gregory K, too, is fun and certainly relates to how the name came to be, but it wasn't actually me making the choice! Editors do a lot - including, sometimes, naming the main character for you. Who knew?

  Greg at his book launch
Click here to watch his entire book launch, which he streamed live! 
(I'm sure Greg will agree with me when I say
you can skip the first 40 minutes)

What poem will you share for Poetry Friday, Greg?

Here's a poem from The 14 Fibs (which, remember, you can win--see below!):

THE FRACTION STORE
by Greg Pincus

I bought a quarter pound of eighths.
I bought an ounce of thirds.
I filled a bag with seventeenths that I will feed the birds.

I found a ninth of thirty-eighths.
I grabbed a single half.
The sixths and fifths were one-fourth off, and that caused me to laugh.

As I prepared to pay my bill,
Well, that’s when things got strange.
Although they’re selling fractions there, they cannot figure change.
poem © 2013 Greg Pincus. All rights reserved

Thank you so much for stopping by today, Greg. We look forward to posting your Wednesday Writing Workout right here on January 15th!

To win a copy of The 14 Fibs of Gregory K (the book trailer is below), enter via Rafflecopter. This giveaway ends at the end of the day, December 31. The lucky winner will be notified after the first of the year. Good luck!  And may you all eat pie!

Dear Campers, this is the last post on Teaching Authors until 2014.  Have a wonderful rest-of-December and watch for our posts beginning January 5th--we promise to help kickstart your writing engines in the new year!

There is so much to share with you about Greg and his book I've added some extras below, beginning with the book trailer...

If you're anything like me, you're completely overwhelmed in life and online and should be congratulated for taking the time to read this far.  Still, consider watching this 5:55 minute video on Greg's website about Fibonacci in nature.  SO MUCH FUN and jaw-droppingly amazing (I am as amazed by the girl who created it as by the video itself--how old is she???)

Need more? For a fun and wonderfully in-depth interview of Greg, complete with a video of him reading his poem,  “I Went to the Farm Where Spaghetti Is Grown,” paddle over to Renee LaTulippe's fabulous blog, No Water River. 

Greg's dog, Mocha...who's looking a little worried...
Where's my pie?

posted with a wave g'bye to 2013 by April Halprin Wayland