Vote Tuesday for Round Two of March Madness Poetry Tournament!

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Howdy, Campers!

Round Two of the 2nd Annual March Madness Poetry Tournament (#MMPoetry2013) is in full swing!

Please vote in this round by Tuesday!  Here's my flight.  (she says hopefully)
 
Here's the whole live scoreboard.

And here's how participating in this tournament has affected me:

MADNESS
by April Halprin Wayland
 
There's a Superwoman 
caffeinated rush 
in my veins!

I'm becoming that crazy woman
at the top of the highest rollercoaster
laughing hysterically for fifty-five minutes!

And then, bleary-eyed in the morning, 
wearing my robe and slippers,
finding a severed head

in the vegetable bin 
of my refrigerator
next to the iceberg lettuce

when I read my poem
posted for all to see
and realize

it doesn't scan
the way it seemed to

last night.
poem © 2013 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved

My opponent this round is the wonderfully original writer and poet, Buffy Silverman.

 

                                                                   ...wisssssh me luck...

Magnificent Michelle Markel is today's Guest Teaching Author--and YOU can win her new book!

 
Howdy, Campers and Happy Poetry Friday!  (Scroll to the end to find out who's hosting today.)

I have the incredibly cool job of announcing the winner of Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse by Tamera Will Wissinger; read the inspiring interview by Carmela here.  The lucky winner is...debut author and blogger Peggy Eddleman--yay, Peggy!

And if that isn't exciting enough, we have ANOTHER book giveaway contest beginning today, you lucky dogs!  Entry deadline is March 27th.  Details below.

Today I'm excited to introduce you to a dear friend and fab author, teacher and blogger, Michelle Markel.

Michelle's an avid fan and author of picture books, with a soft spot for biographies. Her titles include Dreamer From the Village: The Story of Marc Chagall, and The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau, one of Booklist’s ten best children’s art books of 2012, and a New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing.   Michelle is one of my fellow instructors at UCLA Extension’s Writers Program,  and one of my colleagues in the Children’s Authors Network. She makes her home in California's San Fernando Valley, about forty miles from the ocean, where she claims her thoughts often drift.

All of Michelle's books are original, beautifully written, and impeccably researched.  Her latest book, and one you will surely want to win, is Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909, which received four (!!!!) starred reviews and is a Junior Library Guild selection.  It's the inspiring true story of Clara Lemlich, a young immigrant woman who led the biggest strike of women workers in U.S. history in that time.  All this IN A PICTURE BOOK!  
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So, MM...how did you become a Teaching Author?

When my kids were in school, for fun and spare change, I taught poetry classes to children and young adults.  As my career progressed, I began teaching adults what I knew about writing children's books and getting them published. I found it to be vastly rewarding. (A little secret is that instructors constantly learn things too). My favorite part of teaching has always been the writing prompts. (You've got lots of terrific ones on this website!)  Nothing beats a front row seat to a burst of creativity, especially when the creator is surprised at what she's made.

Thanks for your complimenting our writing prompts!  What's a common problem your students have and how do you address it?

Many students have problems writing for the picture book audience. They may use irony, abstractions, introspection, a sense of maturity, complex sentences, and cultural references unfamiliar to a young child. They need more exposure to picture book language, and practice on how to read mindfully- which is part of their homework. In class we look at passages from children's books for all different age levels. I ask the students to find what the texts have in common, and how they differ. I discuss the psychological and emotional stages of childhood development. I write awful passages and ask them to correct it, whole group. During workshops we talk about writing that seems too grown up.

I need to take your class, Michelle!  Would you share a favorite writing exercise for our readers?.Character and conflict often get the most attention in writing classes. But sometimes the most original and heartfelt writing is inspired by exercises on setting. People have strong feelings and a multitude of sensory memories about places where they've grown up, spent a lot of time, or visited. I was drawn to write about Henri Rousseau in large part because of my love of Paris...

 
...where I lived while pursuing a BA in French, which later led to an MA, and a visit with my husband and daughter.

One of my most successful prompts is: 

Write about two different characters who are placed into a new setting--the desert, the mountains, anywhere.  One passage will be from the POV of a character who loves it, and the other from a character who hates it.

This is an opportunity to practice characterization, use of imagery in creating setting, and mood.

The results are often poignant and/or humorous.

Can you share a story about writing or publishing?

I thought my manuscript for Brave Girl might be my toughest one to sell. It's the story of Clara Lemlich, a fearless labor organizer who led garment workers on a long, difficult strike during the winter of 1909.  The text was undoubtedly dramatic, but on the other hand, it was gritty, and there hadn't been many picture books published about injustice in the workplace, and none about this woman in particular.

Sometimes you just feel the call--and there's no turning back. I felt that Clara’s heroism--her return to the picket lines after multiple arrests and broken ribs--deserved to be recognized. I tried to capture her fiery spirit in the writing. 

Ironically, this manuscript helped me get an agent and not long after, a contract with one of my all-time favorite publishers. I'm fortunate that Melissa Sweet so sensitively brought the story to life, and I'm thrilled that it has been well received by the critics. 

Can you see why I'm a firm believer in taking risks, and writing with passion? 

Absolutely!  Thanks for tackling such an important topic and congratulations on those FOUR starred reviews: School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly--wowza!

Thank you so much for sitting down for a cuppa tea with our readers and for offering an autographed copy of Brave Girl for our book giveaway, Michelle!

"This book has fighting spirit in spades--

 you go, Clara!”--Booklist
(starred review) 

And now Children, as promised, here's your chance to win an autographed copy of Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 written by Michelle Markel and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Balzer and Bray).

You must follow our TeachingAuthors blog to enter our drawing. If you're not already a follower, you can sign up now in the sidebar to subscribe to our posts via email, Google Friend Connect, or Facebook Network blogs.

There are two ways to enter:
1) by a comment posted below
OR
2) by sending an email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com with "Book Giveaway" in the subject line.

Either way, to qualify, you must:
a) give us your first and last name AND
b) tell us how you follow us AND
c) tell us if you'll keep the book for yourself or give it to someone special.

If you enter via a comment, you MUST include a valid email address (formatted this way: youremail [at] gmail [dot] com).

Contest open only to residents of the United States. Incomplete entries will be discarded. Entry deadline is 11 pm (CST) Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Winners will be announced Friday, March 29.  Good luck to all!

And now...take a few minutes and try Michelle's writing prompt before you go.  You'll be glad you did.

Poetry Friday is hiding today!  It's at Ms Mac's blog, Check it Out, where she gifts us with a BEAUTIFUL poem by J. Patrick Lewis about Martin Luther King.  Wow.  Thanks for hosting, Jone!

...and do hop over to the 2nd Annual March Madness Poetry Tournament to watch your favorite "authletes" flex their poetic muscles and vote for your favorite poems!

 

 

The March Madness Poetry Tournament Has Begun! #MMPoetry2013

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Howdy, Campers!

Just a quick post to tell you that the 2nd Annual March Madness Poetry Tournament (aka #MMPoetry2013) has begun!

Devised and run by the demonic Ed DeCaria at ThinkKidThink!, 64 "authletes" write poems in rounds, just like basketball's March Madness.  And madness it is, indeed!  But the best part is this: you get to vote for the best poem in each round! 

Poets include Bruce Balan, who regular readers know sails around the world on his trimaran, moi, and LOTS of friends of this blog from the Kidlitosphere, especially those who frequent Poetry Friday.  Meet all the authletes here! 
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Here's the link to my poem and that of Deborah Holt Williams, my fabulous opponent (my word is "puttering," which I did for 36 hours with that word...it felt as if I were cooking in a Food Network contest--no time, no time!  My honored opponent's word? "sophisticate"--which she handles beautifully.)

 

So, come on over and vote for your fav poems as they're unveiled!  It's one big poetry game in the sky!

Wednesday Writing Workout - MoNsTrOuS Fears!

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Howdy, Campers!

Be sure to check out the Second Annual March Madness Poetry Tournament and the exciting release of the newest Poetry Friday Anthology...this one for Middle School (details below!)...and welcome to today's

As I mentioned in last week's post, my teacher Barbara Bottner asks writing students to write about our greatest fears as if they were monsters.

So, I asked myself...if my fear of writing mediocre poems and stories were a monster, what would it be like?

It's a blob. A beige blob.  With blood-shot eyes. It's as big as a refrigerator and hunches on the rug blocking the window. It smells. Like a wet giraffe. It has tuna stuck between its yellowing teeth and a runny nose, and it's dropping Snickers wrappers on my clean carpet. And it JUST KNOCKED OVER MY EDGAR ALLEN POE DOLL which was carefully balanced on top of my stuffed dog!

And since Monkey* and I are both afraid of writing something stupid, I'm bringing back a (revised) poem from a post about second-rate writing:

GO AWAY, BIG BEIGE MONSTER OF SECOND-RATE WRITING

by April Halprin Wayland

You smell of ink and blood and death

and plastics that are burning.

My hands both shake, my headache’s back

and now my stomach’s churning.

I will not let you in today.

GO HOME!

(Hooray! I’m learning!)

poem © 2013 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

 

Now it's your turn.

1) What are you afraid of?  Make a list of at least five things that scare you. Are you afraid of snakes? Of flying? If you’re a writer (of COURSE you're a writer!), are you afraid of rejection?

2) Circle the one that scares you the most…or the one that you can’t wait to write about.

3) Make this fear into a creature.  Try to include as many of the five senses as possible--how does it sound?  How does it smell?  Maybe your fear of heights is a moldy grey vulture who hides in caves, makes snarky noises, and wears high tops…or maybe your fear of the dark is a neon green monster with sticky skin and garlicky breath that whispers evil things in your ear.

4) Write a story or a poem about this creature. You might want to speak to it or yell at it. Dialogue is fun to read aloud. Wouldn’t it be neat to YELL at your fear?  Or maybe YOU'RE the creature!

5) Share your writing with someone you want to scare.

ha ha

*In case you haven't met yet, this is Monkey, who will occasionally be writing blog posts for me:

Oh!  I did mention Ed DeCaria's marvelous Second Annual March Madness Poetry Tournament, didn't I?

Ed revealed the 64 "authletes" on Academy Awards night and I'm among them--yay!  As Mary Lee says, "I'm looking forward to the fun (and the stress)!"
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And finally, I'm proud to announce the publication of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School, which joins the K-5 Edition; both are masterfully compiled by Janet Wong and Dr. Sylvia Vardell. Explore a poem a week for every grade, K-12, with these two books. And for each poem, Janet and Sylvia have cooked up five ways to extend the teachable moment. Wowza!  I am humbled and honored to have poems in both. 

                    Here's the cover of the new middle school edition:

Goodbye Songs, Goodbye JoAnn, Hello, Poetry Friday and a Poetry Prompt!

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Howdy Campers--and happy Poetry Friday!

Thanks to wonderful Mary Lee and Franki 

of A Year of Reading for hosting today!

This round, each Teaching Author (so far Carmela and Mary Ann) will be sharing one of our favorite posts by blogmate JoAnn Early Macken, now on our Blog Advisory Board (or BAB).  Just kidding.  We don't actually have a BAB, although maybe we should. We're saying goodbye to JoAnn who is so busy teaching, writing and running Wisconsin's SCBWI chapter, she can scarcely breathe.

JoAnn's poetry and photos sing.  Though we had hoped to talk about different posts from JoAnn's tenure, I was so struck by her poetry in the same post Mary Ann chose, I have to share JoAnn's photo and poem, "Landscape with Dog Nose":

Landscape with Dog Nose by JoAnn Early Macken

I wanted to capture the crisp horizon,

gradations of shades,

mountainous clouds,

but she insisted on

stepping into the shot.

Well, why not?

She’s always part of the picture.
photo and poem (c) 2012 JoAnn Early Macken, all rights reserved 

I'll miss blogmate JoAnn's unique view of the natural world, her kindness, her beautific smile, her poetry...and so much more.

If you missed her post with this poem, you'll find it here. Because it's an old post, you won't be able to comment on it, so share your thoughts below, or email them to the TeachingAuthors via this link.

We love you, JA!

When I think of goodbyes, folk songs flood my brain.  The first one that came to me as a tribute to JoAnn was Woody Guthrie's Deportee, which is a terrific and important song, but doesn't exactly hit the right emotional notes to send our JoAnn off to her next chapter.  I'm here to allay your fears: her leaving did NOT involve a firey plane crash.

Next, Tom Paxton's Last Thing on my Mind came to me--but again, his chorus just doesn't quite express our relationship with JoAnn:

Chorus from Tom Paxton's Last Thing on my Mind:

Are you goin' away with no word of farewell?

Will there be not a trace left behind?

I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind;

Oh, you know that was the last thing on my mind.

The next one that popped up was Woody's children's song, Why Oh Why.  Just like three obstacles in a story, the third one's the charm--the perfect song!

Chorus from Woody Guthrie's Why Oh Why:

Why, oh why, oh why oh, why?
Why, oh why, oh why?
Because because because because
Goodbye goodbye goodbye

Okay...I know this looks--well, simple.  But you've gotta hear Woody sing it:

And here's another silly g'bye poem.  I wrote this one as my family ended a fairy tale vacation in Fiji:

GOOD-BYE FIJI

(bula = hello; vi naka = thank you; sota tallee = see you later)

by April Halprin Wayland  .

Bula, bula

and vinaka

Fiji rula:

no more clocka

everybody laughing, jolly

ask your name and make-a talka

leaving soon—so sota tallee!

poem (c) 2012 April Halprin Wayland, all rights reserved  

Writing Workout: Goodbye Poems

1) Get quiet.  Think about a recent goodbye.  Maybe a news event will inspire you, like Woody Guthrie's Deportees. Maybe it's deeply personal, like Tom Paxton's Last Thing on my Mind.  Perhaps it's silly like Woody's Why oh Why...or my Goodbye to Fiji.

2) Write it!

3) Share it!

P.S: Although I'm no longer in the running in the March Madness Poetry Tournament, I'm having a blast reading and voting as the new poems come in.  Come read along!

Missing JoAnn

Today would normally be JoAnn's turn to post. But as she announced two weeks ago, she's had to leave the TeachingAuthors team, at least as a regular contributor. All the TAs have shared with her privately about how much we're going to miss her. Beginning on Monday, we'll also share with you, our readers, a small tribute to JoAnn.

In honor of JoAnn, who always shared such wonderful photographs with us, I wanted to share a photograph today too. With our unseasonably warm weather here in the Midwest, some of the Spring flowers are already blooming. However, I haven't had a chance to get out much to enjoy them. So I'm going to "cheat" and share this clipart photo instead:

 
And since today is Poetry Friday, I'd also like to share the opening of William Wordsworth's "Daffodils":

                 Daffodills
      I wandered lonely as a cloud
      That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
      When all at once I saw a crowd,
      A host, of golden daffodils;
      Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
      Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

You can read the rest of it at the PoemHunter website. 

Speaking of poetry, don't forget to check out the amazing March Poetry Madness competition going on at Think Kid, Think. As I type this, there's still time to vote for your first-round favorites. Our own TeachingAuthor, April Halprin Wayland, is participating. You can see her match-up here.  

Today's Poetry Friday round-up is at Greg Pincus's GottaBook blog.  Greg happens to also be participating in March Poetry Madness. Read his match-up here. And see the list of all the participants here.  
 

Happy Writing!
Carmela

Women's History Month collides with Poetry Friday--CRASH! BAM! BOOM!

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Howdy, Campers--happy Poetry Friday!  Lucky you--today's poem and Writing Workout are below.

But first, a quick word about the brand-spanking new March Madness Poetry Tournament, which promises to give birth to 126 new children’s poems in 21 days!  The brain child of poet Ed DeCaria at THINKKIDTHINK!, it's set up just like March Madness basketball tournaments.  The first round begins Monday, March 12th. The tournament continues for three weeks, ending April 2nd.

And--she says nervously--I'm one of the 64 poets in the first bracket.

I have two feelings about this.  The first is YEE-HAW--this'll be fun!  The second is--YIKES--what was I thinking?!?!  So bookmark the tournament, come to Ed's virtual stadium and cheer--then vote for your favorite poems and let's see who's left standing!

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...
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Mary Ann and Carmela have posted brilliantly about Women's History Month and children's literature.  Frankly, I'm in awe of those who write any kind of nonfiction. I love the idea of research, but I don't dig through dusty files or interview 106-year-old survivors of avalanches. I'm absolutely terrified of getting facts wrong.  That's why writing this blog sometimes scares me--I'm sure I'll miss mentioning something crucial or misquote someone. 

Oh, the circus in my brain!

photo credit: Double--M via photopin cc

Like Mary Ann, I have strong memories of reading Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink.  After reading it, I remember feeling a hysterical sort of joy in finding out that girls were feisty and fearless.

I went to my picture book shelves to re-read some of the books that featured women in history and found one I want to share.  I hope, regardless of your political views, you can appreciate the poetry and genius of Kathleen Krull's book, Hilary Rodham Clinton--dreams taking flight and Amy June Bates' wonderful illustrations.

I'm highlighting this book because I love the way Krull, in just a few words, carries the subtitled theme through the book, showing us both metaphorically and literally how much Clinton wanted to fly. Here are a few sentences from the beginning: "Once there was a girl who wanted to fly.  She dreamed of zooming in a spaceship...She wrote to the national space agency to volunteer.  But it was 1961, and some paths were still closed to women, such as the job of astronaut." 

It was published in the heat of the 2008 election.  From the last few sentences:  "Was the land ready?  No matter...Sooner or later, we will have a woman president, and it will be because of every girl who has wanted to fly."

Krull, on her website, writes: Women's history is one of my passions. This book follows directly from one of my earlier books-- A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull (2004). Woodhull was the first woman to run for president, Clinton the one who has gotten the farthest, with 28 other strong women in between. May I live long enough to see a woman in the White House, and perhaps write books on some of those other women.

Watch a webcast of the Kathleen Krull speaking about her book, A Woman For President at the National Book Festival, Washington, D.C.

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via photopin cc

Recently I was inspired as I listened to the autobiography of Helen Keller as I cruised Los Angeles freeways.

  

"HOW EASY IT IS TO FLY ON PAPER WINGS!" ~ Helen Keller
by April Halprin Wayland

I am reading this book for the ten thousandth time.
I have read this book over and over,

so the words are worn and pressed—
I can scarcely make them out.

Never mind, though—
I have read Little Lord Fauntleroy ten thousand times.

I can say every word of this book to myself,
sitting on the grass, leaning against the great elm tree.

I open the book again
because it pleases my fingers to caress each word.
poem © 2012 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved

                                             WRITING WORKOUT ~ Quote Unquote

1) Find a beautiful or inspiring quote by a woman.  You might try this site--there are many.  I Googled quotes by women.
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2) Read about this woman's life.
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3) Can you make her quote into a poem using what you've learned about her?  I used Helen Keller's quote about reading as my title and took off from there.  Since I'd "lived" with Helen, listening to the audiobook of her autobiography, I felt as if I were Helen...I knew what it was to be her.
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4) C'mon--toss those words in the air!  Run around in circles until you collapse on a fluffy phrase! Put a mirror on your desk and soften your serious, wrinkly writing face.  It's not as hard or as stressful as we make it!  And believe me--I'm talking to myself here...

Enjoy!

 And thank you Myra, at Gathering of Books, for hosting