3 Things You May Not Know About Me

Howdy, Campers, and happy Poetry Friday! (My poem, the links to PF and to my upcoming classes are below).

We in the TeachingAuthors treehouse 

decided to get personal this 'round, so hold onto your hats as we blog about the 3 Things You May Not Know About...

Carmela started our 13th(!)-year with a bang: 3 Things You May Not Know About TeachingAuthors and a Trimeric Poem which details our new posting schedule, new calendar, and her terrific trimeric poem; Mary Ann reveals the famous children's author/illustrator she kissed, a shocking newspaper interview, and the book series she--a former children's librarian--has never read. 

And here are 3 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1) About 700 years ago at a conference far away, Nikki Grimes and two of her friends I'd had dinner with, knocked on my hotel room door past midnight. 

I was in my pajamas. 

They plopped down on my bed. 

I did my best to wake up. (I felt as if I were thirteen again, this time with the "in" girls who wanted to talk to me...in my pjs...on my bed!) 

Three older white men had had dinner with us--possibly publishers or book sales reps--I don't remember now. Nikki asked if I was aware of the racial slurs they had flung across the table at dinner. 

Now I was wide awake. Whaaa...? 

Those remarks had flown invisibly past me. 

These women were sitting on my bed, in the middle of the night, to open my eyes.

Maybe those remarks were dog whistles, meant only for the ears of the three black women at the table. 

Or maybe I was focused on the salmon, maybe I was dying for another roll but didn't want to look like a glutton, or maybe my monkey mind was buzzing from the conference.

They did their best to help me see that night, but I don't think I really understood. Though my family--grandparents, uncles, aunts, mother, father, sister and I--had been activists first and foremost in our lives, I'd never endured what Nikki and her friends had.

I look back with embarrassment. But also with gratitude. 

Thank you, Nikki, for trying that night, though I didn't understand. 

I am just beginning to understand, 700 years later.

[Addendum posted 2/9/22: I appreciate Heidi Mordhorst's comment below (and our subsequent correspondence): The stories that we white people can tell each other of our ignorance, our safety, our privilege are really important, April. Thank you. I'm so interested in how you characterized the "dog whistles" as meant for Black ears, when usually they're meant from white mouths for other white ears. Some of the ignorance of us "good white people" is that we don't suspect others of being racist; we don't hear what they're really saying. Let us be owls in all seasons, listening for what's underneath the surface.  

I now realize that it may be hardest for those of us from activist families to shift from believing that not being blatantly racist is enough. It's up to me to become anti-racist, an upstander and an ally.]

2) My picture book, MORE THAN ENOUGH ~ a Passover Story, illustrated by the wonderful Katie Kath (Dial Books), is coming out as a paperback and an audiobook on 2/22/22 🌞What a happy date🌞 (You can pre-order it from an indie bookstore now!)

(For those of you with an iron stomach, here's the whole, bloody creation story behind More Than Enough...which you can wash down with these delicious reviews.)

3) I recorded the author's notes for the audiobook in a fancy Santa Monica studio!  (The author's notes are just seven sentences long.)

Moi, after reading the author's notes

from More Than Enough...stoked with coffee

4) A bonus fact you may not know about me: my intention this year is to be present. So my word for 2022 is presence. When we're truly present, our  presence is a present 🎁

About a year ago I learned something (which you'll read in the backstory) that made me appreciate how focused owls are...how present they are, which inspired today's poem:

OWLS
by April Halprin Wayland

They are a special breed,

those focused listeners

who block out all

 

as if they're owls,

who hear

a mouse's heart

 

beat 

under

snow.

poem © 2022 April Halprin Wayland
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Backstory:

I heard on the radio that "Owls can hear a mouse's heartbeat under a foot of snow"!  Isn't that MARVELOUS?

I did a virtual cartwheel when I heard that.
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Thank you for stopping by today! One final note:

I'll be teaching Introduction to Writing Children's Poetry on Saturday, March 26, 2022 12 noon-3pm PST, and Introduction to Writing a Children's Picture Book on Saturday, April 9, 2022 12 noon-3pm PST. Both are virtual classes; enrollment is limited to 20 students.

Thank you, Elisabeth, for hosting Poetry Friday at Unexpected Intersections

posted by April Halprin Wayland, with love

WHO IS YOUR MUSE?

Howdy, Campers ~ Happy Poetry Friday AND Last Day of Poetry Month! My poem and the link to today's PF host are below.

In honor of TeachingAuthors' 12th year on earth (is the internet technically earth?), we are each choosing one post from the past 12 years (just one?!?!) to share.  Esther shares a poem I wrote (!) and a photo of us surprising Carmela at TeachingAuthors' birthday celebration, Mary Ann shares JoAnn's 2011 inspiring review of Paul Janeczko's Seeing the Blue Between, Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets, and Carmela shares Esther's 2011 post about a specific kind of haiku which Esther called Thankus, while adding her own thanku and a #HaikuFromTwo.

The truth is, I love the writing of every TA, but I knew from the start that I would be rifling through Mary Ann's posts. I love her storytelling, I love her show-us-her-scars honesty. Her authenticity, forces me (maybe inspires me is better) to be more honest, too.

So today, enjoy Mary Ann's 2010 post about Charles Schulz' s PEANUTS gang...aka her muses.

from Apollo Magazine; no copyright infringement is intended 

I wrote about my own muse in 2013:

WHEN I MET MY MUSE
inspired by a poem with the same title by William Stafford
by April Halprin Wayland

 

I was lounging against the back of a napping kangaroo

when this little boy with a large crayon drew near.

Said his name was Harold.

 

I sat up to study the scruffy kid—

a baby, really, in p.j.s that must have been

as suffocating as meat in a sausage skin.

 

His wide eyes disarmed me,

as if he were that butterfly in the antidepressant commercial,

flying around a garden party and leaving everyone feeling better.

 

Harold stepped around the kangaroo to draw a big house

with a wide porch

and shutters on every window.

 

There were a boatload of windows.

He added two rocking chairs and three hanging baskets of geraniums.

When he framed the front doorway, we went in.

 

The floors were oak; the house felt comfortable, like a favorite old sofa.

He drew stairs; we walked up to four bedrooms

and a greenhouse room with walls of glass.

 

"I'll be living up here," he said, pulling down steps from the ceiling.

He climbed into the attic and peeked out.

"I'll hand you down stuff I find here," he said.

 

I supposed I'd be responsible for feeding him. 

I wondered if he ate real grilled cheese sandwiches

or if I had to draw them with his crayon.

 

The kangaroo

was still sleeping in the front yard,

which was probably for the best.

From Wikipedia; no copyright infringement is intended

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Before I say g'bye, I have Poetry Month news! 

My next 3-hour, one day Writing Poetry for Children class through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program will be on July 17, 2021. Registration is now open, but hurry, enrollment is limited to 25 students.

I'm thrilled that three of my poems are on the Poetry Foundation site. 

I'm happy to be among nine poets who are on a fascinating education website in England called TWINKL (no E at the end). The poets are: Jaclyn Desforges, Miriam Sagan, Liz Garton Scanlon, Irina Moga, Lauren Camp, D. S. Martin, Allan Wolf, Charles Ghigna and me.

And I'm honored to have been included in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' video of 13 poets, each reading a poem. (Note: the video lasts 17:30 minutes; my poem is at the 11 minute mark).

The poets are: Nikki Grimes, Lesléa Newman, Joseph Bruchac, Jane Yolen, Tami Charles, Lin Oliver, Hope Anita Smith, Sonya Sones, Carole Boston Weatherford, April Halprin Wayland, Margarita Engle, Ellen Hopkins, and Linda Sue Park.

==============================

Who is your  muse? Please tell us in the comments--we want to know...we really do!

Thank you, Matt, for hosting Poetry Friday

this last day of Poetry Month, 2021 

on Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme !

posted by April Halprin Wayland, with the help of Eli, Kitty, and Monkey, who were sure THEY were my muses before I broke the news...

Announcing the Winner of Our Planet Middle School Book Giveaway!

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Congratulations to Sandy Brehl, the winner of our latest TeachingAuthors book giveaway! Sandy will receive an autographed copy of Nikki Grime's book Planet Middle School (hot off the press!)

Enjoy your prize, Sandy! Thanks again to Nikki (read her interview here), thanks to everyone who entered the contest and especially to those who gave us suggestions on what you'd like to see more of in this blog.We're always open to hear what our readers' favorite kinds of posts are ~

Watch for more book giveaways coming up! ... and now, read JoAnn's terrific post on first drafts and early risers...

Book Giveaway! Guest Teaching Author & Poet extraordinaire, Nikki Grimes!

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Howdy, Campers--Happy Poetry Friday!

Teaching Authors is pleased to welcome New York Times bestselling author and Guest Teaching Author, Nikki Grimes.  

Nikki is the recipient of the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her distinguished works include ALA Notable book, What is Goodbye?, the novels Jazmin’s Notebook, Dark Sons, and The Road to Paris (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books). Creator of the popular Meet Danitra Brown books, Nikki lives in Corona, California. [California rules!]

Nikki's accumulated more honors, and has written more books and more articles than we have space to list, but it's too interesting not to mention that she's also a performing artist, a fine artist, a fiber artist, a jeweler and more...as she says, she's a Jane-of-all-Trades.

I've known Nikki for a long time and have always been moved by her unfailing generosity.   Today, she's offering our readers the chance to win an autographed copy of her wonderful novel-in-poems, Planet Middle School, from Bloomsbury USA, hot off the press Sept. 13th! To enter the drawing, see the instructions at the very-very-very end of this post.

This slender book tells the story of a young tomboy, confused and blooming, in her own true voice.

From the flap copy: For twelve years, Joylin Johnson's life has been just fine, thank you very much. A game of basketball with the boys—especially her friend Jake—was all it took to put a smile on her face. Baggy jeans, T-shirt, and hair in a ponytail were easy choices. Then suddenly the world seemed to turn upside down, and everything changed at once. Her best girl friend is now flirting with her best guy friend. Her clothes seem all wrong. Jake is acting weird, and basketball isn't the same. And worst of all, there is this guy, Santiago, who appears from . . . where? What lengths will Joy go to—and whom will she become—to attract his attention?

In short poems that perfectly capture the crazy feelings of adolescence and first crushes, award-winning author Nikki Grimes has crafted a delightful, often hilarious, heart-tugging story.

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Congratulations on the publication of your gazillionth book, Nikki!  Tell us how you became a TeachingAuthor.

Nikki Grimes: I don't think of myself as a Teaching/Author, so I'm not quite sure how to answer that.  My first teaching experience was in college, as a T.A., and I hadn't yet published a book, though I had published in literary journals, magazines, and a few anthologies, at that point.

You may not think of yourself as a Teaching Author, but every time you do a school event or speak to teachers you certainly are.  I urge you to acknowledge the teacher within! Besides, your first teaching experience was as a T.A, which stands for Teaching Author, duh!

As further proof that you are, indeed, a TeachingAuthor, what's a common problem/question students have and how do you address it?

Nikki Grimes: I'm frequently asked how one can know when a story is finished.  My answer: I know my story is done when I find myself making changes that are no longer improvements.

Would you share a favorite writing exercise for our readers?

Nikki Grimes: Poetry benefits from the full engagement of the senses. To that end, I offer an exercise in word play:

• Choose one of the following words:  Bell  Shower  Bullet  Blanket  Pen
• Now, close your eyes and consider the object that word represents. 
• Does that word have a shape? A sound?  Does it have a color?  What does it do, or what can you do with it? Does it have a taste?  How does it feel?
• Answer each question that applies to the word you have chosen.  Write a simple, single sentence responding to each question.
• Once you've assembled all your answers, arrange the information into a poem.  For example: I once chose the word Ball. 

It is round, rubber.

It bounces.

It makes a smacking sound.

I can throw, hold, or catch it.

It feels smooth.

From this basic description, I formed a small story-poem.

Ball is a round, rubber word.

It fits inside my palm.

I play with it outside,

bounce it on the sidewalk.

When it hits the ground,

it makes a smacking sound.

My cupped hand waits for it

to come back home.

It always help to model this exercise for students.  Additionally, as a tool for relaxation, consider playing soft music in the background as students work.

What one piece of advice do you have for teachers?

Nikki Grimes: Rhyme seems to be everyone's default, when it comes to poetry.  I never allow the use of it during my workshops.  Focus instead on metaphor and simile.    Emphasize the idea of painting a picture with words.  That is a truer understanding of the heart of poetry, I think. If students grasp the use of metaphor and simile, all of their writing will be greatly enhanced.

Share a meaninful book signing story with us.

Nikki Grimes: My most memorable signing was at my first major literary conference.  I was scheduled to sign for one hour, following my presentation.  However, by the time the signing was to commence, none of the booksellers in the exhibit hall had any of my titles left for my audience to purchase.  A few actually bought anthologies that included my work, just so they could bring something to me to sign.  As a result, I sat there at that table, drumming my fingers, anxiously waiting for someone, anyone, to step forward with a book for me to sign.  It was very embarrassing.  Oh, and did I mention?   I was seated next to JANE YOLEN, who had a line out the door!

Nowadays, whenever I sit next to a new author, and I see them looking longingly at the line in front of my signing table, I tell them that story so they can relax a little.  "It will get better," I tell them. And, once they've heard my story, they believe it.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Nikki--and good luck to all our readers who enter to win Planet Middle School (see below to enter)!

Watch this two minute video of Nikki on Teen Read Week:

If you can't get enough Nikki, read the Teacher's Guide to Planet Middle School, catch the trailer for her new novel A GIRL NAMED MISTER, check out her blog, NIKKI SOUNDS OFF, and follow her on Facebook!
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This week, Poetry Friday is hosted
by Anastasia Suen, at Picture Book of the Day ~
Thanks for hosting, Anastasia!

Happy PF!

Before entering our contest, please read our Book Giveaway Guidelines. Then, for a chance to win an autographed paperback copy of Planet Middle School, answer the following question:  Why do you want to win this book?
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And--SURPRISE!--we're offering a bonus for this giveaway: if you answer one additional question, you'll get an extra entry in this contest--woo-woo!  The bonus question is: What would you like to read more of at TeachingAuthors.com (or is there something we've never offered that you'd like to see here)? 

You can either post your comments to today's blog post or email comments to teachingauthors at gmail dot com with "Contest" in the subject line. To qualify, your entry must be posted or received by 11 p.m. Friday, September 30, 2011 (Central Standard Time). The winner will be chosen in a random drawing and announced by 11 p.m., Saturday, October 1, 2011