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
=====================
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.
======================
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

Trimerics: back to the familiar and into the unknown

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Howdy, Campers!  Happy Poetry Friday (PF link & my poem are below)

First of all, we at TeachingAuthors hope you're getting some solid sleep, walking a dog, connecting with those you hold dear, and finding a little island of peace in this brave new world. We appreciate each of you very much.💓

This is our final post on how we're taking leaps in our career or our writing during this leap year, beginning with Bobbi's terrific Taking Leaps in Historical Fiction. (Lately, going to the grocery store feels like a leap of faith, doesn't it?)

But before we get started, a brief detour. The Jewish holiday of Passover in 2020 begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 8, and ends Thursday evening, April 16. The first Passover seder is on the evening of April 8. Here's how to celebrate Passover online, posted on the blog ReformJudaism.org, and here's an article on how those in Staten Island are (or are not) celebrating Passover in this strange time (Orthodox Jews cannot celebrate online).

So the other day I got a lovely email from Alysse Rich, the Principal of the Children’s Jewish Studies Program in Toronto Canada's Danforth Jewish Circle. If you have 10 minutes, enjoy watching Alysse (and little Arthur) reading and singing my Passover picture book, MORE THAN ENOUGH, (cheerfully illustrated by Katie Kath) to her school. (Alysse plays a mean guitar player and has a lovely voice.)

Okay ~ now let's get back to our regularly scheduled program: the leaps each of us has taken or hopes to take.

Today I encourage you to take a leap: try a poetic form that's new to you. And since I've fallen in love (again) with trimerics, why don't you try writing one? 

In June 2011, I posted about falling in love with trimeric poems for the first time. Here's a good definition from http://poetscollective.org/poetryforms/trimeric/: Trimeric \tri-(meh)-rik\ n: a four stanza poem in which the first stanza has four lines and the last three stanzas have three lines each, with the first line of each repeating the respective line of the first stanza.  The sequence of lines, then, is abcd, b – -, c – -, d – -. 

My love for trimerics faded, but now I love being back in the arms of this form. In fact, trimerics have become my escape from pandemic pandemonium (and emails!  Is everyone drowning in helpful or alarming or helpfully alarming emails?!?).

Why do I love trimerics? Because all I need is a first line. That line takes my hand and leads me to places I've never known. Each new poem pushes me to leap into the unknown.

drawing (c)2020 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

Here, for your reading pleasure, are three trimerics.

In TENDER, the first line walked onto my page, unattached to any idea. It grew into a poem about my son when he was a young teen.

TENDER
by April Halprin Wayland

He's a slip of a boy, really.

Tender as a slim green shoot

just angling out of earth.

But there are other ways in him.

Tender as a slim green shoot,

he also bristles into cactus,

a dragnet of needles—watch out!

Just angling out of earth,

he can still be caught (wear gloves!)

He can still be taught to breathe gently.

But there are other ways in him

beyond tender, beyond thistly.

Walk into his rooms. Switch on each light.

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

I have NO idea where this one came from:

CHANGE OF PLANS
by April Halprin Wayland

"One more thing," she said quietly,

not wanting to interrupt him.

He looked up from the last chapter.

He had been reading a murder mystery.

Not wanting to interrupt him

was her mantra, her world view, her Golden Rule...

until Aunt Blanche had that talk with her.

He looked up from the last chapter

and saw that she was aiming a blow torch

at his lap.

He had been reading a murder mystery.

He was dying to know how it ended.

He didn't know that she had been reading it, too.

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

And this one I wrote today. Once again it started with the title.

FRIGHTENED? ME?

by April Halprin Wayland

When I was little,

my mom used to say,

"Every bad dream is a story you tell yourself."

She would rock me to sleep.

My mom used to say,

"Dark things that shake you awake
will be gone in the morning."

"Every bad dream is a story you tell yourself,"

she'd murmur, rocking.

I loved her warm flower smell.

She would rock me to sleep.
She can't anymore.

I've learned: now I tell myself a different story.
=================================

all poems (c)2020 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

If you DO find yourself fiddling with trimerics when taking a break from sewing face masks (which, even if they're just bandanas, are apparently great if you want to keep yourself from touching your face 90 times a day), please share them with me ~ I'd love to read what you came up with!

Thank you, Tabatha, for hosting Poetry Friday
at The Opposite of Indifference

posted in good health from a respectful distance by April Halprin Wayland

Say hello to Katie Kath, illustrator of More Than Enough ~ A Passover Story

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(Psssst! Click here to find out how enter our
autographed Book Giveaway of

More Than Enough ~ A Passover Story ,
which ends March 31, 2016 )

Howdy, Campers!

On Friday, you learned my true and gritty tale of books, back alleys and dead bodies...

no, wait...

...you learned about the rollercoaster-behind-the-scenes metamorphosis of a story about a hike for seven-year-olds into a playful and luminously illustrated picture book about a family joyfully preparing for Passover, all the while being aware of the blessings of each moment--ta-dah!:

And here today, for your reading pleasure, is my new friend and the fan-tabulous illustrator, Katie Kath, all the way from North Carolina--hiya, Katie!  Uh, Katie...what are you doing...?

~ Illustrator Katie Kath sketching in Yellowstone National Park ~

While Katie's putting away her sketch pad and settling into her seat on the front porch of the TeachingAuthors tree house, I'll tell you a little about her.

She graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a Master's degree in illustration. Her career was jump-started when she won one of two SCBWI Student Illustrator Scholarship awards in 2013. Shortly thereafter she was picked up by  Justin Rucker, an agent from Shannon Associates, and now spends countless hours happily working on her colorful and unique illustrations in her studio.

Katie loves to work primarily in watercolor and ink, sometimes accompanied by collage. She lives in those rolling hills of North Carolina, with her husband and their cat, Pangur-Ban.

​Katie, while you're sipping this iced tea, could you tell us more about your rocketship-​to-​the-​moon career path and how my manuscript came to you?

Towards the end of my schooling at SCAD, I pretty much had no clue where my career would go from there, which was a pretty terrible and scary feeling. So, you can imagine my elation when a few images I submitted to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) won the Student Illustrator Scholarship in 2013! This is what started my career. From there, I met Justin Rucker, and have made countless professional connections through SCBWI.

MORE THAN ENOUGH ~ A Passover Story was my very first picture book job and only my second job contracted through my new agent. I can’t describe how excited I was when I got the email from my agent asking if I was interested in illustrating this book. All I could think was, “This is really happening! I am getting hired for this book! This is actually, for-real happening!”

Can you describe your initial thoughts and your illustration process as you worked on More Than Enough?

My initial thoughts were, “I gotta hit the books!” because I knew nothing about Passover and the traditions involved in the holiday. I spent the next few months and beyond studying Jewish culture and the Passover celebration.

Illustrator Katie Kath doing research ~
her first Passover Seder (meal)!

As far as my process goes, the first thing I focused on is creating the characters in the book because they really make the story come alive. I offered a few different options of each character to the publisher and we settled on the characters you now see in the book.

photo courtesy Jama Rattigan from her most marvelous interview and review of our book

Illustrating a book is a very involved endeavor. It involves a process of research, planning, thinking, doodling, sketching, and re-working—and More Than Enough was no stranger to this process!

This is a Passover book...could you talk a bit about this aspect of the book and how you handled it in your art?

I knew what I needed to do was familiarize myself as much as I could with the Passover holiday and its traditions. I read a lot about it on this fabulous website called chabad.org, I read and re-read the Haggadah, and I also read a wonderfully informative book called The Jewish Book of Why. Of course, I made sure to attend a Passover meal as well!

I knew that if I was familiar enough with Passover, I could create artwork that did not rely on stereotypes to tell a successful visual story about the holiday. I wanted to let my readers know that the point of this book was its theme of love, thankfulness and family, which is approachable to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation.

And your illustrations convey those themes beautifully, Katie.  Switching gears now, tell us one surprising thing about yourself.

Fun fact about myself? When I was little I was really into opera (yes, opera. Like Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan, Bizet…) and I loved to illustrate some of my favorite operas after watching them!

I  love that!  What's next for you, Katie?

The books that everyone can expect to be coming out next is "Weekends With Max and His Dad" (Linda Urban) "What a Beautiful Morning " (Arthur Levine) "Nora Notebooks 2: The Trouble With Babies" (Claudia Mills), and "Come Over To My House" (by Theo LeSeig, aka Dr. Seuss).

(Did you catch that, Campers? Katie was picked to illustrate a book by Theo LeSeig, aka Dr. Seuss!)

Projects I'm working on now are "My Kicks" (Susan Verde), "Nora Notebooks 3: The Trouble with Friends" and a second Max and His Dad book.

Katie concludes, Phew! Lots o' books!

...and I say:

I'm so lucky to have you as the illustrator, Katie ~
how 'bout a cross-country high five!
note: on some screens it actually looks like we're high-fiving...

Author April Halprin Wayland (and Eli)...

& Illustrator Katie Kath

Thank you for stopping by, Katie...now get back to work on all those luscious books!  

And thank you, Campers, for reading all the way to our cross-country high five...and remember to enter our book giveaway for an autographed copy of MORE THAN ENOUGH ~ A Passover Story, as described at the bottom of the last post.

STAY TUNED!  On Wednesday, Katie interviews the woman who designed MORE THAN ENOUGH ~

posted after a happy day of book signing by me, April Halprin Wayland, with the assistance of my trusty pup, Eli.

MORE THAN ENOUGH (behind-the-scenes) ~ A Passover Story

Howdy, Campers!

I'd like to present my newest picture book.

Book, say hello to everyone.

More Than Enough ~ A Passover Story
by April Halprin Wayland, illustrated by Katie Kath (Dial 2016)

You can see that it's still a bit shy, so here's the elevator pitch:

it's a story for 3-5 year olds
about being grateful
for having more than enough each moment
as a family prepares to celebrate Passover.

Would you like to hear the crazy, rollercoaster tearing-out-my-hair behind-the-scenes story of how a seed of an idea became this published book?

Thank you for nodding yes.

It all began in 2009, as I was hiking with my family in Kauai, Hawaii. There were a lot of steep hills. But the leaves were glistening from the morning rain, the soil was a rich red, and I was with the ones I love most. I thought of my favorite Passover song, Dayenu.  

Dayenu means "it would have been enough." We sing about being grateful even if we'd only been freed from slavery; grateful even if we'd only been led out of Egypt, etc.

To me, it's what all great religions and philosophies teach: be aware of and grateful for the blessings of the moment.

As I sang the song, I was keenly aware of the blessings of each step of the hike:

If I only hike up this rich, red dirt, that's enough;

if I only see the blue and green ocean from the top of this hill, that's enough;

if I only dive into the warm waves, that's enough...

My husband  hiking Kauai

I flew home and wrote this as a free verse poem, based loosely on the form of the original song, and read it aloud at a friend's Seder (Passover meal).  They liked it!

So I rewrote it as a picture book and submitted it in May of 2009 to my editor at Dial, who I'd loved working with on my last picture book, New Year at the Pier.  

Here are the first four stanzas of the manuscript as first submitted:

If we had driven along the jungley road

And had not found the hiking trail

Dayenu

If we had found the hiking trail

And had not reached the hill overlooking the ocean

Dayenu

If we had reached the hill overlooking the ocean

And had not gone swimming

Dayenu

If we had dived into those deep blue waves

And had not built cairns when we got out of the water

Dayenu

My editor liked it. She liked it!

But...would I change the setting of the story?

Take it out of Hawaii? I harrumphed to myself.  The whole idea was that this concept is universal.  And wasn't Hawaii rich with illustrative possibilities?

But, okay. I took it out of Hawaii.

Great, she said.  And she really liked the farmers market at the end of the hike. So...could I expand on that...and shorten the hike?

Shorten the hike? Argh. I guess...

I did.

Fine, fine, she said, when she got that version.  Now--could you write this for three to five year olds?

Well, I can...but I don't want to.  I did, working closely with my critique partner and friend, poet and author, Sonya Sones, on the rhythm of each stanza. 

Wonderful, she said. And...could the family buy Passover foods at the farmers market?

Passover food? But the whole idea was to take the concept of Dayenu--of gratitude for each moment-- out of the holiday and into a regular day, I thought ferociously, pounding the carpet.

But I did. I deleted the fresh ahi tuna, avocado and mangoes and loaded the family's market bags with apples and walnuts, lilacs and honey. 

Terrific, she said. And...could you have them getting ready to go to a family Seder after the market?

...okay.

Good, good!  And could you cut out the hike altogether?

 *  *  *  *  

April?

 *  *  *  *

April, are you there?

*Sigh.* Yes, I'm here. And yes, I said weakly, climbing down from the proverbial cliff with the support of my agent, Marietta B. Zacker--yes, I can cut out the hike.

Fabulous!, she said. We're nearly done!

Between 2009 and 2014, I worked with experts in Judaism, checking every detail and writing and rewriting the glossary. (You may know the expression, "Whenever there are two Jews in a room, there are three opinions."  It's true--every fact is a matter of interpretation...)

I rewrote this 200-word story more than 34 times.

And finally, the skies cleared!  Now I love this story.  Thank you, Jessica Garrison, clear-eyed editor--Dayenu!

Now first four stanzas read:

We wander the market
surrounded by colors—
Dayenu

We buy apples and walnuts,
lilacs and honey—
Dayenu

We reach through the bars
to lift one purring kitten—
Dayenu

He licks Mama’s nose
so she says we can keep  him—
Dayenu

*  *  *  *

Dayenu!  Passover is April 22nd-April 30th this year.

Here's the 37 second book trailer my son and a friend's daughter made...be sure to watch all the way to the end:



Aren't those illustrations delicious? For more, click the following:

1) Katie Kath talks about illustrating this book 

2) Katie interviews the book's designer, Mina Chung.

3)  Jama Rattigan interviews me (and so much more) at her always scrumptious Alphabet Soup!

 And congratulations to, Irene Latham and Charles Waters for winning the National Book Award!

                                              

                                                  Illustrator Katie Kath, who you will meet
                                                in the next post, holds our newborn book