What's a Serial Deconstruction Poem?

Howdy, Campers and Happy Poetry Friday! 

I am feeling particularly happy today. I've been dealing with a stupid health issue and have been in pain for quite a while. But guess what? 

NO PAIN last night! No pain today! 

And: it's SUNNY again in So Cal! Not rainy, not wildly windy. 

So: No pain, a sun-shiny day, two poems in a new anthology, and Poetry Friday...what more could a girl ask for?

At the end of this post is the Poetry Friday link, info about my summer class, and my poems from Pomelo Books' newest anthology, What is a Family?

Our topic this round is "Offer our readers a writing exercise or prompt." 

Like many friends in the Poetry Friday family, I write a poem a day. Surely I'm not alone when I say that sometimes my brain stands up, puts on its coat says, "Nope. No ideas. I'm outta here."

So the other day when my brain walked out of the room, I took these two phrases from a friend’s email:

·        1) delicate balance

·         2) I wanted to stab my hand with a fork

an   ...and began playing with them. I sliced the second sentence into pieces with which to start new lines:

======================== 

DELICATE BALANCE

I wanted to slice watermelon but you wanted

to stab a steak or maybe spear a pimento olive.

My hand hesitated. I offered you a fig, which you ate

with a fork.

 

DELICATE BALANCE

I wanted it to stop. I wanted

to stab the newspaper, rip it to shreds, or swipe right with

my hand. After, I went to the ocean and made circles in the sand

with a fork.

 

DELICATE BALANCE

I wanted to find the pulse of a poem. I wanted

to stab this page with surprise.

My hand wants that, too. But it’s distracted by that guy

with a fork.

 

DELICATE BALANCE

I wanted stars, stars, and stars

to stab this night. I wanted to lift

my hand to them, conducting their murmurs

with a fork.

 

DELICATE BALANCE

I wanted you to speak,

to stab that diaphanous curtain.

My hand goes to my lips. You are, you are! I listen

with a fork halfway to my mouth.

 

DELICATE BALANCE

I wanted to call this exercise How

to Stab a Sentence to Death. But

My hand disagreed. Hands are very opinionated, especially hands

with a fork.

poems © 2022 April Halprin Wayland

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

It was a so much fun! I asked my husband what I should call this form. He was eating at the time. He said, "Serial Deconstruction. Or," he said, looking down at his granola, "you could call it Cereal Deconstruction."

Ha!

I like presenting these poems in groups. Try it. Let me know how it goes!

=============
Many of you know Pomelo Books ~ I call them the publisher with the 💗big heart💗. At its helm are Sylvia Vardell and Janet S. Wong, the proud parents of their newest book, WHAT IS A FAMILY? born on March 31st. 

The 40 ekphrastic poems in this book—inspired by a wide variety of diverse and inclusive black-and-white photos—explore extended families, blended families, classmates and sports teams as families, animal families, and family occasions such as birthdays, holidays, weddings, funerals, and much more.

As with the companion book WHAT IS A FRIEND? and also their books in the "THINGS WE" series (THINGS WE DO; THINGS WE EAT; THINGS WE FEEL; THINGS WE WEAR), 100% of the profits will be donated by this truly big-hearted publisher to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund (IBBY.org). (Worth joining; I'm a member.)

Here are my ekphrastic poems from WHAT IS A FAMILY?:

CLASSROOM

PUPPIES!

And once again I'll be teaching a one day, three-hour class called ​​Intro to Writing Children's Poetry for the Big-Hearted, Brave,and Curious​! (my title, not necessarily UCLA's). It's on Wednesday, July 12th from noon-3pm PST. The course won't be visible until April 10th; Summer enrollment opens April 24th. 

Tah-dum! I started writing this happy, and I'm ending it happy that 

Margaret is hosting Poetry Friday!

Poetry Friday logo by Linda Mitchell

Reminder: I'd love to hear about your own Serial Deconstruction poems! 

I keep bubbling, I know, but one more thing to leave you with. I've been listening to Leonard Bernstein conduct his playful Overture to Candide. It lifts me. Maybe it will lift you, too.

Posted with love by April Halprin Wayland 

with help from Kitty, seen here on my desk, helping me work 

(she's another thing that makes me happy):

                                                                      

3-in-1: Poetry Tool, Song a Writing Exercise

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Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday! The link to PF is below.

 TeachingAuthors' posts this round are about the various ways we continue to school ourselves in the craft of writing. Bobby kicked us off by discussing a new book on craft she's studying while also re-reading a favorite classic. Esther shared about being inspired by a new collection of essays from fellow teacher Sharon Darrow. Mary Ann also turns to books for her re-education, not only craft books but new fiction, too. In contrast, Carla's ongoing education comes from talking to and working with other writers. Carmela went "back to school" by attending the SCBWI-Wisconsin 2018 Fall Retreat and Conference held in Green Lake, WI. 

And I've gone back to school singing.

We're four weeks into my ten-week class on Writing the Children's Picture Book at UCLA Extension. This week we learned about some of the poet's tools (rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, metaphor, simile, sounds, repetition). Can I teach them everything in one three-hour class?  I can't. So I focus on my favorite:                                                 
                                             REPETITION

There are so many books from which to choose! I usually read aloud: YOU NEST HERE WITH ME by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y.Stemple, illustrated by Melissa Sweet; WAIT, written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis (a story written in 18 words...99% are either "hurry!" or "wait!"); BUZZ by Janet S. Wong, illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine (all the ways "buzz" is in our lives); RED IS BEST by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis ; WHEN I WAS YOUNG IN THE MOUNTAINS by Cynthia Rylant (fabulous details), illustrated by DianeGoode; MILLIONS OF CATS by Wanda Gag, first published in 1928; ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee (we saw how much heavy-lifting illustrator Marla Frazee did to tell this story; give the illustrator room to dance!), and the classic, WHAT DO YOU SAY, DEAR by Sesyle Joslin, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

Repetition makes words playful or powerful or mournful or hopeful. Listeners can't help but join in.

Next, I teach them to sing this sea shanty:

Deep Blue Sea (traditional) lyrics may vary

Deep blue sea, baby, deep blue sea (3x)
It was Willy what got drownded in the deep blue sea

Wrap him up in a silken shroud (3x)
It was Willy what got drownded in the deep blue sea

Dig his grave with a silver spade (3x)
It was Willy what got drownded in the deep blue sea

Lower him down with a golden chain (3x)
It was Willy what got drownded in the deep blue sea

....................................................................................

Then I tell them that musician Jim Bell changed the words but followed the format of this song. He writes: “When my daughter was 6 ½, she said as we were driving to school one day, “Daddy, they won’t have a war before I’m 21, will they?”  Before I could respond, she added, “Or at least they don’t shoot little girls before they’re 7, do they?”   Not long after this I was singing her to sleep and found myself taking an old tune to form a song of reassurance that we adults can sing to the children of the world.”

Deep Blue Sea new words by Jim Bell

Deep blue sea, baby, deep blue sea (3 x)

Now there’s peace in all the lands & o’er the deep blue sea

Sleep my child, you are safe and sound (3 x) for

Now there’s peace in all the lands & o’er the deep blue sea

Just yesterday war clouds hung so low (3 x)

But now there’s peace in all the lands & o’er the deep blue sea

Love of life finally turned the tide (3 x)

And now there’s peace in all the lands & o’er the deep blue sea

words © 1982 John Bell

Next, I show them lyrics I've written to this melody:

Take my hand, baby, walk with me (3 x)

Sing a song and I’ll harmonize (3x)
Once a seed, baby, now a tree (3 x)
Reach across towards the other side (3 x)

Hold me close and I'll hold you, we'll watch the bright sun rise.

words © 2018 April Halprin Wayland

And finally, leaving the traditional lyrics up at the front of the class as a mentor text, I give them time to write their own words using the pattern of this song.

Try it yourself--with this song or with one of your favorites and see where it takes you, where it takes you!

Thanks for hosting Poetry Friday at Friendly Fairy Tales, Brenda!

posted with hope by April Halprin Wayland, with help from Timmy the tin boy on his goose (Timmy is acting out today and refuses sit up straight...)

Reading for Pleasure, Not Research

I read way too fast. I skim over details to find out What Happens. In the process, I sometimes miss important points. Plus I usually read at night. Because I’m tired, I often forget what I’ve read, and I have to go back a few pages the next night and reread to figure out what’s going on. I’m always trying to make myself Slow Down and Pay Attention. When I read a book I really enjoy, I start over at the beginning as soon as I reach the end. The second time through, I notice the language, the writing techniques, the way crucial details are revealed at just the right moments. I zip through a lot of books that way, and they tend to blur together in my mind. Because I’m always researching picture books and poetry, I read mostly young adult novels for pleasure. Here are three that stuck with me this year.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley. Although the plot involves several issues, the one I remember best is the relationship between the two brothers. I ached for the narrator. I cried at the end.

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, another sibling relationship story. I read this on a plane, and I never read on planes. I could not put it down.




Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire. I remember telling my husband that I could leave this one on my bedside table and reread it for the rest of my life. The writing is gorgeous, and the story is compelling, with plenty of food for thought.




Most of the poetry I’m reading these days is research for my Poet’s Workshop series for Crabtree Publishing. I’ve finished books 5 (Haiku) and 6 (Cinquains). Now I’m looking forward to moving on to Concrete Poems and List Poems. One more nonfiction series is lined up for another educational publisher in 2015. I'm looking forward to researching four more interesting topics!

Happy holidays, all!
xox,
JoAnn Early Macken