April Pulley Sayre: Her Work Lives On

I am still reeling from the news of the recent death of April Pulley Sayre. April was a brilliant author and photo-illustrator, and an incredibly generous friend. She published over 70 books for young readers and adults, many of them nonfiction, nature-themed books. I wouldn't know where to begin to write a tribute that would do April justice. Instead, I'm writing this post to let everyone know that April's work in support of nature lives on, not only through her books, but also through the Fund for Nature she created with her husband, Jeff Sayre. You can learn more about their conservation foundation's goals on their GoFundMe page.  

April epitomized what it means to be a TeachingAuthor, which is evident in the Guest TeachingAuthor interview JoAnn Early Macken posted here in 2010. That post includes a writing exercise from April's book Unfold Your Brain: Deepen Your Creativity, Expand into New Arts, and Prosper as a Writer, Musician, or Visual Artist. I just discovered that the book was recently re-released on Amazon in both ebook and paperback.

I know April had other books in the pipeline, including Happy Sloth Day!, due out in 2022. You can get a sneak peak at the book's amazing photos and lyrical text on the Simon & Schuster website. There are also links to similar previews for some of April's other books at the bottom of that page.

This morning, I learned that we can still hear April's voice, too. In the video below, she reads Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet. Listening to it is both consoling and heartbreaking for me. 

(If the video doesn't work for you, you can watch it online here.)

At the beginning of this post, I described April as an incredibly generous friend. I mentioned in this blog post that we graduated together from Vermont College back in 2000. That post also includes a photo of our graduating class, known as the Hive. In many ways, April was our Queen Bee. She often provided insightful feedback on our works-in-progress. But even more, she encouraged and inspired us to be bold and brave in our writing and in our lives. 

We will miss her terribly. 

Carmela

Leaping Over the Inner Critic . . . to Fly with the Hive

     I know these are trying times as we struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, but I'm trying to stay positive. So I want to begin by saying Happy Spring! and sharing a photo I took on my walk yesterday:

Walking outside improved my mental health, and seeing these blooming snowdrops gave my spirits an added boost!  🌷🌷🌷

I also want to say happy Poetry Friday! See the end of today's post for a link to this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

     Now to continue our current TeachingAuthors topic: I've enjoyed reading all my fellow TeachingAuthors' posts on taking leaps in their writing and careers. One of the biggest writing-related leaps I've ever taken was my decision to apply to the Vermont College MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. I first learned of the program from Sharon Darrow, a wonderful teacher I had the privilege of working with many years ago. When Sharon explained the low-residency program to me, I knew immediately that I wanted to attend. At the time, I was working on a YA novel that was in great need of revision, and I figured the MFA program would be the perfect place to fix it. But when I considered the possibility of applying, my inner critic started screaming at me about how ridiculous the idea was. After all, my only published work at the time consisted of nonfiction articles for newspapers and magazines. How could I pursue a graduate degree focused on fiction writing (which was my goal).

SCBWI-Network Meeting at Fountaindale Library, January 2020

     I've been thinking a lot about dealing with the inner critic lately because I recently gave a talk on the subject at an SCBWI-IL Network meeting. (That's where the above photo was taken.) Back when I was considering attending Vermont College, I didn't have the tools I have today for quieting the critic, so I hesitated. But when several unexpected events coincided that would allow me to attend the MFA program, I took it as a sign that I was meant to apply, and so I DID! Keep in mind, I'm afraid of heights, so attending Vermont College felt like I was taking a giant leap across the old stone quarry near my home. But I'm so glad I didn't let my inner critic (or my fear of heights) hold me back. I made HUGE leaps in my writing while I was in the program. I ended up putting my YA work-in-progress aside to focus on a project I'd never expected to write: a middle-grade novel inspired by events from my own childhood. That novel was later published as Rosa, Sola by Candlewick Press. The MFA program also gave me credentials to be a teacher. (You can read a bit about my path to becoming a TeachingAuthor here.)

     But just as important, Vermont College was the place where I connected with many wonderful writers, especially those in my graduating class, which was known as the Hive. You can see us in the photo below. I'm standing on the right side, wearing a red polo shirt. Directly in front of me is fellow TeachingAuthor Mary Ann Rodman Downing. The woman at the far left of the front row is former TeachingAuthor Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford, and in the middle of the middle row is another former TeachingAuthor, JoAnn Early Macken. Some other authors you may recognize in the group are Gretchen Woelfle, April Pulley Sayre, Carolyn Crimi, Carolyn Marsden, and Gretchen Will Mayo. As members of the Hive, we called ourselves "Bees." (You can see a stuffed bee perched on Gretchen Woelfle's shoulder in the front row.)

Hive graduating class, summer 2000 

     Even though the members of the Hive live all over the United States, many of us have stayed in touch over the years via an email group. We've had several mini-reunions, too, where subsets of the Hive have gathered to critique, celebrate, and support each other. I'd hoped we'd have another reunion this summer to commemorate the 20th anniversary of our graduation (gasp!), but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, that's unlikely. Still, I'm so grateful to be a part of this amazing group of writers.

     Our class graduated in summer of 2000, which, like 2020, was also a Leap Year. Completing my MFA was a career leap that truly helped my writing take flight!

     Be sure to check out this week's Poetry Friday round-up by Michelle Kogan.

Remember to always Write with Joy!
Carmela

A Half Glass of Blessings

     It's a good thing we have a holiday dedicated to thankfulness. Otherwise I would rarely give my blessings a thought. I am one of those "the glass is half empty" people.  So here is what fills my glass this year.

     Sorry, Carmela, but I have to begin with one you already mentioned, our terrific Vermont College MFA group, The Hive.  Outside of my family, they are my longest sustained relationship. Most of us met on the airport bus going to campus on a July evening in 1998. Rarely a day goes by that at I am not in contact with at least one of them.  Collectively, they are a never-ending source of energy, enthusiasm and advice. I truly do not know how I survived as a writer without them.  Thank you, lovely Bees!

     Next up on the gratitude list is my own local critique group, WINGS (Writers in North Georgia).  Every month (with occasional sabbaticals) since October 2001, I have driven the hundred miles, round trip, to meet with this group of five in Conyers, Georgia. Driving that far in Atlanta traffic is no small matter, but the reward is worth every nerve-wracking mile.  Connie, Nancy, T.K. and Stephanie as well as our Fearless Leader Susan (plus member-in-absentia, Maureen) are the best writers and critiquers one could ever hope to find.  Almost everything I have published is the result of their sharp eyes and spot-on suggestions. I could not fly without my WINGS.

     Lastly, I am grateful for SCBWI, The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (we writers do like our acronyms!)  I learned about SCBWI from a Hive member while I was at Vermont College and wasted no time joining.  SCBWI is more than just an organization of like minded people.
It is an endless supply of all a writer needs:  the latest publishing information, editorial contacts, writing conferences, and most of all Opportunity (with a capital O). The conferences alone provide the opportunity to meet editors and agents, to submit manuscripts to houses that would otherwise be closed to unagented authors (like me), to have work critiqued by industry professionals. SCBWI, you are worth every penny in membership dues and conference fees.

    To enter our latest giveaway, a copy of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, check Carmela's Friday post.  (http://www.teachingauthors.com/2014/11/thanks-giving-CWIM-giveaway.html).  Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Posted by Mary Ann Rodman

Tenth Day of Thanks-Giving: Roundup of Thankus and Thank-You Notes

Today is the last day of our Ten Days of Thanks-Giving. The event was inspired by Esther's post about a poetry form called the THANKU, a thank-you note in haiku form. We TeachingAuthors decided to sponsor the Ten Days of Thanks-Giving as an opportunity for our readers, students, and everyone in the Kidlitosphere to share their own thank-yous.  We hope to make this an annual event taking place every November 20-30.

Today, I'll share some of the thank you notes we received, and a roundup of links to sites where fellow bloggers posted their thank-yous. But first, I want to share my own THANKU.

On Monday, Mary Ann wrote about being thankful for the Hive, a group of Vermont College alumni that we're both blessed to be part of. My thank you today is an appropriate follow-up to that post because it's to the woman responsible for my attending Vermont College: my teacher, mentor, and friend, Sharon Darrow. I've known Sharon for so long now that I can't even recall how we first met. However, I do remember the fateful day when we had lunch together and I mentioned my desire to take some advanced writing classes. Sharon encouraged me to apply to the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults instead. The idea terrified me. Who was I to try to get an MFA in writing? My undergraduate degree was in Math and Computer Science! But Sharon had such faith in me that I decided to take the plunge and apply. Little did I know then all the wonderful things my acceptance to VC would lead to.

I don't think I can top the marvelous tribute Esther wrote last week in honor of her mentor and teacher, Barbara Lucas. So instead, I dedicate this simply Thanku Haiku to Sharon Darrow:

Your encouragement

yielded a harvest beyond

my expectations.

Thank you, Sharon. And thank you to all the wonderful writing teachers I worked with at Vermont College as a result of following Sharon's advice.

Now, to share some of the thank you notes and comments we received during our Ten Days of Thanks-Giving. As it happens, just this morning Bobby Miller, a terrific writer I met when we were both students at Vermont College, posted a Vermont College-related thank-you comment on Mary Ann's post of yesterday:

I share my big Thank You to the MFA/Writing for Children program. It changed my life, personally and professionally. It brought my life's goal into focus, gave it purpose. And I walked away with treasured friendships.

Yesterday, Linda at Teacherdance posted a beautiful 25-word thank-you note to her writing community as a comment on that same blog post:

Thank you my writing colleagues;
your words bless me, put my life
into a higher plane, entice me to
write more, think more, be more.

I had invited the students of a creative writing class I'm teaching for homeschoolers ages 10-14 to participate in our Ten Days of Thanks-Giving. Only one girl, Julia, was brave enough to share her 25-word thank-you note here:

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, so let's eat and drink and be merry. It is a time to be with family and friends.

Hooray for Julia! (See below for another student submission!)

And here are links to posts by other bloggers who participated in our celebration (roughly in the order of their posting):

• Tammy, a kindergarten teacher who blogs at the KlingerCafe posted a thank you note to her student teacher on November 20.
• Author/illustrator Michelle Kogan shared an original Thanku Haiku on her blog on November 21.
• On the same day, Lisa Ard posted a lovely Thanku Haiku to her grandmother on her Adventures in Writing blog.
• Also on November 21, Brenda Ferber posted a terrific trio of Thanku Haikus on her blog, Fresh Baked Bits.
• On November 21 and 22, Jules shared her own original Thanku Haikus on two blogs: Rhymesntime and  WritersVibe. Then one of Jules' fellow writers at the WritersVibe posted a comment in response to Jules that included a lovely Thanku Haiku to her co-bloggers:

Together we find
spirit greater than ourselves.
Our words, golden light. 

• Finally, on Thanksgiving day, Margo Dill posted her Thanku Haiku to her parents on her blog.

This just in (at 2:05 pm): a fun thank-you poem from Tyler, another of my homeschool students. (He submitted it via the comments, but I want all our subscribers to be able to see it too.)

I am thankful for:

family and friends,

cats, dogs,

fish, frogs,

people and places,

dungeons and maces,

Wait not thankful for that...

...it just rhymes.

Love the humor, Tyler! Thanks so much for participating!

And from author Leone Castell Anderson comes this lovely Thanku Haiku:

 "Thanks." A little word

but of infinite meaning.

For loving thoughts shared.

Marvelous, Leone!

Thanks again to everyone who took part in our Ten Days of Thanks-Giving. For those of you who'd still like to join in: it's not too late to send us your links and thank-you notes. I'll either add them to this roundup, or ask April to include them in her post on Friday.

Happy writing!
Carmela

ThankU for. . .Buzzing Bees

     Conventional wisdom says that the friends you make in college are the ones you make for life, whether you are twenty, or firmly in middle-age.  I never expected to make twelve new BFF's in my forties, but I did.  My ThankU goes out to my Vermont College  MFA in Writing for Children classmates, Summer '00, aka "The Hive." These incredible writers have become a part of my life, both personally and professionally.  Who would have thought when we met in the luggage claim at the Burlington Airport, July 1998, that we still be the close-knit group we are today?
       I belong to a terrific critique group here in Georgia, all.  I am a member of  the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and through that organization I have writing friends all over the country. (If there is one thing we need in this solitary life we've chosen, it's friends who also write!) Yet none of these wonderful people have become part of my family, and I, theirs. Within the Hive, we know the status of each other's manuscripts.  We share our collective knowledge of editors, agents, publishers, and other writers. We have seen each other through the death of spouses and parents, pregnancy and illness.  Together we have shepherded our children from "the terrible twos" to the troublesome teens to college and marriage and another generation.

    At first meeting, we were as diverse a group as you could find, aged twenty-something to seventy-something, with most of us somewhere smack in the middle.  We came from all over the country, and just for something completely different, Thailand (that was me). In fact, had I not had my fellow "Bees" as close as my computer screen, I never would have survived my year and a half on the other side of the world.  I remember the Thanksgiving my husband was on assignment in China, and the Bees kept emailing me to keep me from being too homesick, alone in my Bangkok high rise with a four-year-old.

    When we came to Vermont College, differences in age, geography and previous publishing experience were forgotten.  What mattered is that we had the same desire…to become the best possible writer we could. So intense were we, hanging on our instructors' every word, that our class loomed large on the faculty radar.  We believe it was one of those instructors, Brock Cole, who inadvertently dubbed as "bees" because we fairly buzzed with questions and enthusiasm.  So, if individually we were Bees, together we were "The Hive."

     Not everyone in our class wished to maintain contact after graduation. Some members of the considerably smaller Winter '00 class wanted to be part of the Hive. We were honored that someone wanted to cast their lot with our busy bunch. It is hard to remember now when those two members were one of our number.

     When I tell other writers about The Hive, they always ask how often we hear from each other. They are amazed that the answer is "couple of times a day."  On the rare occasions that The Hive falls silent, someone (usually JoAnn) will send out an email on the order of "Where is everybody?" If one of us doesn't log in for a period of time, someone is sure to email (or even call) to make sure all is well.

    Because we are scattered across the country, we have never physically all been together in the same place, not even at graduation. (The two "Bee adoptees" graduated before us.) We have managed to get a good number of them together in one place for various reunions, but never all of us.  Still, we see each other more than most families do.  If one of us is speaking in a Bee's hometown, you can be sure that any Bee within a fifty mile radius will be there too.

    So...for all the manuscripts you've critiqued, rejection letters you've suffered through, rants about editors endured and professional connections made, my heartfelt ThankU goes out to the two Gretchens, the two Carolyns, Maribeth, Laura, Phyllis, April and Lindan. A special ThankU to Carmela, Jeanne Marie and JoAnn, my fellow TA's and Hive members. And through the TA connection, I have become friends with Esther and April.

   The Hive is the source that keeps on giving!

   Don't forget to send your ThankU's to us.  See Esther's last Wednesday post for details.

 Posted by Mary Ann Rodman