What I Wish I'd Known...Happy Poetry Friday...and G'bye, Poetry Month 2011!

The celebration of our TeachingAuthors Second Blogiversary continues! You can still enter to win one of our two Critique Giveaways! Click on the link to learn the Contest details. As always, we’re cheering you on.

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Howdy, Campers! And Thank you, Tabitha, at The Opposite of Indifference, for sponsoring today's Poetry Friday!

As Esther Hershenhorn posted on Wednesday, "Our Second Blogiversary got the six of us thinking: what nugget, what Truth, do we wish we’d known when we began writing for children?"

In a nutshell, what I wish I would have known when I began writing for children is keep writing.  And be wary of the lure of the stage.  I do love performing and teaching, so speaking in schools wasn't a bad thing when my first picture book, To Rabbittown, came out.

The problem?  My touring schedule overwhelmed my writing time.  As as result, I had fewer manuscripts in the pipeline.  Fewer books being published.  Lots to teach and tell, no product.

And that's my contribution in a nutshell on this topic!

Now it's time to say good-bye to Poetry Month 2011.  Boo-hoo.  I've been privileged to be part of Poetry Month is numerous ways:

• I was interviewed by the wonderful author (and now my friend), Jama Rattigan (and given a raisin birthday card!) on her blog, Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup;
• My poem "World Wide Wag" was included in Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong's groundbreaking book, POETRY TAG TIME, the first electronic-only poetry anthology for kids, with 30 new poems by 30 contemporary poets (which you can buy and read for 99 cents even if you don't own a Kindle or e-reader);
• Janet Wong, Joan Bransfield Graham and I were interviewed by the most excellent author, Michelle Markel on her The Cat and the Fiddle blog about writing poetry (here's Part Two of her wonderful interview);
• My poem, "Whoever Composes the Sky" was included in Greg Pincus' fabulous 30 Poets in 30 Days project at his GottaBook blog;
• a brief (under 3 minute) audio interview with me about the importance of school libraries and school librarians was posted on Circulate This!;
• And I've posted an original poem each day on my poetry blog, including a back story and a poetry prompt with each poem.

To be honest, POSTING a poem a day is very different from WRITING a poem a day.  Even if I didn't include the story behind each poem and a poetry prompt, there's the awareness that other people besides my best friend will read the poem.  Pressure.  As my husband has said, I can make a picnic into homework.  It's true!

What have I learned in writing a poem a day for more than a year?  Be present.  Be ready to catch the poem when it appears. 

Here's my poem from June 24, 2011 about this:

WHEN I LOOK FOR A POEM IN THE TREE OF TODAY

by April Halprin Wayland

I hear the soft sound of my car's under-performing air conditioner,

I lean in to hear this murder mystery on tape,

I study the green left-turn arrow at Wilshire and La Cienega,

I listen to Uncle Davie’s doctor:

“Are you aware you have memory problems?”

Finally, it is the moldy smell of a corn cob 

in the compost pile this morning.

It is when I stopped holding my nose,

when I realized this small soil-covered cylinder was redolent;

when I realized it was good.
c) 2011 April Halprin Wayland, all rights reserved

WRITING WORKOUT: Be Present
Go outside.  That's always a good place for me to start. 

Lean down.  Look closely.  Now close your eyes.  Smell.  Listen.  

What's around you?  What wants a say on your page?

Write your poem.   Perhaps the only structure is that each stanza has the same number of lines...as in my poem, above.  Or perhaps there's one repeating line.

Write with joy.  And share your words with someone who needs a poem.

Share your poem with a friend.

Eli and our backyard cow say g'bye to Poetry Month 2011 ~

poem, photo of Eli and the cow, and drawing (c) 2011 by April Halprin Wayland ~ all rights reserved