Stitch (a Picture Book!) Like an Egyptian with Dahlia Hamza Constantine

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Matt at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme for Roundup.

Click here to view this week's Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tip 33 "What is Success (for Writers)." 

Also I blogged over at Smack Dab in the Middle about writing identity & the kindness of readers...like YOU!

Today I'm excited to welcome to Live Your Poem Dahlia Hamza Constantine, my dear friend and co-author of A GOOD MORNING FOR GIDDO (illus. by Basma Hosam, Nancy Paulsen Books) which releases next Tuesday, April 7.  Don't miss this post where I blogged about Dahlia and me and this book earlier this year!

Y'all, we sold this book back in 2021, so it's so, so lovely to see it finally in print. It's my gazillionth time to work with editor Stacey Barney, which makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world! And this is Dahlia's debut book, so I want her to have all the experiences! 

As is the tradition here at Live Your Poem, I've invited Dahlia to respond to 4 simple prompts inspired by Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers' Market (illus. by Mique Moriuchi, WordSong)—which releases next week in paperback!! Which means new life for an old (2016) project! And makes me super-happy to imagine these fruit-n-veggie-love-imaginative-poems finding new readers. Hooray!

You will also find some asides from me below in pink. Thanks so much for reading!

FRESH

Dahlia at Mamaj restaurant (which
was a palace from 1469)

DHC: The freshest part of writing A Good Morning for Giddo was realizing… oh, we’re really writing this together.

I had never written fiction collaboratively before, and suddenly I was inside a shared Google Doc with Irene - building Somaya and Giddo’s world line by line.

There was so much laughter.  [IL: Dahlia has a magical, musical laugh. Joy joy joy!]

We were writing scenes like Somaya racing through the market, clutching her secret stitching, determined to get to the tentmakers… while Giddo gently slows her down—“Today is a day to savor being alive.” And somehow, that became our process too. We would rush toward an idea, then pause, linger, reshape it, laugh, and begin again.

It never felt solitary. It felt like walking through the market together—turning corners, discovering something new each time.  [IL: Exactly. There were so many surprises, so many connections between the two of us and between us and our story! And Poetry Friends: these two sentences are exactly what I'm after whenever I write or read a poem...turning corners, discovering something new...]

DIFFICULT

DHC: Picture books are tiny… and completely unforgiving. [Truth!]

The hardest part of writing Giddo was getting the language exactly right—so it could carry all that sensory richness in just a few words.

old Cairo market

We wanted you to hear the market—the old love songs on the radios, the chorus of voices, the call to prayer. We wanted you to smell the fava beans in lemony olive oil, the jasmine in the air. We wanted you to feel Somaya’s urgency and Giddo’s steady, anchoring presence.

And that meant every single word mattered.

There were times when Irene and I would try twenty different words for one line. Not exaggerating. Twenty. 

It was meticulous. It was a little absurd.

And we laughed the whole time. [A word we (apparently) love? Shimmer. Shimmered. Shimmery. We had too many of these in the story, and Stacey asked us to revise...which led to, you guessed it, shimmery laughter!]

DELICIOUS

DHC: The delicious part is that moment when everything finally clicks.

When a line like “even the Sphinx smiles” lands just right. When the rhythm of “good morning with roses… and jasmine… and sunshine” begins to echo through the book like a song. When Somaya’s journey—from rushing ahead to slowing down—feels complete.

Because this book is so sensory, those moments felt immersive. We weren’t just writing the market—we were inside it, wandering past the tentmakers, the ink sellers, the tea, the music, the shimmer of fabric and abalone shells. [shimmer! Big smile!]

And then I went back.

the light in the market

I’ve been to the old market in Cairo twice since writing the book, and both times I felt it—I wasn’t just myself anymore. I was Somaya, noticing everything with fresh eyes, feeling the story layered over the real place. [I LOVE imagining Dahlia/Somaya at the market! I wish I could go! It has been many, many years since I was in Cairo, but y'all I can still smell it!]

But honestly? The most delicious part was working with Irene. 

That shared delight in getting it just right—that was the magic. [Aw, big blushy thanks. And: Yes! It was delicious and delightful working with Dahlia. Did I mention JOY? And MAGIC!]

ANYTHING ELSE

DHC: At its heart, this book is about slowing down. [Children need this message. *I* need this message!]

Somaya begins the story rushing—we must get to the tentmakers!—and ends by saying, “I like it when we take our time.”

That shift feels very true to the writing process, too.

chairs with abalone inlay

We thought we were writing a simple story about a morning in the market. But what we were really doing was learning how to pause, notice, listen, and let the story unfold at its own pace.

Also, if you ever find yourself debating twenty words for a single sentence… just know you’re in excellent company.

And maybe—just maybe—you’re getting close. [Can you tell Dahlia is a former teacher?? I have learned so much from her (and not just about storytelling!]

Thank you, dear Dahlia, and thank you, readers, with roses and jasmine and sunshine! 

Thanks also to Dahlia's mom, Sawsan Hamza, who was so generous in checking the accuracy of everything and gifted me an authentic piece from the Tentmakers of Cairo! So so special!

And now, today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem. Next up on the Harper's Bazaar list is assemblage artist Betye Saar—another new-to-me artist! I was instantly drawn to her piece entitled "Anticipation," as it brought up for me some conflicting thoughts I've had about mindfulness and living in the present moment, namely that our instruction is not to be in the past or the future. But sometimes I really LOVE anticipation. Sometimes the anticipation is better than the actual thing! Or at least amplifies the thing. I don't know. I have found much more peace in my life by letting go of expectations, for sure. At the same time, I still enjoy the buzzy feeling of anticipation and am trying to focus on it (rather than sliding into worry or scripting something that will never actually happen and only lead to disappointment!).

For Your Information

Yes, anticipation is participation
in expectation—
For some, a celebration.
For others, an abomination.
My observation?
Anticipation is best
as pollination—

appreciation (not hyperventilation)
leads to more exhilaration,
less perspiration,
and (sometimes) intoxication
spiked with growing realization.
So. Won't you accept
this invitation
to take a vacation
from self-flagellation?
Give your anticipation
a standing ovation. Yes?

Yes! Congratulations!

- Irene Latham

Celebrating TWILIGHT with Marcie Flinchum Atkins!

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Marcie for a WHEN TWILIGHT COMES Poetry Friday Roundup! It's an enchanting bit of loveliness, according to the starred Kirkus review. Of course it is; Marcie wrote it! I can't wait to get my copy in the mail.

Quick announcement: this week's Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tip 32 "The Truth about Book Awards" shares some thoughts from my experience serving on multiple book award committees over the past decade. Enjoy!

When Marcie asked us all to flood the internet with images and poems about twilight, I immediately searched my computer files. I found some "twilight" poems, but even more "dusk" poems! Apparently, my poet-brain prefers "dusk." 

That discovery sent me on an internet search to find the difference between twilight and dusk. (Spoiler: dusk is simply one phase of twilight, defined by the degree to which the sun has set!) 

Then I searched my own files again for "sunrise" and "sunset" and found quite a few of both. Here's a small sampling. 

Poem Found in a Ditch at Dusk

Twilight Time

Impression (of a Sunrise)

Alabama Sunrise Trinet

Recipe for a Sunset

(Elephant) Dust Bath at Dusk (from Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Watering Hole by Irene Latham, illus. by Anna Wadham)

(Elephant) Dust Bath at Dusk

Dust Bath at Dusk


Trunks become
dust hoses,
beasts strike poses

and preen in silhouette
created by the late,
hazy screen.

Soon skin
is powdered
in a red-grit shower

that banishes bugs
and becomes next day's
sunscreen.

One final
wallow,
one last trumpet--

all clean!


- Irene Latham



"How to Catch a Poem" (featuring dusk-y fireflies and found in The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog: And Other How-To Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko, illus. by Richard Jones). Confession: this is a favorite of my own poems!

How to Catch a Poem

Step into the trees 

on a summer night —

follow starshine 

and cricketsong.

Be still, keep quiet; 

watch for the flicker.

(No chasing,

let it come to you.)

Reach. Hold it in the safe 

cave of your fingers

until the wings tickle.

Marvel at the glow

                            then

let it go.

- Irene Latham

---

AND I decided to write a new twilight poem for this week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN...only it morphed as poems do...and again with "dusk!"

The art is by abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell.  I wanted to play with punctuation and repetition. Once again, I used the title of the piece (Blue Tree) as my jumping-off place. Thanks so much for reading! 

Mama Tree Teaches Little Tree / the Color of Time

See / Little Tree?

Dawn tree / pink tree

Noon tree / green tree

Dusk tree / blue tree

Sweet dreams / Little Tree!

- Irene Latham

Poetry + Art = Some Starry Night by Irene Latham

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tanita S. Davis for Roundup.

First: this week's Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tip 31 is all about Writers & AI. Find out how I'm using AI, and how I'm not.

Second: I'm thrilled to be teaching another poetry webinar over at Inked Voices! Last year I tackled punctuation in poetry. This year I'm talking about one of my most favorite elements of poetry: surprise! Join me to learn "8 Ways to Wake Up Your Poetry: How to Create Surprise, Tension & the Unexpected Inevitable." Monday, April 27, 2026, 3 pm CST. Click to register. 

I'll also be offering a limited number of poetry consultations in conjunction with this offering. So, if you need encouragement and/or feedback, I'm excited to help.

Third: My first novel for adults is coming next month from Historium Press! It's a blend of history and imagination that explores the lives of Vincent van Gogh and Emily Dickinson and answers the question: What—or who—inspired The Starry Night?

Y'all, I have long wanted to write a big, bittersweet love story...and now I have! I loved communing with Emily and Vincent.

 That question you've heard about your ideal dinner party? Emily and Vincent are certainly at the top of my guest list! And this book is all about me exploring how a chance meeting between these two brilliant souls might change their art, their lives, and...US. It includes poems, letters, history, magic, mystery...and did I mention I loved writing it? I also got to write some poems for the book in the style of Emily Dickinson.. a whole series called "The Paris Poems by Emily Dickinson." More on this soon!

For a limited time, the publisher is running a pre-order special on the e-book: 99 cents! I really, really hope you like it. 

Finally, my ArtSpeak: WOMEN piece this week features a Warhol-esque piece by Elaine Sturtevant. (I'm still working my way through the Harper's Bazaar list of women artists!) Sturtevant was known for her repetitions, particularly of Warhol's work. That got me thinking about repetition in nature, repetition in gardening, van Gogh's repetition in his art, and repetition in poetry...and then I had to stop! Because there are worlds within those worlds, and my get-to-do list is long. So I stopped myself at two (love!) poems, which I offer to you today. Thanks so much for reading.

May garden

the way my heart flares each time

I remember you

- Irene Latham

Repetitions

Ten thousand—

That’s how many times

a child mounts a bike

when learning to ride

A gardener in Hawaii

may plant ten thousand

hibiscus

to unify a garden

Your favorite artist paints

the same sky

ten thousand times

without moving on

No wonder

I whisper I love you

ten thousand times each day,

knowing ten thousand

will never be

enough.

- Irene Latham

In the Grip of the Ice by Doraine Bennett *GIVEAWAY*

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Linda at TeacherDance for Roundup.

This week's Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tip 30 is for fiction writers, about leaning into fear when you're creating a plot. I hope you find it useful!

And now I'm excited to welcome my dear friend Doraine Bennett to the blog to respond to some simple prompts as they apply to her brand-new verse novel In the Grip of the Ice (Bandersnatch Books, 2026). 

What's it about?

According to Kirkus: "A teenage stowaway records the disastrous course of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Antarctic expedition."

Here's the blurb I provided after reading the ARC: "Stow away for a few hours in these pages to experience a dark, frozen world that—thanks to Bennett's deep research and vivid poetic voice—radiates warmth, humanity, and hope."

*Leave a comment below to be entered to win a signed copy of the book! Entries open thru 11:59 pm Monday March 16. Winner announced here on the blog Friday March 20!

I remember Doraine reading snippets of this work in progress years ago, so it's especially fun to see it now in book format, soon to be in readers' hands! Here's the opening poem:

Welcome, Doraine!

FRESH 

DB: This manuscript has languished for a long time, collecting digital dust in a virtual drawer. I discovered Bandersnatch Books in the summer of 2024 when they sent out a call for submissions. They specialize in books that are a little off the beaten path—stories traditional publishers often don’t have room or time for—and they are especially interested in works that bridge the reading space between middle grade and young adult.

In January of 2025, I received word that they wanted to publish my book. For a while it felt like a dream. Bandersnatch is a small press that publishes only five books a year, so I was absolutely thrilled.

When Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, was discovered beneath the ice of the Weddell Sea in 2022, interest in the expedition—and in Shackleton’s remarkable leadership that ultimately brought every man home—was reignited around the world. The wreck was found nearly 10,000 feet below the surface, less than two miles from the location the ship’s navigator, Frank Worsley, had recorded when it sank 107 years earlier. 

More than a hundred years later, the story still has the power to capture our imagination. My book returns to that remarkable expedition through the voice of the young stowaway who secretly climbed aboard the Endurance—a nineteen-year-old who had no idea he was stepping into one of the greatest survival stories ever told.

DIFFICULT

DB: The most difficult aspect of writing In the Grip of the Ice was piecing together the journey from the journals the men left behind. Every story has many angles of vision. Each man recorded what he saw and felt in the moment, and those perspectives don’t always align neatly. The events remain the same, but the story bends slightly depending on whose voice is telling it.

Doraine's office wall while trying
to make sense of the story.

Some men wrote about the brutal cold. Others about the work of hauling sledges. Still others about the strange routines that developed as the ship drifted in the ice for months—reading aloud, playing games, writing letters home that might never be sent.

My task was to gather all of those voices and wrangle them into a single, coherent narrative while still honoring the human experience inside the journals.

DELICIOUS

DB: Poetry is delicious. It compresses language until every word has flavor. A single image can carry the weight of an entire scene.

When I began writing In the Grip of the Ice, I discovered that poetry was the best way to hold the fragments I found in the journals of Shackleton’s crew. Verse allowed me to distill moments—the groaning of the ice, the endless drift, the uncertainty of survival—into something that could carry both the event and the emotion of the men living through it.

Poetry also has a unique ability to enter the inner landscape of a character. In a few lines, it can hold fear, hope, loneliness, or courage, and invite the reader to imagine not just what happened, but what it might have felt like to stand on that vast Antarctic ice.

There was another reason poetry felt right for this story. Shackleton himself often recited poetry to encourage his men during the darkest stretches of the expedition. Telling the story in verse felt like honoring that small but powerful thread running through their journey.

  

ANYTHING ELSE

DB: I love reading aloud, so sharing a few of these poems brought me so much delight when friends organized a launch party earlier this week. It was just so much fun! Poetry really does come alive when it’s spoken. Hearing the rhythm of the lines and feeling the pauses land in a room full of people made the story feel new again, even to me.

After spending so many years quietly working on the manuscript, it was a joy to hear the words spoken aloud and shared with others. For a moment, it felt as if the long journey of this book had finally found its voice.

--

Thank you, Doraine!! Y'all, don't miss this book. It's special!

For my ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem, I've chosen from the Harper's Bazaar list another new-to-me artist, Leonora Carrington. Her work is surreal, wildly imaginative, and, okay, odd. But that's what's so cool about it! I was instantly drawn into this piece from the title alone: And Then We Met the Daughter of the Minotaur. A story is happening! What is that story? It could be so many things! I highly recommend the great (short) video here from MoMA (where the piece resides). 

Also, I needed a refresher on mythical creatures. Minotaur = half human/half bull. Centaur = half human/half horse. I always get those confused! 

AND...I've been thinking a lot about how this life journey is much less about acquiring things and much more about letting things go—shaving away all the not-you things until you become just yourself, and nothing else. Thanks so much for reading!

And Then We Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur

She sat like a queen woken
from a dream of flying.

Her father may have been defeated,
but that didn't stop her

from dressing in a crimson gown,
unleashing a sky full of bubbles.

You must learn to let go, she said.
Let your feelings rise like magic bubbles

then     POP!
See them shimmer, disappear.

- Irene Latham

Desert Rain poems

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Karen Edmisten for Roundup.

You're invited to view Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tip 29: Small Steps Lead to Big Writing. I hope you find the message useful!

I also shared some poems over at Smack Dab in the Middle, an Invitation to Bravery for Writers. Courage comes in all sizes and seasons...

What a thrill for Charles & me to be featured on Book Breaks video series for For the Win: Poems About Phenomenal Athletes. It was fun sharing poems from the book about LeBron James (by JaNay Brown-Wood) and Eileen Gu (by Nancy Tupper Ling), in honor of her recent Olympics medals! Kaylyn Farneth has created such a special series for teachers sharing booko-love... be sure to get to know her!

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN features work by another new-to-me artist: Agnes Martin. I am intrigued by abstract work, which feels so mysterious to me! I lean heavily on titles of the works to help me find meaning. I instantly loved the "feeling" of "Desert Rain." Stark, yes, but also full of promise...so much unseen! It carried me to Death Valley National Park, which I have long wanted to visit in the springtime, to catch the wildflower season. 2026 is predicted to be a "superbloom" year! I wrote two poems -- one a trinet, the other a failed haiku. (Too many syllables!) Thanks so much for reading.

Trinet After Drought

Desert rain,

what winds

blew you across these mountains today?

I wish I could catch you,

carry you

like a

bride's bouquet.

- Irene Latham

Gift

Rain, forever swift of heart,

waits until mountains are sleeping

to ride in on a brisk wind

& surprise desert with flowers

-Irene Latham

p.s. I read somewhere recently (where??) that "swift of heart" doesn't mean "fast." It means "to be fully committed." I love that!!

Sports and Spiders!

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Margaret at Reflections on the Teche for Roundup.

This week's Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tip 28 "Contracts, Not Handshakes" touches upon the business side of writing and includes a real-life cautionary tale.

Next Tuesday (March 3, 2026) is the release date for For the Win: Poems Celebrating Phenomenal Athletes, poems selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, brought to us by the good folks at Carolrhoda/Lerner Publishing Group. 

Y'all, I am not a sports person. (POETRY is my sport!) This anthology was Charles' idea, and I, pretty much always being up for a challenge, said yes! 

I do love sports stories and athlete stories (and the Olympics!), which are so like creator-stories, all full of dreams and training and setbacks and inspiration and achievement...and I love how this book showcases moments from ALL of it, not just the glory days.

So much gratitude to the following poets—and the athletes!—who were a dream to work with:

Jaime Adoff - Mookie Betts

Lacresha Berry - A’ja Wilson

Jay Brazeau - Connor McDavid

JaNay Brown-Wood - LeBron James

Tanita S. Davis - Simone Biles

Mariana Dominé - Lionel Messi

Naaz Khan - Aprar Hassan

Irene Latham - Nelly Korda

Nancy Tupper Ling - Eileen Gu

Guadalupe García McCall - Juan Soto

Edna Cabcabin Moran - Roman Reigns

Darius Phelps - Patrick Mahomes

Glenis Redmond- Coco Gauff

Kim Rogers - Keenan Allen (Lumbee)

René Saldaña - Ronald Acuña, Jr.

Laura Shovan and Leah Henderson - Sophia Smith

Sarah Grace Tuttle - Jessica Long

Charles Waters - Jalen Hurts

Kao Kalia Yang - Suni Lee

--

If I were really on top of things, I might have coordinated my ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem this week with For the Win and gone with a sports theme. But, that's not how my creativity rolls (at least not this week :)!

Today's poem is inspired by a new-to-me artist from the Harper's Bazaar list: Louise Bourgeois. What a fascinating person! Learn more about Louise and the piece I selected, titled "Maman." Louise used her art to face her fears, a theme that came into my poem.

Again, if I were really on top of things, this piece would have been perfect for my interview earlier this month with Shannon Bramer, who shared about her "Dollhouse Spiders."  Alas. But the beauty of ye ol' internet is one can revisit old posts, so yay! Thanks so much for reading.

Today my friend Louise placed me 

in the center of the world

No more shadows for you, she said, and stroked my head
with her sculptor-fingers. Show them your tenderness,
your mender-heart perched on dancer-legs.
Fear set my toes a-tremble. You want me to stitch for them,
to spin? Louise's smile came soft-sudden as sunshine 

after snow. Let them look at you, she said.
Let them look at you until they can no longer look away.

- Irene Latham