 |
| How 'bout this day-before-Thanksgiving sky? |
So I am full of turkey at the moment and thinking back over some of the poetic highlights from NCTE16. There were so many! I'll just mention a few of them here.
* Pomelo Books supper at BoccaLupo.http://boccalupoatl.com/ Those who know Janet Wong know she is kind of famous for selecting really great restaurants. She chose this one because it was on several lists -- one of them a "last meal" list written by chefs! A couple at our table enjoyed a Tasting Meal, which was small portions all several of their specials. It was pretty amazing, and inventive... and if memory serves, it included things like a parmesan crusted meatball... calamari over shrimp pate...a fancy piece of steak... carrot cake.... All excellent! And the company was, too!
* Session on Risking Writing with Poetry-Friday-ers Mary Lee Hahn and Heidi Mordhorst. It was about writing WITH your students, and the panel modeled this for us. It takes a lot of bravery to share our early drafts with anyone, and how powerful for students to see that the work takes... work. Here's the work and photo we started with... and then you'll find mine as it stands now... I was in an imaginative mood!
At the Harvest Ball
Deer look on as dancers twirl
in their starlight gowns --
Listen: maraca-song!
They dance until they collapse
into their cardboard-castle beds
to dream of leave and rain,
and sometimes,
a white eggplant moon.
- Irene Latham
* Books. I picked up F&G's of forthcoming books by THUNDER UNDERGROUND by Jane Yolen and KEEP A POCKET IN YOUR POEM by J. Patrick Lewis. And I got to admire Laura Purdie Salas's forthcoming IF YOU WERE THE MOON. Beautiful!* Our panel on Writing for a Better World. At the end, the radiant Katherine Bomer summed up everything with one line from each of us, and it IS a poem! Here it is:
 |
| The panel - all except Margarita, who had to dash to her next session! |
To the Poets on the Panel, Your Words Coming Back
- Irene, Amy, Laura, Margarita, Tara, Margaret, (& Katherine)
Err on the side of love,
Amplify the light,
Hold the space for children to enter in,
Words are bridges,
Develop our empathy muscle as the reflex response,
When we provide poems in our classroom, we get to the heart of our children,
Poetry is truth.
------
And here is a Visual of our session created by Paula Bourque. Love it!
I have several more odds-n-ends to share with you about NCTE -- I came away so very inspired! I will be posting about these things in the weeks to come. Thank you for reading!
Irene, I am feeling such a sense of wholeness about our weekend at NCTE. Just what I needed. Just what the world needed. Thanks for capturing the quotes from our session. What an amazing panel we put together! I am still in awe of us.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, Margaret, for being the poet-wrangler of the day! I am in awe of the work you do with children. Thank you. xo
DeleteI've been so looking forward to thoughts from NCTE. Thank you! I'm pretty sure the poetry workshop(s) have me thinking of gathering authors & librarians together at my next conference. I may need to pick the brains of those authors and teachers that worked together. I think visual notes are brilliant! The notes you posted are fantastic. Oh, a part of me wishes I was an English Teacher...just to get to go to NCTE.
ReplyDeleteAnd, your poem....how lovely. Starlit gowns for the deer to enjoy watching. Gorgeous.
Linda, YOU MUST COME NEXT YEAR. I am not an English teacher, and I find it one of the most nourishing conferences of the year. If you love books, and if you love children.. .it is the place for you! Please bring book people to your next conference... pretty please! And thank you for stopping by. xo
DeleteI love getting a little slice of NCTE. So glad you came away inspired.
ReplyDeleteMore to share, Doraine, more to share! Missed you and thought of you with that sweet grandbaby in your arms. So much goodness. xo
DeleteSounds so great. Two teachers from my school were there.
ReplyDeleteOne of these years, Ruth, you MUST come! I want to meet you. xo
DeleteSounds like NCTE was a really fabulous experience- I love reading people's posts. You, Mary Lee, and Heidi are so brave to share your first draft writing in front of people (your poem sounds like a tenth draft for me!) And I love Katherine Bomer's poem- I have been drawing on poetry a lot in the last few weeks. I think the universe is trying to tell me something about sketchnoting- I have been finding Paula Bourque's work every where I go recently. Thanks for sharing all of the new titles, too!
ReplyDeleteSo much richness. As my first time at NCTE, it lived up to its reputation for inspiration! I heard such great things about that panel where Heidi and Mary Lee asked people to write, and fun to catch a glimpse. I felt as if that writing for a better world panel gave me strength I need. What a fabulous visual recap!
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled that I got to experience many of your highlights! The only thing I didn't come away with this time was books. Imagine that.
ReplyDeleteI do really love the idea of writing with your students, of leading and encouraging through example, and creating an environment of life-long learning. I wish we had had a collaborative spirit like this when I was a student, all those years ago!
ReplyDeleteI've so enjoyed reading all the slices from NCTE. It lightens my heart to know that such a community exists, working and celebrating together. I love your whimsical poem with those deer spectators and starlight gowns and all the other bits and pieces you shared in this rich post. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIrene, this is the post I needed to read today. "Err on the side of love" is the best advice I've heard in a long time. Thank you for sharing your NCTE memories!
ReplyDeleteSo proud to have presented with you, Irene - Katherine's poem really does sum up what we'd hope to say in one crisp nugget.
ReplyDeleteI've only been once, and it is a favorite memory, Irene. Your time sounds fabulous, and I'm sorry to miss out on the special presentations from those of you I know, at least online. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to Laura's new book!
ReplyDeleteAlmost (though not quite) as good as being there. It will happen eventually, I'm sure of it. And in the meantime, I can keep wishing on that white eggplant moon. Thank you for sharing your takeaways.
ReplyDeleteWow, Irene, I love the image of the "white eggplant moon." Thanks so much for sharing your poem with us, and for the peek at NCTE.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Irene. YOU are a poem. xxoo
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. Thank you for you presentation at NCTE. It was a gift.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Michelle - almost as good as being there, NCTE filtered through your imaginative and generous spirit! And, I want all those books!!
ReplyDeleteInspiring, even from a distance. It's wonderful to see photos of PF folk doing stuff together in the flesh.
ReplyDeleteLove your poem and the visual journey I undertook reading it. I love the sound of the workshops. A place to make my inner child sing and zing. I'm with Linda, I so wish I could go!!
ReplyDeleteVeggies dance! This feels like a poem that could mamba into a p.b.!!
ReplyDeleteAppreciations your peek at both of these panels &for sharing other NCTE goodness.
I can tell you danced a lot with words & books, Irene!