Friday, April 1, 2022

National Poetry Month Begins!

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Heidi at my juicy little universe for Roundup. Yay for the start of National Poetry Month, too.

In case you missed it, Tuesday 2-Minute Writing Tip #20 is about "How to Live Your Poem." What better time than National Poetry Month to share the wisdom and guidance poetry can provide? To hear some of the lines that inspire me, check out the (short!) video on youtube.

AND... I am away from my desk today, but I do have the first line of our Progressive Poem for you!


It's not an original-by-me line. Instead I lifted a line from one of my most favorite books ever: THE IMAGINARIES: Little Scraps of Larger Stories by Emily Winfield Martin. All the lines (and art) in this book were meant to inspire new projects... so, voila!





2022 Progressive Poem

Where they were going, there were no maps.

---

I can't wait to see what happens next! You can follow along with this schedule. Thanks so much to Margaret for organizing and creating the beautiful graphic!

1 April 1 Irene at Live Your Poem

2 Donna Smith at Mainly Write
3 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
4 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
5 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
6 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
7 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
8 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
9 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
11 Janet Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
12 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
13 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe
14 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
15 Carol Labuzzetta @ The Apples in my Orchard
16 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken Town
18 Patricia at Reverie
19 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
20 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
21 Kevin at Dog Trax
22 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
23 Leigh Anne at A Day in the Life
24 Marcie Atkins
25 Marilyn Garcia
26 JoAnn Early Macken
27 Janice at Salt City Verse
28 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
29 Karen Eastlund at Karen’s Got a Blog
30 Michelle Kogan Painting, Illustration, & Writing

and now, the latest poem in my Artspeak: Animals adventure! Today I have a(nother) tiger for you. Thank you so much for reading.


Tiger Talk Triolet

When a tiger's tail begins to flick
she's roaring with her muscles:
Go away, quick!
When a tiger's tail begins to flick,
giving her space is the trick.
Notice how your heart rustles
when a tiger's tail begins to flick?
Tiger's not the only one roaring with her muscles.

- Irene Latham

23 comments:

  1. Irene, I admire your ability to use unexpected rhymes that work perfectly and never feel forced. "roaring with her muscles" is a great image.
    Thanks also for a new book to investigate. I'm looking forward to seeing where the line takes us on the progressive poem journey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The progressive poem beginning opens up a world of travel for everyone, Irene! It's lovely. The triolet's tension in just a few lines - wow. Yes, our hearts will rustle. Have a great day away!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! Love the beginning line! I just realized that I am next...but I think I've got a line - another quote from a book.
    "Roaring with her muscles"! Love it. I don't know why but I thought of those of who have gone through physical therapy...the hidden tiger with roaring muscles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can my blog name be corrected? Mainely has an E.

      Delete
    2. I'll correct it on my blog where the list originates.

      Delete
  4. Terrific 1st line and wonderful tigery poem,Irene! I've been buried, as so many of us are ~ it's nice to breathe in our kidlitisphere poetry air🌹 I hope wherever you are it's wonderful and restful there

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love that we are beginning the poem with no maps. It offers freedom and creativity right from the start. Learning about triolets for you and how you wonderfully twist the line at the end to make us think about ourselves.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a way to start us off! Thank you, oh roaring poet with flicking tail at the ready. Your Tuesday offering is a perfect way to begin this April frolic. (The techno-gods were not amenable to my leaving a comment on YouTube today, but what a raucous and thoughtful assemblage of inspiring lines!) xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great line to start off the journey! And roaring with her muscles is such a great image.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for starting us off on an adventure that may meander and wind around a bit… And such strength the tiger possesses through their tail… Happy National Poetry Month Irene!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful start! I have never written a triolet and this is a wonderful mentor for em to use.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Irene! The first line of the new PP is perfect, as I've been traveling so far. And now I'm thinking about roaring with my muscles. These last few weeks I've managed to edit and complete a solid first draft of my novel in verse--you said to focus, right? :) For me that message has been most meaningful. xo

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a PERFECT first line! No maps indeed!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a wonderful portal you've opened into this poem, Irene! I can't wait to see where it leads. I'm also glad you've reminded me that I have that book somewhere...time to launch a search!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love THE IMAGINARIES! What a great first line. And your tense tiger poem--full of gathered, bunched power.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Irene, I love your intriguing first line in the PP! Thank you for another great writing tip! I resonate with your tiger triolet, and I love it! You're so right about my "heart rustles" when I'm near a tiger. They are magnificent big cats. Once when I was at a sanctuary for big cats in FL, a male tiger became upset with a man. The staff warned us not to get too close to the fences to take photos of the big cats. I noticed how the male tiger kept looking at this tall man as the took photos of other big cats. When our group walked over to the large fenced in area, I watched the male tiger watch this man come over. The tall man practically pushed a short woman out of his way so he could get the best photo of the female tiger in front of us. I thought to myself, what a rude man. He could have easily taken a photo behind the woman. The male tiger raced over growling at the man scaring all of us! The staff immediately had us all move far away from the upset tiger. My heart did more than rustle when the tiger practically jumped through the double line fence. Later, I told one of the staff how I had noticed the male tiger watching the tall man. I asked her if she thought the tiger felt threatened because the man was so tall, or because the man had practically pushed the women away or was it because the man was directly in front of the female tiger. She told me it was probably because of all three and that I was good at reading animal behavior. That tiger was amazing in his fierceness and protectiveness.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The tiger poem has a beautiful image right in the beginning (roaring with muscles), Irene. It is clever to use an inspirational line from a book to start our Progressive Poem journey off. What prospects those words leave us with.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh, do I love that tiger poem...sending off to my tiger girl pronto! And, a book that inspires new projects? I must read it. LOL. I haven't heard of this one. Thanks for the tip. Hooray for Poetry Month. I have been enjoying your videos. They are a great idea and so comforting to this poet.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh! I love this first line! Can't wait to see how the poem progresses.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Imaginaries is one of my favorite books and I love the line you chose to kick off the Progressive Poem! It will be such fun to see how the poem unfolds.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Irene...what an opener. So much weight lifted by each and every word! I'd forgotten that I meant to look this book up one of the previous times you mentioned it. And ooh, ooh--rustles, muscles, trick, flick, quick! Happy NPM to you.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Very grateful to immerse myself in your poems, Irene. And... I just got my copy of THIS POEM IS A NEST! It's going to be a wonderful April!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, what a wonderful first line which I am just now reading! <3

    ReplyDelete

Your thoughts?