Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit lovely Molly for a dose of joy over at Nix the Comfort Zone for Roundup.
I've been writing A LOT this week. Yay! Over at Smack Dab I posted about being an "Embodied Writer," if you'd like to check it out. I've also been reading...of course!
In poetry collection reading, I discovered A Planet is a Poem by by Amanda West Lewis, illus. by Oliver Averill. Inside the book we learn that A Poem is a Planet. Cool, yes? This book travels through the solar system and has these fun fold-out pages with more facts and notes about the poetry forms used. Pair with The Day the Universe Exploded My Head by Allan Wolf, and perhaps my own The Museum on the Moon, and you've got a lovely little journey into space-poetry!
Also—and this totally made my day!— inside the book was a note from one of my long-time librarian friends, Katie Jane. See below. Isn't she awesome?!
This week's ArtSpeak: FOLK ART is simple and joyful and based upon a piece by Anchorage, Alaska artist Barbara Lavalee.
Aside: In my "Alaska" reading this week I met A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans. It's a true story about a friendly wolf in Juneau, AK. Isn't there something so special about wild animal encounters? I also read John Muir's Travels in Alaska.
Back to my poem! I adore this art. I mean, how JOYFUL?? And we were just talking with our youngest son about going-back-to-school time, and how glad he is to be past that stage of life...he recalled soul-crushing school rules, like "don't touch the walls." I mean, he's got a point. He's a solo dancer for sure! Thanks so much for reading.
Solo
when no one
is around
to tell me hush
no
don't
I kick my feet
swing my arms
so high!
I CAN FLY
- Irene Latham
Thank you, Irene! I love "Solo." It reminds me of my grandson who is also a solo dancer. Joy seems to be a timely theme these days.
ReplyDelete"Solo" is such a wonderful celebration of childhood. This first week of school all I hear in the halls are teachers trying to get kids who have been solo dancing all summer to stand in a line and be quiet. I know it's a necessary transition, but there is something so sad about it.
ReplyDelete"hush no don't" -- wouldn't it be nice if grownups weren't allowed to use these words in about 90% of the conversations we use them in? I love "Solo"!
ReplyDeleteI'm ready for joy!
ReplyDeleteIrene,
ReplyDeleteHere's to all the solo dancers who aren't afraid to break the rules. Thanks for the books you've been reading too.
I hope you sent Solo to your son, Irene. I got to watch a lot of "solo dancing" this weekend at our son's wedding reception. It was so fun to see everyone let down the guards, feet kicking and arms swinging, everyone busting out in joy.
ReplyDeleteMy heart hurts for all those whose souls were crushed by ridiculous school rules. My friend teaches in a school where the principal comes to all the doorways to announce random hallway dance parties! That's MY kind of school!
ReplyDeleteI love "Solo" and the full-on joy of that art and those kicking feet and swinging arms. I can feel the impending quiet hallway rules looming though... I love Mary Lee's friend's principal and the idea of random hallway dance parties! Now, that's joy!
ReplyDeleteIrene, if I were still homeschooling young kiddos (oh, those were fun days, with no soul-crushing school rules!) I'd pull together A Planet is a Poem, The Day the Universe Exploded My Head, and The Museum on the Moon and have a fantastically fun unit study with my girls. :) Love your poem "Solo" too!!
ReplyDelete