Quick announcement and invitation before we dive in with our featured guest!!! You are welcome to join the fun at SCBWI Wisconsin's "Engaging Stories" fall conference, Oct. 8-10, 2026, Green Lake Conference Center. I'm delighted to join the esteemed faculty and also present an intensive on applying poetic elements to ALL types of writing. Hooray!
When I pitched this book (way back in 2018!), I said, it's like a Richard Scarry word book...but POEMS! So, poems for the littles, about everyday things that you find in a home: spoon, door, lamp, etc... And also, a tour of all kinds of homes: cabin, lighthouse, yurt, and more! 66 poems in a 48-page book. The lovelies Rebecca Davis and Millie von Platen have helped make the book the best it can be!
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| Charles Waters, Nikki Grimes, Irene Latham |
What then, is a "wordspinner"? Well, I'm glad you asked! It's a name I've given a kind of poem many of us were already writing...a poem about a word.
Remember that Nikki Grimes wordplay exercise years ago at Today's Little Ditty? Wordspinners grew out of it, and I'm super grateful Nikki gave me her blessing to develop it into a bona fide poetry form!
And when Amy Hevron agreed to illustrate the collection...well, I knew it was going to be something special. And it is! Here's Amy, responding to four simple prompts, as is
tradition here at Live Your Poem, thanks to a poetry book Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmer's Market (illus. by Mique Moriuchi, AstraPublishing/Wordsong), now available in paperback!
Without further ado, please welcome Amy Hevron!
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| Amy Hevron |
AH: Thank you, Irene for inviting me to do a guest post on your blog to celebrate Come In! Come In! I loved illustrating this cozy book and can’t wait to share it with the world!
FRESH
AH: I loved this manuscript when I received it. And I was drawn to this new kind of “wordspinners”poetry you had created. My mind instantly thought of visuals for all the little poems about different types of homes and rooms. It reminded me of the dollhouse I had as a child. I still have a few of the tiny furniture pieces from the dollhouse, like this amazing miniature ladderback chair and this little wooden piano. Both were inspirations for the “Chair” and “Piano” poems in the book.
DIFFICULT
WHAT IS A WORDSPINNER?
A poetry form inspired by a Nikki Grimes
wordplay exercise. It seeks to define a word by
spinning together the sound of the word and
the function of the word. The only rule is that
the first line of the poem must end with “word.”
Length varies. Rhyming optional.
WORDSPINNER I
a dizzy-giddy word,
a let’s-go-fishing-for-a-fresh-definition word.
A word that aims to rearrange the furniture
in your brain.
[note: there is a "Wordspinner II" poem on the back cover of the book!]
DELICIOUS
MUG
a snug-in-your-hands word,
it holds just a hint
of vanilla.
It’s for sipping
away your worries
on a swirly, wintry day.
MILK
a gulping word,
it makes a mustache
and builds up bones.
It never forgets to say,
Mmmmm.
JAM
a sweet glob word,
it’s for licking and dipping.
It’s sticky and drippy
and loves fingers best of all.
ANYTHING ELSE
AH:
IL: Thank you, Amy!!
Friends, I have bought one of Amy's oak panels from the book to be displayed in my home gallery. I can't wait!
Today's ArtSpeak:WOMEN features another new-to-me artist from the Harper's Bazaar list. Paige Bradley is a sculptor like no other. I kind of fell in love with her work...lots of powerful women, certainly a celebration of the female form, wrought with such grace and beauty...do check her out. When I found Apex, The Wings, I knew I had to write about it. (I didn't read her statement about the piece until AFTER I wrote my poem...and I was like, wow, I got from the piece what the artist intended. Cool!) Thanks so much for reading.
Papa promised someday I would find my wings
and today as I leapt
plied pirouetted across the stage
feathers sprouted spread
and now I am halfway flying
halfway waiting
for the other wing to emerge
halfway believing
one wing is enough
- Irene Latham
