Hide and Seek poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference for Roundup.

I am traveling...again! This time to parts of Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. I love summer. :) 

Irene Latham & Dahlia Hamza
Constantine

Here's a pic of Dahlia Hamza Constantine and me from last week at the Staunton (Virginia) Public Library. Among many joys, we saw a production of "Our Town" at the American Shakespeare Center/Blackfriars Playhouse (which is the only U.S. replica of the Globe!). Y'all. AMAZING. And oh boy, it fired me up! I have written SO MUCH this week... positively bubbling over with ideas and inspiration.  I love it.

Today's ArtSpeak: WOMEN features a piece by Berthe Morisot, one of the female Impressionists. Much has been written about Morisot and Manet, and I have this book on my TBR stack. 

Some notes: I wanted the poem to be in the child's voice. I wanted to be in conversation with the name of the piece, which is "Hide and Seek (Cache-Cache)." I wanted the poem to feel magical, to convey a sense of connection with nature. I wanted to mention the umbrella, which may be for sun or rain, I'm not sure! I'm pleased that my poem was able to accomplish some of these things—though I couldn't fit "umbrella" or "parasol" into the poem, I did get "raindrop!" And now I totally want to write more poems after Morisot's pieces! Thanks so much for reading.

Hide and Seek

I see ants
I see bees
Is that the sun
hiding
behind spring's breeze?

I see flowers
I see grass
and tiny raindrop
glistening
like shattered glass.

I see the world
World can't see me
Did you know
the sky sings
when you hold hands
with a tree?

Just Another (Sun)flower Poem

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tanita Davis at fiction, instead of lies for Roundup.

I will be on the road today, but I did want to leave a new ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem. This week I've returned to Hilma af Klint. Did you know she did a series of nature studies? MoMA mounted an exhibition of them last year, and I love all the connections Hilma was making! I reallyreallyreally want to acquire this book that accompanied the show. Hilma wrote in her notebook that sunflowers convey "love is the greatest of all." Her certainty led me to write a (love) poem full of questions. Thanks so much for reading!

Just Another (Sun)flower Poem

What (dark) language do seeds speak?

How do they know to reach for sun?
(Is the sun singing?)

When rain comes, can a plant
anticipate its drip-drop-drizzle,
or is it always a surprise? (Surprise!)

Which part is the plant most proud of,
its roots or its bloom?
(Don't tell me.)

And what about (green, glistening) leaves,
do they know that blooms exist only
because of leaves' devotion to collecting light?

Who was the first person (Not me!)
to stumble upon yellow petals in a field
and smile?

How is it that every time I meet
a sunflower
I (smiling) think of you?

- Irene Latham

p.s. A big fat smiling happy birthday to my (daffodil) sister LTG!!!

a blessing for sorrow

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jill Dailey for Roundup.

Wow, July is clipping along, isn't it? Charles and I had a great time in Chicago teaching at the Poetry Summit put on by the Poetry Foundation.  What a great group of educators! And, fun bonus, we got to explore the Poetry Foundation offices and library! We also got to share a meal with children's poet and picture book author Michelle Schaub. Delightful! I came away with a BUNCH of new ideas and inspirations in my notebook...can't wait to write some new stuff.  Many thanks to Sarah DeVore, Justine Haka, and Angelica Flores for all their hard work making our time together the best it could be. Oh, and if you're ever in Chicago, go to Zarella's and ask to be seated in the SpeakEasy section. Order the fried zucchini. You will not be sorry!

And now my thoughts have turned to the next trip, to Staunton, VA, where Dahlia H. Constantine and I will give an author's tea at Staunton Public Library in celebration of our book A Good Morning for Giddo. Hooray!

In "this is why we do it" news, I received the following email from a reader: 

This makes me so happy! 

Maybe that's why I started out this week's ArtSpeak:WOMEN poem as a love poem. I was thinking about a favorite African proverb and thought I'd write something about love as an early spring afternoon (because that's what the art looks like to me). But it just wasn't working! 

And then I thought: maybe this poem isn't about love after all. The next emotion to settle in my mind was "sorrow." And then the poem felt just right. Thanks so much for reading.

May your sorrow be

like a spring afternoon

rising on a brisk wind

but nestling into the folds

of a hillside warm

with grass and birdsong.

- Irene Latham

dragon cloud haiku

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jan at bookseedstudio for Roundup.

In just a few days, I'll be traveling to Chicago to teach with Charles Waters at the Poetry Summit hosted by the Poetry Foundation. I'm excited to meet passionate-for-poetry educators from across the country! Charles and I will be talking about "poem as truth teller" and also leading a workshop on "poetry for a better world." Fun!!

For ArtSpeak: WOMEN I've got another piece by Gabriele Münter.

I've been reading Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, so perhaps that explains the appearance of dragons! And there are more dragons in my future, as I scored a complete and in very good condition boxed set of The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey.

Once, many Julys ago, I wrote an early middle grade book called St. Cecelia's School for Dragons. I was so excited about it! And then How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell came out.  And it became a whole franchise! So my little dragon book went into a cave.

But you know what? Those dragons have been popping out lately, asking to play...so who knows? Maybe I'll publish a dragon book yet! Meanwhile, here's a poem. Thanks so much for reading!

Who invited clouds

to storm our July picnic?

They look like dragons.

-Irene Latham

Trinet after an Argument

 

Irene Latham & Darnell Whited 

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Michelle at Moreart4all for Roundup.

Have you been enjoying all the America 250 events in your neck of the woods? I have! After months of planning...and a generous grant from the Alabama 250 commission, yesterday I helped host a community "Party Like It's 1776!" 

My DAR Warrior Rivers chapter, in conjunction with the Blount County Memorial Museum, offered entry into two of our town's most historic buildings and filled them with historic exhibits, recognition of veterans, activities (including a scavenger hunt!), food, and visits from historical figures like George and Martha Washington! So much fun, y'all. And I wanted to share a list of the books we found most valuable for helping us celebrate America's birthday, particularly in their portrayal of the American Revolution:

Cloaked in Courage: Uncovering Deborah Sampson, Patriot Soldier by Beth Anderson, illus. by Anne Lambelet

DK Eyewitness American Revolution

Farmer George Plants a Nation by Peggy Thomas, illus. by Layne Johnson

George vs. George: The American Revolution as seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

George Washington and the General's Dog by Frank Murphy, illus. by Richard Walz

George Washington's Spectacular Spectacles: The Glasses That Saved America by Selene Castrovilla, illus. by Jenn Harney

Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence by Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze, illus. by Chris Ellison

History Smashers: The American Revolution by Kate Messner

If You Were a Kid During the American Revolution by Wil Mara, illus. by Kelly Kennedy

Nathan Hale: Patriot Spy by Shannon Zemlicka, illus. by Craig Orback

Spies in the American Revolution for Kids: A History Book by Carla Killough McClafferty

The American Revolution from A to Z by Laura Crawford, illus. by Judith Hierstein

When Paul Revere Rode: Voices from the First Night of the American Revolution by Sarah L. Thomson, illus. by Nik Henderson

This week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN again features work by Gabriele Münter. (My record player needle is stuck, and I kind of love it!)

Some notes for those who are interested:

While this piece depicts Gabriele's artist-friends Alexej von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin, I instantly saw these two as a couple. And because of their body positions, I imagined them in an argument. 

Peace-loving, conflict-averse me hates being in an argument with a loved one! So I thought that might be fertile ground for poetry.

Last week I tried (and failed) at a trinet, so I wanted to try again this week. And voila! Success! Thanks so much for reading.

*Funny: when I went to the ArtSpeak: WOMEN folder to snag the image, I found a "Trinet after Drought" I wrote earlier this year! I think perhaps the trinet is my new triolet (form I go to when I don't know what to write!).

Trinet after an Argument

Together but
not together—
hearts caught in a summer riptide,
all heat, bees, and prickly grass—
who will
be first
to reach?

- Irene Latham