Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Patricia at Reverie for Roundup.
Last week we visited Fairhope, Alabama, where I had a book signing at one of the loveliest indie bookstores on the planet: Page & Palette Books. It was so fun seeing dear friends and making new ones! (Shout-out to Pam & Tim, Julie, Anna, and Eric!) Also, this was my first event to show off Some Starry Night in its new "literary" jacket.
Y'all, I've learned SO MUCH from this book! While I'll be bringing my 25th (!) book for children into the world come October, this is my first foray into adult fiction. Everything feels new. And we're in the age of AI. That means things are changing pretty much daily in how readers search for books. "Positioning" a title is more important than ever.
Some Starry Night was first positioned as a "historical romance," and the cover was designed to attract those readers. But the readers who really love this book prefer literary fiction. And so...the book has been repositioned as literary fiction, which meant a "literary" treatment of the cover was required. It also made sense to rebrand the book in conjunction with the release of the audio version, so voilà! (Audio cover below...available NEXT WEEK!)
This week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN poem is also tied to my Fairhope trip. We rented a house on the Eastern Shore, right on the water.
For years, I have heard stories about a natural phenomenon that happens in only two places in the world: Mobile Bay and Tokyo Bay. It's called a Jubilee. You can click here to read all about the science and specific weather patterns, temps, tides, and such that must be present to create a Jubilee.
There are websites devoted to tracking such things, in hopes of giving folks some idea of when they might happen, but as you can imagine, unless you live there, it's super tough to plan for it and actually be there when it happens. (We live 4. 5 hours away!) So I'd pretty much abandoned any hope of ever seeing a Jubilee in person. (You see where I'm going with this!!)
And then, Saturday morning, I got up early to take Rosie out, and we decided to walk out on the dock. No devices, just me and my dog and the morning. Y'all, the water was throbbing with thousands of fish! It was a Jubilee! And I was seeing it in person! By chance! Not having any thought of it at all! Talk about magical... and so, of course, today's poem is about the Jubilee.
Art by Joan Mitchell. I had this piece saved in my file (titled "Low Water," and it feels perfect). Thanks so much for reading!
Irene, congrats on your 25th children's book, and your novel! I love "Jubilee," especially the fresh image of the eels, etc. sharing "throbs." You brought me right into the scene. Thank you also for sharing Joan Mitchell's evocative artwork! Enjoy your time on the eastern shore! xo
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating natural phenomenon (thanks for the links) and how amazing that you were able to witness it and then transform it to poetry.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the events for the book & new cover, Irene, and wow, I didn't know a 'jubilee' can simply rise! That is awesome! I imagine you shouting out, too! (It's the am & I think everyone will be able to comment now!) What a nutty day yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying hard to let go of trying to save every miracle with my phone's camera...trying just to be present and let experiences settle where they will in my memory or my skin.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the time we were walking on Rehoboth Beach in the dark after dinner and saw both the northern lights (red!) and horseshoe crabs all over the beach for mating season. Unplanned. Unphotographed. Unforgettable.