SHOWCASE SUNDAY

I Remember the City

Not for fried eggs
and andouille sausage at Mother’s

not for the palmist at Jackson Square
who declared our life lines identical

not for our sore feet or the humidity
or the slow stride of the Mississippi.

I remember the city for The Famous Door
at the corner of Bourbon and Conti:

You were wearing a green dress
and you were dancing

with a boy you’d just met,
smiling the way a girl smiles

before she believes in hurricanes
or experiences rising water,

before she knows how completely
everything changes once levees are breached,

how a decade of friendship is not the first
thing lost, but the one

that swells after the waters recede –
the door that sticks,

the mold that makes a garden of the ceiling
and the boy not quite a memory.

- Irene Latham

Ever lost a friend to something that seemed to come out of nowhere? Sigh. It happens.

"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

MY SISTER IS ON HER WAY!

Could I be more excited? It'll be a quick visit, but I've learned it doesn't take much sister time to totally rejuvenate me. And someday I WILL write a sisters novel. I promise. But right now I gotta go devil some eggs!

"Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break."

- Jane Wells

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Here's one of the guys at Gettysburg... they all thought the cannons were pretty cool. And I can vouch for that whole thing you've heard about boys and guns: you really can make a gun out of just about anything. I guess boys are just hard-wired for warfare.

"I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what
can't be done."

- Henry Ford

WELCOME TO A NEW POET-BLOGGER!

Ever heard of the word "turmotion"?

You heard it here first: check out my friend Michelle's new blog... she's a poet in Tennessee who's braving the cyber-waters and "exploring her artistic side." Let's give her some love!

"There is only one journey: going inside yourself."

- Rainer Maria Rilke

BUMPER SNICKER

Saw this on my drive downtown this morning: "Reagan 2008."

Do I detect a bit of political disenchantment? :)

Politics is so not my thing... but if it is YOUR thing, I sure hope this political season has lived up to all its promise.

"These are but wild and whirling words."

- William Shakespeare

DON'T TREAD ON ME

After watching another episode of the HBO John Adams miniseries, I've changed my mind about Ben Franklin. He's not interesting - he's a jerk! He does have some really great quotes though. But I'm through with him. My thoughts turn now to Mr. Jefferson. Now here's a man with depth. I think surviving great loss does that to a person...

"Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed."

- Benjamin Franklin

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Boy with Cello

Rescued from a pawn shop
where it stood for years
with its neck broken, body nicked
and stripped of strings

it arrives in a box
restrung, refurbished
and the boy cradles it in his arms
the way one holds a sleeping child,
fingers caressing ever so slightly,
breath the only sound.

Then the boy takes the bow,
pulls it across the strings,
and the cello begins to tell its story,
each deliberate stroke a query
the cello answers in its clear, resolute voice.

When does love begin? The first note,
or the second, in the lonely corner,
the unopened box, the Beethoven the boy
absorbed while still in the womb?

Perhaps in the merging of one’s half-
formed dream and the other’s awakening,
when one speaks without speaking
and the other begins to sing.

- Irene Latham

The movie we saw last night - Get Smart - featured Beethoven's Ode to Joy. It was a fun movie, and the big orchestra scene reminded me of this poem. I wrote it a few years ago when my son first start playing the cello.

Speaking of joy: I am off to poetry workshop in just a bit, and I've got three poems ready to workshop. This, after a sizeable drought brought on by my work on the novel. I'm so excited!

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."

- Janis Joplin

WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

Now that it's out on DVD, we have been watching the HBO miniseries John Adams. What's great about it is there's a special feature that puts these little pop-ups on the screen that provide extra historical information. I'm loving it! And I gotta tell you, these are not the men I was introduced to in school. These guys have personality, wit, attitude. Talk about making history come alive.

So far, I am most interested in Ben Franklin. What a character he was!

"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

- Sarah Williams

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Here's the view from the front drive of Eisenhower's Farm in Gettysburg.

I gotta tell you, me and Ike have the same vision of retirement. There is a barn nearby where they raised Angus cattle, but mostly it feels like being on an island with no other structures (besides the home!) in sight. I loved everything about it.

Plus, as part of the tour, they let kids (ages 7-12) train and then "apply" to be Junior Secret Service Agents. So now Eric is official. :)

"One look ahead is better than two looks behind."

- Irish proverb

ON SELF-PORTRAITS

My youngest son loves art. Yesterday in his drawing class he created yet another self-portrait. I asked him what new thing did he learn about drawing faces, and he launched into this whole explanation about how you place the ears. He amazes me.

And it got me thinking about Normal Rockwell's Triple Portrait that appeared on the cover of Saturday Evening Post in 1960. It's such a great piece because it says something about our human-ness, how we see what we want to see. And how sometimes what we see in ourselves is completely inaccurate. Maybe it's wishful thinking, or UN-wishful thinking.

So how does this relate to writing? One the great great things about writing is you can create characters that are as much like you or unlike as you desire. You can become what you see in the mirror without all the risk and potential heartache of ACTUALLY becoming that person. And if it doesn't turn out well in your manuscript, you can delete it. You can be absolutely anybody you want to be, including your actual self. I mean, how great is that?


"Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death."

-Anais Nin

TWILIGHT

Probably I am one of the last people on the planet to read this book by Stephanie Meyer, but better late than never, right?

Don't know why it took me so long to dive in. Wait, let me rephrase that: I am terribly sorry it took me so long to dive in, because I am loving this book! I guess it's the whole vampire hook that turned me off initially -- just not my thing.

But you know what IS my thing?

Love. Big bad ridiculous defcon 5 total all-out thermonuclear rim rocking mother of all LOVE. And turns out that's what this book is really about. And you know what else is great? The story goes on. I understand the fourth book in the series will be released very soon. VERY exciting.

"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity."

- Albert Eistein

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Peeling an Orange

After years of no words
you came for the weekend,
prodigal father spotted now
by sun and age, hair a beach
of white sand, bare in places.

This is what's real, you said,
when it was time for you to leave.
Not meaning we should forget the past,
just, this is what's important now.

I reached for your hand
across the oak table with its
nicks and scratches, our shared
history and separate ones etched
in each knot and blemish.

This is what's real:
I pulled your car around so that you
might avoid the flight of stairs,
watched your knee nearly
give way on the one front step.
Carried your bag, tucked it in
the trunk, gave you a kiss.

You waved, then I watched
your car disappear below the hill,
street empty, birds silent.
Went inside and peeled an orange.
Let the pieces drop to that place
where our hands had been.
Savored the sweetness.

- Irene Latham

For you, Papa. Of course. Happy Father's Day!


"You can't cross a sea by merely staring into the water."

- Rabindranath Tagore (1913 Nobel laureate for literature)

WHEN THINKING SMALL MEANS THINKING BIG

I've just been thinking about my writing habits, and I realized something that might be important: most all of my prose pieces have their roots in a poem. Somehow it helps me to at first think small, to work to contain an idea in just a few lines.

Perhaps there's something about that sparseness that allows the idea to grow? Maybe it's like rests in music -- maybe for me writing is really all about the white space on the paper. Something to think about...

"I would sooner live in a cottage and wonder at everything than live in a castle and wonder at nothing."

- Joan Winmill Brown

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Here's another pic from our trip to Pennsylvania.

Clotheslines like this one were everywhere in Lancaster County, usually with the clothes arranged by color and organized by size. It spoke to me of life with children and work and love. Such an intimate thing, really -- washing clothes that protect tender skin.


"The best way to know God is to love many things."


- Vincent van Gogh

WHEN IN MISSISSIPPI

What a great time we had at the MAKING HISTORY COME ALIVE writing retreat! Carolyn Yoder was an endless source of information, and you could not ask for a more nurturing group of writers than this bunch. Big thanks to Sarah Campbell for all her hard work in pulling off such a great event.

And to the cooks at the Gray Center: Way to feed us a gen-u-ine Mississippi supper on Saturday night! There was fried catfish fillets, blackeyed peas, turnip greens, and cornbread. I mean, you made a southern girl proud! And it got me thinking how unique each corner of the world is... here in Alabama we'd have served hushpuppies and coleslaw with our catfish. Interesting, eh? And just the kind of details that should find their way into those "deep south" stories Carolyn wants for Highlights Magazine and Calkins Creek. I can't wait to see what all of you come up with!

"To imagine yourself inside another person... is what a storywriter does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose."

- Eudora Welty

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Rhett Remembers

When I think of her
I think of stairs:

The breathless staircase
at Twelve Oaks she climbed

in a huff, apple-green gown
the sweet to her sharp. Ashley

stood between us, the one
blockade I could not run.

Then later in our own home
when she fell and Bonnie fell

and I fell
into the universe’s black

mouth that kept one
but spit the rest of us out.

She had the same look
that last day

as she had the morning
she paraded into jail

draped in drapes. I’ve seen
Tara under her nails,

felt the callouses. I know
she’ll come after me

no matter what
I said at the foot of the stairs.

Why fight a war
that’s long since been lost?

- Irene Latham

Something about being in hot sultry Mississippi made me want to post this one about hot sultry Scarlett. :)

"I want you to faint. This is what you were meant for. None of the fools you've ever know have kissed you like this, have they? Your Charles, or your Frank, or your stupid Ashley!"

- Rhett Butler, GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell

MAKING HISTORY COME ALIVE

I'm hitting the road today, heading for Jackson, Mississippi, where I will attend a writing retreat sponsored by Southern Breeze and facilitated by Carolyn Yoder, editor at Highlights for Children magazine (among other things). Me and thirty or so other writers are gonna write and learn and share the thing we are so passionate about.

But before all that I am stopping in Meridian for lunch with my writing pal Richelle. I'm excited!!

"Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grows."

- Ben Stein

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Here is the first pic in a series from our family road trip last week to Pennsylvania. We spent four nights in Lancaster County where we woke to the smell of sunshine and cow manure. We learned a lot about the Amish culture... turns out they choose not to use motorized transportation because they want to keep their loved ones close to home. There are certainly a family-oriented community, and I find that attractive and enviable. And imagine all the calories you'd burn getting around on one of these foot-powered scooters?

"We are each other's business: we are each other's magnitude and bond."

- Gwendolyn Brooks

WICKED

Now that the latest draft of THE WITCHES OF GEE'S BEND is safely in the hands of my editor, I miraculously have time for other things I enjoy, like reading.

Currently my nightstand is full, but what's on top is WICKED by Gregory Maguire. I picked it up after reading Deb's post about the musical. And you know, it's really right up my alley what with the whole poems in women's voices project I've got going on. And once upon a time I was Glinda the good witch in the 8th Grade performance of The Wizard of Oz... so that's what I'm reading. Thanks, Deb, for the recommendation. I'm really enjoying it.

"Good is the enemy of great."

- Jim Collins

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Feeding the Geese

After three years they welcome
us with hiss and honk,
their necks curving like question marks,
and we wonder if they know

we are the ones
who have created their hunger
with our plastic sacks
and outstretched arms,

our voices gentle and admiring
as we exclaim over the journey
the geese make each year from Canada
to share a quarter-acre pond
with a fleet of Japanese koi
that forever swarm the surface,

their scaled bodies thick
and lethargic in the murky water
while the one an artist tattooed on your ankle
swims in ink the color of Florida,
its disposition sweeter
and no less persevering

please, I say
promise me

we’ll still visit this pond
even when the Gatsby-glow darkens
and your tattoo fades to grey,
our American dream not new
not even American
not painted on
but pressed in with needles
inside a smoky room,
neon light in the window flashing open

and the geese –
we’ll watch them waddle away
when the bag is empty,
koi left to swim
the same hopeful circle.

- Irene Latham

We have lots of goslings at the local lakes right now. Can't get too close to them though... those Mama Geese sure are fiesty!

"I used to be Snow White. But I drifted."

- Mae West

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Okay, this pic would benefit from a bit of editing, but I didn't want to wait to share it. I took it at the Nickelodeon Suites in Orlando, Florida, the last time we traveled to Disney World. (While Paul and the kids were getting slimed, I was wandering around the lake taking nature pics.)

Don't you love that question-mark shadow? Check back for Sunday's showcase poem that was inspired (in part) by this photo.

“Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.”

- Euripides (Greek playwright, c. 480-406 BC)

GANDHI SAID IT BEST

I read once that middle children are the fiercest competitors, despite what you may have heard about those high-achieving firstborn kids.

And I gotta tell you, as a middle child who also knows that peacekeeper role really well, I think it's true about the competitive spirit being alive and well in those who find themselves in the middle. Which is why I love this Gandhi quote. Because his name is almost synonymous with "peace" yet he was also a fighter.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

- Mahatma Gandhi

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

On Monday I Flew to Selma

with my brother’s friend Bob
in his little green 210 Cessna
and my hair was up in a ponytail
and I had on this cute pink top

and on the way back
he let me take the wheel
and it’s very sensitive, that wheel,
even the slightest movement
makes the plane move
and I wasn’t nervous, no,
not with Bob there,
but it wasn’t much fun, either –
too much responsibility,
but oh boy how the world looks
different from up there,
the cars all tiny
and Bob all big right there beside me
our shoulders touching
Whaddoyathink, Kid? he shouted
over the noise of the motor

and three days later
my head is still spinning a little,
I’m so happy we’re friends,
me and Bob,
like he could be my father,
but he’s not,
and he could be my lover,
but he’s not,
He’s Bob, and the slightest
little move he made in that plane,
I felt it.

- Irene Latham

I really did ride to Selma with my friend Bob... it was my first time to be up in a small plane, and it was really cool but it also made me feel very fragile and small. Since then Bob has also taken me up in a different plane -- I think he had high hopes of turning me into a pilot. Alas. It's not for me. But I wouldn't have known that had I not given it a whirl.

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise."

- Robert Fritz

DRAFT FOUR IS OUT THE DOOR

Whew! I'm "happy as a dog with two tails." (that one courtesy of Mark Twain, from The Adventures of Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass)

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

I took the kids to the park the other day, and this is what I got for my trouble.

Doesn't it look like someone took a giant paintbrush and just swirled those clouds all around? Or maybe the setting sun is the jar of paint. I don't know, but it totally inspires me. Hope it does something for you too!

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

WRITING BY EAR

As many of you know, I am all about the interaction of the arts. So far for me, this has mostly involved combining poetry with visual art in the WHICH CAME FIRST - POETRY OR PAINT? exhibit with poems by me and art by Liz Reed.

But how exciting is this? Literature and MUSIC.

If you are as intrigued as I am, submit something to my friend and fellow poet Marianne Worthington. (This is on my short list - yes, Marianne, I will be sending you something just as soon as I write it!)

M O T I F is a new anthology series published annually by MotesBooks of Louisville, KY

Each volume in the series focuses on a theme. The first is MUSIC.
Anthology series title: M O T I F
Working title for Volume 1: WRITING BY EAR
Theme for this volume: music
Editor: Marianne Worthington
Submission deadline: August 5, 2008
Publication: November 2008

The inaugural Motif Anthology will accept submissions of these lengths:
prose - under 3,000 words
poetry/lyrics - up to 3 pieces.
All genres will be considered as long as music is referenced in the works. Submissions may address music either directly or indirectly, but the presence of music should figure significantly and artfully in the piece.

Submissions may be poems, short stories, song lyrics, short memoirs, essays, letters, creative nonfiction, or other forms. Combinations of forms are acceptable up to the limits described herein.

Each contributor whose work is accepted will receive one (1) complimentary copy of the book upon publication as payment. Contributors will also receive an ongoing contributor's discount (equivalent to wholesale pricing) for unlimited purchase of additional copies to use or resell.

Marketing outlets will include Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and the publisher's website: www.MotesBooks.com. Special marketing strategies will also be utilized, including at least one public reading with selected contributors by invitation of the publisher.

* Submit by email.
* Send manuscript (Arial 12 pt., single-spaced) as a .doc file (Word document) to
MOTIF@MotesBooks.com. IMPORTANT: Use "MOTIF Anthology" as the subject line (email containing blank subject lines will automatically be deleted; other subject lines may inadvertently be tagged as spam).
* Include all author contact information (including phone, snail mail, and e-mail address) with each submission.
* Do not send previously published or simultaneously submitted material.
* Include a 50-60 word bio to appear in “contributor's notes” section of the anthology if work is accepted.
* Submission period closes August 5, 2008. Publication is slated for November 2008.

For clarification or questions, visit www.MotesBooks.com
or email MOTIF@MotesBooks.com.


"The secret to my success is that I bit off more than I could chew and chewed as fast as I could."

- Paul Hogan

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

So I'm a few days from the deadline for my revision, and I'm to that point where my brain is so saturated I can hardly see straight.

Here's the thought I keep coming back to: Every thing we do, every single word we write matters. And if you've ever lived in Alabama or spent any time in the deep south, then you will especially appreciate today's quote.

"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room."

- Anita Roddick

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Things That Can Only Be Whispered

Like names of past lovers
when the lights are out,
when your arms and legs
are wound together in loose knots
and he says tell me.

Like memories of the dead,
especially the ones
that crash into your consciousness
like waves upon a rocky shore,
until even the air you breathe
tastes like salt.

Like accidental confessions
crawling past careless lips
or even intentional ones
coming in a dry rush
that want only to drift
like snow, to find the ground
and erase every detail
yet can’t and don’t.

Like the words
for all the ways
you’d like to love his body,
new words that haven’t
been thought of yet,
syllables you find behind his ear
and in the folds of his kiss
just before he turns to go.

- Irene Latham

"Change the name and it's about you, that story."

- Horace

MY FAVORITE WORD

So Eric, who's eight, says, "Mom,
what's your favorite word?"

I pause as a million words flash through my brain.
A million words I will not choose
because there's only one answer to this question.

"Love," I say.
"I knew you were going to say that," says he.


Wishing each and every one of you a love-filled day!

"At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

- Plato

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Here's another great pic courtesy of Lynn the Great.

For some reason it's got me thinking about the word serendipity. I mean, what a great word! And really, isn't serendipity just about paying attention? How many serendipitous moments must we miss simply because we are too busy to notice? How many wonderful stories are hidden inside us just waiting for the pen?

Something to think about...

"Serendipity is looking in a haystack for a needle and discovering a farmer’s daughter."

- Julius Comroe Jr.

A NEW STORY TO TELL

This is what Andrew's arm looked like just after he fell at the skating rink and we knew it was broken but were waiting for the call-back from his doctor to decide which hospital to go to.

This is what Andrew's arm looks like now.

The great thing about it is now Andrew has a new story to tell. And he and I have something new in common: I also broke my arm as a child (twice) and now Andrew has to be left-handed (like me!) for a while.

The bonus for me is I get to go back in time and wash my baby boy's hair. :)

“There isn't any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The shark are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know.”

- Ernest Hemingway

THE LITTLE THINGS

It truly is the little things that make all the difference. Like this award from Alison. Thank you, my friend, for spreading the joy and making the world a better place.

Now to pay it forward: Paul and the kids made me feel so special on Mother's Day. I got an uninterrupted nap and spinach dip at our most favorite Mexican restaurant. And I got the treasures pictured below. Folks, it doesn't get much better than this.


Thanks, fellas, for making me feel very loved. Now, back to the trenches. Be back tomorrow to explain Andrew's #2 (the last list).

"When you love a man, he becomes more than a body. His physical limbs expand, and his outline recedes, vanishes. He is rich and sweet and right. He is part of the world, the atmosphere, the blue sky and the blue water."

- Gwendolyn Brooks

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Black Dress
- for my mother

Where is the black dress
I watched you cut
from satin sheets?

Handmade with love
the label declared,
as they all did.

What did I know then of love?

I thought I needed
to rid myself of you
to become me

so I put your creations in bags,
left them at the curb
for a truck to carry away.

Now your joints swell,
your sewing machine stays covered,
and I have money for dresses.

But I want them back,
those dresses that were born
of your mind and fingers

the black dress
out of style now
but classic

the way black dresses are,
the way we learn about love
too late.

- Irene Latham

This poem can be found in the book POEMS FROM THE BIG TABLE, and it is one I wrote in response to a piece of art by Liz Reed. The poem is close to my heart especially today on the Mother's Day before my mother moves away from me for the very first time (up till now, we have always lived in the same city) and on the first Mother's Day we celebrate without my mother-in-law.

Big Happy Mother's Day to all my mom friends out there! You are amazing!!

"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."

~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895

YIPPY! I'M A SEMI-FINALIST FOR AN IPPY!!

Woohooo! WHAT CAME BEFORE made the short list for the Independent Publisher awards!! I've been invited to the BookExpo in Los Angeles May 29 for the announcement of the awards. Here's the complete list (in random order) of semi-finalists in the "Poetry" division:

Rhythms, by Leo Shelton (Tugson Press)
Tahirih Unveiled, by Julia Older (Turning Point Press)
Little Rock, 2005, by Edwin E. Smith
Retreats & Recognitions, by Grace Bauer (Lost Horse Press)
What Came Before, by Irene Latham (Negative Capability Press)
The Origin of the Milky Way, by Barbara Louise Ungar (Gival Press)

Congrats to all my fellow finalists! And thanks to you independent publishers out there who value words more than money and put folks like us in print!!

HAPPY AS A LARK

(photo by Otto Pfister)

Remember when I was telling you I was just like the mad bluebird because there's this journal I've been wanting to get published in, like FOREVER, only Editor X hadn't yet found my poems worthy?

Well. This just in: Editor X accepted not one but TWO of my poems for publication! And also wrote me a lovely note praising my work and asking for an autographed copy of my book!

Just goes to show you the key to this writing gig is NEVER GIVE UP. Even when you get really really mad about something that happens along the way.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

- Calvin Coolidge

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

How cool is this pic? (Thanks, LTG!)

A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a great program for artists (or anyone) called The Private Eye. It involves looking at the world very closely with a jeweler's loupe. Then you start an inquiry process that is based in analogy: What does it look like? What else? What else? What else?

I use The Private Eye program as much as possible when I do school visits. One second grade class I worked with this year created amazing poems -- wait till you read! I will be posting their creations on my website very soon.

This tree bark looks like sand dunes to me, like hair floating in water, like a fingerprint. I love the way it seems to swirl and move. Imagine what it must be like to be an ant crossing this terrain! There is something about the change of perspective that gives the brain a workout and has the potential to really enhance our writing efforts.

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart..."

- William Wordsworth

PLUMP PEA DUMPLINGS

You know how some words just feel good when you roll 'em around in your mouth? Ever since finding "plump pea dumplings" on a google ad, I am completely enamored and determined to use the phrase somewhere somehow.

It reminds me of the poem BLACKBERRY EATING by Galway Kinnell that was part of the Poetry in Motion program in New York City back in 1992.

I love this idea of words so savory you can taste them when you say them. I might even make plump pea dumplings for supper one of these days. I also love the idea of poems in public places and wish I had lots of money so I could do something like that in Birmingham.

Ummm... probably I should wait till I am done with this revision before I get started on a new and exciting project. (In the homestretch! Twenty pages or so to go!)

"Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success."

- Dale Carnegie

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Wanda the Wonder Cow Gives Sixteen Gallons of Milk on Some Days



They’ll start the tour by telling you

this land of milk and ice cream

is a haven for girls. Bull calves?

Who needs ‘em? It’s the heifers

they love, so if you are born

that fortunate gender, you will be

coddled and bottle-fed, brought inside

the kitchen on frosty nights.



And it’s true, they love you

for your easy-going nature,

they put you in a pasture

where you’ve got wide open spaces

and endless blue sky

and can eat grass all day long.

You are encouraged to grow fat

and lazy. The only thing

they ask is that you stand politely

while they hook you to a machine

that will tug and swallow, send

your bodily fluids rushing down

small pipes, then larger pipes,

then into the belly

of the pasteurization machine

that you will never see, because by then,

you will be back out in the pasture

grazing sweet grass, chewing your cud,

strolling with a friend to the water tub.



You are happy to give. You are

not burdened with calf-rearing

or barn-cleaning. Could there be a better life?

Only, eventually you’ll begin to feel

something is missing. You’ll get bored

and start gazing across the fence.

Is this really all there is?



Couldn’t they at least bring a bull

over to play instead of just inserting

an artificial insemination needle?

And the calves – after a hard labor,

would it be so bad to be nuzzled and nursed?



You’ll try to get their attention

by withholding milk,

but they won’t understand.

They’ll just give you a slap

on the rump, tell you not to worry,

send you back out to that damn pasture

with its 500 thousand volts

keeping you in.



- Irene Latham



"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."



- Mother Teresa

THE SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Last week on our Saturday night date, my husband picked up THE SUCCESS PRINCIPLES by Jack Canfield (cocreator of Chicken Soup for the Soul series). I kind of chuckled, because how many inspiration books can one buy? But when I looked more closely, I was totally hooked. The format for the book is very user-friendly with lots of short sections and famous quotes (you know I love that!), and it is chock-full of people's real life experiences.

Now you know I am all about going out and making your dreams come true. And this book has got some great tools to help get you "from where you are to where you want to be." Check it out!

"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail."

- Charles F. Kettering (inventor with over 140 patents and honorary doctorates from nearly 30 universities)

MY LIFE IN SIX WORDS

Stumbled upon the delightful concept of a six-word memoir at Smith Magazine. Check 'em out - there's some really great ones posted.

Here's mine, for what it's worth:

HUNGRY GIRL LOVES HARD, LIVES BOLD

Now tell me yours. :)

"When in doubt, tell the truth."

- Mark Twain

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Don't you just love the light in this one? Lynn took it last November when we were at Cloudland Canyon State Park in the mountains of Georgia. Thanks, Lynn!

Meanwhile, one of the comments in the margin of my manuscript: "recast - things are always 'catching the light.'" We are what we write, aren't we. :)

"Light is the first of painters. There is no object so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

GUILTY PLEASURE

Okay, some folks watch Survivor, others Beauty and the Geek... give me The Bachelor. I love this show. Seriously. It intrigues me what people want in relationships, and this bachelor (from London) in particular seems really in tune with who these women really are and how they might "fit" with him.

I like him. I especially liked last night when he said, "I was gutted."

Oh the heartache! Been there...


“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

- Maya Angelou

THE BEATING HEART OF COURAGE

So, in between a trillion other things during National Poetry Month, I've been cranking along on this revision (due at the end of May). And I just now realized what THE WITCHES OF GEE'S BEND is really about: courage.

All this time I was thinking it was about love and belongingness, and yes, it's about those things too, but at its heart, at its core, it is about one girl's courage.

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

- Atticus Finch, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Gertrude
origin: German, meaning: adored warrior

An unbeliever,
she makes love
with the lights on,
her room a bunker
with no windows.

She undresses
her wounds first,
tells tales of civil
wars fought
but never won,

her skin tastes
like gunpowder
and smells like smoke.

She says
not to worry,
she eventually releases
all prisoners.

She pulls your
mouth to hers
captures your hair
in her fingers,
then pushes you
past enemy lines.

Stretch marks
are trenches
in the fierce light,
she sees them, dares you
to call her beautiful.

- Irene Latham

Know someone named Gertrude? Or someone who SHOULD be named Gertrude? Her strength inspires me.

"If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water."

- Ernest Hemingway

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

This one is a gift from my sister Lynn, taken at Cape San Blas, Florida. I could look at it for days. (A good choice for the ceiling at the OB/GYN? I'm just saying.)

"See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father."

-Kahlil Gibran

WHEN PAPA COMES TO TOWN

How appropriate that Alison should choose today to give me this sweet award! Isn't it adorable? Alison is adorable too and absolutely a gift to the world. Thank you, and right back at you.

The reason it's especially appropriate is because today I am posting about my father's visit. Papa lives in Bismarck, North Dakota, so visits are few and far between. But oh when they happen, they are wonderful! We talk and laugh and share pictures and stories... and the boys are sweeter and more affectionate when Papa is here. I treasure the small moments and really hate seeing him go.



Papa being here also gives us an excuse to see other folks we love, like the girls in this photo. Meet my sister-in-law/best friend from high school Jennifer and my three oldest nieces Rachael, Katherine, and Sarah. (That's my Eric on the other side of Papa. I think he was a little overwhelmed by all the giggling at the supper table. :)

Aren't they beautiful??

“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity.”

- Albert Einstein

ALABAMA BOOK FESTIVAL

You gotta love an event that makes poetry a top priority. Why, we even had our own tent! Big thanks and congrats go to Jeanie Thompson and everyone else who worked so hard to pull the whole thing off. It was a pleasure to share some of my own poems as well as meet new-to-me poets like Doug Van Gundy of West Virginia (we must meet again!) and enjoy old faves like Willie James King (what a sweetheart!) and Natasha Tretheway. And hey, even Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe were there. Seriously! Talk about a party! And me without a camera. Sigh.

I really missed my family at this one. There has got to be a way for me to bring them along on these adventures. If only Paul didn't work on Saturdays... sigh again.

So many great folks in one place... authors and book lovers of all sorts. Including my mentor in the kidlit world, R.A. Nelson. Great job, Russ! And did I mention the weather was simply gorgeous?

"Respect the masterpiece. It is true reverence to man. There is no quality so great, none so much needed now."

- Frank Lloyd Wright

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Posting a short one today, because I am still recovering from yesterday's Alabama Book Festival. (more on that tomorrow) This poem is not from WHAT CAME BEFORE, but a more recent one that originated in response to one of Liz Reed's painting of the Grand Tetons (and also just appeared in Birmingham Arts Journal).

Tetons

blurred world
suddenly sharp

peaks rise
like prayer

boot after
clumsy boot

we climb

- Irene Latham


"A good book is the purest essence of a human soul."

- Thomas Carlyle

WHAT THE HECK DOES "STET" MEAN?

Found this notation in my manuscript, and because I hate to ask stupid questions (a serious character flaw), I looked it up online instead.

Here's what I found at Buried in the Slush Pile:

Stet - Latin for let it stand. Editors and proofreaders place the word stet in the margin of a manuscript to indicate that a marked change or deletion should be ignored, and the copy typeset in its original form.

Well, hallelujah! And here I was thinking it was something really bad...

"This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back again."

—Oscar Wilde

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Isn't this the sweetest pic? It's my sister Lynn's youngest children, Matt and Anna.

Lynn says it was just a lucky shot -- their dog Jackson approached and this is what happened. Luck or skill or kismet or whatever, I feel lighter and more carefree when I look at this one. Plus I love these kids. And their mother. (SO MUCH!)

Precious, huh?

"What one loves in childhood stays in the heart forever."

- Mary Jo Putney

FOR THE LOVE OF WORDS

Big thanks to Danielle and the Writing Club at Jacksonville State University for a lovely poetry-filled evening last night! Yes, it was COLD... but the fire was nice and what better than poetry to warm a girl up?

Thanks for making me feel so welcome -- it was an honor to speak to such an eager (and talented!) group.

Now back to my revision...

"Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade, just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself."

-Truman Capote

AT THE MOVIES

Over the weekend we took our youngest scientist-son to see the movie he'd been dying to see: Nim's Island. (Big brothers called it a "chick flick" and had no interest. Hmmmm....)

I really didn't know anything about the movie going in, except that Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin were in it. My ignorance is probably part of what made it so delightful. Also, I think maybe we Lathams have all been a bit sensory-deprived as we've been grieving, so everything in the movie just seemed to pop in an extra-special way.

Essentially the movie is about courage. About being the hero in your own story. About how often we let things get in the way of our ability to be all courageous and heroic, even in mundane everyday life. And the movie is also about experiencing the wonder of the natural world, and how that, in and of itself, is an adventure.

Check it out. You won't be sorry.

"The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by."

- Felix Adler

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

To the Boy I Kissed in Four States But Didn’t Marry

I remember you.
I remember Georgia
and Kentucky
and Tennessee.

Once, we loved each other
in Alabama
and I remember
it rained

and your arms
were stretched
above your head,
your whole body spread

out for me
like a sugar-shore.
This is the only
way back

to how many times
we’ve kissed
and where,
how every time

it was like
floating
and sinking,
the two of us

like spun glass
hung
from a string
and dancing.

I don’t remember now
all the reasons
you went your way
and I went mine.

But there are highways
I know
like I still know
every curve

of your lips
and mouth
and tongue,
and some days

I just get in my car
and drive.


- Irene Latham


“It's all right for a perfect stranger to kiss your hand as long as he's perfect.”

- Mae West

ADDING TO THE LIFE LIST

During the time my mother-in-law was sick, people kept asking us if she had a "life list." (I guess this is the same thing as a "bucket list," but I prefer the other terminology.) She didn't. I think this is because she had already done the things she wanted to do in her life. Also, she was sick, so travel or other adventures were not exactly do-able in her condition.

Anyhow, I've been thinking about my own life list. And I've got something to add: I want to learn a foreign language. Trouble is, I haven't decided yet which one! Not French - got my fill of that in high school. Spanish? It would certainly be practical. Mandarin Chinese? That might work. Or maybe Italian, although it never crossed my mind until I read Elizabeth Gilbert's EAT PRAY LOVE.

I guess I've got some deciding to do. And probably I should wait until I get past this novel revision deadline??

"If we really want to live, we better start at once to try."

- W.H. Auden

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

I love old graveyards. There's something so holy about them. Probably because all those words engraved on the markers and headstones represent such love.

This one can be found behind the Presbyterian Church at Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I took the pic two days before my mother-in-law died. When I look at it, I feel really connected to her, as if it represents HER, not the person it actually is intended to remember. Isn't that crazy?


"The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

- Douglas Adams

LOVE LIFE BY RAY KLUUN

Last month a new glossy magazine appeared in our office -- called Lipstick. So I cracked it open and found a "Book Club" page where they were asking readers to check out Love Life by Ray Kluun. It's a memoir set in Holland about a guy who is chronically unfaithful, even as his wife is dying of breast cancer.

Intrigued?

Well. It's a bit of a train wreck. Atrocious writing in places. But the cancer parts were right on. And my curiosity demanded I stick with it long enough to see how it all ended up between Mr. Kluun and his wife and all these various other women.

In the end, I'm glad I read it. But I can't exactly recommend it. Know what I mean?

"If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves."

-Lillian Hellman

ON TIME AND HOW WE SPEND IT

Seems like I am forever in a rush. It feels good to be accomplishing stuff, but I do get tired and stressed out sometimes. You know, on days when it feels like there is not enough time?

Sometimes I need to remember to slow down.

Which is why I love today's quotes. Yes, that's quotes, as in more than one. Think of it as a two-for-Tuesday like they do on the radio. And even those these may seem at odds with one another, they really aren't.

"Everywhere is walking distance if you have time."

- Steven Wright

"If the doctor told me I had only six minutes to live,
I’d type a little faster."

-Isaac Asimov

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

Remember these books? My 11 year old has just discovered them.

And last night as he busily looked up the word "abominable" in his handy dandy bedside dictionary (my boy's a word lover! Woohoo!), I was thinking the Choose Your Own Adventure series is a great example of literature that breaks the fourth wall.

Check 'em out! Meanwhile, I'll be plugging along on this revision...

“A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.”

-Steven Wright

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Anniversary

The morning after
there is a peach
on the nightstand

your forehead gleams
in the tender light
and I see a whorl

in your hairline,
the place your mother
must have kissed

when you were new
and I want to
kiss it too

that dark tornado

I want to kiss it
and remember you
this way -

ripe and still,
as if we are just
beginning.

- Irene Latham


I love peaches. And not just because I was born in Georgia! They are such a sensual fruit - no wonder they are always popping up in my poems. Wishing everyone a peach-y day today... and Paul, Happy Anniversary to Us!

"There are two versions of every story and twelve versions of every song."

- Irish proverb

FIRST PERSON, PRESENT

So I've read and re-read my editor's comments, and I'm just about ready to dive into the latest revision of THE WITCHES OF GEE'S BEND. Currently the book is written in first person past POV, but now I'm considering a switch to first person present.

I love the immediacy of first person present, how it really makes you feel like you are right there with the character inside the story. But do I really want to do all the work it would take to make that switch? Do I even have time with my fast-approaching deadline? And would it make enough of a different to be worth it?

I'm not sure yet. So I'm thinking I'll tackle the other must-do issues first then decide. I'll keep you posted.

“We must plan for the future because people who stay in the present will remain in the past.”

- Abraham Lincoln

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

If you drive down the coast from San Francisco on Route 1 (and the road isn't washed out) you'll see this lighthouse at Pigeon Point. Even on a grey day it's a beautiful sight.

"Tough times don't last; tough people do."

- seen earlier this week on a church billboard in Dallas County, Alabama

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

I don't know who exactly decided April should be National Poetry Month, but wow, what a great choice. April is the perfect month for poetry. It is also the perfect month for picnics and first kisses and long walks in the woods.

I will be celebrating National Poetry Month in all sorts of ways. I've got four school visits lined up, three speaking engagements, Alabama Book Festival, and Limestone Dust Poetry Festival. All this on top of my usual poetic endeavors. Catch me if you can!

If you'd like to get in the spirit of poetry, try this.

"Ink runs from the corners of my mouth
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry."

- Mark Strand

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Monsoon

Ants march across the empty
clothesline with eggs in their mouths -
they know what's coming.

Children take no notice
till the sky is grey as a turtle's back
and their mothers call from the doorways
and still they wait for the first raindrop
and later look from the window,
tracing rivulets, toes begging
for the taste of mud.

We weren't expecting this,
so the windows were left open,
the shutters thrown wide.
We stand in the center of the room,
vow never to forget
the fury of these days, the smell
of glisteing skin, the simple
wants of rain.

- Irene Latham

"Happiness only real when shared."

- Christopher McCandless

WORD UP!

This afternoon I will be joining a bunch of other word lovers at a poetry slam for high schoolers. This isn't any ordinary slam -- this is one presented in conjunction with The Big Read. Our library chose TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD as its book, so all the performances today will somehow relate to the themes and characters set forth in that novel.



I am so excited to hear what these kids have come up with! What words will they choose? How will their words represent their experience with the novel? It's gonna be FUN! Especially for me, the scorekeeper. :)



"Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell, and when you get angry, be good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough."



- William Saroyan (another Zen calendar quote)

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Have you ever seen a more beautiful sunrise? I fall in love every time I see this pic. MJ, you rock!

"Everything you do right now ripples outward and affects everyone. Your posture can shine your heart or transmit anxiety. Your breath can radiate love or muddy the room in depression. Your glance can awaken joy. Your words can inspire freedom. Your every act can open hearts and minds."

- David Deida (as quoted on a little Zen calendar)

HAKUNA MATATA

How long has it been since you watched Disney's THE LION KING?

We pulled it out last night to watch as a family because we thought it might be good therapy for the kids, especially Eric who was very attached to his grandmother (and young enough that he missed the whole LION KING craze).

It's the love song/scene "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" that slays me. In a good way. And when I think about what I want in life, that's it: More love. Life is too short for anything else.

Not interested in movie therapy? Try this.

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

- Albert Einstein

THREE THINGS

1. The best part about a funeral is seeing all those folks you never see except at funerals. To all you Lathams and Holcombs out there, thanks for being there. And wow, what a good-looking bunch of kids!

2. Jumping back in the saddle today and heading to the microform room at The Birmingham Library. (At what point did people start calling the Great Depression by that term?) I've got to nail down a couple of particulars for my THE WITCHES OF GEE'S BEND revisions.

3. What a tease spring can be. Last night temps dropped again below freezing. Those poor little buds on the azaleas are just waiting and waiting...

“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

The Quilts of Gee’s Bend
-after viewing the exhibit at the Whitney Museum

They hung like Jesus on bare walls,
far from the curve in the Alabama River
where they were born. Crowds gathered
and gawked as the quilts looked on,
silently accepting their fate
while the lives of their makers
were examined stitch by stitch.

There is no death for some things,
no story so simple that it can be told
without color or form. See
the edges where wildflowers grow?
The sides lined with bands of corduroy
marching against the grain?
The bars of crimson rising like Hallelujah!
in a church on Sunday morning?

The spirit emerges with or without
resurrection and lives in the denim
strips salvaged from worn work pants.
If you listen, you can hear them whispering
their prayers for the children
they have held and helped conceive,
the sick they have nursed
and the dead they could not save,
for nights spent chasing dreams,
days spent snapping in a breeze.

- Irene Latham

This poem was the start of my obsession with the quilters of Gee's Bend. Four novels later, I am still fascinated. And the reason I have chosen to post this particular poem today is because it was a favorite of my mother-in-law. She and I shared a love of quilts.

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.”

- Claude Monet

CIRCLE OF LIFE

No matter how prepared you think you are, there are some things you just can't anticipate.

My mother-in-law died yesterday after suffering from liver cancer. And even though we knew it was coming... eventually... none of us was quite prepared for it coming yesterday, or for the overwhelming feeling of the finality of death.

So now my husband joins the ranks of all the other orphans of the world, those who have lost both their parents. And we continue to grieve and ask ourselves again and again all those unanswerable questions that come up in times like this.

We also linger in gratitude for the honor and privilege it has been to know and love this particular human so long and so well. She will always be with us, here in our hearts, where it matters most.

"The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

What is it about windows? This one has a story to tell, I am just sure of it. So lonely on the outside, but what's inside could be something totally different...

Keep 'em coming, MJ!

“When the itch is inside the boot, scratching outside provides little consolation."

- Chinese proverb

EAT, PRAY, LOVE

Okay. Just back from the Smoky Mountains and gotta say something about this book. It's one of those I so did not want to end! This girl (Elizabeth Gilbert) loves her words (and her pasta!), and I was just totally taken with her story. Give it a read... you won't be sorry. And keep an eye out for Felipe. Ooh, baby!


"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger [wo]men."

- John F. Kennedy

SHOWCASE SUNDAY

Mrs. Noah

Once the doors were nailed shut
and the rain was pounding the roof
how she must have wept for the children
she watched the water swallow.
How she must have held her own to her breast,
their stink and the animals’ stink
reassuring and warm. How she must
have blamed Noah for her plight,
hating him for believing in a god
that would make her Mother of All
and he their keeper. When the dove
came with its tiny branch, how Mrs. Noah
must have ached to snatch it from its mouth,
to take something
for all that had been taken from her.

- Irene Latham

WHAT CAME BEFORE (2007, Negative Capability Press)

Even though I didn't know it at the time, this poem was the start of my historical women project. And this is cool: friend and fellow writer Teresa was so intriqued by Mrs. Noah after reading this poem that she went on to write a 100,000 word novel about her!

"You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

- Jack London

LA DOLCE VITA

Just thinking today about The Sweet Life. Seriously, how sweet it is!

As of 3:00 pm this afternoon, school is out and it is officially Spring Break here in Shelby County, Alabama. And with temperatures in the mid-70s and blue skies and Bradford pear trees just beginning to bloom, it's time to put on the flipflops and pack a picnic and be very glad to be alive.

I want to thank Alabama Media Professionals for being such a fun group to talk to today. You guys were a great audience, and I enjoyed the time we shared. Also, I want to give a shout-out to two writer service-oriented blogs: Author Visits By State hosted by picture-book author Kim Norman and Funds for Writers blog hosted by C. Hope Clark. Both these gals are not only fabulous writers but also writers helping other writers! I love that unselfish writer spirit. I want to be just like them.

We've got some grand adventures planned for the school break, so my writing life will not involve time at the computer. Can't stop those gears cranking in my head, though! When I do get back to the computer my fingers will be tripping all over themselves trying to keep up with my brain.

In the meantime, wishing everyone blue skies and sunshine!

"The buds swell imperceptibly without hurry or confusion, as if the short spring day were an eternity."

- Henry David Thoreau