© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved
May 30, 2010
May 28, 2010
Poetry Friday--News to Share
Last week I found out that one of my haiku had been given the Mayor of Nagasaki City Award for a haiku in English on the "atomic bomb." The award was one of several given to poems submitted for the World Haiku Festival 2010. The Festival was held in Nagasaki, Japan last month, and was sponsored by the World Haiku Club. The Club publishes the World Haiku Review and the haiku that were honored with awards will appear in the next issue (I'll post a link when is it published). To see the January 2010 issue, click here. (If you have an interest in writing haiku, I recommend the "Guidelines" that appear in the editorial in this issue.)
Before I submitted my "atomic bomb" haiku, I noted the following instructions,
I have created a haiga using the poem:
Let me conclude by telling you that Nagasaki has built a beautiful Peace Park near the center of the bomb blast site. A large statue has been installed as "a symbol of the divine love and mercy of Buddha." I hope we can all visit it one day.
This week's Poetry Friday Round-Up is hosted by Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Tricia is the lovely lady who stretches everyone's poetry muscles each Monday when she gives readers a poetry-writing challenge. I contribute often, but not every week--sometimes the forms are beyond me! I still have a lot to learn...
Haiga: © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. Image: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Before I submitted my "atomic bomb" haiku, I noted the following instructions,
Because of Nagasaki, the special theme is 'atomic bomb'. The term 'atomic bomb' does not necessarily need to appear in your haiku. There is no restrictions except that your haiku must not be submitted for or as an act of political or religious purposes.I remembered seeing "shadows" in photos of the aftermath of the atomic bomb blasts. These were my inspiration, and I tried to portray the disinterest of the natural world in the machinations of humans.
I have created a haiga using the poem:
Let me conclude by telling you that Nagasaki has built a beautiful Peace Park near the center of the bomb blast site. A large statue has been installed as "a symbol of the divine love and mercy of Buddha." I hope we can all visit it one day.
This week's Poetry Friday Round-Up is hosted by Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Tricia is the lovely lady who stretches everyone's poetry muscles each Monday when she gives readers a poetry-writing challenge. I contribute often, but not every week--sometimes the forms are beyond me! I still have a lot to learn...
Haiga: © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. Image: U.S. Government Printing Office.
May 25, 2010
.png)
May 23, 2010
May 21, 2010
Poetry Friday--Cat Crazy
Okay, I'll admit it. I have a thing for cats. So, this week, I'm sharing a poem about cat's whiskers. When you have a digital camera and two cats, you end up with LOTS of cat photos. I decided to go close-up and cropped a picture of Skippy so that I had the nose and whiskers, then I added a poem, and voila!
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved
Laura Salas is hosting this week's Poetry Friday Round-Up. Make sure to stop by!
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved Laura Salas is hosting this week's Poetry Friday Round-Up. Make sure to stop by!
May 19, 2010
May 18, 2010
.png)
May 16, 2010
Happy Haiga Day!
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
A word of explanation. We went on a family outing to see the Red Sox at Fenway. We had bleacher seats two rows from the tippy-top. There was no way in hell a fly ball would ever get up there, yet, the young man in front of us (mid-20s I would say) brought along his glove. He even wore it at times. It did my heart good. I snuck a picture of it and later wrote a senryu to go with it. By the way, the Sox lost. Oh, well, there are a million more games in the season...
May 14, 2010
Poetry Friday--Standing on One's Head
Earlier this week, I came upon the poem, "Father William," by Lewis Carroll, in which an old man is found standing on his head.Read the rest here.
There are several videos of "Father William" on YouTube, most are simply recitations. One is from poetryanimations, and although the animation is rather minimal, the audio is quite engaging:
Like Father William, I'm getting old and somewhere along the line, I have misplaced my brain, sadly, though, I'm unable to stand on my head. Life's just not fair!
So, the point of this post is, I suppose, to warn others not to get old and lose their brains before they learn to stand on their heads. Or, maybe there's no point at all. It's been that kind of week...
Head over to Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup for the Round-Up this week.
I'm honored to be featured today at Tabatha A. Yeatts' place today! Thanks, Tabatha!
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head--
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
There are several videos of "Father William" on YouTube, most are simply recitations. One is from poetryanimations, and although the animation is rather minimal, the audio is quite engaging:
Like Father William, I'm getting old and somewhere along the line, I have misplaced my brain, sadly, though, I'm unable to stand on my head. Life's just not fair!
So, the point of this post is, I suppose, to warn others not to get old and lose their brains before they learn to stand on their heads. Or, maybe there's no point at all. It's been that kind of week...
Head over to Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup for the Round-Up this week.
I'm honored to be featured today at Tabatha A. Yeatts' place today! Thanks, Tabatha!
May 11, 2010
.png)
May 9, 2010
May 6, 2010
Poetry Friday Round-Up Is Here!
Welcome to the Poetry Friday Round-Up. Leave your links and a brief description of what you're featuring on your blog this week. I'll summarize and post throughout the day.
The haiga below is for all you poets--get out and stand on your heads!
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. Image courtesy Library of Congress.
Here's the Round-Up:
My alter-ego, Kurious Kitty, tells us about an exhibit on Emily Dickinson's garden and shares her poem, "May-Flower." And, at KKsKwotes there is a quote by Dickinson.
Shelley has been writing about the dust bowl for nearly a year and has joined us this week. Check out her ongoing story in verse at Rain: A Dust Bowl Story.
Amy at The Poem Farm is on poem #37 in her poem-a-day-for-a-year. She shares "No Choister," which is a poem about an oyster! Amy also brings us the results of Poem-in-Your-Pocket day at an elementary school and shares a joyous dancing poem by a third grader.
At Check It Out we find kindergarten fibonacci poems--that's a mouthful, and that's a form I need to explore!
Tiel Aisha Ansari has an original poem, "Lorca," at Knocking From Inside. The last verse will take your breath away!
Laura Evans shares 10 tips on writing haiku (my favorite form) at Teach Poetry K-12. She also wrote a little haiku in reponse to my one above:
Gregory K. has a thesaurus poem for us. It's a companion to his dictionary poem, of course! A thesaurus is one tool I could NEVER be without!
At The Drift Record Julie has another of Robert Williams Woods' poems about birds, this one is about a toucan. She shared one of his poems last week. I was so tickled by it, I went out and ordered a copy of How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers.
Poor Mary Lee had an addled brain after grading papers, but luckily for us, it led to her writing a delightfully funny little poem! Check it out at A Year of Reading.
Tabatha A. Yeatts has a look at poets' graves today! It includes photos, a video, and a poem! [Note: a place to look for graves, poets or otherwise, is Find a Grave. It's one of my favorite resources, I'm glad Tabatha mentions it.]
At Across the Page Janet has several poems about grosbeaks and also includes a link to the song of the grosbeak. A special thanks for that link, Janet! [Note: I had earlier listed Janet's name incorrectly. It's JANET at Across the Page. Sorry, Janet. ;-) ]
Here in New Hampshire, we have a rather meager offering of poetry outings, but in D.C., there's a plethora of poetry activities as Sara shows us this week at Read Write Believe. I am sooooo jealous. And by the way, I agree with Sara's assessment of the FDR memorial. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw it, and read the quotes, a couple of years ago.
At Wistful Wanderings (don't you love that blog name?) Alison has an original poem about procrastination.
Procrastination is my middle name--just ask my editor! Right, Mur? Speaking of Muriel...at The Write Sisters, Mur shares "Lilacs" by Amy Lowell and a little "farmerly" advice!
Jeannine writes about poetry about history, and explains her process in writing the recently released, Borrowed Names.
Shelf Elf has included at poem for Mother's Day, which is this coming Sunday! (How many of you forgot? Tsk, tsk.) She also includes the trailer for a documentary about a father who realizes that his child is growing up. If the trailer had me reaching for the tissue box, what's the film going to do?
Jama had my mouth watering when I looked at all the luscious photos of fondue makings. She shares a poem by Greg Pincus, "Ode to Chocolate Fondue," and a recipe to die for (or maybe that's to die from with its 1/2 pint of whipping cream).
Ruth gives us a review of an anthology with middle-school appeal, Poetry Speaks Who I Am. Ruth also reminds us not to forget Haiti and she says, "The mourning continues even as rebuilding begins."
Megan at Homeschooling on the Run went on a retreat with a Benedictine community and came back with "A Well-Ordered Joy," an original poem. My favorite lines: "Sometimes, I fall to watching faces at chapel./There are as many characters as hours in the Liturgy".
Over at Laura Salas' blog, we get a look at a new book by Robert Weinstock, Can You Dig It. The subject is dinosaurs and Laura highlights a little poem called "Brunch." [Note: look carefully at the book's cover for your first indication that the writer/illustrator has a sense of humor.]
Carmela from Teaching Authors checks in to say that this week, April Halprin Wayland will teach us about zeno poems. We're reminded that aside from it being Mother's Day, we also have National Picture Book Writing Week and Teacher Appreciation Week to celebrate!
The Stenhouse Blog has a third-grader teacher sharing some pun-poems inspired by a new book by Ralph Fletcher, Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing.
Toby posted a "word verification" poem. Don't know what that is? Check out The Writer's Armchair, then write one of your own to share!
Elaine, at Wild Rose Reader, has a special poem for Mother's Day, "Hope" by Janet Wong. Elaine dedicates the post to her own mother, whose picture is included. (What a nice daughter!)
I love the title of Tricia's post today, "Talk Nerdy to Me." At The Miss Rumphius Effect Tricia shares a poem by Matthew Dickman. She also reminds us to check out the results of her weekly "Poetry Stretch." This week's stretch was to write a sijo.
Little Willow at Bildungsroman posts part of the last stanza of "Tiger Lily," by Walter Adolphe Roberts, a poem of hope and strength.
Becky reviews Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer. This is a book of poems that can be read from the top down and from the bottom up telling the same story from two points of view. Amazing!
Karen Edmisten has graciously included Random Noodling in her original rhyming ditty, "Dreadlines." Send calming thoughts her way!
Amanda, at A Patchwork of Books, reviews an anthology of poems and quotes by Lee Bennett Hopkins called Sharing the Seasons. She recommends for classroom and home libraries. [Note: I'm sure she also meant to recommend it for public librarians such as me!]
The Cazzy Files has a poem for Mother's Day from Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Best wishes to Cazzy as she earns her MLIS!
Janet Squires looks at Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya, written by Donna Jo Napoli. Mama Miti means "mother of trees," and the book is about an environmental activist whose mission is the planting of trees in Kenya. Janet also includes companion titles.
And, at Chicken Spaghetti, Susan brings us the season's footware of choice, flip-flops, in a poetic adaptation of a school "memo."
Well poetry lovers, I've been rounding up poetry links for the past 12 hours. I'm going to call it a day. I will post any additional links tomorrow. Sweet dreams.
One more...Father Goose (Charles Ghigna) posts a link to his article, "Light Verse: A Surprising Business." Good for Charles for continuing to write and sell something that makes people smile!
The haiga below is for all you poets--get out and stand on your heads!
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. Image courtesy Library of Congress.Here's the Round-Up:
My alter-ego, Kurious Kitty, tells us about an exhibit on Emily Dickinson's garden and shares her poem, "May-Flower." And, at KKsKwotes there is a quote by Dickinson.
Shelley has been writing about the dust bowl for nearly a year and has joined us this week. Check out her ongoing story in verse at Rain: A Dust Bowl Story.
Amy at The Poem Farm is on poem #37 in her poem-a-day-for-a-year. She shares "No Choister," which is a poem about an oyster! Amy also brings us the results of Poem-in-Your-Pocket day at an elementary school and shares a joyous dancing poem by a third grader.
At Check It Out we find kindergarten fibonacci poems--that's a mouthful, and that's a form I need to explore!
Tiel Aisha Ansari has an original poem, "Lorca," at Knocking From Inside. The last verse will take your breath away!
Laura Evans shares 10 tips on writing haiku (my favorite form) at Teach Poetry K-12. She also wrote a little haiku in reponse to my one above:
seeing the worldAuthor Amok is stopping in California on her 50 state poetry tour and sharing "Twin Cities" by Carol Muske-Dukes, the CA poet laureate.
from another viewpoint
head stands with you
Gregory K. has a thesaurus poem for us. It's a companion to his dictionary poem, of course! A thesaurus is one tool I could NEVER be without!
At The Drift Record Julie has another of Robert Williams Woods' poems about birds, this one is about a toucan. She shared one of his poems last week. I was so tickled by it, I went out and ordered a copy of How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers.
Poor Mary Lee had an addled brain after grading papers, but luckily for us, it led to her writing a delightfully funny little poem! Check it out at A Year of Reading.
Tabatha A. Yeatts has a look at poets' graves today! It includes photos, a video, and a poem! [Note: a place to look for graves, poets or otherwise, is Find a Grave. It's one of my favorite resources, I'm glad Tabatha mentions it.]
At Across the Page Janet has several poems about grosbeaks and also includes a link to the song of the grosbeak. A special thanks for that link, Janet! [Note: I had earlier listed Janet's name incorrectly. It's JANET at Across the Page. Sorry, Janet. ;-) ]
Here in New Hampshire, we have a rather meager offering of poetry outings, but in D.C., there's a plethora of poetry activities as Sara shows us this week at Read Write Believe. I am sooooo jealous. And by the way, I agree with Sara's assessment of the FDR memorial. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw it, and read the quotes, a couple of years ago.
At Wistful Wanderings (don't you love that blog name?) Alison has an original poem about procrastination.
Procrastination is my middle name--just ask my editor! Right, Mur? Speaking of Muriel...at The Write Sisters, Mur shares "Lilacs" by Amy Lowell and a little "farmerly" advice!
Jeannine writes about poetry about history, and explains her process in writing the recently released, Borrowed Names.
Shelf Elf has included at poem for Mother's Day, which is this coming Sunday! (How many of you forgot? Tsk, tsk.) She also includes the trailer for a documentary about a father who realizes that his child is growing up. If the trailer had me reaching for the tissue box, what's the film going to do?
Jama had my mouth watering when I looked at all the luscious photos of fondue makings. She shares a poem by Greg Pincus, "Ode to Chocolate Fondue," and a recipe to die for (or maybe that's to die from with its 1/2 pint of whipping cream).
Ruth gives us a review of an anthology with middle-school appeal, Poetry Speaks Who I Am. Ruth also reminds us not to forget Haiti and she says, "The mourning continues even as rebuilding begins."
Megan at Homeschooling on the Run went on a retreat with a Benedictine community and came back with "A Well-Ordered Joy," an original poem. My favorite lines: "Sometimes, I fall to watching faces at chapel./There are as many characters as hours in the Liturgy".
Over at Laura Salas' blog, we get a look at a new book by Robert Weinstock, Can You Dig It. The subject is dinosaurs and Laura highlights a little poem called "Brunch." [Note: look carefully at the book's cover for your first indication that the writer/illustrator has a sense of humor.]
Carmela from Teaching Authors checks in to say that this week, April Halprin Wayland will teach us about zeno poems. We're reminded that aside from it being Mother's Day, we also have National Picture Book Writing Week and Teacher Appreciation Week to celebrate!
The Stenhouse Blog has a third-grader teacher sharing some pun-poems inspired by a new book by Ralph Fletcher, Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing.
Toby posted a "word verification" poem. Don't know what that is? Check out The Writer's Armchair, then write one of your own to share!
Elaine, at Wild Rose Reader, has a special poem for Mother's Day, "Hope" by Janet Wong. Elaine dedicates the post to her own mother, whose picture is included. (What a nice daughter!)
I love the title of Tricia's post today, "Talk Nerdy to Me." At The Miss Rumphius Effect Tricia shares a poem by Matthew Dickman. She also reminds us to check out the results of her weekly "Poetry Stretch." This week's stretch was to write a sijo.
Little Willow at Bildungsroman posts part of the last stanza of "Tiger Lily," by Walter Adolphe Roberts, a poem of hope and strength.
Becky reviews Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer. This is a book of poems that can be read from the top down and from the bottom up telling the same story from two points of view. Amazing!
Karen Edmisten has graciously included Random Noodling in her original rhyming ditty, "Dreadlines." Send calming thoughts her way!
Amanda, at A Patchwork of Books, reviews an anthology of poems and quotes by Lee Bennett Hopkins called Sharing the Seasons. She recommends for classroom and home libraries. [Note: I'm sure she also meant to recommend it for public librarians such as me!]
The Cazzy Files has a poem for Mother's Day from Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Best wishes to Cazzy as she earns her MLIS!
Janet Squires looks at Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya, written by Donna Jo Napoli. Mama Miti means "mother of trees," and the book is about an environmental activist whose mission is the planting of trees in Kenya. Janet also includes companion titles.
And, at Chicken Spaghetti, Susan brings us the season's footware of choice, flip-flops, in a poetic adaptation of a school "memo."
Well poetry lovers, I've been rounding up poetry links for the past 12 hours. I'm going to call it a day. I will post any additional links tomorrow. Sweet dreams.
One more...Father Goose (Charles Ghigna) posts a link to his article, "Light Verse: A Surprising Business." Good for Charles for continuing to write and sell something that makes people smile!
May 5, 2010
Poetry Friday Is Nearly Here
...I want to share a great cartoon by Doug Savage that all you poets and/or children's writers should really appreciate!
Many thanks to Doug for permission to post this. Please make sure you check out his Savage Chickens site (and mark your calendar for next March when Savage Chickens: The Book will be released by Perigee Books). The site has a search feature, so type in "Poet-Bot" for more fabulous poet cartoons. (I'll forgive Doug for his haiku--Poet-Bot is obviously a product of the American education system!)
The Poetry Friday Round-Up will be held here this week. I'll put up my post tomorrow night at 10:00 in case you want to get a jump on Friday. See you then!
Many thanks to Doug for permission to post this. Please make sure you check out his Savage Chickens site (and mark your calendar for next March when Savage Chickens: The Book will be released by Perigee Books). The site has a search feature, so type in "Poet-Bot" for more fabulous poet cartoons. (I'll forgive Doug for his haiku--Poet-Bot is obviously a product of the American education system!)
The Poetry Friday Round-Up will be held here this week. I'll put up my post tomorrow night at 10:00 in case you want to get a jump on Friday. See you then!
May 4, 2010
.png)
May 2, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)