Robyn Hood Black - children's author, poet, artist

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

Confesstion:  On Thursday morning, I blew off work to finish a book while rocking on the front porch.  We had a slow, steady rain all day and temps just in the upper 60s and low 70s, so can you blame me?  Everything is still lush and green. We'll be back to pushing 90 this weekend. 

 

I finally finished THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by TJ Klune (website here.)  The book was published in 2020 by TOR, and my family members have been raving about it as it got passed from person to person. If you haven't read it, no spoilers - but one does learn early on that snuggled up into the main storyline is a quiet love story between main character Linus and oh-so-compelling Arthur. So count me in its large fan club! (I know the author has published two more books since then - and others before.  I didn't say I was particularly timely.)

 

With love in mind, I went searching for an old August-y poem for this week, noting in some of my dusty tomes in my studio that for our British friends, "traditional" harvest thoughts begin in August, and did for us Americans until we came up with Thanksgiving.  At any rate, I stumbled upon a poem by American author James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916 - learn about this popular poet and children's writer here) that jived with my love poem/harvesty/blue moon-super-moon-month sensibilities at the moment.  It's from RILEY LOVE-LYRICS, with "life pictures" by William B. Dyer, published by Grosset & Dunlap. The copyright goes back to 1883, but this edition is 1905.  The dreamy photograph above accompanies the poem.

 

      WHEN MY DREAMS COME TRUE

 

                    I

 

When my dreams come true - when my dreams 

        come true - 

Shall I lean from out my casement, in the starlight and 

        the dew,

To listen - smile and listen to the tinkle of the strings

Of the sweetest guitar my lover's fingers fondle, as he sings?

And as the nude moon slowly, slowly shoulders into view,

Shall I vanish from his vision - when my dreams come

        true?

 

When my dreams come true - shall the simple gown I 

        wear

Be changed to softest satin, and my maiden-braided hair

Be raveled into flossy mists of rarest, fairest gold,

To be minted into kisses, more than any heart can hold? -

Or "the summer of my tresses" shall my lover liken to

"The fervor of his passion" - when my dreams come true?

 

 

                   II

 

When my dreams come true - I shall lie among the

        sheaves

Of happy harvest meadows; and the grasses and the 

        leaves

Shall lift and lean between me and the splendor of the

        sun,

Till the moon swoons into twilight, and the gleaners'

        work is done - 

Save that yet an arm shall bind me, even as the reapers do

The meanest sheaf of harvest - when my dreams come

        true.

 

When my dreams come true ! when my dreams come true!

True love in all simplicity is fresh and pure as dew; -

The blossom in the blackest mold is kindlier to the eye

Than any lily born of pride that looms against the sky;

And so it is I know my heart will gladly welcome you,

My lowliest of lovers, when my dreams come true.

 

 

And, finally, a feel-good love story gem in case you missed it.  I found in the Weather Channel app videos, but you can Google and find other references, like this one on Good Morning America's Instagram.  Seems a farmer in Kansas, Lee Wilson, wanted to surprise his wife with something special on their 50th wedding anniversary this month. With help from his son, he planted 80 acres of sunflowers - 1.2 million of them! - timing them to bloom right about now.  Sigh and swoon. :0)

 

For lots of swoon-worthy poetry this first Poetry Friday of August, and blessings from the natural world, visit the multi-talented Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading. 

Quick wave from the Road... I have the good fortune to go hang out with more writer/illustrator friends this weekend, so I don't have a real post.  But please paddle on over to see the lovely Margaret at Reflections on the Teche for this week's Roundup!

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers! It's so much fun to meet in person someone whom you've only seen in a little Zoom square. Especially when they bring their adorable dog along. 

 

Most of you know Pomelo Books and the power team of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.  (If you don't, please visit all the poetry magic here.) And many of you know about the online anthology workshops they've offered the last couple of years.  (Info here.)  Participants in these workshops have had the opportunity to submit poems for a book associated with each one, and now there's a nice collection of these user-friendly ekphrastic anthologies being shared in living rooms and classrooms, gathering a trail of awards as they go.  I've had the privilege of participating in a couple of these and meeting new folks through the Zoom gatherings.  When Janet and Sylvia recently offered a new "Think Poetry" workshop geared toward sharing poetry in schools as well as writing, I jumped on that, too, since I love sharing as much poetry as I can during author visits. 

 

Janet also graciously offered to host a bonus in-person Think Poetry workshop/gathering for anyone who could get themselves out here to the beautiful coast of Washington state this week.  My hubby graciously offered to give me all his frequent flyer miles. So here I am! Another participant and contributor to these recent anthologies, Matthew Winter, likewise boarded a plane from the East Coast and flew across the country to join in the fun. And, he brought along his adorable flying companion & canine connoisseur of poetry, Bailey.

 

Matt and I have been staying at the same friendly inn in town and did a little exploring at the small harbor Wednesday before working on some poetry adventures with Janet and Sylvia. It's been a blast!  As an elementary school teacher for 21 years, Matt brings not only his talent as a writer to the table but years of professional experience and expertise with young learners, particularly in the area of reading.  Originally from Maryland, he lives in New York.  

 

"I love to read and write stories and poems for children," Matt says.  Lucky for us, he's sharing them with the world!  Matt's poems are featured in these Pomelo books:  Things We Feel, Things We Wear, What is a Friend?, and What is Family?  While Matt can rollick and roll with playful poetry, as in his "Apron" poem in Things We Wear, he can also capture emotions more difficult to talk about.  

 

Here are two wonderful expamples. 

 

 

MAD

 

I want to roar and rattle

and get ready for battle.

I'm MAD!

 

No!  I don't want to talk.

I want to screech and squawk.

I'm MAD!

 

Breathe in

and

out.

 

Count 1, 2, 3 -

just like magic

I'm back to me. 

 

 

©Matthew Winter

Things We Feel by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong, Pomelo Books, 2022.

 

 

HOPE

 

 

In lieu of flowers, please

 

send:

 

love

 

peace

 

comfort

 

joy

 

or 

 

harmony  

 

 

And - 

 

if you can spare - 

 

maybe a little bit of

 

hope

 

 

for our family

 

 

 

 ©Matthew Winter

What is a Family? by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong, Pomelo Books, 2023.

 

 

Look for more of Matt's work soon in the next Pomelo Books anthology! And for another great reason to purchase from Pomelo Books, all profits from this recent anthology series are donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund (IBBY.org).  Sylvia is the current president of IBBY (The International Board on Books for Young People), having served this organization for many years.  Founded in 1953 in Zurich, IBBY reaches across the globe to get books in the hands of young people.  The Children in Crisis Fund was set up in 2005 "to help children affected by natural disasters, civil disorder or war. The Fund seeks donations for projects that replace or create libraries/collections of appropriate children's books and provide bibliography, the therapeutic use of books and storytelling."

 

Many thanks to Matt, and to Sylvia and Janet, for their generosity.

 

For more terrific poetry, visit the oh-so-talented Marcie Flinchum Atkins for the Roundup!

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I'm chiming in at the end of a family beach vacay to join Irene Latham's "Moon in June" poem party as part of this week's Poetry Friday Roundup.

 

Irene is celebrating the upcoming launch of The Museum on the Moon: The Curious Objects on the Lunar Surface, illustrated by Myriam Wares, and published by Bushel & Peck's Moonshower imprint. Click here to learn more about it and land a copy for yourself! 

 

Congratulations, Irene, and all the creators of what looks like an out-of-this-world collection. 

 

We've been back in the Beaufort area, in the same rental house on Harbor Island where we've gathered for years.  I do miss this charming coastal town! I still sell some artsyletters wares in a couple of shops here, and yesterday I took a few items downtown.  On my drive over the bridge from the sea islands, I realized that this bridge will always remind me of the early evening a few years ago I was crossing it from the same direction and saw a shimmery crescent moon suspended over the river and the rooftops, inspiring a little poem that ended up in Highlights Hello in the fall of 2021. (The beautiful illustration is by Denise Hughes.) I thought, Hey, I could share it again for Irene's poetic lunar soiree. 

 

So, please excuse the repetition for those who have seen it before!  But it's fun sharing a lullaby poem during a trip with our oh-so-active one-year-old baby grand here, where our daily schedules have revolved not around moonrises and moonsets but around mealtimes and naptimes.  Our Sawyer's been a trouper with all things sand and sea and pool.  In fact, he's probably swallowed a wee bit of sand and sea, as those toddler hands move fast.

 

Another fun poetic note, we've all read him Two by Two by Lisa Lowe Stauffer countless times.  (It's a rollicking Noah's Ark tale illustrated by Angelika Scudamore and published by Zonderkids - click here for more info.) Quick backstory: I coordinated a children's poetry weekend workshop for our Southern Breeze region a dozen years ago, and Rebecca Kai Dotlich was our fearless leader.  Lisa was there, and this manuscript, her first published children's book, grew out of that weekend.  Irene was there, too - an accomplished novelist and poet, but she hadn't published her impressive bevy of children's poetry collections yet! 

 

Grateful for all these connections, for adventurous human spirits, and for the moon. 

 

Good Night

by Robyn Hood Black

 

Crescent cradle

In the sky

Sings a silver

Lullaby.

 

Twinklestars

with golden light

Wink and kiss

The world good night. 

 

 

 ©2021 Highlights for Children.

 

Happy SUMMER!  Taking a wee break with some traveling thrown in these next couple of weeks.  Please go visit Linda at A Word Edgewise this week, and Irene at Live Your Poem on the 30th.  (And bring your favorite moon poem to Irene's!) See you soon and Happy Reading, Writing, Creating, and Sun-Basking.... xo

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  Summer officially starts next week. Here in upstate SC, we've had a record cool June.

 

We've also had some haze from those Canada fires last weekend, believe it or not, though nothing like you poor folks in the Northeast have had to deal with (and Midwest now?).  Last weekend, after a front passed through and the wind changed direction, the air was clear and beautiful.  One great thing about living near Greenville is that we are only about 8 miles north of our alma mater, Furman University.  It has a gorgeous campus and a lake that we walked/ran around 40 years ago and enjoy walking around now.  On Sunday, I snapped the above photo after that front moved through.

 

On South Carolina Public Radio, we have a feature I've always loved - "Nature Notes" with Rudy Mancke.  It's a minute-long segment sprinkled throughout each  weekday's programming, often featuring a question from a listener about some kind of creature discovered in a back yard or under a rock or such.  But often Mr. Mancke will share a classic poem about the natural world, as he did this week, and I thought the verses went well with the fulsome green glory of summer.

 

From his June 13 post:

 

this excerpt from a poem by James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

 

And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays:

 

[You can see more here.]

 

and these words by English author Mary Russell Mitford (1787-55)

 

What a glowing, glorious day -

Summer in its richest prime,

Noon is in its most sparkling brightness,

Little white clouds dappling the deep blue sky.

And the sun, now partially veiled and bursting through with an intensity of light.

 

[I am not sure if this was originally written as prose or poetry; apologies if my formatting is all wrong!]

 

Finally, on a walk around Furman's lake again Thursday afternoon before storms came through, I came upon a plaque I'd never investigated before.  It bears a poem by Frank Burt Morgan Jr., and I can't really tell you who he was.  I did look online and found information on findagrave.com about a Frank Burt Morgan (1887-47) who lived in these parts, graduated from Wofford, and was in banking and business for many years.  

 

Nature's Shrine

 

Have you not wandered in the wood

To some secluded spot and stood

Surrounded by sublime beauty,

And all forgetful of your duty,

Contented thus for hours to stand

And admire works of God's great hand

In a veritable flower garden where

You drank the perfume of the air,

Sweet music's temples were resound

Strains, melodious and profound

Harmonious about you heard

The gurgling brook and singing bird?

 

Ah yes, there is a brighter shrine,

A place where all is bright sunshine,

A grander calmer of our hours,

A world with birds and scented flowers,

A place of music where each day

Soothes us in our angrier way;

Here lies a royal painted throne

Where each is monarch of his own,

And under his supreme survey

The rounded world pursues its way.

 

Frank Burt Morgan, Jr. 

 

***

 

Here's to a summer full of hours surrounded by sublime beauty!  I will mention that though I hadn't planned to stop on my walk (it's almost a two-mile jaunt around the lake), I was drawn like a magnet to a bench in front of a wee pond just off the path.  I was glad I sat there for a short bit, because I got an unexpected chuckle.  Late yesterday, daughter Morgan had sent me a video of one-year-old Sawyer carrying on from his playpen because she had dared to leave his sight to fix his dinner. While sitting on the bench, I was drawn to a dramatic little raucus on a patch of grass across the pond.  A young crow was harrassing a parent with incessant cawing and hopping about, my guess is for a snack?  The parent continued pecking around on the ground and "ignoring" the youngster.  The smaller bird hopped off into the cool undergrowth for a moment.  Then it came back out and pulled the same routine with (I'm guessing) the other parent - or at least another grown-up crow. With no satisfaction there either, it finally quieted down and then hopped into the edge of the pond for a quick splash.

 

Hop yourself on over to Michelle Kogan's colorful corner of the web, a place most welcoming to birds and flowers, and enjoy this week's Roundup!

Wellll.... been in and out of town and didn't scare up a post this week for Poetry Friday, but lots of other folks did.  Be sure to visit the oh-so-talented and super smart Buffy Silverman for this week's Roundup!  Thanks, Buffy. 

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  How did it get to be June so fast?

 

We had a delightful visit from our baby grand, Sawyer, last weekend.  (The picture was one of my favorites from the weekend - that's my hubby, Jeff , aka "Baba.") In a few days, we'll be celebrating Sawyer's first birthday! 

 

He's grown from a beautiful wee bairn into a snuggly, music-loving, baby-engineering, dog-bowl splashing, truck-admiring, mischief-making singer of mysterious songs.  He is a voracious lover of books, and has recently started "reading" them himself, with the pictures turned the right way, even. Also, he's a dumper of laundry baskets, little trash cans, and toilet paper from the roll. He's on the move most of the time, except for the occasional "Ms. Rachel" break in his special chair. He's stolen all of our hearts and we can't wait to see where he'll go next!  (Babyproof, people!)

 

Here's a little ditty to celebrate.

 

                  You're the ONE!

                   (for Sawyer)

 

              Look at you, Baby - 

              Look what you've done.

 

              You made your first trip 

              around the sun!

 

              Here's to another

              year of fun.

 

              Here's to you - 

              Hooray!  You're one!

 

             ©Robyn Hood Black.

 

We're so proud of his parents - our Morgan and hubby Matt, and their oh-so-patient lab, Maggie.  Uncle Seth (& Aunt Ginnie) keep Sawyer entertained & full of joy, too.

 

Wishing you much to revel in this summer.  Speaking of which, Happy Pride Month to all who celebrate!

 

For bushels of poetry, visit the ever-talented Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect for this week's Roundup. 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

I finally hit "send" on this year's regular freelance writing gig I've done for more than a dozen years. (Lost count.)  I write three components of a nation-wide character education curriculum, Core Essentials Values.  This adventure started when we lived in Georgia, and the folks at the helm were women I knew.  They needed some writers and contacted me, and I jumped aboard.  My regular assignments have evolved over the years, but here's what I do.  Each month of the school year has its own value (say, "compassion" or "respect" or "commitment" or some such.)  As part of the elementary school curriculum, I come up with an animal to represent each value, and a color to represent each value, and a little set of quotes for each month as well. (I love seeing the animals and colors magically appear on the yearly poster & graphics.  And I love that many of the materials are in Spanish as well as English.)

 

Each nonfiction animal description runs about 250-280 words; each "reason for the color," about 100 words (also nonfiction).  I do love me some research, and these little gems require a lot of it.  For the quotes, I search far and wide to find sayings or quotations that relate to the value and/or its definition. That might sound easy, but it's involved, too.

 

For one thing, I use old quotes.  I don't want to get into any sticky copyright situations.  Also, voices from the past have a lot to teach us, even though time marches on and our society changes and evolves.  I take care with these, and don't claim to always get it exactly right.  If you simply search for quotes online, you'll find a zillion websites, many attributing the same quotes to the same folks, but despite the colorful, uplifting graphics and bold fonts, these are not always well researched.  So my trust level for authenticity has been honed through the years. 

 

It's also a challenge sometimes trying to find diverse voices, but I try.  If you think about it, whose voices were most likely to be solidified in print 50 or 100 or more years ago?  Yep.  And I have nothing against white men - I've been happily married to one for decades.  But I try to incorporate perspectives from women and writers of color whenever possible as well. 

 

If you love quotes, I do have one site to recommend: Dr. Mardy Grothe's website, particularly his "Dr. Mardy's Dictionary of Metaphorical Quotations."  You will find sources for each entry, as well as some helpful "error alerts" for quotes commonly misattributed or misused. I do also use books, especially antiques - one of the hundred-plus-years-old ones I have has 40,000 quotes - and I love literary and museum sites.  I try to collect quotes throughout the year.  What does any of this have to do with Poetry Friday?

 

I frequently meander down roads less travelled when I'm writing, and this week I stumbled into a patch of epigrams.  Well, I was using a quotation from the fella pictured above, François VI, Duc de la Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), and discovered that the work he is famous for is his Maximes, which include 500 astute/often biting nuggets of observation about being human.  Aphorisms such as:

 

On ne donne rien si libéralement que ses conseils - "We give nothing so generously as…advice."  

 

I didn't realize how many classic writers were drawn to reading and writing these literary cordials. The haiku poet in me, trying to squeeze multiple drops of meaning out of a very few words, was/is intrigued.  And while La Rochefoucauld's name was not on the tip of my tongue, I learned he influenced many later writers, from Voltaire to Thomas Hardy to Friedrich Nietzsche, to name a few. My epirgram detours this week occurred primarily in the online Encyclopdia Britannica.  I'm old enough to remember having a whole, hard-copy set in our home when my brother and I were young!  So it has a special place in my psyche. Here are a couple more for you, with Britannica links below. 

 

 

I saw a Flie within a Beade

Of Amber cleanly buried:

The Urne was little, but the room

More rich than Cleopatra's Tombe.

 

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

 

(Herrick gave us  "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.")

 

 

 

What is an Epigram? A dwarfish whole,

Its body brevity, and wit its soul.

 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

 

---

 

For more about our French duke, click here.

 

For more about epigrams, click here.

 

To gather rosebuds with Robert Herrick, click here.

 

To revisit Samuel Taylor Coleridge, click here. 

 

 

And to come back to the 21st Century and lots of great poetry, visit our lovely and talented Patricia at Reverie.  Thanks for hosting, Patricia! Wishing all a safe and memorable Memorial Day weekend, with special thanks to military families. Prayers for those who are remembering precious loved ones, especially. 

Another week as a signpost - I LOVED hosting last week!  It had been a while since I rounded up all you wonderful poetic peeps.  This week I got myself behind with a writing deadline (shocker), so I'm just waving and pointing - I'm sure Janice will have something inspiring at Salt City Verse; enjoy visiting all the poetic bloggie goodness!