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

Apr 20, 2020 9:25 AM EDT

Oh, Robyn, you're such a ruthless chomp-chewer! Keep up the good work with these awesome videos. And thanks for the smile this morning. :)

- Michelle Heidenrich Barnes

Apr 20, 2020 9:35 AM EDT

Glad you enjoyed, my mysterious Michelle... thanks for all the poetry deliciousness over at your 'plot'! :0)

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 23, 2020 12:17 AM EDT

Charming reading Robyn, and enchanting staging… in a graveyard I think, eerie music… Smiling from your ending chew too, thanks!

- Michelle Kogan

Apr 23, 2020 1:01 AM EDT

Aw, thanks so much, Michelle! We recorded this in the cemetery of a 300-plus-year old church in the middle of town. It's a fascinating place, and we had to duck into a corner to not be in the way of a few folks meandering about. ;0)

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 16, 2020 8:41 PM EDT

What a treat! Thanks, Robyn :-) You picked a perfect topic, both for the book and for these times. Nice job on the face mask!

- Tabatha

Apr 16, 2020 10:30 PM EDT

A perfect poem to match your mask adventure! Thanks for sharing it--will have to come back later and hear the video.

- Buffy Silverman

Apr 16, 2020 11:42 PM EDT

A perfect poem for the times Tabatha. And you may have inspired me to have a go myself. I've been thinking of getting my machine out, but keep hesitating because I'm so rusty and an adequate seamstress at best. But hey the fun is in the trying, isn't it?

- Sally Murphy

Apr 17, 2020 5:35 AM EDT

I love all the sounds in your poem and those final two lines capture so much. My grandmother and mother were both proficient seamstresses, but sadly that's a skill I lack. I'm impressed by your persistence and your masks!

- Molly Hogan

Apr 17, 2020 8:45 AM EDT

You captured the sounds and emotion involved in sewing perfectly! I struggle with directions and often find a different, but strange, way of doing things. You face mask looks good.

- Janice Scully

Apr 17, 2020 9:35 AM EDT

Ha! I can SO RELATE to your sewing poem, Ms. Do it Your Own Way. :) :) And there you are again with that mischievous Robyn-look in your photo. Love! xo

- Irene Latham

Apr 17, 2020 9:36 AM EDT

--Thanks so much, Tabatha - and thanks for such a wonderful book/resource for everyone who makes the, er, occasional mistake. Like I did reading the last couple lines of my own poem here. But, seemed appropriate just to leave it... ;0) HAPPY POETRY MONTH to you! XO

--Thanks, Buffy! This video was pretty fun to make. Mistakes and all.

--Thanks, Sally - "so rusty and an adequate seamstress at best" is the perfect description of MOI. But while I might labor endlessly over one word in a poem, when it comes to sewing, "good enough" seems to work for the masks. I say, go for it! ;0)

--Molly, another perfect description of my own situation! My mother made my wedding dress, and my grandmother's quilt covers our bed. I did take a class or two when my kids were little and enjoyed making some of their clothes and Halloween costumes. I was shocked this week to find that I could put my hands on my sewing machine instructions after moving several years ago... and more shocked that I didn't really need it. :0) Thanks for hosting everyone this week!!

--Thanks, Janice - you and I must be "cut from the same cloth"! (Sorry. Couldn't resist.) Have an inspiring day!

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 17, 2020 9:39 AM EDT

--Hi, Irene - so loved "seeing" you in your SCBWI Southern Breeze workshop last night! Glad you enjoyed. And, I would NOT be willing to compare my seams with yours, Missy. XO

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 17, 2020 9:39 AM EDT

Such fun, from such frustration (in that moment.) Sounds like my sewing process. A poem I take to heart.
And I appreciate your including it in words. I love hearing your voice, but sometimes (as this very moment) it's not convenient to raise the laptop volume) & then I fail to get back to the enticing listen, be it within a post or shared other ways. Your poetry month projects are so energizing! Brava!

- Jan/Bookseedstudio

Apr 17, 2020 9:56 AM EDT

--Hi, Jan - Thanks as always for your encouraging, light-filled words! This one you might want to listen to later, as I attempted to actually proNOUNCE all those garbled sounds I included in the poem - ha! Hope all your stitches hold tight today, with just the right amount of 'give'. XO

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 17, 2020 10:13 AM EDT

Those masks are looking good! My daughter has been making ours (my sewing experiences usually end in disaster--your poem leaves out the part about throwing things across the room and raging thunderstorms). I did enjoy the poem, and have witnessed these stages in my daughter's sewing through the years.

- Kay Jernigan McGriff

Apr 17, 2020 10:27 AM EDT

Yes, I've had a few mishaps, too, including the sewing then realizing that I placed the fabric one sees backwards. Oh, well, still works! It is certainly a timely poem to make all of us who are opening up the machines again & trying! Happy Friday, Robyn!

- Linda Baie

Apr 17, 2020 10:29 AM EDT

Yikes, meant to say to "make all of us who are sewing feel better"!

- Linda Baie

Apr 17, 2020 10:32 AM EDT

--Haha! Too funny, Kay. I'm going to try to get a few more made. (None of them are actually looking the same - I keep tweaking as I go!) Can't promise something won't fly across the room...

--Thanks for joining in, Linda - the poetry party and the mask-sewing. Rusty sewing peeps, unite! (extends power fist into the air....)

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 17, 2020 12:16 PM EDT

Ha! I love this. I have been such a poor sewer and repeater of all your steps except the last that I gave my sewing machine away! Ack! I could have used it these past weeks. Thank goodness for Etsy! There are sewers that sell masks there. Never would have thought of Etsy if it hand't been for Artsy Letters.

- Linda Mitchell

Apr 17, 2020 3:29 PM EDT

I wish I was better at undoing knitting mistakes, so I could hide them! Fun poem!

- Laura Purdie Salas

Apr 17, 2020 3:30 PM EDT

I wish I was better at undoing knitting mistakes, so I could hide them! Fun poem!

- Laura Purdie Salas

Apr 17, 2020 4:25 PM EDT

Testing blog comments

- Hector / AG Web Services

Apr 17, 2020 4:33 PM EDT

Another test comment

- Hector / AG Web Services

Apr 17, 2020 5:02 PM EDT

Your poem videos make me so happy! Today's poem is perfect for today's mask making frenzy. Great use of onomatopoeia! Like your face mask model too. :)

- jama

Apr 17, 2020 5:03 PM EDT

I admire all of you with sewing abilities. My daughter took a class and has sewn several things. Reading and listening to your poem is like listening to her work, too :) Thanks for sharing.

- Kimberly Hutmacher

Apr 17, 2020 5:11 PM EDT

Your poem is sewing machine music to my ears. My daughter sees, and it all sounds so familiar. Thanks for sharing, Robyn.

- Kimberly Hutmacher

Apr 17, 2020 5:29 PM EDT

test

- test

Apr 17, 2020 6:19 PM EDT

--Hi, Linda - Ha! Understood. And, I'm glad you had success finding masks on Etsy. There has actually been such demand that we (sellers) all received emails asking folks to make masks and offer them for sale if possible to help out. (My 'skills' are not at all consistent enough for that, but I'm glad folks who do sew regularly have answered the call!) :0)

--Haha, Laura - and, HEY - at least you can knit! Once upon a time I knew the simplest crochet stitch, but....

--Aw, Thank you, Jama! And I'll pass your compliments along to the 'model,' who has generally been behind the camera for most of my videos! ;0) Stay safe and well and covered up! XO

--Hi, Kimberly - thanks so much. I am quite out of practice! And thanks for the extra effort re. blog comments... which brings me to:

--Thanks, Authors Guild folks leaving the test comments, for trying to fix my 'comments' section issues! Virtual tangles, I guess... ;0)

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 17, 2020 8:20 PM EDT

Robyn, I went to the YouTube link before reading your poem and loved your presentation. It was filled with the "perfect" facial gestures and sounds. What a great poem and final product.

- Carol Varsalona

Apr 17, 2020 8:28 PM EDT

Thanks so much, Carol - glad you enjoyed it! Have a great hunkered-down-with-poetry weekend. :0)

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 17, 2020 10:33 PM EDT

How brave of you to record a poem with so many "sound effects." LOVED your animated reading, Robyn!

- Michelle Heidenrich Barnes

Apr 17, 2020 11:27 PM EDT

Haha, Michelle - that's what social distancing will do to you! ;0) Thanks for coming by!

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 18, 2020 5:37 AM EDT

So fun, Robyn! Your reading had me in 'stitches'. I still haven't gotten past my initial sewing mishaps...untangling the thread/bobbin has been a nightmare. Luckily, my 16 y/o daughter knows her way around the machine. :)

- Bridget Magee

Apr 18, 2020 7:48 AM EDT

Ah yes, we've all been there! And how great to see that acknowledged so perfect. I absolutely love all the sounds. Who knew so many of us would be sewing again.

- Liz Steinglass

Apr 18, 2020 7:49 AM EDT

Ah, yes, we've all been there and how wonderful to have the experience acknowledged so perfectly. I love the sounds! Who knew so many of us would be sewing again.

- Liz Steinglass

Apr 18, 2020 8:35 AM EDT

Sounds (literally) just about like MY process!

- Mary Lee

Apr 18, 2020 6:13 PM EDT

Your poem resonates with me and the process my sewing projects go through! We made masks, and it took a while to smooth out the process. I have discovered your poetry moments through the SCBWI gathered links. You're doing a fantastic job with the readings, the variety and the beautiful and meaningful locations of your filming. Thank you!

- Joyce Ray

Apr 18, 2020 11:03 PM EDT

--Hi, Bridget - Ha! That's funny. And it's interesting to read about another mom listening to her daughter zipping along on a sewing machine. I was not patient enough to learn from my mom while growing up, but then took a lesson or two - after a couple of college-era attempts - after having kids years later! ;0) Thanks for coming by!

--Glad you enjoyed, Liz! And isn't that something? I was pleasantly surprised I remembered how to turn on my old machine, and more or less operate it!

--Ha, Mary Lee! Well, I'll take the company....

--Oh, Joyce, what a very kind comment! Thanks for taking the time to check out the little videos, and I'm glad you found them on the SCBWI resource. And, the "smoothing out" of the process has definitely taken me several runs! I'm not sure any of the ones I made are really alike, though I did come up with a quirky design on the fly that I started adhering to, mostly. ;0)

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 19, 2020 11:19 AM EDT

Keep sharing, Robyn. I love it all! My first attempt at masks (cutting up old flannel sheets) resulted in some rather odd, yet incredibly soft masks for the two of us. No sewing involved. I so love that you are helping keep your neighbor safe. Be well!

- Christie Wyman

Apr 19, 2020 12:54 PM EDT

The zip, zip, zip, and the pin, pin, pin, I love the rhythm. I am not able to sew masks as my machine is broken. I love what you are doing for NPM!

- Jone R MacCulloch

Apr 19, 2020 12:58 PM EDT

Zip,zip,zip and pin, pin, pin and Chikita, chikita, chikita, chikita...love it! the rhythm. My sewing maching is broken so I can't use it and it's old so not worth fixing. I love what you are doing for NPM. Very fun to see each dat.

- Jone

Apr 19, 2020 10:40 PM EDT

--Hi, Christie! Good for you for the re-purposed flannel. Sounds cozy! (And, actually, it was our neighbor who gave US a couple masks that she'd made, before I got my own machine out! She's who we all want to be when we're in our 90s!) Stay safe & well!

--Thanks so much, Jone (& looks like my comments gremlins are still gremlin-ing. Hopefully that can get fixed soon!) - thanks for taking a look a the videos. And, THANKS for sending the wonderful kid's poetry postcards! Got mine! :0) Take care of yourselves. XO

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 20, 2020 5:12 PM EDT

So fun a poem, so true an experience, so useful a skill and an attitude! Your videos are looking quite professional!

- Heidi

Apr 20, 2020 7:52 PM EDT

Aww, thanks so much, Heidi - I'm having fun with them! [ And have had to untangle thread MANY times during this mask-making process... ha! Plus, a blooper reel will be coming at the end of this month's adventures....]

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 17, 2020 4:29 PM EDT

Test comment

- Hector / AG Web Services

Apr 10, 2020 1:47 AM EDT

Thank you for sharing this, Robyn. I love the cleverness of your title, the sumptuous word choice (Chartreuse!) and the pleasure of hearing and seeing you read on your porch swing.

- Sally Murphy

Apr 10, 2020 7:07 AM EDT

What a fun poem. I don't remember seeing the murals on our trip to Philadelphia, but it has been quite a few years ago. Sounds like I need another trip just to check these out!

- Kay Jernigan McGriff

Apr 10, 2020 7:58 AM EDT

Robyn, your expression in that pic is so very YOU! Love it. Thank you for all you're giving the world during this time. (Also, an aside: I have tried to comment on your blog the past several times, and it never will post... I don't know what's going on with that, and I am sorry! xo)

- Irene Latham

Apr 10, 2020 8:29 AM EDT

On buildings bare and bridges wide/ where history and hope collide. Love these lines and thanks, Robyn, for introducing me to this poetic form, new to me. .

- Janice Scully

Apr 10, 2020 9:48 AM EDT

Oh, my goodness....I want to hear how you wrote in the midst of a hurricane evacuation. What a funny place/time to be inspired. It's really nice to hear your voice and be introduced to the kyrielle in this way. Thank you.

- Linda Mitchell

Apr 10, 2020 10:01 AM EDT

I love that your poem focuses on a community art project!

- Holly Thompson hatbooks.com

Apr 10, 2020 10:38 AM EDT

--Hi there, Sally - hope you and yours are well. Thanks so much for the kind comments! Any excuse to get to use "chartreuse".... ha! :0)

--Kay, I'll go with you! :0) Thanks for traveling over here today.

--Dear Irene, I'm sorry for all the trouble! Argh. I was hoping that issue was improving, but I'll keep tabs. Thanks for reaching out on Twitter, and for leaving this very lovely comment today. Big virtual hugs!XO

--Thanks so much, Janice! It's a rewarding form to try. Been around forever, as it is liturgical, but I enjoyed exploring. :0)

--Thanks for the comments, Linda, here and on FB! And, oh - that was a crazy, crazy fall. It was a tight deadline, and my first submissions for the book, sent off just before the Children's Poetry conference out in Washington state that first weekend in Oct., were gently - rejected. I had a week to send something new. Back home to coastal SC from Washington a few days into that week, and five minutes later (felt like!) - boom! Hurricane Matthew on way. We loaded up pets and stuff and headed right back out the door to family in North Georgia, where I unpacked and got critters settled, then headed straight to the library with resource books ordered the week before (and delivered while we were gone). I spread out at an upstairs table with my laptop, notebooks and books (& some of theirs), and wrote, wrote, wrote, wrote til closing time, and managed to wrangle this poem out of it! ;0)

--Hi, Holly! Thanks. It grabbed my heart as well as my eye. Hope you and yours are well.

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 10, 2020 11:53 AM EDT

Yet another book I am broken-hearted that is in my classroom. :-( What a wonderful project this was. Thank you so much for sharing it, Robyn! Cheers!

- Christie Wyman @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/

Apr 10, 2020 12:42 PM EDT

It's wonderful to hear your voice and see you in this video, Robyn! Have you shared your videos with Susan Tan? She has a YouTube channel called "Authors Everywhere" for kids to access during the shelter-in-place.

- Laura Shovan

Apr 10, 2020 1:59 PM EDT

Am so loving all your poem videos, Robyn! I wasn't aware of this particular art project in Philly, so was glad to hear your poem about it. Need to get my hands on this anthology!

- jama

Apr 10, 2020 2:46 PM EDT

Robyn, I enjoyed listening to your video before reading the poem. These lines struck me immediately: where history and hope collide/shine songs of freedom, fame, and fun. I admire graffiti art that is so representative of a neighborhood. Thanks for sharing.

- Carol Varsalona

Apr 10, 2020 3:50 PM EDT

Since I could not get this to send off, I am trying it again.
Robyn, I enjoyed listening to your video before reading your poem. These lines resonate with me: where history & hope collide/shine songs of freedom, fame, & fun. I admire #graffitiart because it is so representative of a neighborhood. Thank you for sharing.

- Carol Varsalona

Apr 10, 2020 3:51 PM EDT

I love the repetition in your poem! I have been enjoying your videos! THANK YOU!

- Mary Lee

Apr 10, 2020 4:29 PM EDT

Beautiful reading of your poem Robyn, I like the "history and hope" colliding, and especially that hop. I'll have to try that new poem form on kyrielle, thanks Robyn!

- Michelle Kogan

Apr 10, 2020 4:55 PM EDT

I love learning new poetry forms. Thank you for introducing me to the kyrielle.

- Rose Cappelli

Apr 10, 2020 5:04 PM EDT

Oh my friend! How lovely to think about this poem now that our eldest is taking a class about graffiti art. I will share this with her this evening. I loved visiting your YouTube channel and seeing your face and hearing your voice again. Lots of love and health, friend. xx

- Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

Apr 10, 2020 5:50 PM EDT

I love the kyrielle form & the wordplay in the title, Robyn. Much to learn and love in that book, celebrated in your poem. Thanks, love seeing your porch and the green background surrounding!

- Linda Baie

Apr 10, 2020 6:37 PM EDT

I absolutely love this poem, Robyn. "Where history and hope collide" is a great line. I think we all need to read "Mural Compass" to help us reset our moral compass.

- Catherine Flynn

Apr 10, 2020 8:49 PM EDT

-- Hey up there, Christie! And, oh - I bet that's happening a LOT with you teachers, snatched away from your classrooms in these surreal days. Thanks for coming by!

--Hi, Laura - Thanks so much! And thank you for that info. I recently submitted this to the SCBWI 'collection' of online kidlit activities, as they were trying to get to 1,000, but I didn't know about Susan Tan's - I'll track that down. :0)

--Thank you, Jama! You'll see lots of PF names in this book if you end up with it. And Mr. C. can do all kinds of bear-y fun armchair traveling... ;0)

--Thanks for your persistence with my persnickety blog, Carol. A couple other folks had issues this week, too, and I appreciate y'all letting me know... so I'll contact the Authors Guild tech wizards. Glad you enjoyed the poem, and the art! Thanks for all the poetry and art YOU share for all to enjoy. :0)

--Hi, Mary Lee - Thank YOU for watching them! I fell in love with that rhyming line in the kyrielle form, too.

--Glad you enjoyed, Michelle, thank you! This form has been around a long, long time, as it's a liturgical form, but I'd never heard of it, or at least never tried it before this project. I need to get back to it myself, too....

--Thanks so much, Rose, and I guess we both have to thank J. Patrick Lewis, who introduced it to me!:0) If you get a chance to catch up with 'The Poetry Sisters" projects on some of these blogs, they've explored lots of poetry forms to try. Happy writing!

--Dearest Amy, thanks for rounding us all up this week, and providing special poetry magic EACH DAY this month over at your sparkling-with-words-and-art Poem Farm. :0) (And - that sounds like a fun and interesting class...! ;0) )

--Thank you, Dear Linda. It's a marvelous collection, isn't it? And I'm wondering if your green got covered with white....! On the cool side today here, after a warm week, and it's supposed to storm all over the Southeast on Easter Sunday. Definitely typical Spring days here. We still have buckets of pollen. XO

--Oh, what a kind thing to say, Catherine. Glad you enjoyed! When I researched this project, I felt so inspired by its founders and artists again and again.

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 11, 2020 8:17 AM EDT

Thanks for the 'trip' to Philadelphia, Robin. I hope to someday to see this mural in real life...and to hear your hurricane evacuation poetry writing tips! Be well and thank you for your mini movies. : )

- Bridget Magee

Apr 11, 2020 11:07 AM EDT

Hi, Bridget - thanks so much for traveling over here today! Here's hoping for calm weather in your neck of the woods to write by.... ;0) And hoping you and yours are safe and well.

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 11, 2020 4:31 PM EDT

Love your porch swing location, Robyn, and happy to have your Poetry of US poem come alive like that! I couldn't quite get started with mine and have a lot of catching up to do...hope you and yours stay well!

- Heidi Mordhorst

Apr 11, 2020 4:39 PM EDT

What a great collection of poems from everywhere! I need to pull my copy off the shelf and go on a trip. In our small town, murals are beginning to pop up. I helped an artist in the early weeks of quarantine with painting his shapes. Chartreuse is a great word! Colorful and curious.

- Margaret Simon

Apr 11, 2020 7:21 PM EDT

Great poem! I love the title!

- Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com

Apr 11, 2020 8:30 PM EDT

--Hi, Dear Heidi - thanks on all fronts, and best wishes for continued health to you and yours as well. I was behind on following your videos, so now I've caught up! Watched and liked each one and "subscribed." :0)

--Margaret, you are such a generous, creative soul. I'm sure any mural will be better for your touch! This is definitely a good time to do some armchair traveling. I'm trying to catch up with a travel book I asked for for Christmas -- from the very early 1800s! It's rather lively.

--Thanks, Ruth - glad you enjoyed! Stay safe and well.

- Robyn Hood Black

Apr 12, 2020 3:04 PM EDT

That last stanza! Mercy.

- Laura Purdie Salas

Apr 12, 2020 8:31 PM EDT

Glad you enjoyed, Laura - thanks so much for coming by! XO

- Robyn Hood Black