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Life on the Deckle Edge

Poetry Friday - One More Poem Postcard Share & Haiku Workshop

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers! 

 

First, HUGE Congrats to some of our hometown poetic heroes... Monday was a big awards day in kidlit-land.  THE CAT MAN OF ALEPPO, written by our own Irene Latham & Karim Shamsi-Basha & illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, and published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, was named a Caldecott Honor Book!  And A PLACE AT THE TABLE, by Saadia Faruqi and our own Laura Shovan, published by Clarion Books, was a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book.  CONGRATS, you two, and to all who were recognized across all the categories. 

 

Speaking of nice surprises, I received another New Year Poem Postcard this week!  Rebecca Herzog sent this energetic collage/haiku combination above.  I was humming along to the excerpted lyrics floating in the art on the front (love those layers!!) before reading her own musical poem on the back. 

 

 

 

A QUIET MORNING

REFLECTIONS ON A NEW YEAR

MUSIC TO MY EARS

 

 

 

Image and poem ©Rebecca Herzog.

 

 

Thanks for the uplifting mailbox gift, Becky!

 

And, speaking of haiku, I'm excited to share that I'll be leading a free online two-part haiku workshop for the Oconee County Arts Foundation (Watkinsville, Georgia) at the end of next month, February 23rd and 25th, from 1-2:30 p.m. each day. It's part of a wonderful month-long program, "Small Works Inspired by Poetry."

Click here for more info, and here for the description and registration page.   The foundation director says local and non-local folks are welcome to register. (These free workshops will not be recorded by OCAF since participants will be potentially on the screen and permissions would be required, etc.)

 

Now, tap your toes and warm up your voice - our beautiful Jan at Bookseedstudio has the Roundup today on a theme that Becky's poem and art complement perfectly! 

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Poetry Friday - Two more Poem Postcards celebrating all things NEW!

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

Two more New Year Poem Postcard swap goodies came my way this week.  These haiku are a PERFECT way to express and celebrate our country's turning the page to a new chapter this week.

 

First up, Margaret gifted the beyond-glorious photo of a blue heron in flight, with these words:

 

 

On wingbeats of blue

heron rises unstatued

heralding the new

 

Image and poem ©Margaret Simon

 

Heralding the new, indeed! 

 

And then came Mary Lee's wonderful offering.  I have to add that it was postmarked the day after Christmas, and it JUST got to my mailbox on Thursday.  [I'd say I can't believe it took that long, but after many headaches worrying about Etsy orders getting to recipients on time in December (a few just plain didn't), I do believe it.  The USPS was stretched far too thin.  Here's hoping we all might be finished with quarantining and such by the time the holidays arrive THIS year.]

 

Mary Lee's words were worth the wait, and just right for this week in history:

 

 

recently minted

shiny coin of here and now

ready to be spent 

 

(and who doesn't live Rembrandt?!)

 

Image and poem ©Mary Lee Hahn

 

 

For more of Margaret's writing, click here; for more of Mary Lee's writing, click here; and to learn more about the creative pursuits of Jone Rush MacCulloch, who dreamed up the New Year's Postcard exchange, click here

 

Thanks to each of these amazing women.

 

By the way, I noticed Margaret added a handwritten note to her card, and Mary Lee's poem was handwritten, as was the poem I sent out on my cards this month. Did you know tomorrow, Jan. 23, is National Handwriting Day?  I'll be celebrating at artsyletters with earrings featuring sterling silver fountain pen charms that I fell in love with.  I made a pair to 'test drive' and have been wearing them all week. (Also, earrings with vintage pen nibs coming soon....) ;0)

 

Tomorrow is also the birthday of an amazing teacher who regularly brings poetry to life in the classroom - my daughter, Morgan!  Happy Birthday to our Super Hero!

 

Now, one more click to check out this week's Roundup - you'll find it at Laura Shovan's place, where there is always something new and wonderful going on. 

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Poetry Friday - New Year Poem Post Cards Continued...

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  With all the grave news and concerns of the day, I've been grateful for more gifts of poems in my mailbox, thanks to Jone Rush MacCulloch's annual New Year's Poem Postcard Project.

 

Here are three more gems.  Enjoy!

 

From Linda Baie, a gorgeous piece of visual and verbal art related to one of her favorite subjects, trees.  She captured the end of fall in such a beautiful way:

 

 

One

leaf drops;

a maple

skids underneath

a yellow aspen.

Sweetgum's orange joins in.

Odd that a green leaf appears,

lands the middle - spring memory

refuses to be one left alone.

they create a wreath of us, together.

 

Poem and Image ©Linda Baie.

 

 

Kimberly Hutmacher sent a gorgeous photo of a celestial treat that I immediately recognized, having made my family go outside and crane necks forever waiting for its appearance:  last month's visual "convergence" of Jupiter and Saturn at dusk. Kimberly's poem on the back reads:

 

 

Connection longing

Watching the great conjunction

Universal hope

 

Poem and Image ©Kimberly Hutmacher.

 

 

(Thanks for that much-needed glimpse beyond ourselves, Kimberly, and promise of hope!) 

 

And Diane Mayr's name on a poetic/visual project is always a welcome sight.  She embraced the "Year of the Ox" theme with her usual clever take in this haiku:

 

A NEW YEAR...

HONEST DAY'S WORK NO LONGER

AN OXYMORON

 

Poem and Image ©Diane Mayr.

 

 

She also included these words of Japanese New Year's greetings:  Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu.

 

Continued greetings all around, as we make our way through the begining of this new year.  These friends remind us to look at the wonders at our feet, and the wonders far, far away in the night sky, and the wonders of being human!

 

A related bit:  Re. poetry swaps,  I had the good fortune to send a Winter Poem Swap poem (Thanks for organizing, Tabatha Yeatts!) to our dear friend Kathryn Apel in Australia.  Kat was kind enough to share it today on her blog, but the cat photos take the cake. ;0)  I did run my simple poem by our dear friend Michelle H. Barnes, who lived in Australia for several years.  Her hubby, Peter, actually suggested the "buddy" line... and I liked it better than what I had there.  (Shhh... he didn't want credit, so keep that a secret.)  When you go visit the Roundup today, you'll see that Kat's Winter Poem Swap gift to Margaret was written along a similar theme - albeit her poem is flowing with lyrical language and gorgeous details. I do so love our Poetry Friday community, and our "doors" are open to new folks as well as old friends.

 

An unrelated bit:  With Valentine's Day just a month away, on Instagram I'll be featuring "Heartsyletters" offerings from my artsyletters Etsy shop over the next few weeks - gifts for literary Valentines! You can find me at @artsylettersgifts . The first post stars an upcycled '80s metal choker base with an upcycled '50s question-mark-in-a-heart charm.  (I made one to test drive and have been wearing it almost every day this week.) ;0)

 

As mentioned, the lovely Margaret has our Roundup this week at Reflections on the Teche.  Row thee yonder. 

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Poetry Friday - Some New Year Postcard Poem Swap Arrivals...

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I don't know about you, but I'm pretty spent after news events this week.  (And the extremes - Personally, I was elated about the voting efforts of my former fellow Georgians when both Senate run-off races were in the "called" column Wednesday, only to plunge right afterwards into heartsickness about the breach of the Capitol.)

 

So I have been especially appreciative of the poetic gifts in my mailbox, as part of Jone Rush MacCulloch's annual New Year's Poem Postcard Project. Enjoy the respite of these first three I've received, one by Jone herself (I mentioned her foray into Scottish Gaelic last week), and one from Carol Varsalona, and one from Linda Mitchell. These are SO creative, and each so different. 

 

Savor Jone's new language skills to accompany her formidable skills behind the camera, and Carol's jaunty imaginative words and her lovely lake image, and Linda's nod to the Chinese New Year - the Year of the Ox, with her artwork featuring a version of Paul Bunyan's "Babe" in art and collaged background words, and her quite original poem on the other side of the bookmark.

 

Also, you can listen to Jone read her poem in Scottish Gaelic in her post from last week here!

 

Many thanks, Ladies, for sending much needed light in these days. 

 

 

 

first full moon
makes poetry wishes
happy new year

 

Poem and Photo ©Jone Rush MacCulloch

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

upon the lake

 

silverdrops dance

as a new year arises.

breathe in

winter's freshness.
exhale earth's frostbitten bite.


Evolve!


Poem and Photo ©Carol Varsalona

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Year of the Ox

 

Monday, Ox delivers brush and brooms

to sweep old year away

 

Tuesday, Ox brings uncles, aunties

hong bao and rice cakes

 

Wendesday, Ox shies at red banners

good luck poems they swish and sway

 

Thursday Ox shakes golden bells

hoping kitchen god will stay

 

Friday Ox easts and rest contentedly

firecrackers pop -

wishing

Happy New Year's Day!

 

Poem and Art ©Linda Mitchell

 

~~~

 

(PS - My poem postcards are still in the works; waiting on delivery from the printer.);0)

 

Our amazing Sylvia has the Roundup today over at Poetry for Children.  Don't miss her annual New Year "Sneak Peek" list-- a gathering of all the titles of poetry books, anthologies, and novels in verse expected in 2021!

Wishing you, and all, a peaceful weekend.

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