Two Couches - Poem #15 for April 2014 Poetry Project

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Learn about this, my April 2014 Poetry Project, HERE!

Living Room Couch

Photo by Amy LV

Family Room Couch

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today is Day #15 of my THRIFT STORE LIVE project for National Poetry Month, and as it is a day that's a multiple of 5, it is free verse day!  If you look back, you can read the other free verse poems from this month, a way for me to try to strengthen my writing of free verse.

#5 - Clock

#10 - Dancing Shoes

Today's poem is a two voice poem, two voices of two different couches.  We only have one couch in our home - an everything couch - but some people have one fancier couch and one more homey couch.  In today's verse, I try to let those two imagnied personalities shine through.  

Did you notice that the tag lines I use in today's dialogue match the couches' personalities?  While White Couch announces and declares, Orange Couch says and sighs.  What might this tell a reader about the personalities of these two objects, so similar yet so different?

I do like to trace back the family-idea-tree of poems when I write them, and if I were to guess where today's poem originated in my mind, I would say that it came from three mentors: "Famous" by Naomi Shihab Nye (read it here and you will know why), "Two Guitars" by Victor Hernandez Cruz, THE BEDSPREAD by Sylvia Fair, and I AM THE DOG I AM THE CAT by Donald Hall.  If you know any of these pieces of literature, you might think about which couch in my poem matches which shoe/person/pet in these pieces.  

It is a great thing to read a lot as each text we read deepens the well we draw from when we write.  We never know when our reading will show up, even in wee ways, in our writing, and so read read read we must!  As Gary Paulsen says, "Read like a wolf eats."

Here is today's longhand draft.  I did a lot of thinking about this throughout the day before writing even one word.  The idea of writing about two couches came to me in the shower yesterday morning, and so much of the thinking hummed along inside of me as I went about the day.  Later, sitting at the keyboard, I decided to indent the stanzas for Orange Couch, to make the different speakers more clear.

Two Couches - Draft Page 1

Photo by Amy LV

Happy happy second half of National Poetry Month!  Listen for poems everywhere...

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Mall Store Shirt - Poem #13 for April 2014 Poetry Project

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Learn about this, my April 2014 Poetry Project, HERE!

Mall Store Shirt

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Yesterday I went to two thrift stores to stock up on photographs for the coming week.  It was such fun, but there was one problem.  I was torn between thinking about what to take pictures of...and what to buy.  I ended up taking lots of photos (some of which you will see this week) and buying four books, a cool garden sculpture, and a long sleeved blouse.  Oh, and a garden trowel.  Victory!

I love having a lot of photographs on hand this month.  It makes me realize that it is important to plan for writing by planning for having lots of ideas.  The more interesting (does not mean expensive or exotic) things we do, the more interesting things we will have to write about.  This means that one important part of being a writer is learning to become interested in things and thereby, interesting.

For the photo-taking part of this project, I stroll through thrift stores and just stare at everything.  I listen for things that want their pictures taken.  Somehow I just know which ones they are.  Then, while driving or walking, I choose whichever one is most meaningful to me at the time.  For some reason, this shirt - a very ordinary trendy shirt - rose to the top today.

Today's poem uses the technique of personification, or giving an inanimate or animal object human feelings and abilities.  Shirts don't think or have friends, but in my poetic head, they do.  

So far one of the best parts of this project is realizing that it is possible to come up with a new angle each day. Many of these poems have been complete surprises to me!

Below you can see the longhand draft work for today's verse.  It just got itself rolling.

Mall Store Shirt - Draft Page Spread #1

Photo by Amy LV

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Fine Antique Plates - Poem #7 for April 2014 Poetry Project

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Learn about this, my April 2014 Poetry Project, HERE!

Flowery Plates

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Today's drafts were written in the car.  Our family was going visiting, and so I wrote from the passenger seat.  You can see that the minutes of notebooking tally up to thirty-five, but this poem did take longer.  I spent a lot of time, eyes closed, just thinking and not timing myself at all.  Daydreaming the poem into life.  I also spent a lot of time playing with this poem in the typing stage.  In fact, these last two stanzas did not appear until I typed.

For today's verse, the fun came  in imagining walking around the rims of plates. This was my spark.  And then, making the flowers disappear...well that just made me giggle a bit.

Challenges included finding spring flowers with the correct number of syllables. This sent me to a bit of research as I didn't want to include late summer or fall flowers at all.

You may have wondered why those last two lines are so short, shorter than the rest of the non-flower lines.  I did consider keeping as one line.  But somehow, the punch line of the dishes being "simply white" felt like more fun with a longer pause.

Here are today's drafts.  You can see that I spent a little time trying to decide which object to choose.

Fine Antique Plates - Draft Page Spread #1

Photo by Amy LV

Fine Antique Plates - Draft Page Spread #2

Photo by Amy LV

Did you notice that the dishes in today's poemphoto are the same dishes as those in the THRIFT STORE LIVE logo?  

Yes.

I bought them.

March 31, 2014 Shopping Cart - AmVets

Photo by Amy LV

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Clock - Poem #5 for April 2014 Poetry Project

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Learn about this, my April 2014 Poetry Project, HERE!

Clocks

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I have decided to write non-rhyming poems on day 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 of this month's project.  Today you do hear chime/time, but this is mostly a free verse poem, something I wish to become stronger at writing.

Today's poem took thirty-three minutes to write, one of the shortest this month so far.  The spark that lit it was the idea of how frequently a clock face is looked at...until it stops working.  Then no one looks.  How strange that change must be for a clock.

My drafts for this poem are below, and I do realize that looking at these may be rather uninteresting.  They look the same each day: crossouts, arrows, lists of rhyming words, more crossouts.  But I promised to include them, and so include them I will.  (When I said it might be a bit repetitive to keep posting these, Mark, my husband, joked that I could put the same ones up each day and no one would likely notice!)

Clocks - Draft Page Spread #1

Photo by Amy LV

In these handwritten drafts, you see the word still in the last stanza instead of motionless, which appears in the typed version.  The reason for the change is that as I typed, I knew I had recently typed still.  And so I did - in "Baseball Glove" - yesterday.  I changed it as I do not like repeating the same words throughout a collection.  If it is supposed to be repeated, yes.  But if the repetition is not intentional and does not add anything to the collection, then out it goes.

Clocks - Draft Page Spread #2

Photo by Amy LV

One thing I always revise and edit are the words the/a/these/this.  It is often best not to include these words at all, but sometimes such little words are necessary.  It matters greatly to me which one I use when, and so often I go back and forth, forth and back until each choice sounds just right to my listening ear.

Last night I wrote in a coffee shop with Mark  (he was doing taxes).  Our daughter was at a movie in town, and so we listened to Tim Weir play his guitar and sing at Taste in East Aurora, NY as we worked.  Here are the sounds of busy coffee shop writing.

And now...it's giveaway time!

Through tomorrow - Sunday - you may still leave a comment and thereby enter my Post-It Note giveaway over at Sharing Our Notebooks.  Don't miss Mary's notebook poem celebration.

And today, I offer a giveaway of two books here: one copy of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR SCIENCE compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong and one copy of my own FOREST HAS A SONG. Each Saturday of April, I will offer this same giveaway here, for eight books in all.  Thank you to Sylvia and Janet for your generosity.  Please leave a comment below, and I will draw two names next Thursday evening to be announced next Poetry Friday!

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Thrift Store - Poem #1 for April 2014

LIVE!

Happy National Poetry Month!  This April 2014, I will be writing and posting a new THRIFT STORE poem, live, each day.  You'll see the drafts as they grow, my thoughts about writing a collection, revisions, and planning.  My hope is that by month's end, I will have a collection of poems worth revising and someday, worth submitting as a book.  

Each day I will tell you how long the poemdraft took me to write, and most days the I will have written it the day before.  (Disclaimer - Due to travel and work, there may be a few variations in actual writing time.)  I do this for me, for a month of writing fun, and also with a hope that it may be interesting to a few classrooms of young writers.  I welcome your comments and invite you to join me in taking one topic to explore for several days.

AMVETS in Depew, NY

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Here are my drafts from yesterday.  This poemdraft took about one hour to write, from 2:45pm - 3:42pm on Monday, March 31, 2014.  I began by sitting on my living room couch with a copy of X.J. Kennedy's THE BEASTS OF BETHLEHEM (1992),  illustrated by Michael McCurdy.  

Truthfully, I was a wee bit nervous on the eve of National Poetry Month, having committed to such a public project on a topic that matters dearly to me. But I took refuge in Kennedy's poem - "Mouse" - relying heavily on its rhyme scheme and meter to get me started.  If you study his poem, you will see where mine differs, and you will find the two lines of my poem that only have seven syllables instead of eight.  What do you notice about the way the lines of today's verse rhyme?

You may also notice that the second stanza of today's poem is simply a list.  If you have FOREST HAS A SONG, you will be able to find a couple of other poems with such embedded lists.  I like them.

Ready to Write (Note My Thrift Store Quilt)

Photo by Amy LV

Draft #1 Page #1

Photo by Amy LV

Draft #1 Page #2

Photo by Amy LV

As you look at my drafts throughout this month, you will notice that I have little habits, things I do over and over again.  I have writing routines that help me focus.  Here are a few of them:

1.  I cross out.  A LOT.

2.  I often write the alphabet to help me find rhyming words that make sense.

3. I write all over the place, and it's pretty messy.

Some of you may be wondering why or how I chose this topic?  Well, I am a thrift store shopper.  On any given day, half of what I am wearing comes from a thrift store.  Much of my furniture was purchased at thrift stores.  I love the stories and the mysteries and the hunt of shopping in thrift stores...not to mention the prices!

One of my favorite books is THOSE SHOES, by Maribeth Boelts, a book that celebrates thrift store shopping.

Shop IndieBound

And just this winter, I had the experience of asking a six-year-old girl where she had gotten her beautiful vintage Barbie doll.  She would not tell me.  When she walked away, her teacher explained that this girl was embarrassed because her grandma had purchased the Barbie doll at a thrift store.  She did not want her classmates to know, and so kept quiet when I asked.  Later, when I shared with the class how I had built a great shoe collection thanks to my obsession with thrift stores, the young girl, all smiles, whispered in my ear, "That's where my doll came from!"

No one should feel embarrassed about shopping at thrift stores.  Thrift stores are fantastic!  So I choose to make them my April project.  Yay for reusing wonderful things!  Yay for saving money! Yay for stories!

Yesterday, I visited two thrift stores, taking many photographs to get me through at least the next week.  It was fun to look with this new eye, as usually my thrift store time is spent simply shopping.  Yesterday I looked for possibile poems, not just possible deals.

But, of course, I found some deals too.

New Old Plates, New Old Book, New Old Gloves - All Mine

Photo by Amy LV

To find all kinds of poetry happenings in the Kidlitosphere this month, visit Jama's cozy home on the web, Jama's Alphabet Soup.  She has a list!

Happy happy National Poetry Month!  May you find poems under your feet and in your heart, all month long.  

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Snipping Snowflakes

Hope's Window
Photo by Amy LV

Students - Snipping paper snowflakes is one of the simple pleasures of life!  If you live in a snowy place, it is a way to bring snow inside.  If you live in a place with no snow, it is an easy way to create some.  Last week, when my daughter Hope was sick, she cut lots and lots of snowflakes out of red, green, and white paper.  You can see some of them above, in our living room windows.

If you're interested in knowing how I snipped this poem out, take a peek into my notebook below.  You'll see that I first started writing about fog and clouds and my notes turned to something I saw last night, raindrops on a twig.  Then, looking at the window, I began writing about Hope and her snipping...

Click to enlarge image.

...and then I began poem-ing!  One thing that helped me write today was something I did last night.  Before bed, I read aloud many many poems from J. Patrick Lewis's new IF YOU WERE A CHOCOLATE MUSTACHE.  Falling asleep with the rhythms of our Children's Poet Laureate in my head was a wonderful thing to do, and it is something I highly recommend.  Read ALOUD the work you admire, and those rhythms will sink into you.

Click to enlarge image.

If you have ever wondered about snowflakes all being different from each other, visit Wonderopolis to read all about the chances of that happening.

To learn about how to make paper snowflakes, visit Martha Stewart or High Hopes.

Over at Design Sponge, you can read a great tutorial about making doily snowflake garlands.

And at Spoonful, you can find a recipe for sweet tortilla snowflakes.  We will make these today!

There may be no snow in Holland, NY right now...but we can make our own!

Available through Amazon

I am so happy to have Mary Lee Hahn as a guest over at Sharing Our Notebooks this week.  If you have not yet visited her notebook, please don't miss it!

And for those of you who knew that I was away for a bit, I am now back to posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  It is good to be home!

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