#allan wolf

i don't want to get trapped

again

when did poetry become a trap?

when i started writing for everyone else

but me

i don't want to write to perform

those poems must be too long

and socially correct

or at least in some way related

to one of the many clichéd topics

oxymoron, no?

well i have another one for you

it's by allan wolf and quite popular too

he said the points are not the point, the point is poetry

so then why do points win and not poetry?

and if the poetry doesn't win

then what is it?

well i don't know

and i don't want to

but i just stopped to re-read what i've written so far

and i read it in my performer's voice

will i ever be able to purge it form me?

the way i thought i could purge the poetry

yet 6 months later

it's being regurgitated

but it doesn't feel much like being sick

it feels like cud i've been repeatedly digesting

ruminating

shifting

tossing up and down like an orange in my hand while i ponder

or a pen i stick in my mouth when i'm lost deeply in thought

it feels like i'm right where i left off what is left in me

but i don't want to perform anymore

i want to write the way mary oliver does

about wild geese and fresh mornings

until i and i alone

fall in love with my words

because it becomes a point when someone else does

I've watched civilizations come and go,

give birth, destroy, restore, be gone, begin."

What a day! I spent 9 am to 3 pm at a Children’s Literature Symposium held at my university! In attendance were Heather Bouwman, stupendous author of A Crack in the Sea, Allan Wolf, poet extraordinaire, Alan Gratz, author of The League of Seven, and Donna Washington, world-travelling storyteller. I spent the day absorbing some sweet, sweet knowledge from some amazing teachers. Here are some take-aways from each person:

Heather Bouwman: the heart of a novel is in the story, not the plot. The story is character growth, emotion, and connection to the reader. When you draft, draft the story, not the plot. The way we teach fantasy is not the way we read it–so draft with the reading experience in mind, not analysis and themes. Fantasy allows a temporary escape from which we return stronger and smarter.

Allan Wolf: the importance of interaction with a story, as regards to education (the conference was geared towards educators), and thinking about hard questions through fiction. There are so many ways to engage with fiction.

Alan Gratz: poetry isn’t about reading or writing poetry but rather about seeing the world through a poet’s eyes. See the world as if seeing it for the first time. Once you realize the ordinary is extraordinary, the whole world cracks open for you. Don’t let someone else write your story. And you have to boil a lot of sap to get a little maple syrup.

Donna Washington: story-telling is visual. It is about emotion, expression, voices, and audience participation. To be honest I’m having a hard time putting what I learned from her in words, because I haven’t processed it all yet–it was such a spectacular experience to hear her tell stories.

All in all, it was an amazing day. I have never experienced a story told as amazingly as Donna Washinton told them (she told us three), nor poems recited so enthusiastically as Allan Wolf. It was a privilege to meet H. M. Bouwman, whose book is indescribably beautiful, and I discovered I really need to read Alan Gratz’s books…

March 14, 2017

Maid of the King’s Court by Lucy Worsley

Yvain: The Knight of the Lion by M.T. Anderson (graphic novel)

Who Killed Christopher Goodman? by Allan Wolf 

The Book That Made Me by Judith Ridge et. al. (anthology) (reprint)

The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones