Sibling Assignment #50: The Media Experiences That Inspired Me In 2007

Raymond Pert gave the sibling assignment this week:
"Look back over the year 2007 and reflect upon photographs, blogs, books, songs, cds, dvds, movies, poems, etc. and compile a best ten sources of inspiration/ learning/ joy of 2007. With comments ." You can find RP's here and Silver Valley Girl's is here.

I thought about this assignment all week, but today drew up the list of media experiences that inspired me the most in 2007.

1. The Writing Retreat I attend every June. This retreat has been a ritual in my life now for three years. I know when I go I will have quiet time to write, people to conference with about my writing, and a writer to guide me through new pieces of writing. It is always right after school is out and it is a gentle way to ease out of the school routine into more of a writing life.
2. Ted Kooser. At the retreat last year I was introduced to Kooser's book The Poetry Home Repair Manual. I also began reading more of his poetry and he helped me to see that everyday things can be put to words to make meaningful poetry. You can learn more about him here.
3.My digital camera. At the end of 2006 I got my first digital camera. A month later I began my blog. I have been amazed how between the two I have a chronological history of the last year in pictures and words. My camera captured the simple and complex images of life around me all year.
4. Sunday Scribblings. Once I started my blog I was introduced to Sunday Scribblings and a whole new writing community of bloggers. It has inspired me each week by keeping me focused on a topic and by allowing me to enjoy the words from others' writing. I encourage you to visit the site here.
5. Tony Bennett's Duets . I love Tony Bennett. I particularly love this cd because the songs he chose remind me of my childhood. I also love the people he chose to partner with. It is hard to pick favorites because I love the whole cd, but after watching a special on PBS recently about the recording of this album I love " The Good Life" with Billy Joel, "Because of You" with k.d. lang and "Smile" with Barbra Streisand the most.
6. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. This book illustrated a model for a book about cooking and how to include recipes, and create a blog. This book inspired me to write more about cooking. It also introduced to another format in the blog world. Julie cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking by preparing a recipe a day, blogging about it, then writing a book about all 365 days and recipes at the end of the year.
7.Because Writing Matters , National Writing Project. I helped pilot an online book group in August discussing this book. It is a book that includes best practices and research on how to improve student writing in our schools. It is very informative and inspirational, it has helped me with my teaching, plus I loved the online book discussion format.
8.Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Lewis Stevenson. When I was posting a poem a day in April and creating sibling assignments from childhood I kept returning to this book. In March Mom gave me the old copy she read to me as a child and I continue to enjoy the poems, memories, and the magnificant black and white drawings.
9. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. Introducing students to the horrors of the Holocaust is difficult. Even though I have taught this book numerous times, this year my students were more interested in this book and it led to more questions, discussion, and understanding of that difficult time in history.
10. Into White by Carly Simon I don't often turn on Oprah when I come home from school. For some reason one day last spring I turned on the TV just when Carly Simon and her two children were beginning to sing " You Can Close Your Eyes" from her new cd. Hearing the blend of their voices to the words their father/her former husband had composed gave me goosebumps. The album took songs I learned at camp, elementary music, remembered from favorite movies, and also had heard her sing before. It is perfection in sound and choice of songs. I have many favorite renditions of "Over the Rainbow", but I think Carly's from this cd is now my favorite.
Enjoy Carly and her children Ben and Sally singing on Oprah.