Teacher Time and Spokane Sites

Spokane at sunset Thursday evening.

I just returned from the Northwest Inland Writing Project's annual spring teacher conference in Spokane. Learning new ideas for teaching, seeing old friends, making new friends, and getting a chance to do some poetry writing all contributed to a successful two days.I had the privilege of learning great teaching strategies from author and teacher Jeff Anderson on Friday. Anderson is the author of Mechanically Inclined and Everyday Editing, both excellent resources for building grammar, usage, and style with students in the writing classroom . Jeff led us on an entertaining journey into the creative world of parts of speech, apostrophes, and even punctuation! All of us were busy looking for punctuation in the most unexpected places by the end of the day! I also presented a workshop on using poetry and was inspired by the thoughts and poetry the participants shared.

To top off a full day a group of us took our guest Jeff to dinner at P.F. Chang's in downtown Spokane. You can never have too many lettuce wraps from P.F. Chang's! B (below) wanted Jeff to see the Spokane River falls so we took an unforgettable, brisk walk after dinner down trails and snow covered steps to a spectacular view of the falls close to the Monroe Street bridge. I can't believe I left my camera in the car!It is always a treat to spend time with my friends C and B . They were ready with their Starbucks, paper, and pens to do some serious writing this morning! For me the highlight today was to spend time in a workshop with Marti Mihalyi. Marti is a talented poet, inspiring teacher, and good friend. Each time I am back in a workshop with Marti I leave with more inspiration for putting words to paper and motivation to keep going with my own writing. I hope to polish some of my pieces I started and post them later.

I am energized when I attend conferences, but it is always nice to turn off the highway and find the long driveway home. I was told the dogs wore themselves out watching for me! It was comforting to feel a warm fire, pet the animals, and catch up on life with JEJ.

Looking Up

"The sky is the part of creation in which nature has done for the sake of pleasing man. "John Ruskin

Here are a few of my favorite sky pictures from the photo file. When the snow is dirty and gray, and mud has replaced ice in the driveway, there is always hope of finding beauty by looking up. Even if the skies are gray, there is a sense of calm as the gray envelopes you. Neutral shades have a beauty also.

Where Does the Poetry Come From?

I often share poetry on this blog. These poems all come from a variety of sources. Lately I have been spending time reading through poetry collections in preparation for a workshop I am giving later in the week. If you want to spend some time with poetry, here are some volumes you might want to check out at your local library.

Good Poems , selected and introduced by Garrison Keillor.
This is an anthology of poems he has read on The Writer's Almanac on public radio each morning. It includes a wide variety of poems under categories such as O,Lord, Scenes, Day's Work, and A Good Life. Some of my favorites I found in this book are "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, " A Blessing" by James Wright, and "Courage" by Anne Sexton.

poetry 180 , a Turning Back to Poetry, selected and introduced by Billy Collins.
When Billy Collins was the United States Poet Laureate he introduced a poem-a-day program with the Library of Congress. This collection is comprised of poems and poets we remember. Ones I love in this book are "Lines" by Martha Collins, " Small Comfort" by Katha Pollitt, and "The Invention of Heaven" by Dean Young.

Otherwise by Jane Kenyon. When she was in remission with cancer she began putting together this collection. In the last five days of her life, she finished this book. Each time I reread it I think of her love of words, her persistence for completion, and her sharp mind as she was adding and deleting with her poet husband Donald Hall up to the last day of her life. I love all the poems in this collection.

New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver. This Pulizer Prize and National Book Award winning collection moves into more of a focus on nature. Again, it is hard to pick favorites. I do tend to reread "A Letter from Home", " "Roses, Late Summer", and "The Return."

Odes to Common Things by Pablo Neruda. This, like all his volumes, are presented side by side in English and Spanish. I was first introduced to this book in a poetry writing workshop years ago, but the reminded again of his work at my brother's writing workshop last summer. Neruda's book brings to light to beauty of the common things we can all understand like a pair of socks, a chair, and a spoon.

Otherwise
by Jane Kenyon
©2005 by the Estate of Jane Kenyon

I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birchwood.
All morning I did
the work I love.
At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.

Remembering Spring

I remember snowball blooms and green leaves and grass....


...and a time that I could make a bouquet from the tulips around the yard,


...and smell lilacs in Mom's backyard,...and see bleeding hearts that survived the snow.
I wonder if they are all under there growing under that protective cover of frozen snow? Only time will tell... but for now I will just remember spring as a lingering, long ago memory.

No Map

No Map

How close the clouds press this October first
and the rain-a gray scarf across the sky,
In separate hospitals my father and a dear friend
lie waiting for their respective operations,
hours on a table as surgeons crack their chests.
They were so brave when I talked to them last
as they spoke of the good times we would share
in the future. To neither did I say how much
I loved them, nor express the extent of my fear.
Their bodies are delicate glass boxes
at which the world begins to fling its stones.
Is this the day their long cry will be released?
How can I live in this place without them?
But today is also my son's birthday.
He is eight and beginning his difficult march.
To him the sky is welcoming, the road straight.
Far from my house he will open his presents-
a book, a Swiss Army knife, some music. Where
is his manual of instructions? Where is his map
showing the dark places and how to escape them?
-Stephen Dobyns

Cabin Fever Part 2

Well..... cabin fever has definitely taken over today at our house. It is snowing again... and sticking!When I got my fill of the white stuff powdering up the deck I decided to escape to the greenhouse.
Thank goodness for thriving plants and these beautiful variegated geranium leaves. I am ready for these plants to move outside.I think Isabelle just got tired of the snow also. She decided to ponder what to do next here while she caught up on her sleep.
I am afraid if this weather continues Annie will now have to get a sweater!
I am not dreaming of a white St. Patrick's Day.... I want a green St. Patrick's Day!! WAAAAHHHHH!