Sneak Preview of Book Club

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness
by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

I'm leading the DC Kidlit Book Club discussion this month, and our selection is the Cybils award winning title This is Just to Say. (I was on the Poetry judging panel.) You can participate virtually in the comments anytime, or if you live near DC, we'd love to have you join us this Sunday. Email Susan at wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.

Sneak preview of our discussion questions:

1) How did you read this book? I was surprised when my husband read it in a completely different way than I did, but I think that's one of the charms of this title---that it can be read/used in multiple ways.

2) The original "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams is NOT a contrite poem. Did this book make you think about the nature of apology itself, and how hard it is to do, and how it isn't always met with acceptance? How does adding the forgiveness element expand the book's theme? Did this book make you reflect upon current or past stories of forgiveness or apology in your own life?

3) How do Zagarenski's illustrations add to the feel of the book? Did you think the use of text within the illustrations was an effective technique? How did individual illustrations pair with individual poems to bring new insight into each fictional poet's apology or offer of forgiveness?

4) Did you begin reading and then flip to the front to see who really wrote the book? How hard is it to pull off authentic sixth-grade poetic voices? Do you think Sidman succeeded?

5) Not all the poems in the book are free verse, as the original poem obviously is. Does the addition of form poetry strengthen the book?

6) What did you think of the multi-cultural elements of the book? Were they successful?

7) Did reading this book make you want to try your own "This is Just to Say" poem?

UPDATE: Elaine Magliaro, poetry queen and blogger at Wild Rose Reader, has just posted a wonderful resource list for us, including links to her interview with Joyce, and to Joyce Sidman's own Readers' Guide. Thank you so much, Elaine!

Necessity

"A work of art is good
if it has grown out of necessity."
---Rainer Maria Rilke

I've been thinking about that statement since I read it yesterday morning. Does my writing grow out of necessity? Or I could also ask: is my writing necessary?

From Merriam-Webster's online dictionary:

Main Entry:

¹nec·es·sary

Etymology:

Middle English necessarie, from Latin necessarius, from necesse necessary, probably from ne- not + cedere to withdraw

Date: 14th century

1 a: of an inevitable nature : inescapable b (1): logically unavoidable (2): that cannot be denied without contradiction c: determined or produced by the previous condition of things d: compulsory2: absolutely needed : required

I think the part of the definition I identify with the most is: "that cannot be denied without contradiction." My writing isn't required or inevitable; but if I avoid or deny it, I find that my life starts to become one big contradiction of everything I value.

"Not + withdraw" is pretty powerful, too. Writing is engagement with the world, even as it is done in solitude.

And you?

Gifts for Readers and Writers-Part IV

Part IV in my (sometimes silly) series of gift ideas for readers and writers.



Limited edition Rat Fink pen (Aren't all writers ratting out something or someone---if only ourselves---when we put pen to page?)





8 days a week planners (Now that's handy. Why didn't I think of just adding an extra "someday" to my work week?)











Melting Snowmen cannister set. (Show, don't tell? Okay, I'm pushing it with this idea, but I wanted to show you these!)







Hyperbole is the BEST thing ever! T-shirt (Isn't it, though?)








Thanks to Velocity for the first three items, the Mental Floss store for the last one.