Poetry Friday: College Transfer

College Transfer

Holding tight before

letting go, and the wind sweeps

her far, far away.

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

Poetry Friday: Sonnet 130, Alan Rickman

Oh, thank you dear, Miss Erin, for sharing this with me. What a Christmas gift! Happy Poetry Friday, everyone!

(Thanks to discosherpa for the original post!)

Alan Rickman reads Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare. 

Poetry Friday: My Soul Lights

your lips touch softly

and my soul lights with wonder

love's intersection

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

Poetry Friday: Christmas Troll, Gift Tag

Did you see the holiday e-poetry collection, Gift Tag? It was compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. I'm so happy to be in this work with other poets who write for children. Each entry was motivated by an image. You might click and purchase the book for yourself and gift it to others for just $2.99. It's spot on for little ones and older readers. Gift Tag is full of holiday memories, thoughts, and wishes you'll want to read again and again. You will love it! As a teaser, here's my entry. Happy Poetry Friday!

Tucked Between Branches

A green puff swirls

Like angel hair

Golden eyes wink

Beside warm white lights

A round belly bulges

Like a plump ornament

My Christmas tree troll

Curls a smile

And reaches out to me

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

Gift Tag
compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong
poetrytagtime.com

Poetry Friday: Christie Taylor Waldron

Christie Taylor Waldron

Cradled safely in

the palm of her Maker's hand

content in His hold

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

You can read my friend's blog here. You should. 

Poetry Friday: Meeting Kermit the Frog

Face to face I know

it's not easy being green, 

but look at our smiles!

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

Poetry Friday: Jack Frost

Jack Frost

Encrusted in snow,

I still smile and catch your grin

on this frosty morn.

Poetry Friday: Like a Pear

Like a Pear

Perched and leaning

toward the brilliance of the

new season's gold touch 

Charmed by Chris Van Allsburg

What a wonderful time with Chris Van Allsburg! He's such a dear. Readergirlz divas Martha, Dia, Justina, and I met at The Bookstore Bar in Seattle and talked all things Harris Burdick. Imagine 13 authors writing short stories to drawings you created 25 years prior: M.T. Anderson, Stephen King, Kate Dicamillo, and our own Cory Doctorow included.


Based on the picture book the Mysteries of Harris Burdick, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick elaborates on the beloved illustrations so mysteriously left behind by Harris long ago.


Personally, Sherman Alexis' short story startled me most. Where did it come from, Sherman? Shivery brilliance!

Chatting with Chris, we learned that the imagery has never looked better. The darks and lights are deeper and more vibrant due to the paper in this edition.

We wish Chris the best as he continues his tour. Safe travels and joy in your new studio, Chris. May the light be glorious as you work on your next book. We'll be waiting!

Oh, and be sure to check out the story writing contest at Chris' blog!


The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
by Chris Van Allsburg and 13 contributors
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade, 2011

Poetry Friday: In the Other's Shoes

Kicked off, we stop and

talk of where we've walked till now

before we go on.

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

Poetry Friday: On my Skull

Creeping across my 

mind, mortality tip taps,

and I still can smile. 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

Poetry Friday: "A Fond Farewell" by Christie Waldron

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and my dear friend Christie, I'm reposting her poem she wrote the night before her bilateral mastectomy.

A Fond Farewell

At twelve you embarrassed me. I wanted to wish you away.

(I had grown up with brothers, after all, and wanted to go shirtless forever!)

But that was before.

Before I knew how fun it was to actually fill a bikini top. :-)

Before I knew how fun it was to bra shop. (NOT!)

Before I knew that when a woman sets out to lose weight, it usually starts with the boobs.

Before I was married.

Before I knew what it meant to be blessed with a body part that could actually sustain life.

Before I knew that someday I'd lose you.

And so, on this mastectomy eve, I will say "Thank You."
Thank you for appearing out of nowhere that summer before 6th grade.
Thank you for holding up my strapless wedding dress.

Thank you for faithfully producing life-sustaining, fat-roly-thigh nourishment to my three precious babies.

Thank you for pointing the way all these years. (Hahaha, I crack me up!))

Most recently, thank you for showing me what gravity actually looks like.

Thank you.
Though you never defined me, you did accent me.

I will miss you.

Poetry Friday: p*tag

Love, love, love this poetic post by Janet and Sylvia that Cynthia Leitich Smith was kind enough to post. Here it is again from her site. Happy Poetry Friday, everyone!

By Sylvia Vardell and Janet S. Wong
Photos by Sylvia Vardell

Who did we make P*TAG for?

P*TAG is for a girl who, like Marilyn Singer, sees a pier and hears "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay";

Or for a boy like Betsy Franco’s Ovid, who might drive on the beach some night thinking about a girl with piercings;

for Allan Wolf, who burps up kittens;

for Naomi Shihab Nye, who says:

            What if, instead of war,

            we shared our buckets

            of wind and worry?

P*TAG is for you if you are tired of aunts and uncles forever asking what you want to be when you grow up (David L. Harrison);

and for you if you can look at a crowd and see “spirits...being extracted from their bodies” (Lorie Ann Grover).

What are your wishes? Heidi Mordhorst asks: “What if there were a Come-True Tree somewhere?”

Do you have secrets?

           

            Random Buddhist manifestos.

            Tattoo designs.

            Erotic poetry.

                        (Tracie Vaughn Zimmer has mystery in her blood.)

P*TAG wants you to fall in love with a guitar player. (Kathi Appelt)

And:

           

            If some night you walk down a street

            so deep inside a chorus of sad voices

            that you cannot--simply can’t--look up,

            and it all seems impossible,

            . . .

            Take another step,

                 a slow step, another,

                        another,

                                    and another.

                                           (Helen Frost)

Play along with p*tag:

http://teenpoetrytagtime.blogspot.com

Read more about it:

www.PoetryTagTime.com

Buy it here:

Nook version: http://bit.ly/ncGiqo

Kindle version:http://amzn.to/nNsWPs

(also in the iTunes store)

Poetry Friday: Double Life

Double Life

Rising in darkness,

my soul glows inside today

lit blue by others.

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

To Be Heard: Best Documentary of the Year, NYT

So much to say about this documentary To Be Heard. Justina Chen and I were privileged to be asked to screen the film and offer comments awhile back. It was a blast and very much like critiquing a novel. We felt at home with the producers and other guests as we dissected and discussed the early work.

The film was completed and eventually, we were guests at the Seattle Film Festival where the documentary ended up sweeping the awards. As the above poster shows, it's done the same in many cities. Here I am with Pearl, one of the three featured poets in the documentary. She's a resilient powerhouse! 

And now The New York Times just named To Be Heard the best documentary of the year! 

"Ultimately, though, the intimacy of the portraiture is so raw that it transcends sociology. These students — Anthony Pittman, Pearl Quick and Karina Sanchez — are three of the most authentic and complex young adults you’ll find in any film this year. And each is a genuinely great writer: technically accomplished and emotionally overwhelming. They aren’t just the subjects of “To Be Heard.” They’re its stars."

To Be Heard will be playing in New York City from 10/12 through 10/18 at the IFC theater and in Beverly Hills from 11/4 through 11/10 at the Laemmle Music Hall theater. If you are nearby, GO! 

Courageous Creativity: Joy in the Midst of Trial

I was graciously invited to contribute to Flying Chickadee's zine, Courageous Creativity, in the month of October. In their words:

"Through this zine we present stories of courage and creativity sourced from people like you and me, living, working, being courageously creative and changing themselves and others in our community. Our writers come from diverse backgrounds and all walks of life - they are small business owners, state employees, corporate CEOs, non-profit founders and volunteers, professionals, scientists, sociologists, artists, activists, mothers and fathers, and friends." 

The editor was kind to inquire about readergirlz and my personal life. My essay is entitled "Joy in the Midst of Trial." Take a look! The entire zine is created with such beautiful quality. Here is their Facebook page, as well. I know you will be uplifted by these "transcultural stories of courage, creativity and change!" 

Poetry Friday: Unmasked

Unmasked

Maybe this mask is

not a skin I put on but

a revelation.

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

Poetry Friday: Talk Less

After a September of Silence due to a rheumatoid and Sjogren's flare, I passed this sign outside the Papaya Living store in Ashland, Oregon. Talk less. How appropriate.

Happy Poetry Friday!

Oh, and this is the image I wish I could have taken home from the store. Yep.

Poetry Friday: Joy Glows

Sweet joy glows as it

weaves through interlaced friendships,

glistening our now.

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

You Are My Only: Beth Kephart

Can we take a moment to thank Egmont for publishing another Beth Kephart exquisite novel? Thank you, Egmont!

You Are My Only will be released October 25th, and I encourage you then to find Beth's newest book. In this realistic fiction novel, you'll breath despair along with several suppressed characters. You'll turn pages and yearn for them each to find hope. One story tells of a young mother's loss of her baby, while the second winds a tale of a teen sequestered from society. How the works intertwine is brilliant. From beginning to end, images and movements echo and resonate back and forth between the stories. At the reveal, I actually stopped reading, stunned by the moment of truth.

As always, I was mesmerized by Beth's rich writing. Even in the smallest detail:

"There is a bird making a tree branch heavy, her gray belly bottom like the high back of the sun."

"Outside the wind sneaks up under the loose skirt of the roof tiles..."

Nesting in the story are sweet truths of life that you can grapple with and then possibly hold.

"Tragedy and blessing," Miss Cloris says. "Sometimes they're the same one thing."

"What do you suppose any of us, Sophie, wish to be remembered for? For the things that tried to stop us or the ways we carried on?"

I'm still thinking over the latter. I'm challenged to find the truth that I would ultimately hold.

You Are My Only is current, relevant, and gracefully written with gripping realism. There is no shrinking back. Thank you, Beth, for staying truly dedicated to the fine art of writing.

You Are My Only
by Beth Kephart
EgmontUSA

Poetry Friday: Skeletal White Thoughts

snagged on thick veins 

flower's skeletal white thoughts 

my life in novels

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011

The Rheumatoid Factor: Shhhhhh

Wow, I haven't posted about Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2011, apparently. I recall aiming to post tidbits on making travel easier. I did a lot of flying at the turn of the year, and I did figure out a few tricks. Hm. Next, maybe?

Right now I'm having a flare in my cricoarytenoid joint. It's the little joint in the larynx that can inflame and affect 30% of RA patients. Ta da! That means if we cross paths in person, I'll be hardly speaking. And that is what I find interesting.

Who are we with little or no words? What can we contribute to a social setting without adding to the flow of discussion? How is our family affected when we can't speak up or assist in discourse? So many questions spring from this experience.

I can say it's been invaluable to quiet down and listen. It's helpful to have to consider whether something really needs to be said. (You weigh it if pain may follow. Ha!)

I've loved watching others step up and help out, maybe engaging beyond what they would have if I was enabling connections. I see my husband telling stories, my daughters chatting on the phone with my friends, and my bestie teasing everyone with what I'm supposedly saying. Don't believe a word she says, by the way.

I'm up for the testing on my b-day, to be certain there are no other complications, and then finding a new normalcy if this continues. In the meantime, take a moment to be thankful for the ability to chat. It is a gift for certain. But then, take a moment to listen as well. :~) Especially if you are a doctor.

Photo Friday: Fighting Through Life

Fighting through Life by lorieanngrover on Polyvore.com

Dinner en Blanc, Seattle, 2011

Imagine, a secret dinner invitation, details to follow. Cooking a few exquisite dishes. Dressing head to toe in white. Heading to Seattle and having the final destination texted to you at the last moment. 

Imagine arriving at a public park with 250 other guests you didn't know were invited, all dressed in white, as well.You meet the lead host and hostess as they welcome everyone. Tables, linens, crystal, and china are arranged. Candles and luminarias are lit. The wandering accordion player and a band fill the pink air with music as the sun sets over the city.

This was the first annual Dinner en Blanc.The Puget Sound Business Journal called it an "Elegant flash mob." Our affair September 5th, 2011, was a tribute to the Parisian tradition.

photo by Martha Brockenbrough

Thanks to Justina Chen, Dave and I were invited to enjoy a table among the sea of white. We were joined by Martha Brockenbrough and her husband Adam, and Justina's dear friend, Derek. It was a magical night, a life memory. 

photo by Martha Brockenbrough 

Justina and Derek

There was intimacy within our little table, while we had a sense of community being part of the expansive whole. The following photos: Justina, Martha, our table, the view to the south, and to the west.

 

Photo from Art and Lair

Here is my love of 26 years, Dave Grover, and then the secret location, Gas Works Park. Yes, it was a location in the Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles movie, 10 Things I Hate About You!       

                        

The night concluded with sparklers galore! The event hopes to grow to 1,000 participants in the years to come. A flash mob of grace and beauty. Here's to 2012! 

Poetry Friday: Grasping Future

A glance over the  

shoulder, but the future curls 

its glowing fingers. 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2011 

Graduation Announcement: Emily Kay Grover!