Finally it’s my turn to join my fellow TeachingAuthors in sharing Three Things for Which I Am Grateful and my 2014 Thanku.(And oh, how I delight in how we've kept alive this original poetic form - a Haiku that expresses thanks.)
When folks ask me how I am, I often borrow the three-word response of former Ambassador Walter Annenberg, philanthropist and founder of the School of Communication I attended - i.e. “hopeful and grateful.”Each day I awake - grateful I’m here, alive and well,
- grateful I’m loved by treasured family and friends,
- especially grateful for the chance to love them back.
I also offer thanks for the joy my life’s work brings me and the non-stop opportunities the Universe delivers which I gladly pay forward.
As for that second adjective “hopeful,” like all Cubs fans, I always believe “Next year’s The Year!” (And this time it really could be!)
You can share your Thanku’s by commenting on any of our TeachingAuthors blog posts through November 28.
You can also send them via email to [email protected], with “Thanks-Giving” as the subject, and even post them on your own blog, sharing the link with us via a comment or email. Carmela will list the links in a later post. And don’t forget our Book Giveaway of the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market! And now for my Thanku to my soon-to-be-five bi-lingual (Brazilian Portuguese and English) lindo grandson who, though Rio-born, lives in my heart para sempre*.
Obrigado to my Grandson Gabe
My Cariocawho snuggles up to tell me,“I love you, Vovo!”
Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow TeachingAuthors and our TeachingAuthors readers!
Esther Hershenhorn
P.S.
*beautiful
**forever***Thank You****a native of Brazil*****endearing Portuguese name for Grandmother
So,
I’d like to take a side road of sorts in continuing our TeachingAuthors discussion on writers’ reader considerations.
Yes, indeedy, I agree with my fellow bloggers: writing with passion trumps every consideration when we are writing to tell ourselves the story.
That kind of telling is the stuff of our firstdraft, our first pass, at who and what grabbed our hearts.Our second draft, though?
That’s the draft in which we make choices to grow a story and tell that story the best way possible to our intended reader.IMHO, the “best way possible” considers where that reader is chronologically, emotionally and cognitively so he or she can easily travel the story, can emotionally connect with the characters, can live inside the story and take its truths into his or her heart.When I read a student’s or writer’s manuscript for the very first time, when I read my own first drafts readying to finally revise, I read on behalf of the intended young reader.
Both the story and the format must be age-appropriate, of course.But do I know who claims the story and what it’s about? Am I grounded in the story’s time and place? What kind of story am I expecting? Left unanswered, those questions will likely force the intended reader to leave the story.Language must also be considered – word choice, sentence structure, metaphorical language, as JoAnn noted when she wrote about assessing reading levels in her Friday post.And richness of language need not be sacrificed – ever (!) - for clarity.JoAnn’s post brought a smile as I remembered my experience this past September attempting to write original poems for the newest addition to THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGYseries (Pomelo Books), THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR CELEBRATIONS, scheduled for an official April 1, 2015 pub date. The book features 150 poems in Spanish and English versions for preK and up, covering a wide variety of celebrations: Poem in Your Pocket Day to National Pet Week to Juneteenth to International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day to World Bread Day to Winter Solstice. Invited writers could choose a day that spoke to them and try their hand at creating a poem.Hmmm…National Hat Month? I loved that idea and began fingering my way through my Roget’s Thesaurus, having a high ol’ time.
Here’s the poem I first submitted, in celebration of National Hat Month: Mixed-up Mad Hatterisms to Celebrate Hat Month
Bees in your beanie.
A feather in your fez.
Pass the fedora.
Bearskin in hand.
Tom scored a tam trick!
Talking through your cap.
Tip o’ my turban.
Pass the sombrero.
Helmets off!
At the drop of a wimple.
Home is where you hang your beret.
(Copyright 2014 Esther Hershenhorn)
The anthology editor Janet Wong returned the poem, kindly reminding me of the designated preK-and-older audience.
Hmmm…National Write a Letter of Appreciation Week?That’s the ticket! I thought.I brainstormed all sorts of letter-writing possibilities and settled on our TeachingAuthors Thank-u’s.Here’s the second poem I sent off to Janet:
A Haiku Thank You Dear (fill-in-the-blank),
You knew how to make me smile.
Thank-u very much.
(Copyright 2014 Esther Hershenhorn)
Janet remained kind while again reminding me of the designated preK-and-older audience.
“How about St. Patrick’s Day?” Janet wrote me. “There’s St. Patrick and everyone dressed in green and folks even dye their rivers green!”
I think I got this now! I thought. And I was off and running.
This time, though, after brainstorming All Things St. Patrick’s Day, I thought about my pre-K and K readers. I even Googled “St. Patrick’s Day curriculum for preschoolers” to learn the top 3 take-aways for little ones about this day.
I’m currently unable to share my finally-accepted poem, “St. Patrick’s Day.”Happy Writing!
Our young readers deserve our passion, our best writing – and – IMHO, our consideration of their chronological, emotional and cognitive needs.
Esther Hershenhorn
