by the river is a verse-novel for young adults by Steven Herrick.                                                                 
He says it's probably his 'favourite'.  That's how they spell it in Australia.


Here's the first poem from the novel:

THE COLOR OF MY TOWN

Red
was Johnny Barlow
with his lightning fists
that drew blood in a blur.
Yellow
was Urger,
who stood behind,
with crooked teeth,
spitting, and cursing;
Blue
were Miss Spencer's eyes,
pale, and shining,
and fading distant grey
as the taxi drove away.
Green
was my Dad's handkerchief,
ironed,
pressed into the pocket
above his heart;
a box of handkerchiefs
Mum gave him on his birthday
two weeks before she died.

Brown
was dry grass all summer,
a dead snake,
cane toads squashed flat,
our house smeared in oil;
nothing that lives,
nothing that shines.
White
was Mum's nightgown,
the chalk Miss Carter used
to write my name;
hospital sheets,
and the colour of Linda's cross.

Steven Herrick.  All rights reserved. 

Tags: novels-in-verse, one book i love, poems, poetry, steven herrick
Current Location: office
Current Mood: impressed

Poem I posted on Laura Purdie Salas' blog for her 15 words or less photopoetry challenge

HE’S MINE

 

Ya hear me?

Take your ruby

slippers and

your sorrowful butt    

back

to Kansas!

Tags: 15 words or less, photopoetry, poems, poetry, poetry friday
Current Location: office
Current Mood: determined

Monday Poetry Stretch - Double Dactyl   from The Miss Rumphius Effect blog.  Named for one of my favorite picture books.  My first foray into this poetic form.  Fun!!

Xanadu Shmanadu

Samuel Coleridge

created his Kubla

throughout the night.

 

But oh! the intruder

a damsel from Porlock

who found the poor poet

high as a kite.

Tags: double dactyl, poems, poetry, porlock, samuel coleridge
Current Location: office
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: silence

  

Here's a poem I posted on  Laura Purdie Salas' blog for her 15 words or less photopoetry challenge: 

STILL WEARS SUMMER

A dusting of chill
shivers the leaves
that still wear
summer in their hair.

© 2009 Carol Weis, all rights reserved

Tags: photopoetry, poems, poetry
Current Location: My office

Tags: love, ma, missing her
Current Mood: sad

Maggie poured the whole tin of beta food into the fish tank tonight. egad. she was exhausted from work and thought she was picking up the food for the zebra fish, which you can shake a few particles from. she totally freaked and grabbed the net and started scooping out the stuff. i mean the whole tin of beta food was floating on the water. we've been needing to clean the tank, and now we'll be forced to do it. the poor beatles. they look stressed, and the beta's trying to hide from the muck. this is bad.

Tags: beatles, beta, fish
Current Location: my office
Current Mood: distressed

Susan Patron is a librarian and she must feel betrayed by the naysayers who think a book using the word scrotum deserves this kind of treatment.  I love what she said about scrotum. “The word is just so delicious. The sound of the word to Lucky is so evocative. It’s one of those words that’s so interesting because of the sound of the word.”  I also look for words that have a great sound to them. 

I hope Stephan Colbert does a segment on the word in question.  I'm sorry so many people can't work through their discomfort to see this as a teachable moment -- a wonderful opportunity to give children a short lesson in anatomy, especially since the word is used in reference to a dog.

This book won the Newbery! What bigger stamp of approval could it get!! Can't wait to read it!!!

Congratulations Susan Patron!!!!

Tags: scrotum, the higher power of lucky, the newbery, the word
Current Location: My office
Current Mood: disappointed

it's been a long time since i've written anything. a lot has happened since then. we finally moved into our new condo on dec 2, and we're loving it. feels like home, only better. my sister helped in that department. came down for 4 days and whipped this place into shape. i was so grateful to have her help. of course, christmas showed up three weeks later, which was rather rude. i was so exhausted by the time we went to vermont for our family gathering, i ended up getting into a big fight with my sister, something we rarely do. i also learned to play ice hockey, which was definitely the highlight of the trip.

i closed on the piece of land i was selling. and paid off most of my debt. what a relief. i took the russellville rd. house off the market for a spell, and will put it back on in march. i went by the other day and the new land owners had already cleared the land. whoa!! it was one thing to make the sale, but quite shocking to see the result.

i recently heard from paul julian, a friend from high school who is representing 'wake up maggie!' (my daughter's & my memoir) he said that hyperion's new imprint -- voice --is taking a hard look at our manuscript. yay!! said we should know their level of interest in 2 weeks. that was three weeks ago. i wish 'writing and submitting to a publisher' were a prerequisite to getting an editorial position. they would know how hard it is to wait. i am believing we will get a good contract from them.

on monday, maggie came back from spending 4 days with her dad to say that he found out the results of teresa's autopsy. she died from liver failure and malnutrition. we've been really sad about this revelation, though it was no surprise. renee said to me the other day, 'but for the grace of god, that could have been you.' (or a number of members of my family.) it shook me up knowing the truth in what she said.

Tags: ice hockey, moving, pj, selling the land, teresa, wake up maggie!
Current Location: my office
Current Mood: listless

I did my first presentation as an author tonight -- Persistence: The Path to Publication, or How I Became an Overnight Success in 12 Short Years. there were 10 people in attendance. Maggie and Nancy said it went well. I'd give it a C+. that's what it felt like to me. though I was far too nervous to give a fair critique. people laughed at some of the things i said, and that was my intention. For someone who got attention by causing trouble most of her life, this was a whole new experience for me. one of the books i mentioned that helped me along the way was 'feel the fear and do it anyway,' and that's what i did last night.

Tags: event, fear
Current Location: my room
Current Mood: accomplished

After 4 short hours of sleep, my demons are stomping around -- revealing every insecurity in my dictionary of self-doubt. god i hate when that happens.

we're getting ready to move -- only two weeks away -- and i'm working my ass off to get things in order before then. each day, driving carloads of stuff to the condo, searching for the right pieces of furniture and accessories that will work in this spanking new contemporary setting. i've never done this before -- my life has been thrift shop chic -- and buying new is against my grain, but feels right for this place we're settling into. i've spent the last week and a half looking for the rug that sings to me. i've seen so many that now i hate everyone i see.

back to the demons -- this morning i hear a voice that says you screwed things up with your publisher and your agents -- you're too needy, too pushy, too whiny, too desperate... you name it, it's stomping away. maybe it's the new janet fitch novel i'm reading -- paint it black -- very dark. i love her writing, but i don't need to add to my own darkness.

i need to go back to bed and sleep my fear and loathing away.

Tags: demons, moving
Current Location: my room
Current Mood: depressed