from the teaching files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks
What American holiday is more celebratory than Independence Day, and what classic poem celebrates America and Americans more than Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing"? I love this poem from the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass in part because it reflects my own beliefs about America--that we are a great country because we are home to a people who appreciate the opportunities afforded us in this land. Sing, America!
The story goes that Margaret Schwarzkopf, a young German Jewish woman, was staying with Mary Frye and her husband in Baltimore in 1932 when Margaret's mother died in Germany. Due to increasing political unrest at home, the young woman had been unable to see her mother during her illness and was distressed that she would not be able to “stand by [her] mother’s grave and shed a tear,” as she told her hostess. Frye, who had never written a poem, found herself composing verse on a brown paper shopping bag. Later Frye said that the words to the poem “just came to her” and expressed what she felt about life and death. She circulated the poem privately, never publishing or copyrighting it, and while she continued to write poetry it was this one, her first, that endured.*
To me, Memorial Day, which we celebrate on Monday, May 26 in 2014, is a day to honor not just the war dead, but all those we have loved and lost. Frye's poem, below, has comforted me and many others, and will continue to do so. The body dies, but the spirit lives on...
Continue reading "A Poem for Memorial Day - Barbara Jean Hicks" »
Another break from book promotion tips this week to usher in and celebrate the March Equinox. E.E. Cummings had a unique way with words that somehow, to me, are perfect for expressing the Spring season. Last year to celebrate Spring I posted his poem "[in-Just]," which includes two wonderful terms that absolutely evoke Spring in my mind: "mud-licious" and "puddle-wonderful.” Here’s another favorite Cummings poem—a call to stop our ceaseless thinking and simply enjoy. The earth's answer to every question, the poet says, is Spring. Enjoy his poem and enjoy the season!
O sweet spontaneous
O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting
fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and
poked
thee
has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy
beauty. how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and
buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
(but
true
to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover
thou answerest
them only with
spring)
--e.e.cummings
Barbara Jean Hicks is a regular guest contributor to Tales From the Rushmore Kid. She is a credentialed teacher in K-12 English/Language Arts and the award-winning author of seven picture books for children, including her most recent, AN AMAZING SNOWMAN, which along with A SISTER MORE LIKE ME is based on characters from the 2013 Oscar-winning animated feature film from Disney, FROZEN. Check in next week for a continuation of her series on book promotion.
Today I'm taking a break from tips on book promotion to celebrate love affairs with the written word. Here's a sampling of poems by writers whose most passionate love affairs may very well have been with words. The second poem, Notes on the Art of Poetry by the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, is one of my favorites.
Do you have a favorite ode or soliloquy to books or reading? Join in the celebration and let us know.
And Happy Valentine's Day!
Continue reading "Valentines for Book Lovers - Barbara Jean Hicks" »
It is true that I know both these authors well, but I'd love these holiday books even if I didn't.
"Like a Maccabee" is Barbara Bietz's award-winning middle grade novel, a Hanukkah story now in paperback. It's about a boy who finds the true meaning of Hanukkah through his grandfather, who has just moved in with the family.
Author/illustrator Carol Heyer's "Humphrey's First Christmas" is the beautifully illustrated picture book and funny story of Humphrey, a camel who carries one of the Wise Men to see the baby Jesus on Christmas Day.
I highly recommend these books for the holidays!
from the social media files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks,
Guest Columnist
When holidays roll around, I usually share a poem that relates to it. Sunday is Mother's Day. Before I started looking for a piece for today's blog post, I read something written by my colleague and Facebook friend, children's author and illustrator Nina Laden, and it moved me so much that I decided I wanted to share it instead of a poem. I hope it moves you as it did me.
Nina lives in the great Pacific Northwest, which I am soon to call my permanent home. She is the author/illustrator of 15 picture books, including such great titles as The Night I Followed the Dog, Private I. Guana, When Pigasso Met Mootisse, Peek-A-Who?, Roberto the Insect Architect, An Ant's Day Off, and her most recent, Button Nose.
Nina's mother died when Nina was only 24. One of the things she left her daughter was a library of books, complete with handwritten notes. Recently Nina came across a letter her mom had written her and stuffed in a book of Walt Whitman's poetry. It's a wonderful love letter from a mom to her daughter, and Nina has kindly given me permission to share it. I hope you'll visit Nina's blog and read the entire post. It's lovely! And it's no wonder that Nina is a writer and artist.
Continue reading "Happy Mother's Day - Barbara Jean Hicks" »
from the inquiring mind of
children's book author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks,
Guest Columnist
It's still National Poetry Month and I'm still thinking about poetry!
I grew up in a family that loved music and poetry. My dad went to school in an era when poetry was memorized, and I remember him quoting poems when I was a child that he had learned as a child. One favorite memory from my childhood is the image of my father knocking on my door to wake me in the morning, poking his head in the doorway and quoting Omar Khayyam:
AWAKE! for Morning in the Bowl of
Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight…
from the inquiring mind of
children's book author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks,
Guest Columnist
Despite the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 (an act which retailers surely embraced with enthusiasm), today, February 22, is the birthday of George Washington. By almost any account of U.S. history, Washington was a Great Man.
The mid 19th century spawned two opposing views of history. Thomas Carlyle espoused the Great Man Theory, the idea that history can be largely explained by "great men"--persons of great charisma, intelligence or political skill who used their powers in ways that changed life, for either good or ill, for the human race. Herbert Spencer countered that such "great men" (no mention of women in either argument!) were simply the products of the societies into which they were born, men who appeared at the right moment to promote changes that were already underway in a larger social context.
Continue reading "Of Holidays and Great Men (& Women) - Barbara Jean Hicks" »
from the inquiring mind of childrens author and educator Barbara Jean Hicks
Tis the season for candle-lit dinners, heart-shaped candy boxes and red roses—for some folks out there, I’m sure! For me, this year, ’tis the season to celebrate the true loves of my life—my friends, especially those long-time friends who have remained loving and loyal over many years, through thick and thin (and over the course of many romances!).
Some of my all-time favorite children’s books explore and celebrate friendship. Can you identify the title and author of the stories that capture the very special relationships between the following characters? (Answers below—don’t peek till you give yourself a chance to guess!)
Continue reading "Celebrating Friendship in Children's Books - Barbara Jean Hicks" »
from the files of
children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks
In early December 2010, I started thinking about what I wanted to give as a Christmas gift to my friends and fans.
Before I started writing children’s books, I wrote romance novels and novellas. (I know, what a switch!) The rights to one of those novellas, a Christmas romance called "Tea for Two," had reverted to me. What if I could figure out how to format it as an e-book and offer it for free to anyone who wanted to download it to their computer or reading device?
I’m always up for the challenge of learning something new, so the idea was just my cup of tea--so to speak.
Continue reading "Reviving Your Out-of-Print Novel as an E-book part 1-Barbara Jean Hicks" »
from the teaching files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks
Sunday is Veteran's Day. To honor all those men and women who have left their homes and loved ones to fight for what they believe in, here's a poem I used to teach for high school English, written by a man who lived in the 17th century. Wars have been waged for a very long time...
To Lucasta, Going To The WarsTell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
To war and arms I fly.
True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.
Yet this inconstancy is such
That thou too shalt adore;
I could not love thee, Dear, so much,
Loved I not honour more.
-- Richard Lovelace
IMAGE: www.morguefile.com
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