Thursday Night Writing Group

Good writing group tonight. Lois is waiting for the galley proofs for her novel, and that has to be exciting. I'm not even close to writing a novel--short stories and poems are more my thing. But listening to Cheryl, Tommy and Lois' adventures with submissions, rejections, and now Lois' success, I share their excitement.

I think the progress of our group's members is astonishing--Max has been published in two anthologies and a few literary magazines, Lois' book is at the publisher, Cheryl has a children's book out for consideration by editors, Phyllis won a first place in a literary magazine's annual contest, Tommy is sending query letters out, and I've had a few things published here and there. For a small group, we've come a long way in the past three years.

Meeting weekly is the key. We tend to feel that we need to bring something to the group so we write. When members aren't in writing mode, they share websites, contest information, their adventures with in the publishing chase, or conference notes. Just being there to talk about writing is enough to keep us inspired.

Daffodils

Late this year, but arriving with a burst of yellow, the daffodils are in full color. What an incredible sight they are. We thought they might be damaged because of some very early warm days that had them poking their tender shoots up too soon. Below zero temps and snow did not seem like a good omen for daffodils this year, but they fooled us.

Sure the leaf tips on some of them are a little brown, but who pays attention to the leaves anyway? I picked a bouquet today, spiked with forsythia, and put it on my kitchen table. The scent fills the house, and assures me that it is definitely Spring.

Auction!

Another annual Jackson County, West Virginia event: The Ravenswood FFA Farm and Equipment Auction. It's an event not to be missed if you are into farming, antiques, curiosities, and people-watching.

We had some specific things to be on the lookout for: chains for son Aaron's Massey Ferguson tractor (we got Derek's chains at last year's auction), metal nesting boxes for my chickens (mine I've had for 35 years, and they're in bad shape), a finish mower for our MF tractor, and then whatever oddities and necessities attracted us.

The day dawned rainy, not good for an outdoor auction, but if you go to these events you know to prepare for whatever comes--that is, if you're a diehard fan like those who showed up Saturday. We wore old shoes, wore layers, and carried hats andumbrellas. Good thing, because when the rain cleared off it got sunny and unseasonably warm.

First up was to locate what we were interested in. We'd driven out the evening before and made notes of what we wanted to bid on--there were three finish mowers in doubtful condition, several sets of tractor chains, nesting boxes (yes!), chicken waterers, and then the other things that I am drawn to without fail--old farm tools and equipment like horsedrawn plows and mowers, a bicycle grinder, a grain cradle, wagon wheels, shoes lasts, a wooden hay rake, antique hand tools, old kitchen tools and glassware. Then useful stuff like a shredder/grinder, lime spreader, utility trailers, and on and on and on.

We spent the entire day there, because the tractor chains, of course, were the next to last lot of the day. In the meantime we bid and lost on many items--the mowers (too high for their condition), the utility trailers (too high for the repairs needed), the wood hay rake (I quit listening when the bidding reached $50), the shredder/grinder (a good one, but more than I wanted to spend), the bicycle grinder (a really unique and old item, but beyond my pocketbook) and many others.

What we ended up with filled the back of the truck--the nest boxes, waterers, lime spreader, old dishes, shoe last, grain cradle, metal gas cans, backpack garden sprayer, garden rakes, masonry ruler, antique sled, 2 trash cans in new condition, and the tractor chains. Those chains were worth the wait, worth over $100 but we got them for $20. The buy of the day, certainly.

It was fun to watch people, too. The teenagers from the FFA worked hard and got good and dirty. Many of them had mud up to their knees. Adults didn't fair much better--Jackson County is renowned for its mud and we experienced some of its finest yesterday. Trucks got stuck and were pushed out or pulled out. Little kids ran back and forth through puddles to ensure they were mud-covered by the end of the day. But no one seemed to mind--here mud is a sure sign of spring, and good deep mud means good deep soil that grows fine crops.

Another thought struck me as I watched bidding on a box of miscellaneous tools and hardware--how often has this stuff been at this auction? I could just see it being carted home to be put in the buyer's barn, then a couple years later out it comes again, to be sold to someone else! And a further thought--how many of us had boxes and bins of exactly the same stuff at home, and yet here we were rummaging through these, wondering what certain things were used for, remembering a time we used a wrench like that one, thinking about whether or not we needed another box of wood screws. Such packrats we can be!

Some memories of the day:

• The sea of blue--jeans were like a uniform in this crowd, jeans and overalls, denim jackets and shirts on bodies of every age, size and sex.
• The old men, gathered in groups here and there, commenting on prices and items, joking with me as I carried the grain cradle to the truck ("Let's see you use that thing!" Yeah right. Those days are past for me.).
• The very young auctioneer, who when faced with an odd piece of antique gearing, simply said "We got us here some....airplane parts..." That got our attention! I still have no idea what the thing was used for, but it was intriguing and someone bought it.
• The man who bought the portable adult potty chair--plenty of kidding about that!--he just grinned, took off its pink cloth slipcover, and used it as a seat for the rest of the auction.
• The boy who bought the set of golf clubs, and the one who bought the feed pans. Serious and adult in their bidding, it was obvious to the rest of us that those who bid against them stopped so that the boys got what they wanted.
• The old man who bid against me on the hen nests. He wanted them as badly as I did, and hung right in there. It made me feel bad in a way, but for the past two years I've been outbid on these things and this year I was determined to get them--my hens need them too! I hope his chickens make out alright without them.

We were tired by the end of the day, and hungry. Muddy as we were, we decided to stop for dinner in town at our favorite Mexican reataurant (heck it's the ONLY Mexican restaurant in town!). Another nice thing about living in a rural area is that it's okay to "come as you are" at most businesses, and while I would not ordinarily trot in there like we were last night, we just didn't care. We called a good friend who came and joined us, and after a good dinner and good conversation, we felt human again. Then finally home to unload the day's buying, and finding places for all of it.

I think there is something special about using an old tool that's belonged to someone else, carrying on a tradition in a new place, honoring the work of those before us, perhaps. Or perhaps it's because each item has a story to go with it that makes it more appealing to me. I will think about the hands that held the garden rake when I use it, and about the woman who used the glass pouring bowl in her kitchen. That's why I like auctions--it's a day full of stories from the past lives of people who lived and farmed before us.

Springing Up

A sure of sign of spring's arrival is this annual ad in the local newspaper:

"Spring Cleaning Dates for the Ravenswood Cemetery"

Every year the ad makes me smile, and I can just see those poor tired departed souls dragging up out of their graves, fetching brooms and rakes and trash bags to complete the annual ritual of spring cleaning.

So come on, all you folks beneath the ground, rise up and get your place cleaned up! Get rid of those faded silk flowers and dead chrysanthemums, and rake up the leaves around your gravestones. It's Spring! Time to get the place spruced up!

Got a Writing Group?

If you don't, and you like to write, you're missing out.

I wasn't sure about joining a group. I'd just started writing when my job changed and I suddenly had evenings free. I found out about a group in my area and contacted them.

But the first night I thought about attending, I almost chickened out. I mean, these were writers! I had written very little, mostly reports at work and my storytelling newsletter. But it was something I had always wanted to do, and now that I had free evenings, it was possible.

I pulled into the church parking lot that first night and almost changed my mind. Then I saw a man standing at the door of the church, looking out. I knew he was looking for me because I'd emailed that I planned to come. I had to get out of the car and walk inside. It seemed like a very long, long way.

And I've come a long way since that night. That was three years ago and still every Thursday night I am with that group, working on writing, talking about writing, thinking about writing.

What has it done for me? Well, let's see: I've had four second place awards in writing contests, along with a first, several thirds and honorable mentions; I've had two stories published, several poems published, and I've self-published two poetry chapbooks and 2 spiral-bound collections of stories; I've published a couple of articles, continue to write my newsletter quarterly, and I write all the time. This summer I'll teach my first writing workshop.

So if you write, find a writers group. It's inspiring, motivating and a necessity for anyone who wants to be a better writer.

Woman on a Porch

She is beyond the poet's words
quietly rocking on her porch
her grace speaks for itself
her life speaks to us all

A Fishing Story

My oldest son took off for his annual trout fishing trip with his buddies today, up in Pendleton County, WV. He's hoping to catch that big trout he caught two years ago. He said it was a giant.

He couldn't get the hook out of it's mouth unfortunately, so he had to throw it back with the hook still attached (he's a catch-and-release kind of fisherman). Last year they went back to that same spot, and he caught that fish again.

He said he knew the fish in that river grew fast (South Branch of the Potomac) so he wasn't surprised that the trout weighed 10 pounds more than it had last year. But he wasn't expecting that the hook he'd left in the trout's mouth would grow--it was a big as an anchor, and that fish was just dragging it around with him.

He's wondering how big that fish is now, and if the anchor is still growing too. He's worried that it's made its way down to Washington DC and got itself caught in one of those fishy stories floating around there these days. Of course, with Katie Couric's rating problems, it might get hired on as a news anchor on NBC.

Talking to Sons

I wonder if mothers ever get over the thrill of talking to their sons? You would think, after doing it for 37+ years, I'd be blase' about it. But every time I hear one of their voices, I am amazed all over again.

They are such individuals, each one so different and so involved in their lives. At this moment, the oldest is preparing for a trout-fishing trip that has been a tradition for him and his friends for almost 20 years. His son, who is his sidekick in all things male, may go along, just as he does each year for deer hunting season.

My second son is enjoying the excitement of having his own business, cheering on his wife as she finishes her Masters degree, and looking forward to his oldest daughter's graduation from high school.




The third is at a two-week training camp for the Army National Guard; he's usually busy with his home, four kids and the work he's been doing on redecorating his home and pruning the old fruit trees and vines on his property. (This photo is from 2003, when he came back from Iraq.)



The fourth is painting his living room and adding chair rail and putting in new flower beds for his gardening wife; his little children are more than willing to help! He's taking a break from work on his second college degree, finishing up the restoration of an old tractor, and continuing to help his friends and family with every sort of repair job.



Our fifth son is just beginning his career in the Air Force, stationed in Germany and learning a new culture, a new job, new friends--a new life.


It's exciting every time I talk to them. I love hearing about what they're doing and thinking, and what the grandchildren have been up to (James can spell avatar--how many adults even know what that is?). I suppose that what really makes me happy is knowing that each one of them has found their path and is making their way along it, enjoying the trip, sharing the details, keeps me amazed.

Raven

She's a beauty,

my Raven
sleek black and shining
moves like liquid night
flowing on ground, unnerving
as lightning on a summer night
sweet as blackstrap molasses
she waits for me at sunrise
knows where I am in the house
because she sits on alert outside
windows as I move from room
to room, getting ready to leave
and she knows, she knows
and waits for my voice, my hand
her eyes adore, her head seeks
my stroking hand, my Raven
my girl, the only one who loves me
with complete, unnerving devotion
my dog, shelter bound before I found her
tied to a chain in a tiny yard
eyes begging me to see her,
love her, please just love her

that part was easy; who could have known

she'd become my dog, my girl

my Raven

I've been reading about the new thing in education--21st Century Learning Skills. It's a new approach to learning with a goal of better preparing kids to deal with tomorrow's world. North Carolina and West Virginia are the first two states to implement it.

I read through the CSOs for WV, and guess what? Narrative skills and writing are all though them, in every grade level. Suddenly storytelling is gaining strong attention by educators, it seems, because kids need to be able to speak and write well, and current methods aren't achieving that goal.

Last week I did a presentation for a Title 1 program. The organizer had packets of information for all the parents, teachers and principals who attended. In the packet were articles by Heather Forest, Marni Gillard, and one on digital storytelling, along with the handouts I'd sent her. Apparently Title 1 is also recognizing the value of storytelling to learning to read? or was this lady unique?

The same day I spent the entire school day at a middle school telling stories. The gig was the result of a presentation I did for the state teachers union. I have another scheduled from that same event.

So I am feeling encouraged by what I experienced at the conference. At the middle school, the teachers told me what I was doing fit perfectly with what they were teaching about writing. The kids, of course, were great! One of the 7th graders told me I was the "ultimate storyteller." It was actually the other way around--they were the ultimate audience.

I feel encouraged that perhaps teachers are beginning to understand what storytelling can do in the classroom, and what it can do for their students' achievement level. I'd be willing to bet there are some teachers out there who have known it all along.

Storytelling and Literacy

A friend on the Storytell listserve asked for information to share with new librarians on the value of storytelling. The list I sent her (below) is applicable not only to librarians but to teachers, child care workers, parents and grandparents--all can impact the early development of literacy through storytelling:

1. Storytelling in America was preserved by librarians during a time when storytelling was not recognized as important in this country. An aricle I wrote a few years ago on the topic will be posted here soon.

2. Storytelling provides important connections to literacy. The PLA's Early Literacy Iniative includes narrative skills as one of the six important pre-literacy skills. These six skills can be addressed in storytimes and storytelling.
See http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/ECRR/ECRRHomePage.htm for more information about that initiative.

3. Storytelling can involve diverse age groups in a story. Stories offer something for all ages, and each listener will take something different from the story. It's a great tool for intergenerational programming.

4. Storytelling encourages children to create mental images of the spoken words in the story. This is one way children learn to attach images to words, a needed skill for reading comprehension.

5. Each listener will create their own "mental movie" of the story, complete with people, places and things created by their own imagination. Each listener imagines the story uniquely, using images familiar to him-or-herself. Each listener will see the characters through the filter of their own experience, making each told story a deeply personal experience.

6. Storytelling improves listening comprehension in an enjoyable way. Children who can listen well will do better in school. Here's one research article on that topic :
Enhancing Student Achievement through the Improvement of Listening_Skills

7. Storytelling will encourage children to find the stories they hear in books, and that can lead to a lifelong interest in reading.

8. Partic

Done! My Little Storytelling Print Shop

"I'll be mailing you an invoice next week," the email said. "Great," I thought. "She'll probably want a few CDs and maybe some books." The gig, a performance for Title I families, promises to be a lot of fun, with interactive stories and an informal, sharing atmoshpere. I thought the lady arranging the program planned to have copies of my materials there for use by the parents, perhaps, at a later time.

The invoice arrived Monday, just over a week before the performance: it was for 60 copies of Zinnia Tales, 60 copies of Homeplace:Poems from the Mountains, and 60 copies of my CD, Mountain Story, Mountain Song. Did I have all that on hand? Of course not.

I've been working on it ever since the invoice arrived. And tonight, the order is ready. The new laser printer made it much easier, and I discovered that the shrinkwrapping is more successful if I use a hair dryer instead of the heat gun provided with the impulse sealer. Live and learn.

Now I can concentrate on the stories I'll tell for this audience. The goal is to encourage them to tell stories with their children, so I know I will be telling Centreville, a story from my childhood. I want to include them in some of the stories, too, so perhaps I will bring the clip-on animal tails and have them take parts in the story of Ungawalema. A Jack Tale will have to be included too, because we're in his homeplace, after all--perhaps Jack and Strongman? That's usually a favorite. Sody Sallyratus is another good choice for audience particpation, and we'll sing the Kettle Song for silliness and to warm up my voice. What else? Tomorrow I'll decide the rest of the program.

That same day I'll also be telling stories to 5th-8th grade students in Wirt County. It will be a full day, certainly. The story choices for this group will be a sampling of the various kinds of stories people tell in the mountains--tall tales, family stories, historical tales, ghost stories, ballads, and traditional folktales.

For now, it's bedtime. Daylight Savings Time is here early, and I'm up late!

Home Office for Storytelling

It's amazing how much space it takes. You'd think, "So okay, you get up and talk. How much space can a storyteller's office require?" You would be amazed.

First, I need file storage for stories, story ideas, tax documents, and contacts. Then I need space for my puppets--not all storytellers use puppets, but I do many programs for children with them that include audience participation. Then there are the rhythm instruments, the sound system and related cords and microphone paraphernalia, craft supplies because sometimes I do craft programs too, program props like quilts and skinning boards and family photos, the spiral binding machine and supplies, paper of many kinds, the shrink wrap machine and heat gun, the button maker and paper cutter and long-reach stapler. And books--lots and lots and lots of books. Brochures, handouts, workshop supplies, racks, totes, suitcases, and of course all the usual things needed in an office. It's a lot of stuff.

There is also the computer, printer, etc to consider. I recently got satellite Internet, so there's more equipment for that. And of course storage for the stock of CDs and books. It all takes a lot of space.

I wonder how I did it when I had just a little desk in a corner of the kitchen, and I remember how hard it was to get ready for a gig, trying to find all my stuff, trying to work at a desk piled high with paper and books in the middle of the kitchen where everyone in the house seemed to congregate. I wonder how i managed when I moved the computer to the bedroom and worked out of the corner, adding a cabinet for storage and feeling like I was all set then!

Now I have a whole room, and with the final steps of getting a real desk, file cabinets, additional storage, a new computer and printer and fast Internet, I finally feel like I have what I need.

I feel absolutely, totally, guiltily spoiled.

Storytelling Books--Hot Off the Press

I finally did it. It was something I've needed to do, wanted to do, but kept putting off. Odd how we'll do that, isn't it? I wanted a color laser printer, NEEDED a color laser printer, really, for the spiral bound books and chapbooks I publish at home. Volume isn't usually an issue--I prepare 10 or 20 at a time, and that carries me fairly well. Before the summer performances, I might so 40-50 to be sure I have plenty on hand. Granny's Ghost Stories sells particularly well, and My CD also does well, so I try to keep a good supply on hand.

But this time the order caught me by surprise---60 copies of Homeplace, my poetry chapbook, 60 of Mountain Story, Mountain Song, my CD, and Zinnia Tales. I never have that many on hand! Fortunately, I had just prepared 30 of the CD for sale, and I could order Zinnia Tales from Tammy Robinson Smith, the publisher. But the chapbook--that was a problem. I'd been printing it on my faithful HP950 color inkjet printer, but I really wanted a laser printer for the improvement in quality and durability. And my old printer was not up to an order this size, no way.

Now for most "publishers" this would be small potatoes indeed, but when you do it yourself in a small home office, it's a different story. After a little discussion with my husband, I trotted down to Office Max and bought a HP Color Laser Jet CM 1015 MFP. It feels like a Cadillac next my old printer . I think I'm going to be really glad I made the leap. Although I may need resuscitation when I have to buy ink cartridges for it.

Storytelling events coming up

It's starting now--as the weater slowly warms, events start to pile up. This month I will be storytelling at a Wirt county school, then for a Title 1 event in Marion county the same evening. There will be Celtic music to listen to at the Alpine Theatre, Kirk Judd's performance poetry event in Beckley, and the Ballads in Appalachian Literature lecture and performance, also in Beckley. Then up comes the Evergreen Arts Festival in Marietta where I will be telling stories on April 14, and the writers workshops at the WV Cultural Center the same weekend--so I'll be running hard to do both. Followed by a performance for Speakeasy in Columbus, OH, and the Ohio Children's Literature Conference on April 28th.

Somewhere in there we'll be planting the garden, putting tile on the bathroom floor, and building a new equipment shed.

Impatience

This is my favorite picture of home, even though it's before we added the new deck. It's from late March 2004 and the daffodils were in full bloom.

The lettuce and radishes are already up. The onion sets are in, the daffodils are pushing their leaves through the dirt, leaf-tips burned brown by the hard cold of February. It is March, isn't it? Cold weather hangs on as we impatiently plan what we want to do outside. Too soon it will change, I know--instead of worrying about what we want to do, we will be worrying about what to do first.