Poetry-15

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Feature Article How to Write Bad Poetry Author: Devrie Paradowski "All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."--Oscar Wilde People write poetry for a plethora of reasons, but this article has a sharpened arrowhead aimed directly at the fingertips of amateur poets who wish to be published yet refuse to learn the attributes of a well-crafted poem. These poets are the ones who plop their pieces, shining with every beam of ambiguity, vagueness and hackney, into cyberspace for review. I have encountered a few of these poets to whom I have given a courteous critique, only to be backhanded in the face by sore comments such as, "You must be too dense to get it," or "Everyone I know tells me how great I am. You're the only one…" Of course I am usually left wondering why someone would care to post a poem in a critique forum if any constructive comment given to the poet gets immediately flushed down the cyber-potty. Many new poets seem to think that writing a poem is one hundred percent emotion. They overlook the notion that, as with any craft, poetry entails a good deal of practice and learning as well as desire and talent. So instead of writing about the importance of concrete imagery, figurative language, and the art of minimizing abstractions, I thought it might be fun, (and might even tick a few people off) to write a small compendium of attributes of bad poetry. Recipe for a Really Bad Poem - A bad poem should not have any original language. If you aim to write a bad poem, avoid coming up with stark images. The last thing you would want to do is write something fresh, innovative, and evocative. Use as many hackneyed expressions as possible, such as "crystal clear," "dark as ebony," "blue as the sky," "dark as night," "…paints a picture," "climb the highest mountain," Etc. - An especially bad poem should be heavily weighted with abstract words such as "heart," "love" "sadness," "despair," "hate," and "destiny." The more abstract and generalized your poem, the better suited it will be to mean absolutely nothing to the reader. Aim for zero concrete images if you want a particularly bad poem. For example, "The world is a sorrowful place/ filled with sadness and hate…blah blah blah." Also, be sure to TELL the poet how to describe something by using superfluous abstract adjectives! "The water is pretty;" "The world is ugly;" "His eyes were beautiful…" A bad poem should never use figurative language or descriptive imagery to SHOW the reader a slice of life. - No matter how odd the sentence becomes, or how unlikely the phrase would be concocted in normal language, make it RHYME. Rhyme anyway!! That's right, a bad poem is going to have very forced rhyme. If you have to rearrange the structure of a sentence just to make the rhyme fit, go for it! For example: "The apple blossoms fell in May/ on the grassy field is where they lay." (Notice how I just couldn't say, "They lay on the grassy field?" That wouldn't rhyme, so I had to make up a funky sentence. - Don't worry about punctuation, grammar, or spelling. What you really want to do is to make the reader scratch her head and read it a zillion times trying to figure out what it means. Bad spelling and poor grammar will really detract from the meaning, so get reckless with your words. Try this poem out for size: i watch as the sun/ sets over the horisen/ the ocean pants/ like a wild monster/ breaths with heavy/ breath and then falls/ something small/ always gets lost/ in the mouth/ of agony -------or------- u r reel speciol/ like honi sweet/ from a candy bee. - A good practice for a cleverly bad poet is to make the objects of the poem plural! Globalize your subject for an incredibly weak impact! "Trees are…" "People cry…" "Flowers bloom…" By pluralizing all the objects of the poem, you are blurring the imagery, thus making it sappy, intangible, and simply boring. ---------------------- Frequently Asked Questions of bad poets who want to be published but don't want to work: ----------------- Q. Who are you to judge what a good poem is? A poem is like beauty; it is in the eye of the beholder! A. Paul Valery once said, "a poem is never finished, only abandoned." You have to work on your poem. You have to find a certain clarity that will reach the reader. Sometimes we get so fogged up with our own emotions, we don't really see the true poem. Emotional outpours make excellent first drafts, but if you don't go any further then that, you aren't working hard enough to make your poem good—even in your own eyes. Also, as far a judging a poem is concerned, as long as you hope to publish your poetry, it will get judged. Know what these "judgers" are looking for. Q. If clichés were so bad, why have they been around for so long? A. Exactly!! Everyone understands clichés—almost to the point where they don't even mean anything anymore. Poetry is an art of expression and exposition. If you are too lazy to come up with the images yourself, then you aren't really writing poetry. Q. I write poetry for personal reasons. It is my way of dealing with the world. Why should I care what you think about poetry? A. You shouldn't. Unless you are trying to perfect your craft so that you can express yourself through literature in some publication, you can write any way you want. Just know, though, that if you post your poem for critique, you might get some honest criticism based on poetic technique. If that is not what you are looking to get, please let people know what you are looking to get. Devrie Paradowski is a freelance writer and poet. Her poetry has been published by several literary journals and she has written dozens of articles for various publications including "Poetry Renewal Magazine," and "Poetryscams.com." She is the author of the chapbook, "Something In the Dirt," which can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/108560 " http://www.lulu.com/content/108560 . In 2001, Devrie founded a popular online literary community ( http://www.LiteraryEscape.com " http://www.LiteraryEscape.com ) that has become highly respected for some of the most honest and in-depth poetic critique on the Internet. In keeping with her commitment to inspire amateur writers to hone their skills, she also founded a local writer's group called, "The Fire and Ice Writer's Group." ... Subscribe to our Poetry newsletter! Your email:

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Poetry-14

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Feature Article What's On Your Shift List? Author: Keith Varnum The most happy and successful people on earth have a personal Shift List. They probably don't call it by that name, but they have one. How do I know? Because these folks are enjoying their journey on our challenging planet! A Shift List is simply a list of activities and attitudes that have the power to shift you from feeling blue to feeling new. Your Shift List is any way you devise to remind yourself of the actions that have the power to transform your mood and put you back on a roll. Your reminders might be a formal written list or journal, a set of well-placed post-its or notes, pictures or photos, cartoons or symbols, poems or songs-or a phone or email "shift" partner. When your aliveness begins to fade, you can consult your "list" to trigger actions that will get you back on track and into the Zone! Here are some possibilities for your Shift List: Shift Your Attitude On average, a person has 60,000 separate thoughts a day. Every thought you have either makes you stronger or weaker. Thoughts of kindness, forgiveness and peace are strengthening. Focusing on anger, anxiety, and worry weakens you. If you keep your creating attention on the outlook that the universe is plentiful and providing, you'll attract abundance and support. If you dwell on the view that you're being short-changed and nothing ever goes right, you'll experience a world of scarcity and struggle. Focus on what's right about you or other people, instead of what's wrong. See what's working in your life rather than what's messed up. Shift Your Activity Devote your free time to ventures that enrich your enjoyment of life. Pursue activities that make you feel fantastic and blissed out. Begin each day with the projects that are the most exciting to you, not the chores you think you should get done. Schedule "personal aliveness time" in your calendar. Treat yourself to a full day at the spa or a relaxing ride in the country. Explore a new part of town. Indulge in your favorite food. Eat some new delight. Go on a fun date with yourself. The rest of your life will get a big boost and you'll find that you are effortlessly getting necessary tasks accomplished. Shift Your Approach Life is too short to work so hard at pursuits that aren't really fulfilling! You can either live your life regretting all the roads left unexplored, or you can start living the life you really want. Write your dreams down on paper to give them concrete form and power. You now have an energized blueprint of what you want and this gives your subconscious a clear signal for what to attract. To add even more voltage to your goals, visualize how you would like each day to go. Shift from thinking of yourself as a victim to realizing you can be the source, cause, creator, of what happens to you. Shift Your Focus Put your Self first. Choose to live life on your terms, not someone else's. Define success for yourself. What would it look like and feel like? Write down what success means for you. Use these answers as your barometer. Make your priority whatever is most important to you-God, family, friends, passion, art, your life purpose. You'll find that decisions come more easily, and you'll activate more support, love, money and magic in your life. Shift Your Intake We're strongly influenced by the people, thoughts and atmosphere around us. We absorb the energy of what we allow into our space. Hang with people who have the same life focus as you. Cut short draining conversations. Give extra time to interactions that are exhilarating. Switch to more inspirational reading that activates the best aspects of your character. Shift Your Outflow Get rid of energy drains. Resolve any issues that you have been brooding about for a long time. Bury the hatchet with friends and relatives. Praise people rather than criticize. Detach from the need to be right-and from the habit of judging or controlling others. Catch yourself verbalizing self-defeating thoughts. Stop labeling yourself while you're at it! Shift Your Space Clutter: The Silent Energy Sucker! Clutter has a real physical effect on your energy levels. You don't need to clean out your garage or closet all at once. Just take 15 minutes a day to de-clutter some aspect of your space. Get rid of old, dead things you don't use anymore. Add new, fresh elements to your life. Feng-shui all areas of your earth adventure. What's on the outside is a reflection of what's on the inside. What about outdated relationships? Activities that no longer thrill you? Habits which have ceased to serve a purpose? Shift Your Environment Get outside. Connect with nature and open spaces. Even in a city you can find a park and some greenery. Breathe in the fresh air and stretch your legs. Lie on your back, clear your mind and follow the clouds drifting by. Listen to the grass grow. Watch flowers bloom! Shift Your Body Move your body as much and as often as you can all day. Active, physical movement will center, balance, ground and revitalize you. The more you participate in life, the more life-in the form of love, money and health-will flow through you. Hike, jog, skip, swim, garden, cook, sing, skydive, quilt or paint. Let your body dance you. Play music that speaks to your soul. Shift Your Vibration Spend part of each day in silence so that you can hear Spirit speak to you. This can be an active meditation-like yoga, tai-chi, walking, running, knitting, or petting an animal-as well as a quiet sitting mediation. Shift Your Pace Most of us feel like we are victims to time-when in reality we control how we use our time. Slow down. Rushing has become a way of life for most of us. Gear down your walk. Slow down your speech. Take a moment to breathe. Set the tempo so that you can enjoy doing whatever you're doing.You will see dramatic positive results. Shift Your Age Play on the ground like a baby. Fly a kite, roll in the grass, or build a fort like a kid. Laugh with delight for no reason like a child. Dance all night like a teenager. Sit on a mountaintop like an old sage. Shift Your Style Under promise and over deliver. Give yourself more time to complete a project than you feel you'll need-and deliver it early! Learn to say no when an activity isn't intuitively right for you. Focus on thriving, not just surviving. Your days will not feel as frantic. You'll feel more fulfilled and happy! ©2004, Keith Varnum. All rights in all media reserved. About the Author Drawing from the wisdom of native and ancient spiritual traditions, Keith Varnum shares his 30 years of practical success as an author, personal coach, acupuncturist, filmmaker, radio host, restaurateur, vision quest guide and international seminar leader with "The Dream Workshops." Keith helps people get the love, money and health they want with his free Prosperity Ezine, free Empowerment Tape and free Coaching at www.TheDream.com. ... Subscribe to our Poetry newsletter! Your email:

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Feature Article Dysgraphia Author: James O'Keefe Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing abilities. It can manifest itself as difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on paper. Because writing requires a complex set of motor and information processing skills, saying a student has dysgraphia is not sufficient. A student with disorders in written expression will benefit from specific accommodations in the learning environment, as well as additional practice learning the skills required to be an accomplished writer. What are the warning signs of dysgraphia? Just having bad handwriting doesn't mean a person has dysgraphia. Since dysgraphia is a processing disorder, difficulties can change throughout a lifetime. However since writing is a developmental process -children learn the motor skills needed to write, while learning the thinking skills needed to communicate on paper - difficulties can also overlap. If a person has trouble in any of the areas below, additional help may be beneficial: Tight, awkward pencil grip and body position Illegible handwriting Avoiding writing or drawing tasks Tiring quickly while writing Saying words out loud while writing Avoiding writing or drawing tasks Unfinished or omitted words in sentences Difficulty organizing thoughts on paper Difficulty with syntax structure and grammar Large gap between written ideas and understanding demonstrated through speech What strategies can help? There are many ways to help a person with dysgraphia achieve success. Generally strategies fall into two categories: Accommodations: providing alternatives to written expression Remediation: providing instruction for improving handwriting and writing skills Each type of strategy should be considered when planning instruction and support. A person with dysgraphia will benefit from help from both specialists and those who are closest to the person. Finding the most beneficial type of support is a process of trying different ideas and openly exchanging thoughts on what works best. Below are some examples of how to teach individuals with dysgraphia to overcome some of their difficulties with written expression: Early Writers - ·Use paper with raised lines for a sensory guide to staying within the lines. ·Try different pens and pencils to find one that's most comfortable. ·Practice writing letters and numbers in the air with big arm movements to improve motor memory of these important shapes. Also practice letters and numbers with smaller hand or finger motions. ·Encourage proper grip, posture and paper positioning for writing. It's important to reinforce this early as it's difficult for students to unlearn bad habits later on. ·Use multi-sensory techniques for learning letters, shapes and numbers. For example, speaking through motor sequences, such as "b" is "big stick down, circle away from my body." ·Introduce a word processor on a computer early; however do not eliminate handwriting for the child. While typing can make it easier to write by alleviating the frustration of forming letters, handwriting is a vital part of a person's ability to function in the world. ·Be patient and positive, encourage practice and praise effort - becoming a good writer takes time and practice. Young Students ·Allow use of print or cursive - whichever is more comfortable. ·Use large graph paper for math calculation to keep columns and rows organized. ·Allow extra time for writing assignments. ·Begin writing assignments creatively with drawing, or speaking ideas into a tape recorder ·Alternate focus of writing assignments - put the emphasis on some for neatness and spelling, others for grammar or organization of ideas. ·Explicitly teach different types of writing - expository and personal essays, short stories, poems, etc. ·Do not judge timed assignments on neatness and spelling. ·Have students proofread work after a delay - it's easier to see mistakes after a break. ·Help students create a checklist for editing work - spelling, neatness, grammar, syntax, clear progression of ideas, etc. ·Encourage use of a spell checker - speaking spell checkers are available for handwritten work ·Reduce amount of copying; instead, focus on writing original answers and ideas ·Have student complete tasks in small steps instead of all at once. ·Find alternative means of assessing knowledge, such as oral reports or visual projects ·Encourage practice through low-stress opportunities for writing such as letters, a diary, making household lists or keeping track of sports teams. Teenagers & Adults ·Provide tape recorders to supplement note taking and to prepare for writing assignments. ·Create a step-by-step plan that breaks writing assignments into small tasks (see below). ·When organizing writing projects, create a list of keywords that will be useful. ·Provide clear, constructive feedback on the quality of work, explaining both the strengths and weaknesses of the project, commenting on the structure as well as the information that is included. ·Use assistive technology such as voice-activated software if the mechanical aspects of writing remain a major hurdle. Many of these tips can be used by all age groups. It is never too early or too late to reinforce the skills needed to be a good writer. Though teachers and employers are required by law to make "reasonable accommodations" for individuals with learning disabilities, they may not be aware of how to help. Speak to them about dysgraphia, and explain the challenges you face as a result of your learning disability. How to Approach Writing Assignments 1.Plan your paper ·Pull together your ideas and consider how you want them in your writing. 2.Organize your thoughts and ideas 3.Create an outline or graphic organizer to be sure you've included all your ideas. 4.Make a list of key thoughts and words you will want to use in your paper. 5.Write a draft ·This first draft should focus on getting your ideas on paper - don't worry about making spelling or grammar errors. Using a computer is helpful because it will be easier to edit later on. 6.Edit your work ·Check your work for proper spelling, grammar and syntax; use a spell checker if necessary. ·Edit your paper to elaborate and enhance content - a thesaurus is helpful for finding different ways to make your point. 7.Revise your work, producing a final draft ·Rewrite your work into a final draft. ·Be sure to read it one last time before submitting it. About the Author James O'Keefe is the owner of http://www.aboutrsd.com About Rsd. offering FREE articles, tips, hints, and real-world advice on how to deal with various health issues. He is also the owner of http://www.theparentaladvocate.com The Parental Advocate. , which is dedicated to helping Special Education students' parents become better advocates for their children. ... Subscribe to our Poetry newsletter! Your email:

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Feature Article Robert Burns Love Poem: "A Red, Red Rose" Author: Garry Gamber Robert Burns, a poor man, an educated man, and a ladies' man, is representative of Scotland, much like whisky, haggis, bagpipes, and kilts. He lived a life shortened by rheumatic heart disease, 1759-1796, but his life journey through poverty, informal education, disappointed love, nationalism, and literary and financial success can be identified by all Scots and common men the world over. He has become almost a national symbol of all things Scottish. His life is like a love story with a happy ending. The Poet, Robert Burns Robert Burns's family raised seven children on sparse, rented farmland on the west coast of Scotland. The family cottage still stands as a proud tourist attraction. The family farm was not successful and the family moved from farm to farm. Life on the farm in western Scotland was harsh and Robert worked long hours with his father. Burn's father recognized the value of education and he managed to hire a local teacher to tutor Robert. He was an extremely bright student, mastering Shakespeare, current poets, French, Latin, philosophy, politics, geography, theology, and mathematics. His father read the Bible during the evenings around the cottage fireplace and Robert became an expert on the Bible and a devout Church member. Robert Burns wrote his first poem at age 15. The poem was called "Handsome Nell" and was about his first love for a girl named Nellie Blair. Throughout his life, Burns was a charming and witty man, attracting the attention of numerous women. A dozen or more women can be identified as the inspiration for various poems. Burns wrote many famous love poems, including "A Red, Red Rose" and "One Fond Kiss." Here's an excerpt from "Handsome Nell." "O once I loved a bonnie lass, Aye, and I love her still; And whilst that virtue warms my breast, I'll love my handsome Nell." Burns, in a later comment on this poem, stated that he had "never had the least thought or inclination of turning poet till I got once heartily in love, and then rhyme and song were, in a manner, the spontaneous language of my heart." The Turning Point In 1786, at age 27, Robert Burns went through a major turning point in his life. He suffered a disappointing love affair with Jean Armour, who was pregnant with his twin sons. The local community and Armour's father were outraged by the affair and her father rejected Burns's offer of marriage. Dejected and depressed, Burns made plans to leave Scotland and sail to Jamaica in the West Indies. To finance the trip, Burns submitted a volume of his poetry for publication. The publication of 612 copies in a simple, unbound volume was called "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect," also sometimes known as "The Kilmarnock Edition." The poems were well received in Edinburgh by socialites who were enchanted by the poems and amazed that a poor farmer could write so well. So, instead of planning his escape to a new world, Burns planned a trip to Edinburgh. His confident manner, ingratiating style, and his obvious wit and intelligence brought Burns popularity and admiration. Soon, a second publication of his work was executed in Edinburgh. The Growing Popularity During his stay in Edinburgh, Robert Burns met printer James Johnson, who planned a project to print all of the folk songs in Scotland. This project enthralled Burns and embarked upon a journey throughout Scotland to collect as many folk songs as possible. Burns collected over 300 songs and wrote a few himself, including "A Red, Red Rose." One of the results of his travels throughout Scotland was that Robert Burns ingratiated himself to everyone he met and he rose to national prominence and popularity. The collected songs were published by Johnson in six volumes and by George Thomson in a five volume set. Another happy outcome of this turning point in Robert Burns's life is that he was able to return home and marry his beloved Jean Armour, now with the blessing of her family. Robert Burns continued to collect and write songs for The Scots Musical Museum, an anthology of traditional Scottish lyrical poems, until his untimely death from rheumatic heart disease in 1796. Within a few years of his death groups of Robert Burns's friends and fans gathered to promote his memory and to celebrate his life. By 1801, five years after his death, groups met on the anniversary of his death, but later they began to meet on the anniversary of his birth, January 25. Now there are many Burns clubs and societies who celebrate his memory with dinners, including haggis, and readings of his works. The Poem, "A Red, Red Rose" One of the most famous songs that Robert Burns wrote for this project and first published in 1794 was "A Red, Red Rose." Burns wrote it as a traditional ballad, four verses of four lines each. "A Red, Red Rose" begins with a quatrain containing two similes. Burns compares his love with a springtime blooming rose and then with a sweet melody. These are popular poetic images and this is the stanza most commonly quoted from the poem. The second and third stanzas become increasingly complex, ending with the metaphor of the "sands of life," or hourglass. One the one hand we are given the image of his love lasting until the seas run dry and the rocks melt with the sun, wonderfully poetic images. On the other hand Burns reminds us of the passage of time and the changes that result. That recalls the first stanza and its image of a red rose, newly sprung in June, which we know from experience will change and decay with time. These are complex and competing images, typical of the more mature Robert Burns. The final stanza wraps up the poem's complexity with a farewell and a promise of return. "A Red, Red Rose" is written as a ballad with four stanzas of four lines each. Each stanza has alternating lines of four beats, or iambs, and three beats. The first and third lines have four iambs, consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in da-dah, da-dah, da-dah, da-dah. The second and fourth lines consist of three iambs. This form of verse is well adapted for singing or recitation and originated in the days when poetry existed in verbal rather than written form. A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns O my luve's like a red, red rose. That's newly sprung in June; O my luve's like a melodie That's sweetly play'd in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will love thee still, my Dear, Till a'the seas gang dry. Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun: I will luve thee still, my Dear, While the sands o'life shall run. And fare thee weel my only Luve! And fare thee weel a while! And I will come again, my Luve, Tho' it were ten thousand mile! ***************************** Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He writes articles about real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of http://www.anchoragehomes.inetusanow.net " http://www.Anchorage-Homes.com and http://www.thedatingadvisor.com " http://www.TheDatingAdvisor.com. ... Subscribe to our Poetry newsletter! Your email:

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Poetry-11

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Feature Article Ogham and Aymara Author: Robert Bruce Baird OGHAM: As any reader of my work knows by now, Ogham and an Ogham mentor played a major role in altering my life and commitment to learning about the ancients. I think Ogham was the original alphabet derived from chants, shamanic healing (Luis Beth Nion) and the lunar calendrical math shown in the work of archaeologists like Alexander Marshack. In fact I have shown that it includes binary math like the quipas even before recent research confirmed it. Here is a man who seems to see the same integration of spiritual and scientific knowledge and the choice of the name for his foundation is equally interesting. Mt. Meru is said to be from whence the Hindu people were taught their religion and I think my first published book (Diverse Druids) gave good evidences to show this is the Tarim Basin Kelts and their work. This excerpt is taken from the World-Mysteries.com site and there is a link there to more of Mr. Tenen's work at that excellent compendium of knowledge being gathered by a physicist/astronomer who has been most helpful to me and my work. "The Meru Project is based on 30 years of research by Stan Tenen into the origin and nature of the Hebrew alphabet, and the mathematical structure underlying the sequence of letters of the Hebrew text of Genesis. From the Introductory Text: 'The Meru Project has discovered an extraordinary and unexpected geometric metaphor in the letter-sequence of the Hebrew text of Genesis that underlies and is held in common by the spiritual traditions of the ancient world. This metaphor models embryonic growth and self-organization. It applies to all whole systems, including those as seemingly diverse as meditational practices and the mathematics fundamental to physics and cosmology... Meru Project findings demonstrate that the relationship between physical theory and consciousness, expressed in explicit geometric metaphor, was understood and developed several thousand years ago.'" Ogham includes binary math taken into other alphabets that maintain and develop archetypes and constructs of energy. In Luis Beth Nion it is a medicinal usage that is highlighted. There are many tracts and roots for Ogham and I am not the only researcher who sees it is similar to the I Ching which may be derived from it through the Tarim Basin Red-Heads who we can now say are the people Lao Tzu went to meet as he neared the end of his life on Earth. Chanting and other harmonic or clicking noises not unlike the whales are possibly the beginning of all language and ESP would have been more developed in pre-language times as well as what Plato noted about a writing alphabet leading to a loss of disciplined wisdom. The language development schools of the Phoenician Kelts all came from Ogham and it is widely acknowledged that Hebrew and other Mediterranean languages all came via the Phoenicians. The Aymará language of Peru is developed by the Chachapoyas leaders of the Incas and earlier cultures there. These white Keltic people who were running Peruvian cocaine to Egypt before the time of Moses are the real nature of corporate or cultural history, which I cover in my book on that region. For that reason I need to provide some of the work related to what most people cannot fathom could be true. I will leave it to the reader to verify Balabanova and her forensic court admissible proof of the cocaine mummies that Professor Martin Bernal of Rutgers also thinks is excellent evidence. You can also look to the Bas-relief in Lima that shows Kelts there in the pre-ceramic era. Let's look at the work of Sister Serghetti of the Vatican for the matter of binary code or chaos science in these original sacerdotal codes or alphabets. The Aymará Code: Sister Serena Serghetti of the Franciscan Order is a great linguist and she used the Peruvian Aymará language in very interesting ways which support the theory that binary math was part of the 'Quipas' (said to be able to keep poetry) and Ogham as a root for all languages which we have and will continue to touch upon. Another recent report from Steve Connor of The Independent says these things that confirm the following quotation. "… a leading scholar of South American antiquity believes the Inca did have a form of non-verbal communication written in an encoded language similar to the binary code of today's computers. Gary Urton, professor of anthropology at Harvard University, has re-analysed the complicated knotted strings of the Inca - decorative objects called khipu - and found they contain a seven-bit binary code capable of conveying more than 1,500 separate units of information." This next quote is taken from a whistleblower site on the Web, the article dealt with Antarctica and some fishy things going on there at Lake Vostok, so please forgive the choppiness of my excerpting. "But members of the archaeological community in the Near East point out that Serghetti is also one of the Vatican's top linguists… Serghetti first made waves as a linguist in the late 1990s when she presented a universal translator software application at a United Nations Earth Summit. Building on the work of Bolivian mathematician Ivan Buzman de Rojas, Serghetti used the ancient Aymará language of the Andes to translate English into more than 26 languages. 'The rigid, logical structure of Aymará itself is ideal for transformation into computer algorithm,' she said at the time. 'Its syntactical rules can be spelled out in the kind of algebraic shorthand that computers understand.' Since then the U.S. National Security Agency has been trying to get its hands on Serghetti's system, according to one codebreaker from Britain's MI-6 intelligence branch who tried and failed to recruit Serghetti. 'The Aymará language is so pure that the NSA suspects it didn't just evolve like other languages but was constructed from scratch,' the MI-6 source said. {A Sacerdotal language like Hebrew, used by the university chaos science types?} In fact, the earliest Aymará myth says that after the Great Flood, strangers attempted to build a city on Lake Titicaca -- Tiahuanaco with its great Temple of the Sun – but suddenly abandoned it and disappeared. According to legend, they came from the lost island paradise of "Aztlan," the Aztec version of Atlantis. 'In other words,' said one Meso-American linguist, speaking on condition of anonymity, 'Sister Serghetti may well know the language of the Atlanteans.'" About the Author Columnist in The ES Press Magazine World-Mysteries.com guest expert Author of Diverse Druids ... Subscribe to our Poetry newsletter! Your email:

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Feature Article Paul's Letter to 21st Century Christians Author: Rev. Saundra L. Washington I received a letter this week that is written in Greek that I have translated and would like to share with you. It is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and it is addressed to: all my brothers and sisters living in the 21st century. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. For many years I have longed to see you. I have heard a great deal about you and all the marvelous things you are doing. News has reached me that your scientific and technological advances are phenomenal. You have at your disposal automobiles so luxurious that the average man in my day would never have conceived such a possibility. I have heard about your ingenious skyscrapers and huge builders. I understand some folks become a bit dizzy and faint, just looking up at them. It boggles my mind just contemplating the fascinating achievements you have attained. It is my understanding the medical technology can cure in the twinkling of an eye, the plagues and diseases that would destroy us by the thousands. All of this is wonderful. You can do so much more in your day than I could do in the Greco-Roman world of my day. Your educational facilities and advantages are superb and beyond compare to any other time in human history. You can travel distances in 5 days that in my day, required 5 years. All of this is marvelous. And what is this I hear about that high-tech deluxe jumbo jet called Air force One. I'm told it's a floating mansion with sophisticated and extensive electronics. You have computers and cellular phones that make it possible for you to contact just about anybody in the world while cruising tens of thousands of feet in the air. All of this is simply fabulous. I am a staunch believer in progress. I believe in development. I believe in growth and advancement. I think all of these are splendid. But I wonder if your moral and spiritual progress has kept up with your scientific and technological progress. From what I have been hearing, your spiritual progress lags far behind your technological progress. It seems to me that you have plenty of money – but very little manners; lots of gossip – but little Gospel; prey on bad news – ignore God's good news; play too much – pray too little; fine houses – very few homes; lots of lust – very little love; talk too much – testify too little; lots of churches – few temples of God; lots of formality – little spirituality; lots of beliefs – no faith. And what are these Situation Ethics I keep haring about? In my day it was, children obey your parents. But it seems like you all have changed it to; parents obey your children. I am proud to hear America, that through your political genius you have managed to make your world a neighborhood. I understand that you have been able to establish working relationships with far away countries and that is beautiful. But it is tragic that with all you have at your disposal; you have failed to make it a Brotherhood. Oh yes, my brothers and sisters, you have managed to produce the ultimate in scientific knowledge. In my day in my wildest imagination, we never would have thought of the invention of nuclear bombs; that deadly weapon that can be dropped from a plane on the heads of millions of people and can set the whole world on fire with the press of a button. You live in an age of technological genius. But I also heard the other day that you live in an age of longing, age of anxiety, age of suspicion and fear. You live in an age in which people are afraid to defend the faith for fear of offending disbelievers; an age of compromise and acceptance and tolerance for the intolerable. You live in an age where all representations of Christianity in the work place, community and government offices are considered inappropriate and to be reserved for the private home environment only. So it seems like you have plenty of genius but no wisdom. Therefore I find it necessary to write to you to remind you; in the midst of all your great knowledge and advancement, of the responsibility laid upon you to represent Jesus Christ. In a time when man's inhumanity to man has reached chaotic proportions and destroying the very foundation of ethical values, we need those who are willing to take a stand for Jesus Christ. You are the salt of the earth; you are able to be a light in the midst of a dark world. You have become one the richest nations under the sun. You live in a land that flows with milk and honey. You have eaten from grapes that you did not plant; you live in homes that you did not build, and yet I hear the painful cries of people all over the world dying of starvation. Therefore I, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, deem it necessary to write to you to inform you that God is still able. It seems to me you depend more on pills than you depend on God. I understand you have invented pills to come in all shapes and sizes, all colors and taste. You have a pill for just about everything. But it is strange that out of all these pills, there is not one that will prevent a person from lying and cheating, stealing and killing. Well, that being said brothers and sisters; I encourage you to take a stand for the Lord. Live or die, survive or perish, stand on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" Ephesians 6:10-20). "Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him– to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen" (Romans 16:25-27). About the Author Rev. Saundra L. Washington, is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of http://www.clergyservices4u.org AMEN Ministries She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow, Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances, Homilies that Teach. ... Subscribe to our Poetry newsletter! Your email:

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Feature Article Poetry to help in bereavement. Author: Malcolm James Pugh When I wander in countryside, Or when water runs quite near I feel you are there somewhere I feel there is more than me here I suspect and sense Im not alone But in the presence of quiet power Sometimes I see it at sunset, Others caught up in a shower. Any time Im alone with nature, And my senses are subdued If I relax my attention And Im not prone to brood Then suddenly I know theres more Than I can directly perceive, In the whistling of the breeze, In the rustling of the leaves, And wonder if my old friends, Are still living after all, Just somewhere else entirely, Out of reach and out of call, I know at times though beyond reason There is more than meets the eye, Another meaning to the seasons, Another twinkling in my eye, As if just out of vision, At a place of perfect prayer You may be guard over me, Whenever my friends are not there, And finally when I have to leave here I will be not be so alone, For ill have my favourite guardian To safely steer me home. Below. I look down and see you frown, Alone and lost and bereaved, I sense the hopeless and the helpless, And doubters of all they believed, You cant conceive that I would leave, And not be there for always, Yet I am not there any more, And never will be all your days, Its hard to allow Im not there now, Just like I have always been, But I cant get in touch conventionally, Out of hearing and unseen, Lost to touch and as such, Effectively gone and passed away, But I can speak to you sometimes, Just in a different way, It may be happiness in a sunset, It may be tinkling at water flowing, It may be coincidences always coming, Or flashbacks in time always going, It may be saving you from danger, As if by a whim or circumstance, For I watch out for you now, And your luck isnt down to chance, So Im not so very far away, As you would think or believe, Im just invisible to the eye, Or any sense you can conceive, But though you cant perceive me, And think me gone dont cry, For one day youll be with me, And one day you will know why. Mist. I cant believe that ill never see, The person that was always there for me, The one who always had a smile, On days when others run a mile, Who listened to my boring tales, And supported me when I felt frail, Who always put me first before, They would think of having more, Who if they had only one would laugh, And faultlessly would give me half, Yet now they arent there any more, Who I could touch and see before, i cant phone and hear their voice, I dont even have the choice, Theyre gone and I cant take it in, Ill never see them laugh or grin, So I hope they know I really cared, All the time that they were there, I wish id said more instead of mimed, But I thought wed have much more time, So if you can hear me now at last, I cant change things done and past, But I can tell you that now I know, All the debts I really owe, And all the words I should have said, Are still all here inside my head, All you will ever need to do, Is look inside me to see theyre true. Life and Death. Where do we go when we die, Is there something there we cant perceive, Maybe others would not have to cry, If they saw just what can be achieved, They say some religions see us weighted, Like a deep sea diver whilst alive, And that afterwards we are liberated, And light enough to float accross the skies. Perhaps if mourners could once see, We pass from pain and age and endless toil, Onwards to a state of pure tranquility, And not just burned or interred under the soil. Perhaps accepted means of disposal are harsh, In relation to our true form and destination, Perhaps really down here we flounder in a marsh, Wheras afterwards we are but free sensation. Most visions of near death encounters, Only mention painless progress towards light, So when it eventually seeks to surmount us, Why fear darkness or endless night. Those left behind have the hardest task, To try to make sense of what is gone, To accept we arent there any more to ask, To realise our last glimmerings have shone, I treasure my friends in flashback memories, Often jolted into view causing a tear, I cant understand just where theyve gone, And why they are not still here, It seems inconceivable they werent spared, I wish Id said more when they breathed, But I just hope they know I cared, Even though I dont know why they had to leave. I know in part some of my heart, Wonders, through their untimely parting, When my own final fate will start, And realisation is soon darting, That one day, someday, it will be me, That others will see instead of them, That it will inevitably finally be, That I join the ranks of mortal men. Perhaps they sense me now and feel pity, That I have to struggle on on earth, Whilst they live in enlightened cities, Lit by happiness and filled with mirth, Maybe hell is here and now and grieving, And heaven is where you go when you die, Maybe we should be happy at their leaving, Maybe they look at US and want to cry. Whatever the truth after our youth, Fades away until the end of days, We shouldnt waste forever seeking truth, Shouldnt ever analyse lifes tragic ways, Surely if they can see you and me, They would reach down and dry our eyes, They would want us to be happy again, And not wander forever traumatised, If you were they and saw the way, You seemed to them way down below, You would want to reluctantly say, I must move on even though I know, That Ill never ever hear their voice, Never see them and never touch their face, For its what would be their choice, If they could only tinker with our fate. It wont happen in just an hour, Or just a day or just a year, But one day it will sit easier, Even though you are never here. You were my friend at lifes end, No one can take that away from me, And no one will ever quite transcend, What you will always mean to me, But I understand that now its planned, A new chapter starts as this one ends, And I wont actually be eternally damned, If I make new aquaintances and friends, Ill not forget all those close Ive met, And all the times and tides we shared, And Ill often wonder why they went, And why it was that I was spared, But I owe it to their memories gone, To not cause them grief if they can see, And to try to pick up and soldier on, And show them the person that was me, For if they see the world through my medium, Im sure they would much rather see, A world not wrapped in tedium, And all grief finally set free. Its not forsaking memories of the past, To move forwards towards new light, Its what they would want if asked, Its what they would see as right, They know you will always think on, They know you will always care, They know because they havnt gone Because they are always there, Maybe they cant communicate as such, Maybe they seem lost except in dreams, But they still care about you just as much, From behind seemingly invisible screens, And they would wish you happiness, They would want you to laugh out loud, They would gaze with tenderness, And they could be only proud, If they saw your internal war, Disappear forever without a trace, And all the grief from before, Become a smile upon your face. For you cant undo whats been done, However unfair it seemed, It can happen to anyone, And to any of our dreams, You cant turn back the tide, You can just sink or survive, They are still there inside, As long as you are alive, Theres no guilt in being content, No shame in living life again, No need explaining what is meant, No need to prolong the pain, They would say so if they could speak They would write it if allowed, They dont want you to be meek They dont want you to be cowed, They just want you as you were Before fate threw its tumbling dice Before everything became a blur And when everything was nice. They just want to turn your clock, On to a better time and place, So you emerge from out of shock, With a calm and happy face. What was oblivion and apocalypse, Beyond imagination or belief, Has transmuted to a flock of ships, Sailing on a sea of abject grief, Who, battered by constant stormy rancour, And often seemingly lost or destroyed, Are now tranquilly at anchor, And peacefully deployed. Their hulls retain the knocks, And their sails the rents of rage, But they overcame the rocks, And they finally came of age, Now they know the ebb and flow, And the tempest out of naught, The better armed with what they know, with all that they have been taught, Their old crew missing a few, Not lost just out of sight, So they have recruited anew, To set the final balance right, Until the day they sail away, Never returning to these shores, They will be cast as unsurpassed, And be legendary for evermore, For not bowing to the strain, For fighting forward though sorely harmed, For acknowledging life is often pain, And that we arent all charmed, For coming out the other side, When it was easier to fall, It makes them worthy of our pride, It makes them victors after all. Life. While we breathe we must believe We are here for some purpose in some plan Surely there must be lasting meaning In the intelligence and love of man. We often wonder why were all doomed to die Just when we become calm and wise And ponder anew what will we do When we finally close our eyes Why are we here, it is not clear, And if nihil and darkness is our fate Why do we strive with endless drive With only nothingness lying in wait Where are those dear who were so near One can almost feel them still As if energy waves from beyond the graves Keep them constant in our will Maybe all survives, for all our lives In a constant energy flux And sometimes were bees sometimes leaves And sometimes we are us. If mass is energy born in a different form Maybe we are constantly changing guise And we do not pass on were just there and gone But now beyond ears and eyes There seems little chance such a complex dance As the human body and the mind Was randomly formed over all And evolved to what we find Impossible to suppose that when life goes It all meant nothing and is wasted Why then are we such complexity What of the dreams weve tasted What of love, being hand in glove What of friends and never parting What reason for our seasons What point in ever starting I think we subscribe until we die To a vast knowlege base building on Then we change clothes and the old life goes But our energy is never gone It transforms anew to me or you Becomes different but the same And what we learned is surely burned In an archive with our name. So after all whether big or small We all contribute in our own way To the greater knowledge of everyone From the experiences of our days, So maybe we will always be Just in a different suit or gown Meeting again later due to nature Cycling up and cycling down. Its the spark that is our heart And makes us all what we seem And it always fires, never tires An endless energetic dream. So dont think of me as ceased to be Dont call me dead and gone Im still alive beyond your eyes My energy simply carries on You may not hear me with your ear You may not see me whole But im still me always will be Its what you call my soul, So when breath dies with death And my eyes finally close Im not passed away will not decay Im just in different clothes. http://www.stiffsteiffs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk the new site everyone is talking about. About the Author Ex systems programmer revelling in loss of sanity. ... Subscribe to our Poetry newsletter! Your email:

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Dimly Lit Poetry - A Moonlit Journey through Urban Decay
Author: Owen Johnston

Urban Decay
Slowly descending
The spiral staircase
Into urban decay
On this night long journey -
Preceded by flashlight
And followed by the full moon,
Whose eyes hold us all in
His view as the street light
Flickers in and out in orange shades.

Spirit of the Past
The spirit of the past
Lives in
The whispers of the wind and
The hoot of the hoary owl,
Which echoes sadly evermore
Against the lonely trees -
Who for days uncounted
Have seen the endless journeys of men
Come to and end beneath them -
This final respite
Marked by names and dates
On lonely tombs.

Ghost Hunting
There is a ghost in the shell
Of every old place -
Whether the unclaimed metal skeleton
Of an abandoned steel mill,
Or the spirit that lingers
On the grounds of a historic graveyard.
These ancient places carry
The immortal remnants
Of old civilization.

Exploring them to
Examine their secrets
Like an urban archaeologist -
Chasing down the answers
To urban legends
And ghost stories -
Simply to know
What came before.

Abandoned Factory
Once full of life,
This old building;
With memories locked away
Under layers of dust.
Cigarette butts and broken beer bottles
Litter the lonely lot.

Once vital and active
In the world of mortal men,
Now immortal in its skeletal frame -
The ghost in the shell of the
Abandoned factory
Speaks secrets of long misused tools,
Broken cinder blocks,
And locked away rooms -
Modern ruins and electric tombs
Long left behind
On this hidden highway.
And evermore in urban legend.

Stomping Ground
Traversing the rural fringes
Of urban reality,
Haunting the spirits
With lamps and curious minds.

Marble City
I know when you were born and died,
But I want to see beyond the moss
On your gravestone.
Who were you in life?

Old Church

I. Cathedral.
I go back in time as I brush webs of dust
From the stained glass window,
Wondering what secrets this
Old church buried with its dead.

II. Esoteric.
As stained as memory,
This old window yet reflects light
Like the sermons once held
In the holy hall.

Farewell Party (Leaving the Old Church)
The ravens on the roof
Stand guard like gargoyles -
These grim feathered ghouls
Perch atop the once proud passages
That they now pretend to own,
And sing a sad a cappella
In mockery of memory.

To End a Journey
I leave as the morning light
Lifts the late night's velvet veil
And the moon bids farewell
To the starry sky,
Wondering if warning signs
Will be like hieroglyphs
To a future age.

Into the Light
Walking at the crack of dawn on
This early morn,
Through fresh cut grass
And beside foggy fields,
My shoes soaked with dew -

I stop to take a drink
And pause to think:
This simple heaven's
Greater'n
That urban hell.

Atalaya
Dark watch tower
Overlooking the lonely beach
Built without blueprint -
Summer home sculpted
From brick and mortar,
Its plans first and solely sketched
In the dreams of a genius and poet.

Ordered chaos - artistic anarchy;
The sculpture room seems to
Summon the spirit
Of the poet's late wife -
As if the ghost
Of the lady sculptor
Haunts the mossy halls
Just to finish her last work.

Manifest Destiny
How wild was the west?
How true rang the gold,
That men sought and killed
For it?

How mighty the steed,
And how much mightier
The man who rode it
And held the law on his hip?
How long the roads of those days?
How deep the secrets?
Would the spirits of
Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp
Speak to us in the old saloon?

The above poems were excerpted from the author's upcoming online book "Dark Passage". View other online poetry at Johnston Arts - Online Publications. Join poetry discussions at the Johnston Karate Online Community.

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Complete your bookshelves with bookends
Author: Johann Erickson
When trying to decide how to best decorate a shelf or table top, http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/bookends-book-ends.html">bookends should be considered. They are great decorating accent pieces and also work as functional items, preventing book warping, decreasing page wrinkling, and protecting book covers. In addition to preserving your books, bookends add finesse to home offices, libraries, children's rooms, and family rooms. For a unique decorating approach, place them in a bathroom to hold bubble bath reading material.


But bookends don't only hold books. They can add drama to a CD collection, accessorize photo albums, or hold folders of work to be completed—use your imagination. You can arrange cookbooks between bookends that match your http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/kitchen-decor.html">kitchen decor, whether it is roosters, apples, or http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/decorative-bottles.html">decorative bottles. Then, group with baskets, http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/decorative-plates.html">decorative plates, or a prized http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/cookiejars.html">cookie jar. Books that no one intends to read can be partnered with bookends and displayed on top of kitchen cabinets.


What kind of bookends are available? Any kind you want. You simply need to determine what material and shape the book ends need to be in order to contribute to the definition of a particular room. For example, a little girl's room could utilize bookends that look like http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/29481.html">Noah's Ark to hold her collection of Childrens books. http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/31386.html">Brass eagle book ends would look great in a den filled with deer heads and decoys, while http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/06-33570.html">cherub characters may fit best in an elegant living room holding books of romantic poetry.


Are your books lined up neatly in a bookshelf? Don't be afraid to jazz it up a bit. Take the books out of the case and divide them according to subject. Chances are good that you will have several titles per subject. Then purchase bookends in a style that matches the subject matter. Arrange them in groups on your bookshelf along side http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/interior-dzcor-picture-frames.html">framed pictures, http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/decorative-plates.html">decorative plates, or http://www.onlinediscountmart.com/flower-vases.html">vases.


Book ends provide an opportunity to infuse your personality or interests into a room. Because they serve a dual purpose, book ends are a justifiable decorating expense. You can preserve your books while adding a new element or focal point to your living spaces.

About the Author

Johann Erickson is the owner of http://www.onlinediscountmart.com">Online Discount Mart Please include an active link to our site if you'd like to reprint this article.

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Children's Author Creates New Family Classics
Author: Lisa M. Hendey
Children's Author Creates New Family Classics
Author Interview with Mary Quattlebaum, Family Reunion
By Lisa M. Hendey

I love the joy of discovering new authors and sharing them with my children, both of whom love to read as much as I do. One of my new favorites, although she's been writing for years, is Mary Quattlebaum, author of the beautifully illustrated Family Reunion (Erdman's, February 2004, hardcover, 32 pages) and the wonderful Jackson Jones chapter book series. A classic storyteller, Quattlebaum takes a little "poetic license" in the beautifully illustrated Family Reunion. Through the eyes of one young girl, the story of a family's reunion at the shore unfolds in fifteen uniquely styled poems. Watercolor illustrations by Andrea Shine combine with Quattlebaum's artful verse to make this a book your family will treasure together.

Moving away from the picture book format and into chapter books, Mary Quattlebaum has also recently released the second installment in her popular Jackson Jones series, Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, August 2004, paperback, 112 pages). This celebrated children's author has the gift of storytelling, and she's working to encourage children to find their own voice. In conjunction with Reunions Magazine, Quattlebaum invites children to reflect on time spent at family reunions through their written or drawn reflections.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Mary Quattlebaum and am pleased to share her thoughts on writing and her books.

Q: I'm pleased to be able to share the following Book Spotlight interview with Mary Quattlebaum, author of numerous books including Family Reunion and Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop. Mary, thanks for your time and for sharing your talent! Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.

A: Hi, Lisa. Thanks so much for having me. I grew up with three brothers, three sisters, and many pets (dogs, cats, hamsters, chickens, ducks, horses, cows) in the country (rural Virginia) and now live in our nation's capital (Washington, DC) with my husband, daughter, guinea pig and numerous fish. I've loved writing since I was a kid and was lucky to have parents who read aloud to us. I especially remember my father reading Black Beauty and nursery rhymes before bedtime and my mother bringing us to the public library every two weeks. We'd carry all our books in a big wicker laundry basket!

Q: Family Reunion tells the story of Jodie, a ten year old taking a trip to a meet extended family at a special reunion. The book's artwork, by Andrea Shine, is incredible. Please share with our readers how this book came about.

A: Writing the poems in Family Reunion gave me a chance to re-live the joyful gatherings of my childhood and to explore what made them deeply memorable--playing with cousins, hearing grandparents' stories, eating fun food like watermelon. My daughter, nieces and nephews all enjoy today's family reunions for the very same reasons. Family Reunion is also a lot a fun to talk about when I visit schools. Kids love to share and write about their own experiences--whether they gather at the beach, Disney World, or their grandparents' home and whether they eat hamburgers, mangoes or spicy adobo. Kids also like finding the collage treasures (leaves, letters, bits of pretty paper) illustrator Andrea Shine has hidden in her beautiful watercolors. (Check www.maryquattlebaum.com for information on Reunions, a national magazine, interested in publishing kids' stories, drawings and photos about their family reunions.)

Q: Family Reunion is unique in that it features a story, told through a variety of forms of poetry. What was your goal behind using poetry, as opposed to prose, to share your message?


A: Through poetry, I hoped to capture and quickly convey a reunion's emotional high points for a child: the initial shyness of "Getting There," the fun of connecting with cousins in "Cloud Visions" and "Lightning Bugs," the pleasure of cooking and eating together in "A Feast and Talk-Fest," the sadness of leaving in "Going Back" and "Letter to Nana." Also, as a kid, I had loved (and still do!) the incredible "language package" that is poetry, the way everything--metaphor, rhythm, image, sound--is heightened, the way each word, each mark of punctuation is important. Family Reunion includes different poetic forms (sonnet, haiku, ballad, free verse, etc.) to expand young readers' awareness of poetry--and encourage their own writing.

Q: How do themes of faith and family impact upon your writing?

A: I'm often unaware of larger themes when I write a book. When I get an idea, I'm so curious about the characters that my early drafts revolve around trying to stay true to their voices and to figure out what they want to do next. The themes must sort of creep in, I guess, while I'm writing.

Q: My boys and I loved your latest children's novel Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop, for its great story and its positive themes. Do you have plans for future additions to the Jackson Jones series? Why do you think kids are so drawn to Jackson?

A: I'm so glad your boys liked Jackson! I've heard from other young readers that they liked this character for his humor and the way he'd "keep trying" even when things got rough. Some kids have also said that they enjoyed the community garden setting. As to another Jackson Jones book, I'm delighted to report that a third book will be published in the next year or so.

Q: I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about your wonderful classic, The Shine Man. Tell us about this story and its moral.

A: The Shine Man was inspired by my father's stories about growing up during the Depression, a time when many Americans lacked food, warm clothing and adequate shelter. Larry, a shoeshine man, moves from town to town, trying to find work. One snowy evening he makes a little Christmas ornament--a spoolie angel--from scraps and suddenly encounters a poorly dressed, mischievous boy who teases him for the toy. When Larry finally gives it to him, the child gives him a Christmas miracle. So the book is about the power of giving--even when there isn't much to give. For me, it's been so touching to see how children interpret the ending. After one reading, a little boy sat back and said with satisfaction, "Well, now Larry is an angel."

Q: Mary, I know that you do a lot of work with encouraging children to express themselves through writing. What can parents do to motivate their children to write and to share their ideas, hopes and dreams in story or poetry form?

A: Probably one of the best motivators for kids is the example of their own parents! Families might set aside time after holidays or vacations to organize photos and write a paragraph or so about the event. It's fascinating to see how differently each family member will remember the same event! And it's so much fun to re-read those pieces as the years pass and to see how handwriting, perceptions, etc., have changed.

For more information on books by Mary Quattlebaum visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?search-type=ss&tag=catholicmomcom&keyword=Quattlebaum%20Mary&mode=books

Lisa M. Hendey, wife, mother and webmaster of http://www.CatholicMom.com and http://www.ChristianColoring.com is an avid reader and writes from Fresno, California.

About the Author

Lisa M. Hendey, wife, mother and webmaster of http://www.CatholicMom.com and http://www.ChristianColoring.com is an avid reader and writes from Fresno, California.

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Children's Author Creates New Family Classics
Author: Lisa M. Hendey
Children's Author Creates New Family Classics
Author Interview with Mary Quattlebaum, Family Reunion
By Lisa M. Hendey

I love the joy of discovering new authors and sharing them with my children, both of whom love to read as much as I do. One of my new favorites, although she's been writing for years, is Mary Quattlebaum, author of the beautifully illustrated Family Reunion (Erdman's, February 2004, hardcover, 32 pages) and the wonderful Jackson Jones chapter book series. A classic storyteller, Quattlebaum takes a little "poetic license" in the beautifully illustrated Family Reunion. Through the eyes of one young girl, the story of a family's reunion at the shore unfolds in fifteen uniquely styled poems. Watercolor illustrations by Andrea Shine combine with Quattlebaum's artful verse to make this a book your family will treasure together.

Moving away from the picture book format and into chapter books, Mary Quattlebaum has also recently released the second installment in her popular Jackson Jones series, Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, August 2004, paperback, 112 pages). This celebrated children's author has the gift of storytelling, and she's working to encourage children to find their own voice. In conjunction with Reunions Magazine, Quattlebaum invites children to reflect on time spent at family reunions through their written or drawn reflections.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Mary Quattlebaum and am pleased to share her thoughts on writing and her books.

Q: I'm pleased to be able to share the following Book Spotlight interview with Mary Quattlebaum, author of numerous books including Family Reunion and Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop. Mary, thanks for your time and for sharing your talent! Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.

A: Hi, Lisa. Thanks so much for having me. I grew up with three brothers, three sisters, and many pets (dogs, cats, hamsters, chickens, ducks, horses, cows) in the country (rural Virginia) and now live in our nation's capital (Washington, DC) with my husband, daughter, guinea pig and numerous fish. I've loved writing since I was a kid and was lucky to have parents who read aloud to us. I especially remember my father reading Black Beauty and nursery rhymes before bedtime and my mother bringing us to the public library every two weeks. We'd carry all our books in a big wicker laundry basket!

Q: Family Reunion tells the story of Jodie, a ten year old taking a trip to a meet extended family at a special reunion. The book's artwork, by Andrea Shine, is incredible. Please share with our readers how this book came about.

A: Writing the poems in Family Reunion gave me a chance to re-live the joyful gatherings of my childhood and to explore what made them deeply memorable--playing with cousins, hearing grandparents' stories, eating fun food like watermelon. My daughter, nieces and nephews all enjoy today's family reunions for the very same reasons. Family Reunion is also a lot a fun to talk about when I visit schools. Kids love to share and write about their own experiences--whether they gather at the beach, Disney World, or their grandparents' home and whether they eat hamburgers, mangoes or spicy adobo. Kids also like finding the collage treasures (leaves, letters, bits of pretty paper) illustrator Andrea Shine has hidden in her beautiful watercolors. (Check www.maryquattlebaum.com for information on Reunions, a national magazine, interested in publishing kids' stories, drawings and photos about their family reunions.)

Q: Family Reunion is unique in that it features a story, told through a variety of forms of poetry. What was your goal behind using poetry, as opposed to prose, to share your message?


A: Through poetry, I hoped to capture and quickly convey a reunion's emotional high points for a child: the initial shyness of "Getting There," the fun of connecting with cousins in "Cloud Visions" and "Lightning Bugs," the pleasure of cooking and eating together in "A Feast and Talk-Fest," the sadness of leaving in "Going Back" and "Letter to Nana." Also, as a kid, I had loved (and still do!) the incredible "language package" that is poetry, the way everything--metaphor, rhythm, image, sound--is heightened, the way each word, each mark of punctuation is important. Family Reunion includes different poetic forms (sonnet, haiku, ballad, free verse, etc.) to expand young readers' awareness of poetry--and encourage their own writing.

Q: How do themes of faith and family impact upon your writing?

A: I'm often unaware of larger themes when I write a book. When I get an idea, I'm so curious about the characters that my early drafts revolve around trying to stay true to their voices and to figure out what they want to do next. The themes must sort of creep in, I guess, while I'm writing.

Q: My boys and I loved your latest children's novel Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop, for its great story and its positive themes. Do you have plans for future additions to the Jackson Jones series? Why do you think kids are so drawn to Jackson?

A: I'm so glad your boys liked Jackson! I've heard from other young readers that they liked this character for his humor and the way he'd "keep trying" even when things got rough. Some kids have also said that they enjoyed the community garden setting. As to another Jackson Jones book, I'm delighted to report that a third book will be published in the next year or so.

Q: I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about your wonderful classic, The Shine Man. Tell us about this story and its moral.

A: The Shine Man was inspired by my father's stories about growing up during the Depression, a time when many Americans lacked food, warm clothing and adequate shelter. Larry, a shoeshine man, moves from town to town, trying to find work. One snowy evening he makes a little Christmas ornament--a spoolie angel--from scraps and suddenly encounters a poorly dressed, mischievous boy who teases him for the toy. When Larry finally gives it to him, the child gives him a Christmas miracle. So the book is about the power of giving--even when there isn't much to give. For me, it's been so touching to see how children interpret the ending. After one reading, a little boy sat back and said with satisfaction, "Well, now Larry is an angel."

Q: Mary, I know that you do a lot of work with encouraging children to express themselves through writing. What can parents do to motivate their children to write and to share their ideas, hopes and dreams in story or poetry form?

A: Probably one of the best motivators for kids is the example of their own parents! Families might set aside time after holidays or vacations to organize photos and write a paragraph or so about the event. It's fascinating to see how differently each family member will remember the same event! And it's so much fun to re-read those pieces as the years pass and to see how handwriting, perceptions, etc., have changed.

For more information on books by Mary Quattlebaum visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?search-type=ss&tag=catholicmomcom&keyword=Quattlebaum%20Mary&mode=books

Lisa M. Hendey, wife, mother and webmaster of http://www.CatholicMom.com and http://www.ChristianColoring.com is an avid reader and writes from Fresno, California.

About the Author

Lisa M. Hendey, wife, mother and webmaster of http://www.CatholicMom.com and http://www.ChristianColoring.com is an avid reader and writes from Fresno, California.

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poetry-4

Poetry
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Bringing Creativity to Poetry
Author: Jake Rose

There are many factors that create poetry. There are many factors that create all types of writing. With a poem, not only do you have to focus on meaning and style of writing, you also have to deal with size and form. Some people choose to use already made and famous forms, such as a sonnet, while others prefer free styling it. Either way, there are plenty of creative ways to make the poem stand out even more.

This is all about adding something more visual to the poem, not about actually altering the writing. Though it may seem unimportant to some, bringing the poem out of just being a piece of writing and more into a visual art can really capture the feeling and expression in the poem and make the reader's experience more enjoyable.

The simplest way is to add artwork. This is the simplest way because it doesn't involve actually dealing with the poem, but rather just adding some images near it. Depending on if the poem is on a website or a page of a book can determine just exactly what type of images you want to add.

The most complex would be scenery that brings the imagery of the poem to life. This can be very helpful for longer poems, those of more epic proportions, and help strengthen a particular scene or moment in the piece. For a smaller, shorter poem, this can be overpowering and not necessary.

Smaller images, a sketch of a character or object, can be effective too. It can put emphasis on certain meanings and focus in the poem. The key here is to not go overboard. You don't need an illustration for everything mentioned, but one per page or so can just compliment the piece enough.

There is also borders, headers, or similar types of images. These don't at first glance really have to do with the poem, meaning that sometimes the items or designs in them are not even mentioned in the poem, but they can be visually stimulating and help express a certain feeling the poem is getting across. Lighter designs, like using objects like flowers, butterflies, stars, etc, can bring a happy or romantic poem to life, while darker designs, like using weapons, bones, scary eyes, etc, can bring a sad or scary poem to life.

Another thing to consider is adding color to the poem. It doesn't necessarily have to be in the whole piece. Like all the other visuals, this is to compliment the poem, not to overpower it. The key is to use colors that benefit the poem, such as using blue for a water poem or a sad poem, red for a scary poem or a romantic poem, green for a nature poem, and so on. There are a few ways to add color effectively to a poem.

One is to emphasis repetitious lines, phrases, or words. Not only does it make it clearer that these are repeated, it also puts more dramatic effect to them.

There's also using color to make patterns. Even subtle hints in color can create beautiful designs, weather it makes the poem looked striped or something well-known, or a completely different and unique design. Putting a few blue letters to create a swirl might just be the thing to make a water poem pop out of the page. Or maybe it is some browns and tan diamonds to emphasize the ruggedness of a mountain poem, or green spots to compliment a tree poem.

The third way to add creativity to a poem is to play with its form. This doesn't necessarily have to effect its style so to say. This could be as simple as indenting a few lines and making the outline curvy. It could also be making the poem look like an object: a poem about butterflies shaped as a butterfly, a poem about water shaped as a drop of water, etc. This can be very unique for short and medium sized poems.

Even putting the poem into an abstract form, with sentence breaks and not following the rules of grammar and typical poetry, can provide something different. It doesn't half to look like a real object, or look like a common poetry style. It can be your own unique and quirky form.

Poetry doesn't need visual aids to make it powerful. Visual aids can however make the poem more than just a poem. It blends literature with art and not only shows the author's other talents and creativity, but can make people think differently about how they view your writing. It's not a bad thing to think outside of the box. It's not a bad thing to think outside of the poem once in awhile.

Jake Rose is an artist and an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Fiction Writing.

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