It’s Poetry Friday and not only is it time for me to share some poetry goodness, but I’m also hosting the Roundup today which means, at the end of this post you will find the links to all the poetry goodness offered by the rest of the PF community.
But before you rush off to tour the world wide web, my own roundup of what I’ve been up to of late.
One of the small things I’m doing in my response to the horrible bushfire catastrophe still happening here in Australia, is to be part of the amazing #authorsforfireys auction happening on Twitter. There are so many amazing items being auctioned, with all proceeds going directly to the fire agencies and wildlife relief. My small offering is an one-hour school visit – in person if in West Australia, or, via skype anywhere else in the world. The hour can be for a school, writers group etc, or even one on one for a consultation. You can bid on this item or any of the other items by heading to Twitter until 11pm (AEST) tomorrow. Just search the hashtag #authorsforfireys. And, if you want to understand how the auction works there is a webpage to explain here.
I’ve also been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the last few weeks rereading some of my favourite verse novels. Along with staff from the National Centre of Australian Children’s Literature and my talented friend Kathryn Apel (who, incidentally, is also part of the #authorsforfireys auction) are compiling a bibliography of Australian verse novels for children and young adults. We have managed to identify over fifty such books and been busily reading and annotating to create a resource for teachers, librarians, children’s literature lovers and, ultimately, to help get quality verse novels into the hands of young readers.
As a result, I have managed to reread the very first verse novel I ever read – before I even knew of the term ‘verse novel’, It was Margaret Wild’s YA novel, Jinx . I am forever grateful that I discovered this novel and the form, starting a love affair which will last for the rest of my life. The bibliography will be available later this year, and we look forward to sharing it far and wide.
And, speaking of verse novels, I have also been busy planning how best to share my own new verse novel, Worse Things, coming in May, with the world. So, as a tiny starting point, it’s time I reveal the cover of this new book baby here for the world to see. So, drumroll please – here its:
I am really delighted with what the amazing Sarah Davis has come up with for the cover – really different than my earlier verse novels, which is good, because so is what’s in between the covers. I really can’t wait to share more about this book, including some poetry, as the year goes by.
And some poetry for my post? I must confess that the poetry still isn’t flowing from my fingers, so I went digging through my files for something to recycle, and found this from a beach walk. i thought it apt because, even when poetry doesn’t flow, a walk in nature, especially on my beach, is always balm.
Thanks for dropping by, and now over to my Poetry Friday friends to let us know what they’ve been doing:
Thank you for hosting and for your beautiful S poem, Sally. Australia is so much in our thoughts :>( Find solace wherever you can!
Thank you Laura. I found solace from the positivity of hosting Poetry Friday.
Hello, Sally–
A belated thank you for hosting and for your efforts to keep on writing powerfully–even if that means pausing to appreciate the susurration of the sea, while it feels like the whole world is burning. I so wish that this will be the moment that convinces us to act everywhere every day!
Thanks Heidi. I really hope that this is the moment – and that it isn’t too late!
Hi Sally,
Congratulations on your new book–can’t wait to read “Worse Things.” And I send my thoughts and prayers to you and everyone and the wildlife. It’s unbelievable what’s happening in your country. It’s great that you and other authors are helping. I shared the info on my blog, too.
Thanks for hosting this week!
Thanks Susan and thanks for spreading the word. The auction was a big success.
Thank you for hosting today, Sally. I am so sorry for all your country is going through, and your gentle words and donation and new verse novel are points of goodness. My thoughts and healing wishes are with your country and all of its people, animals, and nature. xx
Thanks Amy and thanks for taking part this week.
The news from Australia has been so awful. My daughter and I were just talking a few minutes ago about it — heartbreaking. I’ll go take a look at the auction information.
Thank you for hosting, even in the midst of all that’s going on. And congratulations on your new verse novel!
Thanks Karen x
Thank you for sharing about the hashtag. I will definitely go and check it out. And your cover looks fantastic! Can’t wait to hear more about your book.
Thank you Becky.
Thanks so much for hosting and sharing the big news about your verse novel bib and new book, too! Congratulations! I will add WORSE THINGS to my “sneak peek” list of 2020 poetry right now!
Thank you Sylvia!
Sally, thank you for hosting today. You and the other poets from Australia have been in my heart and thoughts with the news of the bushfires. I am glad of the hope and goodness you post shares. Even in the midst of devastation, there are ways to help. Congratulations on the new book! That bibliography sounds like an amazing resource, too.
Thank you Kay and thanks for taking part this week.
Hi Sally – thank you for hosting! I love that you and Kat are creating a resource of Aussie verse novels. Wonderful! And congratulations to your new book-baby, soon to arrive… how very exciting. And you know, it’s exactly the kind of news we need to hear in the midst of bushfires and other tragedies… life marches on, and it must. Hugs to you, filled with love and gratitude and wishes for healing in Australia. xo
Tnanks Irene. I agree – good news i, in any area, is touch of balm. Thanks for dropping by.
Thank you for hosting! It’s wonderful that you are finding ways to help. We are watching from around the world – in my case, Haiti, where we’re about to commemorate the tenth anniversary of our own apocalyptic disaster, the earthquake of 2010. I know they are very different, but I feel we have an idea of the end-of-the-world feeling you must be experiencing. I’m praying for better days for your beloved country.
Thank you Ruth. Yes, they are different, and yet the same – in that the unbelievable happens and it is devastating, yet also brings out, in many ways, the best of human goodness from so many people. (Of course we would much rather have the goodness come out without the disaster!).
Thanks for joining in toady.
Sally, what you are doing in response to the horrible Australian bushfire catastrophe is a true act of kindness. As a loving beachgoer, I have to say that your poem is a beautiful serenade of the sea with all that lovely alliteration. Thank you for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Know that Australia is dear to the heart of our poetry community. While I have been preoccupied lately with the birth of a second grandchild, I had to stay up late to welcome her into this world.
Oh carol – thank you but I am really not doing much at all. There are people doing so very much, from firefighters and others in the frontline, the animal rescuers, to people opening there homes to those who have been displaced, to – oh gosh the list goes on. My own contribution is minuscule, though I know all the minuscule contributions add up to bigger ones. And I am also hoping there will be more I can do over time, because the effects of these fires will need addressing for a long time to come.
Now, a new grandbaby! How wonderful! Hold her close and let her know that the world really is amazing.
Hi Sally, thank you very much for sharing about the auction that is supporting help for the fire needs and for hosting. And, congratulations on your new book!
Oops, forgot to say I love your Special poem, quite Scintillating!
Thanks Linda.
Congratulations on the new book, Sally – and good to hear you’re safe from the fires. You and Kat were two of the folks I thought of first when we started hearing the news over here. Lovely little poem, as well – I love the ocean, and this made me smile. Best wishes!
Thank you Matt. Both Kat and I are safe and physically removed from the worst of the fires, but what is happening is heartbreaking for the whole country.
Hi Sally!
Congrats on your new book! Your recycled poem is flowy and soothing all at once. Thank you for hosting this week and for sharing some ways that we can get involved to help.
Thanks Keisha.
I’m glad to hear about #authorsforfireys–I hope the fundraising helps! I look forward to reading Worse Things and the bibliography of Australian verse novels. Your beach poem is certainly soothing. Thank you for hosting!
Thank you Joann.
I am so sorry about what is happening to your beloved country. My heart breaks.
This line ” the poetry still isn’t flowing from my fingers”.. Really am feeling that.
Thank you for hosting us.
Thanks Jone. I feel I am going to have force myself back into writing soon. The poems are needed!
Hearing from you from Australia does my heart good. We’ve been so worried! The photos we are getting are awful and the news absolutely heartbreaking. I’m so glad we are able to make some contributions. If I don’t win your auction at #authorsforfireys I still want to make a contribution to the organization you think best. Please let me know which one you’d like me to send my $ to. Thanks in advance.
Many congrats on the new book! That is SO exciting. The cover is beautiful and I look forward to hearing more details.
Oh wow Linda. That is very generous of you. There’s a list of places for donations on the auction page here https://authorsforfireys.wixsite.com/website/about-us
My plan is to let the winning bidder choose which of these to donate to, because of course the bidder may wish to donate within their own state. Probably the best way for an overseas winner though would be the Victorian Bushfire Disaster appeal (again, listed on the page) because it is set up to accept international donations, which some of the others aren’t).
Again, it is generous of you.
Sally, you and Kat and your beautiful country have been in my heart and prayers, too – I was happy to see you hosting today and grateful for the bits of updates. CONGRATULATIONS on your new book news – a definite bright spot! – and wishes for a year that gets better as it goes along. XO
Thank you Robyn. I really should stop talking about it as something that is happening to my country and remember this is something happening to our world. We only have the one, and we must fix it. Thanks for your wishes.
Hi Sally, Thanks for hosting us! I went to visit the Twitter auction and it was a little confusing to me. It would be cool to have it all together, like on eBay, who seems to have a pretty good charity set-up.
Congrats on the new book! I like how the cover reflects how different the book is. xo
Thanks Tabatha. I agree it can be a little overwhelming to get the hang of, but I wasn’t involved in that. I think though that one of the amazing things has been that because it’s direct on Twitter it has really gained a huge following of people both in and out of the book community from around the world. It has also been picked up by media and the general public – I was a at a social event during the week where two new acquaintances tried to tell me about this amazing thing happening on twitter 🙂 There is an official website which explains and tries to bring together and I am adding it to my blogpost.
Thanks for the comments on the cover. It really hints at a a lot of the threads of the book.
I like your poem’s ending lines Sally,
“soothed by the
serenade of the seas.”
Congrats on your forthcoming book “Worse Things,” I read the review on the Walker Books site, and it hit home for me–looking forward to it!
Hope the #authorsforfireys auction pulls in needed funds–sending my thoughts out to all of you and the critters there. Thanks for hosting the roundup!
Thanks Michelle. The sea is certainly soothing and has its own song.
Thanks for dropping by.
Sally, my prayers have been with Australia for the last several days. Thank you for sharing about the Twitter auction. I’m going to go check it out. Thanks also for sharing about your recent reads and for hosting this week.
Thanks for dropping by Kimberley and for keeping Australia in your thoughts.
Sally, my heart has been with you, Kat, and all others impacted by the ongoing bushfires. I’m glad to hear that there are some bright notes amidst the distressing news. The cover of your upcoming verse novel is so intriguing! Thanks so much for hosting this week.
Thanks for your thoughts, Molly. I am fine, but my heart is sore for my country. But we have to find those bright notes if we are going to move through and forward.