Blue Pearls and Surprises

Today I loved blue beads, in this post.

Later, I opened my mailbox and received a most precious gift from Karen Eck. She illustrated my poetry book InsideOut and surprise-gifted it to me, filled with her beautiful art.

On one of the pages... blue pearls...

My Youngest Reader

Thanks to Corinne, of Trains, Tutus and Teatime, who sent me this darling picture of her two-year-old reading InsideOut: Poems.

"Imagine a sweet little voice reading aloud," said Corinne. This is apparently what my poems say to two-year-olds... :)

No bugging
Be nice
No hitting
No yelling
No fighting
love your brother


Corinne's Daughter photo, compliments Corinne. :)

Go Ahead, Write in Your Book

Glynn gave her a book. Never expecting, I suspect, that she would write in it. Make that, draw in it.

But Karen had been wanting to make a mark in her books.. At least that's how I understand it. (Karen, tell us more about the resource that led you to this... please? :)

Anyway, it is too beautiful not to share. And it seems she is going to do more of this, and I look forward to what comes.


Illustrated InsideOut book, by Karen. Photo used with permission.

Karen explains more about her book drawings here. Thank you, Karen! :)

Our Real Fake Life

Virtual life isn't real.

One panelist asserted this idea pretty strongly, during the "Can Digital and Physical Co-Exist?" session at IAM's Encounter conference.

Why of course it isn't real. It's virtual.

Maybe.

A few months back, Ann Voskamp wrote a moving post about her agoraphobia. I gifted her a poem in response.

Then Ann went on a trip and, in the real, hard moments of canceled flights and a left-behind passport, she remembered the poem that had been posted in this virtual place.

Today she posted about her experience, and my breath caught when I saw these words...

And I answer her hauntingly beautiful poem with my life.

It makes me wonder what we mean by "real." For me, this is oh so very real. Thank you Ann, for your life, and the real way you touch me and countless others.


Light Gallery photo, by L.L. Barkat.

Verse

Pictures and word-pictures... Thank you, Claire for your beautiful work.


Windows by Claire Burge.

Sometimes a Picture

From beautiful Kelly... images that speak beyond the words.


Stayed

for Ann Voskamp


Why do we not
leave home.
Is it really for fear
of what lies
beyond, or rather
for fear that the
roof will abscond
with the doors
and the shutters
we’ve always known.
And who would they
blame if it happened
just so, if the whole
curtained place simply
picked up its stakes,
disappeared on the wind
in our absence. What
are we really afraid
of, why do we not
leave home.


Reprinted from InsideOut: poems, by L.L. Barkat.



Take a small walk over to Kelly's place, to see the poem she's paired with these frosted blossoms. Can you guess before you get there?


Photos by Kelly Langner Sauer. Used with permission. For a full-sized, gorgeous view of the top photo, visit Kelly's photo blog. (Click "Large Size" and then the Blog Tab when you get there.)

Live from NYC (yesterday :)

I took a train into NYC. Looking out the window, I could see the Hudson crushed up against her shores, like huge shards of glass. So cold here. So, so cold.




But I didn't mind. I was going to meet Brooke Campbell for the first time.




Sorry, Brooke, first the restroom in the IAM space. Priorities, see? :)




I read poetry, she played guitar. And we shared a bag of honey-roasted peanuts I brought from home. (Did you finish the bag? I don't remember. :)




Brooke takes things with a grain of salt, I think. And she sings about sugar spoons. Beautifully.

Want to see the whole program? Slide over to about the 2 minute/30 second point to avoid the ... two minute/30 second lag time! :)


NYC, IAM Space and Brooke Campbell photos, by L.L. Barkat.

Poetry and Wine Giveaway

Comment to win a little poetry and wine.


Photo of Ceiling at Granada University, by L.L. Barkat.


WHY POETRY?
Maureen's called me to donate (and I did)
Helen's Why Poetry Matters Today
Missy K's here in the comment box: your own story, written by a stranger
Karen's Poetry and Air
Chris's Why Poetry Matters Today
Monica's When Poetry Speaks
DiatribalArts Why Poetry Matters
Nancy's Why Poetry Matters Today
Joyce's I Don't Write Poetry

January Only: InsideOut for $6.03

I will always remember the days when my mom worked retail. Besides Black Friday, the January Sale days were her busiest. While some cashiers got stressed and grouchy, mom smiled her way through the tough moments, making customers want to come back again and again.

It's been a while since those crazy long-line retail days. But the expectation for a January Sale stays with me. I'm thinking if Mom was here, she'd smile you right over to the counter, where you could do what her customers used to do...

Buy next year's Christmas gift, cheap, and tuck it away. Get ready for Valentine's Day. Or simply pick up the one thing nobody knew you wanted (maybe even you, until you saw the temporary price... $6.03).

For me, this feels a little crazy, but it's what I want (and IAM is feeling adventurous with me). So Merry Christmas. Or Happy New Year. Or whatever kind of merry-happy you'd like this to be.


InsideOut on New Year's Eve, photo by L.L. Barkat.

Two in One Writing

The twin realities of suffering and life.

In her IAM Conversations podcast, Christy Tennant asked me to talk about the way my writing weaves these themes together. Upon introducing the question, she referred to a poem I'd written for someone it turns out is a mutual friend of Christy's and mine. Small, small world.

Anyhow, I'm not sure I answered Christy's question. But I remember talking about a Walter Wangerin essay, in which he realized that the good-evil construction of fairy tales did this for him... enabled him to somehow live with the tensions of wickedness and loveliness (in Wangerin's case, as they existed in his own mother— violent by day and tender when she tucked him in at night).

InsideOut has its share of such twin-themed poems, especially in the Winter section. But it's got a good dose of love and whimsy too. After all, Spring and Summer asked for them.


New 'World Trade Center' design, by Sara. Used with permission.

It's Here

And I am smiling. Smiling!

Many, many thanks to International Arts Movement, for believing in this project.

If you would like to order a signed copy directly from me, the full cost including shipping will be $17.00. Just drop me a note at llbarkat[at]yahoo[dot]com. Or you can put it on a wish list or purchase it at Amazon Retail.