The Apples in My Orchard

After reviewing the second proof copy of my poetry chapbook, my book will go live on Amazon later today! And, just like that, my first book will be born! I’ll be a published author of my own compilation of work! Once I have the link, I’ll come back here and post it!

My book’s link went live at 4 a.m. this morning, May 7th, here it is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZR1P9K3?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

I am so very excited about this! It has been a work in process for well over a year. The theme of my book changed over that time. I started with my color poems but submitted the contents of that chapbook to several contests. Thus, I decided to wait to try and publish that content until I heard from those sources. In the meantime, an opportunity to read my poetry presented itself. Once I took the opportunity, I learned that the poetry reading was to be on nature-inspired poetry. In addition, I could read any poetry I had written, it did not have to be published.

But, this sent me into high gear to produce and publish a chapbook before the date of the reading. This sounds rushed but it wasn’t. I took all the appropriate steps including finding and using an editor, formatting my book in Canva, and deciding on a cover and back material for the book. The reading is on May 20th. I’ll be able to sell my chapbook at the gallery.

The Reveal

The inside of the chapbook has four sections:

• Nature-Inspired Poetry
• Personality Poetry
• Haiku
• Teaching Resources

As many know, I’ve been a monarch conservationist for over twenty years. You’ll find several monarch butterfly and milkweed-inspired poems in the book. There are poems about birds, too. And, of course, there are poems about my gardens.

The second section, Personality Poetry, includes some of my own experiences with insomnia, boundaries, acceptance, and life’s unknown destination – a ride we all take.

Finally, my haiku section includes some haiku I wrote years ago while I wrote alongside my writer’s circle students, as well as some newer ones that I shared on this blog before. They are all nature-inspired, as haiku should be.

The last section, Teaching Resources, is the back matter of my book. Here, I offer some observations of why choosing to write haiku is both beneficial and fun for third-grade students. I had great success teaching my writers circle students to write haiku with over ninety percent of them being published in a national compilation. I’ve included some resources to use if you are new to including haiku in a poetry unit at the elementary school grade levels. My book’s dedication is to the three teachers who allowed me to work with their students in our writers’ circle for six years.

I hope you join me in celebrating the birth of my book, Life’s Inspiration and Reflection in a Few Words. Thank you for all the support I’ve received for this project! I am motivated to do more!

Today is Poetry Friday! Our host is Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup. Her blog is always filled with great images and inspirational text. Today, you’ll find links to other Poetry Friday participants. Thank you for hosting, Jama!