Limerick Alley: Irene Latham

There's no doubt about it, writing can be a beast. 

Award-winning author and poet, Irene Latham, offers some advice to writers on her website:

The thing about writing is there is no end to it. No piece is ever finished. They are all works in progress. Forever.

I am continually astonished by the effort it takes to tame words.  Good writing comes off as spontaneous, yet it rarely is.  

Please help me welcome Irene to Limerick Alley today.

Irene has never been one to duck a challenge,

sit idly by,

or walk away from hard work

in favor of a soak in the pool

or an afternoon catnap.  

Oh no, not while there are poems to be written 
and stories to be told!

These animal photos were all taken on a recent critter tour up north.  From Florida, we drove up to Toronto to visit the black squirrels...

and then stopped by the Philadelphia Zoo on the way back home.

The reason I mention this is because Irene has been celebrating the paperback release of DON'T FEED THE BOY by inviting readers to visit a zoo this summer.  Take a picture of yourself at the zoo (bonus entry for you with a zoo animal) and send it to her via social media:

Twitter
Facebook author page
Instagram
Pinterest



(I took a selfie with a giraffe, but unfortunately his eyes were closed.  So I sent in one of my daughter with some flamingos instead.) 

Everyone who contributes a picture will be entered to win a classroom set (25 copies) of DON'T FEED THE BOY in paperback.  Entries must be received by July 31st; winner to be announced on August 1st.

But what does any of this have to do with limericks, you ask?  Well, I'll let Irene explain:


Why I Write Poetry

Sometimes a poem stirs mystery,
sometimes it reveals history.
I tumble in love,
it's all I think of –
even when the poem tortures me.

© 2014 Irene Latham.  All rights reserved.

One of the things I appreciate most about Irene is that she always writes (and speaks) from the heart. So why do writers write if the act of doing so might bring pain and anguish? Because we love writing, says Irene. 

Remember at its best, writing is a love affair with words. And you might be the only one who sees the beauty in your object of affection. But if you do nothing else, you must Share. That. Beauty.

Another characteristic I appreciate about Irene is that she is good for just about any challenge you throw at her. When Irene sent me her limerick, she recognized that it wasn't perfect, but she was okay with that. She thanked me for the opportunity, then added "...pretty sure I would have never written a limerick otherwise." And that, my friends, is what Today's Little Ditty and our monthly ditty challenges are all about!  

Have you seen this month's ditty challenge from Tamera Will Wissinger?

Coming September 1, 2014

And I'll tell you what is close to perfect: 

Two starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus for Irene's upcoming collection of children's poetry, DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST: AND OTHER POEMS FROM THE WATER HOLE!  I'm delighted to be able to feature Irene as my spotlight author for September when DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST is released by Millbrook Press.




Thank you, Irene, for visiting Limerick Alley today and sharing a bit of your writerly wisdom.  I look forward to featuring more of your beautiful personality and thought-provoking poetry at summer's end!

Linda at Write Time is taking center stage today with the Poetry Friday roundup.