ALLY CONDIE: OCTELA 2013

After this long (still on-going) winter, OCTELA 2013 was a fresh breath of spring learning.

(See the previous post  sharing insights gleaned from J. Patrick Lewis's morning keynote presentation at OCTELA 2013.)

The learning continued as a our lunchtime keynote speaker, Ally Condie, shared how reading  specific books throughout her life influenced the writing of her popular books, The Matched Trilogy (Matched, Crossed, Reached) 

As I listened to her share her experiences with books and art and family,  and other people who were willing to support her in writing, in reading and in life, I couldn't help but consider the books  that have influenced my own reading and writing and life.

What is the book you wanted to live?

For Ally, this book was Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  She shared how her grandmother was willing to dress up and play-act with her--- willing to bring this book, and her dream of living it to life.

I never caught the Little House fever-- those books are not my cup of tea--although many of my fourth and fifth grade girls read Little House exclusively for a period.  They kept our school library shelf on which those books were kept empty most of the school year.  They eagerly added their names to the waiting lists for those volumes checked out and being enjoyed by some other little girls not from our class, and they shared and compared plots, crushes and other Little House information.

I, on the other hand wanted to live, at 9 and 10, the teenage life I read about in Betty Cavanna' s books, which had absolutely nothing to do with my actual life.

 I read every one of her books that my small local library owned. (Although I vividly remember the books, I could only remember Betty C-something for the author---the Internet is a wonderful external memory and retrieval system)

What is the book in which you recognized yourself?

Ally wanted to teach Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury early in her career.  An older more experienced teacher challenged her choice Oh honey, you have to be good to teach Dandelion Wine-- I don't know if you are that good.

Of course that kind of challenge dictates that you rise above the concerns, the objections, and doubts.  She learned from this experience that if things go badly,  it is not necessarily you.  And likewise,  if things go well, it is not necessarily you, either.

She linked Match to her experiences with a Junior Prom in a small Utah town.  Each junior girl  with no date was matched with senior boy.  This had been the custom--an intended merciful and kind practice-- for a long time. 

In discussions with her husband, and influenced by the distopian 1984, she wondered what if the government did get to decide who you married?  Don't all good stories begin with a What if?

Distopian novels and fantasy (but not necessarily science fiction) are, and always have been, my cup of tea.  I remember reading 1984 several times on my own, and then for various classes, but the first book of this genre that entranced me, opened the door to wanting more of the same, and established this as a favorite genre, was Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle was a close second.

This is the book that helped me, like Ally , to understand: 

As things are, they have not always been-- as things are, they will not always be.

What is the book that changed the way you read? And also perhaps the way you write? 

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner was this book for Ally.  

She recounts how she read this book over and over. From him she learned the importance of setting.  Her painter mom also helped her to understand that seeing is critical and how we are changed in the moment of creating, whether with chalk and paint, or with words.

In Match, the setting becomes crucial as her characters needed to live in an unfamiliar environment.  She relied on her mother's advice about seeing and her brother's expertise in the outdoors.  

The books for me that changed the way I read, and opened up possibilities in writing are those that are written in non-traditional ways--multigenre, epistolary, linked vignettes, alternate perspectives, graphic or comics--different in some way.

Older books that are complex in style and challenged my thinking include: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and Maus by Art Spiegelman. Each in its own way, offered me new frameworks for telling stories and thinking about writing.

What is the book you can't put down?

Ally says her first choice is always and anything Agatha Christie.

.

For me, it has varied over the years--- my perennial favorites are Anne Rice, Milan Kundera,  Toni Morrison, Junot Diaz.... and more 

In an earlier post Because of That Book, I  listed books that have changed me--many of these are my can't-put-down selections.

What is the book that changed the way you look at people?

Ally's artist mother showed her a painting of a woman looking out over the water. At the edge of the painting  there was a white image reflected in the water.  What is that? her mother asked. Just as most of us would have answered, Ally quickly said A boat.  Her mother's response was Are you sure?

The book that kept her asking the same question is Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler

The lesson in this for Ally, and for us is:

You give people enough when you are writing or making art (or teaching), but always there is this possibility at the edge of it,  which is not so clear that there is not room for imagination

Don't we love books that leave us this possibility at  the edge? For me some of those books, among others, are Cloud Atlas by David Mitchel., House of Leaves  by Mark Z. Danielewki, American Gods by Neil Gaiman ,and the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.

These are each books that no matter how many times they are read , that white reflection at the edge of  understanding can not be just a boat...


Ally Conde gave us much to ponder and remember, as she took us on her journey though the books that have influenced her reading and writing and her life.

She left us with this final  pearl:

When the teacher says write what you know--all of what has come to you and been a part of your life enters into the process.

What books have influenced your reading  and writing and enter into the process when you create new texts? 

Today's Deeper Writing Possibilities

Reflect on your reading and writing life-- your literacy development and history.

Recall Ally Condie's categories of  books and think about them in your own life.

What is the book  you want to live? 

What is the  book in which you recognize yourself?

Which book changed the way you read?

Which book can you not put down?

Which book changes the way you look at people?

Using Ally Condie' s five questions as a framework, write an essay or personal narrative.

J.PATRICK LEWIS: OCTELA 2013

I spent this past Friday at the OCTELA (Ohio Council of  Teachers of English Language Arts) 2013 Spring Conference.

I spent this past Friday in the company of other teachers, lovers of books, writers and authors and poets, old friends, new friends, and some I won't meet until next year or the year after.

I spent this past Friday talking, learning, thinking and...  wanting still more.

The OCTELA Spring Conference always inspires better teaching, higher learning, and critical thinking--always  presents new ideas and opportunities to revisit, reclaim, reaffirm or rework old ones, and always challenges us try something radically different.  Thanks Sarah Ressler Wright and the entire OCTELA 2013 Conference Committee!

I had the privilege of meeting J. Patrick Lewis  very early in the morning--he signed the book I had already purchased. (I visited Greg and Jan Michael's (Michaels Associates) table again later in the day to buy more books --no one who knows me will be surprised by that fact.)

We had an opportunity to talk briefly.  I now know what J. stands for --and his signature  was positively a work of art.  I told him he set the bar extremely high for book signing. I will need to rethink my whole approach to this art.

As the opening keynote speaker, his wise and witty words inspired many tweet and retweets. My own tweet from this session is below.

Robin Holland ‏@rholland5

22 Mar

Poetry is... Sound of silence amplified. Daily clues to the ordinary. Subjects for poetry are everywhere. --J. Patrick Lewis. #OCTELA

He spends half of his life writing fun, humorous verse--what he calls ludic verse, and the other half writing serious historic or informational texts. Surprisingly, he has written 85 books. I must own about 20 of his books, but didn't realize just exactly how prolific he had been.

He talked with us about the importance of priming the pump with poetry that children will enjoy and the essential-ness of verbal play, the necessary-ness  of word play.  For more extensive information about J. Patrick Lewis click here  to read an article published Language Arts when he was awarded the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 2011.

Some J. Patrick Lewis Thoughts

Nothing succeeds like failure. If you are failing your are trying. Go on, go on, and keep on failing. only next time, try to fail better (Lewis quoting Thomas Beckett)

Our classrooms must be safe places where risk-taking is the norm. If we establish communities where it is safe to make mistakes, learning is multiplied exponentially.

Children are practicing. they are not poets 

What he meant, I think was that children were still playing and learning---not accomplished or finished.   This one, however,  I have to meditate on--- I always encouraged my students to think of themselves as writers and poets and to act like writers and poets.

I have written 85 books, and I still get rejected. Everybody gets rejected.

I always used to joke that I was going to publish a book of the rejection slips for my poems and poetry manuscripts--I guess in this sense we are all never "finished".

Subjects for poetry are everywhere.

I agree wholeheartedly with this one, thus my tweet above. I  also absolutely loved his several definitions of poetry. 

According to J. Patrick Lewis, poetry is:

Sound of silence amplified.

Daily clues to the ordinary.

Frozen fire. 

The midwife at the birth of the alphabet. 

A blind date with enchantment.

Bonus Writing Strategies to Try 

 I also learned two writing techniques --one quick and easy, one more familiar and serious

Tailgater
A tailgater is a couplet in which the first line is from a well-known poem.   The second line is your own. 

See J. Patrick Lewis's guest blog post on  David L. Harrison's Blog for some very funny children and adult examples of this form.

Mask poem--This is a poem that is written and read in someone else's voice. 

 Near the end of his session, he read the poem The Innocent, which is written in the voice of Mamie Carthan Till (the mother of Emmett Till) and included in When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders.

After hearing this new term at the conference, I was treated to a mask sermon this past Sunday as my priest, Fr. Karl Ruttan, for the entire duration of his Sermon,  took on the persona of the Centurion who was forever changed after  witnessing the crucifixion.

Today's Deeper Writing Possibilities

J. Patrick Lewis defined poetry in poetic and metaphoric, yet concrete ways.  

How do you define poetry?  Write a sentence or two defining or describing poetry--several lines that create a visual definition or image in words.

Select a well-known poem.  Use the first line of that poem to begin a couplet in which you supply the second line to create a tailgater.

Try writing a mask poem.  Who will you be? Whose voice and perspective will you present in your poem?