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Thursday, May 2, 2019

Poetry Friday - A Suitcase of Seaweed

        Jama Rattigan, at Jama's Alphabet Soup, hosts this first Friday in May, filling us with flowers! Thanks, Jama!

I will take a break, sometime, but in my planning for this day, I didn't realize I would be so inspired by Janet Wong's new (old) book, A Suitcase of Seaweed & more
       In the beginning, Janet asks: If you were asked to divide your identity into three parts, what would you say? Mom-Dad-You? Child-Friend-Student? Serious-Silly-Silent? How would you like to be seen?
        In this, not really old, but beautifully revised poetry book, Janet has divided it into three parts, the three parts of herself: Korean, Chinese, and American. Each part shares poems accompanied by backstories. And each of those ends with a question for response. Whether I responded in my head, or like today, in poetry, I was inspired. I tried hard to answer Janet's questions and this time, chose cheritas as the form. 


  Janet writes about her parents meeting during the Korean war, father American with his 'crooked smile', mother Korean with her 'long braid', falling in love. She asked if we the readers knew how our parents met.

       My mother's brother introduced my parents when she first went off to college. 


once on a college campus

there was that pretty girl, 
that handsome boy

war was coming, married in May
in one year, he’s off to pilot training, off to war
she’s back home with baby me

             They only had a few years together, sporadic because of the war. My father was shot down in the Pacific Ocean near Leyte in the Philippines. The plane was never recovered.


            In Janet's Chinese section, she shares a lot about her grandparents. There is a sweet poem you may all know about Janet's grandfather asking what she studied in school. When she answered poetry, he didn't understand what it was, responding, "Po-tree," he says. "It got fruit?" I spent my early childhood living with my mother's parents and often visiting my father's parents' big farm in the summer. I hold many sweet memories with them. My maternal grandmother spent hours doing things with me, teaching me about cooking and gardening, but best of all, listening and offering ways of facing life.


porch-swinging afternoon conversations  

my grandmother and I spoke of life’s struggles
she helped me find practical paths  

now grateful from afar 
I also understand that
ten-year-olds see only ahead


           The American section introduces the past of grandparents and Janet's past, too. She speaks of poverty and choosing inexpensive things in a restaurant if someone else is buying. I don't know why, but that is the way I was brought up, too, to make my choices in light of others. We didn't have much money when I grew up, but my mother and her family had it worse during the Depression. At one time they shared a house with another family in order to save money. Both families had five children, but they managed. My mother told of fun games the children played, but also the times they only had potatoes for dinner.

I wonder at the gifts opened today

on my brother's birthday, shown in a home movie
he opened a pack of pencils and a Big Chief tablet

we had cake, too, and homemade ice cream
the treasured gifts were family arrivals –
grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, too

           Janet adds an "Advice for Writers" section at the back, for writing and for publishing. It's a special book for everyone, questions that help dig into memory to discover who you are, and perhaps help children find who they are and who they want to be. Janet's backstories are as inspiring as her poems. I imagine a class of students writing their own poems accompanied with its story just as Janet has in this wonderful book. Teachers and students will love it!
      

34 comments:

  1. Oh, my goodness...how incredibly heartfelt your words are. Your cherita do not have any complicated words. But, the complexity and the connectedness that are in them are strong and clear. I want to know your Grandmas. I want to see a photo of your mom. I want to tell them that I am lucky to be one of your poetry friends. I have this book in my Amazon wishlist....I'm heading over to buy it. Thanks, Linda

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    1. I hope you enjoy Janet's book as much as I have, Linda. Thank you. I wish you could meet my grandmas, too!

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  2. What a delightful read, Linda. Love your cheritas. Especially love: " I also understand that / ten-year-olds see only ahead." So true. But most of all, love the peek into your childhood and the memories it stirred of my own. Now, I must get Janet's book!

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    1. Thanks, Alice, do find the book. I enjoyed it very much.

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  3. Your poems are wonderful, Linda.
    porch-swinging afternoon conversations

    my grandmother and I spoke of life’s struggles
    she helped me find practical paths

    now grateful from afar
    I also understand that
    ten-year-olds see only ahead

    This one really spoke to me. Yes, when you're young, you can only see the future, but as the years pass by and you have more years behind you than in front of you, you treasure those memories from the past.

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    1. Yes, the looking back & ahead is the age-old difference. Time travel is inviting when we think of these memories, wishing I could go back to have another conversation. Thanks, Kimberly!

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  4. How beautiful is this!? Your words paint such vivid pictures - I loved this!

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    1. Thank you! You're in those memories, too!

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  5. Heartfelt, touching cheritas and backstories. Janet's prompts are so thought provoking, aren't they? "the treasured gifts are family arrivals" yes! it was sad to hear about your father, inspiring about your grandmother, and in the last poem you cite what truly matters above all.

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    1. I adored Janet's book, will be inspired again and again, Jama. Thank you!

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  6. I love Janet and how her work inspires more writing. Your responses are beautiful cheritas. I am compelled to get this book to work on my own memoir poems this summer, a writing goal I have neglected.

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    1. Each poem and story inspired me, Margaret and it was hard to choose which to write. You will love it, especially if you want to write your memoir poems. Thanks!

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  7. I am lucky enough to have won a copy of this book. It just arrived in the mail. I haven't had time to do more than peruse it, but I was already inspired by Janet's poems in April!

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    1. How wonderful to hear, Cheriee! Happy Writing!

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  8. The more I hear about this book, the more I want to read it. Your poetic responses are beautiful. My favorite is the porch swing. I have so many memories spent in a porch swing.

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    1. I love hearing that you, too, had that porch swing, Kay. We had one at my other house and I do miss it. Thank you.

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  9. I love how you've considered Janet's history and responded to it with your own poetic voice, Linda. I loved reading the results—your very special cheritas. No doubt this is exactly how Janet was hoping readers would respond to her book!

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    1. That is a nice thought, Michelle. I hope so, too. It is how I imagine it after reading the book. It is a wonderful one.

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  10. This looks like such a good book. Thanks for sharing some of your responses to her prompts!

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    1. You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it sometime, Ruth.

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  11. What a fabulous post, Linda! You not only have me eager to see Janet's book, you also have me considering my own responses to her questions and admiring yours. Your cheritas are so lovely and I especially like the "porch swinging afternoon conversations." This post is a treat from start to finish!

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    1. Terrific. That is what I wish that everyone would do, think about their own responses to what I shared, then, of course, get Janet's book & see what else she shares and asks! Thanks, Mollly, it was fun to do this. I know I will do more.

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  12. Linda, thank you for a look into Janet's book and how it connects family and memories together. Your cherita responses are so illuminating. It brought me closer to what your family was like, its closeness, and how it reflects on your own family story of today. I think Janet's book opens up a whole new way to think and write about family life.

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    1. I know how much you enjoy your family, including that new granddaughter, Carol. I know you'll love Janet's book. Thank you!

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  13. I've long thought that you should write a poetic memoir, Linda! And I might have told you before how much I love grandmother poems (I wonder if there are any collections of poetry just about grandparents?)

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    1. There is one older book that I've read, but a long time ago, Grandmothers by Nikki Giovanni. Perhaps I'll get it out to re-read for inspiration. Thank you, Tabatha.

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  14. I love how you wove your voice with Janet's!

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  15. Linda, I had to look up cherita and of course, now, I want to try out the form. I have your wonderful mentor texts to get me started. I have such happy memories of writing with Janet at one of our local libraries a few years ago. She totally gets how to entice the poetic words out of all of us. It was a wonderful evening!

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    1. Oh, I hope you do join in next April, Ramona! How wonderful that you wrote with Janet! That is special. Thanks!

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  16. Thanks so much, Linda, for your thoughtful post--I love the way you linked our work together!!!

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    1. You are welcome, Janet. I loved the new and revised edition & you can see I was inspired. Thank you for taking time to do it.

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  17. I've been thinking a lot about bicultural families. I'm excited to read Janet's book. With your post, I feel like I know both of you even better!

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    1. Thanks, Laura. It is a special book, one I know I'll return to for inspiration.

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