Monday Musings
Stony Brook Southampton Children’s Literature Conference, July 11-15, 2012
By Word of Beth is back in action! For five days recently, I had the amazing experience of being a part of the Stony Brook Southampton Children’s Literature Conference, part of the Arts Summer at the Stony Brook Southampton University Campus in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York. As you can see from this…
Read More6 for 6 in 12 x 12 and We’re Having a Party!
It’s a BLOG PARTY and it’s happening HERE … and THERE … and ALL OVER THE BLOGIVERSE! The 12 x 12 in 2012 group is celebrating the mid-way point in our year of writing at least one picture book manuscript a month, and we’re gathering on blogs everywhere to have a PARTY! Thanks to Julie…
Read MoreA Writing Room of One’s Own
Do you have a space set aside for your writing (or other creative pursuits) even if it has to be tidied/corralled/put away when the family comes home? It can help so much, I believe, in making creativity a regular part of one’s life if one has a spot that is devoted to that. The website…
Read MoreEncouraging the Artist Within
This post could be subtitled “A Cautionary Tale.” Last Monday, I blogged about the joy inherent in the artistic expression of children. I remember feeling that joy myself. I liked my art big and bold and life-size, if possible. Mum used to tell of going into the spare bedroom where she’d covered the bed with…
Read MoreThe Artist Within Each Child
This month I’m blogging about “different ways of seeing.” This week we’re taking a look at kids’ art. On April 16th, as part of my A to Z posts relating terms from the arts to writing, I talked about the stages of a child’s understanding of art, culminating in the stage of “naming” – being…
Read MoreThe Arts and Learning — In the Spotlight
One of my favorite quotes about the arts is one from an interview with Katherine Anne Porter in The Paris Review. It is about the influence and impact of the arts in general, but also, I believe, speaks to the importance of the arts in children’s lives as well as the lives of adults. “Human…
Read MorePlaying by the Book — Stage and Screen Adaptations
Before I get to the subject at hand, I want to say that I’m delighted and honored that Sandra Hershenson is interviewing me today on her blog. To read that interview, you may click here. (But please come back to read this post!) And now, to stage and screen adaptations — Just over a week…
Read MoreThe Bond Between Writers — In the Spotlight
When I began writing, although I had the encouragement of family and friends, I was really writing alone. I didn’t have training, I simply wrote what was in me, I explored different genres, I wrote the kinds of books I liked to read, and I dreamed big dreams. I knew that other writers took creative…
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