Slice of Life: A Poetry Reading at Island Books!

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Melanie, and Lanny

 for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.

On Monday evening I had the exciting opportunity to participate in a poetry reading at Island Books, our local indie bookstore.  Here's the blurb for the evening from Island Book's event page: 

"The headliner for the event will be current Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall, author of, among other works, Dare Say. Also on the bill are Ramona Behnke (literary blogger at Pleasures from the Page), David Horowitz (founder of Rose Alley Press), and Laura Totten (founder of the Mercer Island High School Poetry Club).

This reading is co-sponsored by Humanities Washington and ArtsWA/Washington State Arts Commission."

Thanks to David for taking the lead to organize this event.  Someone asked if I was planning to share poems from all the books on my lap.  (Little did they know that my book bag was filled with ten or so additional titles.)  David gave me 3-5 minutes on the program.  What teacher can talk for only 3-5 minutes, especially when it's about a favorite subject?  I set the stopwatch on my phone and I'm happy to report that I only took 6 minutes and 37 seconds.  

Since I was the first person on the program, I kicked off the evening with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's poem, "The Poem Fire."  You can read that poem in my Q post from National Poetry Month.  Next I shared "Fall Song" by Joy Harjo.  Then I mentioned a few favorite books of children's poetry - One Today by Richard Blanco (the poem he read at Barack Obama's 2nd inauguration) and beautifully illustrated by Dav Pilkey, Joyce Sidman's lovely book of poems What the Heart Knows:  Chants, Charms, and Blessings, and Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's newest book, Read! Read! Read!  I shared "Double Life" from my galley copy (requested from Amy since I knew the book wasn't coming out until today).  Imagine my surprise after the reading to see the book already on display in the children's section.  

Finally, I shared an original poem "Pulled by the Light," and then it was on to the stars of our evening - David, Laura, and Tod.   

A poetry reading is absolutely the best way to spend a rainy, September evening!