Dear Readers,
I am writing this post from a historical B&B in downtown Denver. I’m still here after a whirlwind weekend at NCTE. Have you ever gone to a conference in a new-to-you city and never had the chance to see the city?
On Sunday Jeff flew in, and I switched from conference mode to vacation mode. Yesterday we walked over 20,000 steps in Denver, an exploration that included murals, food, coffee shops, a bookstore, and a Japanese knife store. The weather was perfect for walking.
While I was attending NCTE “Dream Boldly”, I was worried that I wouldn’t find sessions that spoke to me as a retired teacher; however, I look back in my notebook and realize that I am still a Writer.
In a session with wonderful poets Georgia Heard, Joyce Sidman, and Rebecca Kai Dotlich, we were given prompts and time to write.
Joyce Sidman has an amazing new book, “Dear Acorn, Love Oak”, and she used a simple formula from her book to lead us into writing our own letter poem: Write to an inanimate object, Dear ____, including a compliment, a question, and a wish.
I loved how this prompt could work with any age group, and the participants shared some wonderful responses. Here’s mine:
Dear Black Bic Pen,
Your ink is flowing nicely today, with only a few blotches here and there. Do you like writing poems, being my muse? I wonder if you’d rather be pink and scented like a rose. I wish I could write poems with you. Can you whisper a line or two?
Love, Writer’s Block
Not only did NCTE fill my writer’s cup, it also filled my soul. My husband calls it “hobnobbing with my fellow wizards”. I was in the company of many wizards who, after 20 years of attending this conference, are now friends. Lots of hugs, conversations, and laughs.
Reflections on the Teche 
Oh, I just bought Dear Acorn, Love Oak for our school library! Glad you had a chance to meet Joyce Sidman. I love everything and anything Georgia Heard does! I don’t know the other poet you mentioned, but I’m going to get acquainted now. Glad you are having fun exploring Denver!
Margaret,
That new to me city happens all the time, but I have some familiarity with/ Denver and am close enough to a road trip or flight in warmer months or when the Chiefs play the Broncos. Did you go to the Molly Brown House? Did you know Detar Acorn, Love Oak is a notable poetry book? Thanks for sharing the formula for these poems.
Margaret,
I love public art. Thanks for showing me the murals of Denver. Glad NCTE spoke to your identity as a writer. I’m curious to check out Dear Acorn so thanks for the rec. For next month’s poetry bird walk, my co-leader suggested epistolary poems since we’ve noticed some folks have written poems about loved ones that the birds remind them of. I make a handout each month about the featured form and include some questions and suggestions for getting started. I’ve been wondering what I could include in this month’s handout since our form will be less prescribed than our first two months when we wrote haiku and nonets. So thank you to you and Joyce Sidman for the fun idea of “including a compliment, a question, and a wish.”
Denver is a special place to visit and to celebrate with friends at NCTE! Amazing!
Always love to see and hear about your adventures.
It sounds like a wonderful opportunity to fill your writerly “cup” with incentives and ideas. I would love to attend another conference even though I am semi retired!
There’s so much to love in this post! I especially love how retirement allowed you the time for Jeff to join you and for both of you to enjoy the city. Those murals are fabulous! I wrote down the Joyce Sidman prompt and am planning to play around with it. Your poem will be the perfect mentor!
Sounds wonderful! I love Denver. I look forward to more museum time when I get back there.
I’m so glad you found all the things to fill your cup – and so fun to stay after for a vacation! I missed NCTE this year … hoping to get a chance to go again….
I now want to go back to Denver as a visitor with time to see the city AND go by Dear Acorn, Love Oak. I might try that poetry prompt on Thursday with my family!
Margaret, I am so happy that you closed our remarkable conference with a trip with Jeff. Thanks for sharing the artwork you saw and your poem from the workshop. Your Writer’s Block is only inside you not on the paper-your pen flows with thoughts. I was so tired these past days that I fell asleep before finishing my slice. Maybe it will appear next week.
I enjoyed the sessions that got me writing. You rest when you need it. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.