I'm moving.

FROM
(after 10 years)

TO

November Readergirlz: Marlene Carvell

This month, readergirlz are discussing Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell!

Read the November issue of readergirlz. There's a playlist for the book, plus book guide questions and party ideas.

Drop by the readergirlz blog to discuss the book with other readers, ALL MONTH LONG!

Join us for THREE LIVE CHATS!:

Carving

I have a special treat for you this Poetry Friday. Several months ago, the luminous Maya Ganesan approached me about co-writing a poem. I agreed, and over the course of the past few months, we've collaborated to create something I'm sure neither of us would've come up with on our own. I'm excited to share with you today our final product! (And for those of you who know me and Maya, I'm curious as to whether you can tell which stanzas belong to whom. . . .we basically alternated every-other, although we both offered suggestions along the way and helped shape the poem in its entirety.)


Carving

yesterday,
sitting in a plum tree,
I saw a strange miracle

under cold sweet sky,
empty dark air
a shawl around shaking shoulders.
stars spell my name

not the name
you used to call me
with your rough lips
and uncomfortable laugh

I leave behind
what I can't remember
in a sea of
broken
lost
praying

even so,
I wonder if you knew
if you knew what it meant
how each word
tore
scratched
clawed

do you remember
how much it hurt?
what did i leave
b
e
h
i
n
d
?

but I look at the name
the one I will never tell you
and something inside me
whispers,
I will be okay

my shirt smells
of you. are we in a new
world?

I wish the answer were simple,
a soft "yes" whispered by weary lips
on orange-tinted breath

I wish I knew, wish this life
was in the air like strands of cold
fog drifting away

but all I have in this moment
is dirt and tree bark
under my fingers,
rough but real
unfair but tangible
something to hold onto
when you're not here

the days washed away beside
us, winters and springs and summers
that we never cared about.
in those black-and-white minutes,
we belonged to ourselves and
nobody else.

it was like being a child,
sand castles and strawberry ice cream

and knees skinned on pavement.

together we defied time,
two Peter Pans hand-in-hand.

I wish it were still
postcard-perfect. Maybe I want
something else. I'm not sure.
It's called insecurity, isn't it?—

—this wishing for things not there
when all I have to hold
are five letters
and a tangled possibility



_____
copyright Miss Erin McIntosh and Maya Ganesan, 2009
please do not reprint without permission

I went walking through the city, like a drunk but not.

(i want to live here)

Right now, I am inspired in my life in ways I never have been before.

(i've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason)

Today I have inside me Neverland and brainstorming and an 80's film with a teenage heroine I fell in love with and a show that made me think and a scent and an honoring list and all the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful people. Possibility.

(like a ship blown from its mooring)

c a r p e d i e m

. . .

A thousand words

plum icicles cottage gray
taste june scratch
nine feet
her

you will never know.


_____
copyright Miss Erin McIntosh, 2009
please do not reprint without permission
Poetry Friday roundup at Big A little a

Readergirlz TRW: Day 4

The Teen Read Week awesomeness at the readergirlz blog continues tonight with LIVE! chats with Melissa Walker (LOVESTRUCK SUMMER), Cassandra Clare (CITY OF ASHES), and Patrick Ness (THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO).

So far the chats have been spectacular, with swag, prizes, and terrific author chats! The chats are all this week, October 19-23, Monday - Friday at 6pm PST/9pm EST at the blog!

Hope to see you....!

Readergirlz TRW: Day 3

Tonight don't miss the Teen Read Week rgz LIVE! chat with Holly Cupala (TELL ME A SECRET), Lisa McMann (WAKE), and Cynthia Leitich Smith (ETERNAL)!

There will be even more swag and prizes tonight, and Holly will have a special sneak-preview giveaway for TELL ME A SECRET.

The chats are all this week, October 19-23, Monday - Friday at 6pm PST/9pm EST at the readergirlz blog!

If you missed the previous chats, don't worry - you can see the transcripts at the blog.

Readergirlz TRW: Day 2

The Teen Read Week fun continues this evening at the readergirlz blog with a LIVE! chat event with Lorie Ann Grover (HOLD ME TIGHT), Elizabeth Scott (LIVING DEAD GIRL), and Lynn Weingarten (WHEREVER NINA LIES)! Plus lots of other readergirlz and awesome YA folks. It's at the usual time: 6PM Pacific, 9PM Eastern.

Last night's chat was super-fun, and I can't wait for tonight's. See you there!