Hello, Friends!

It's my 50th Birthday!

Well, not today today, but almost!

As one who was "born older," I still don't feel my body is as old as my soul... but I am getting closer! Which is why I decided to celebrate this milestone birthday with a year of "Fifty Firsts." Fifty things I'm doing, trying, creating for the very first time. Basically it means I'm inviting a new experience into my life about once a week... trying new food, activities, art. Visiting new places. You get the idea! (New books don't count—I read a TON of those no matter what year it is!)

Seems do-able, right? This week marks about the eighth week of the year, and so far I've added ten Firsts to my list, and I'm excited to share a couple of them with you today. Here's hoping I can keep it going for the rest of 2021!

I'll be back in May to celebrate D-39's release. :) Meanwhile, I'll be virtually visiting some schools around the country and also presenting with some other amazing authors at Michigan Reading Association conference: “Nature as Storyteller and Story Starter: Impact on Narrative and Identity” with Heather L. Montgomery & Traci Sorell; and “Sit. Stay. READ: The Everlasting Power of Dog Stories with debut authors Reese Eschmann & Megan E. Freeman.

April 12-15 I'll be hanging out virtually with my Mississippi peeps at Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival—one of my most favorite book events of the year!

For you poetry fans out there, be on the lookout for my workshop sponsored by Read Aloud Revival entitled "The Divine Number Nine: How to Write Nonet Poems," inspired by Nine: A Book of Nonet Poems, of course!

May 10 I'll be presenting "Diving into the Wreck: How to Revise Poetry" (after the poem by Adrienne Rich) for the Writers Loft. Among other things, this will include me offering revision strategies for attendees' poems on the spot! It's going to be FUN. Registration coming soon!

And I'll be celebrating poetry during National Poetry Month (April) in all sorts of ways, including my annual postcard tradition and with the continuation of my 2021 ArtSpeak: FOUR SEASONS art-poem project. You can receive these weekly poems in your inbox. Simply click the "Follow by email" button.

Finally, here are a few things that have made me happy lately, and perhaps they'll bring you smiles as well:
making zines
Texas turtle rescue
The World I Leave You: Asian American Poets on Faith and Spirit
the words dervish and kumquat
Naomi Shihab Nye talking about positives during the pandemic
garden-dreaming

Thank you so much for sharing your time with me today. And remember: "The older you get the better you get, unless you are a banana." - Betty White
Love,
Irene