Are you a poet?

Last Thursday it was sunny and unseasonably warm, maybe 60?; a very nice November day in Chicagoland anyway. (We have been having the best weather ever, so I have been taking advantage of it.) Anyway, I had some time to kill between tumbling classes so I jogged for a bit at the fairgrounds. Then I noticed that it was YARD SALE EXTRAVANGA day! So I had to stop in, (even though I was far from looking my best).... Maybe I'd find some Christmas bargains and start my shopping early this year. About one minute after I entered the building I was approached by a young woman. "Are you a poet!?!", she asked me skeptically.

I did not know how to answer her. A poet? Me?, ...I then asked myself: Where? How? (maybe she saw me on David's site???)

"My daughter recognized you, but at first I thought she was mistaken", she explained. "She said you came to her school last week... Let me tell you, she is a Kindergartener, and I also have a First Grader. Both of them saw your PoPP presentation. They are SO excited about writing and submitting a poem for your contest!" ...

So I told the lady her daughter was correct. I thanked her for approaching me and wished her children good luck!

I felt like a celebrity for the rest of the afternoon... What a wonderful day!

Very Excited About Today

Today I was featured as a Guest Reader on David Harrison's blogsite. http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/todays-guest-reader-julie-huppenthal/ I am honored, to say the least. I have learned so much from him and the other wonderful writers and poets that share their talents on that site. See link on right and contribute too! Everyone is very encouraging and nice and inspiring!


Also today, my small sub-committee group from the Indiana Writer's Consortium met with teachers from Lake Street Elementary to introduce ourselves and PoPP(Power of Poetry Project). We will teach a short lesson to the students next week. The children will learn more about poetry from their teachers over the next few weeks and submit their finest poem to us in January for judging. The best and most creative will be published. An awards ceremony in April will showcase and celebrate their accomplishments.

Also today, I sent in a short story to Hoosier Horizon Magazine. This local magazine will contain some works from the members of Write-On Hoosiers. I am designing the front and back cover too :).

Also today, (whew) I volunteered at my second son's Halloween party. His teacher wants him to bring in one of my poems next week and read it to the class - I was very touched and plan to let him read a shape poem titled Little Bat. ...My youngest has his party tomorrow - and guess what! - I'm helping with that one too!

Busy Summer

In June I got word that I will be published in the 2010 From the Edge of the Prairie book. I was extremely excited but anxious about all the revisions I had to make in a short time. In July I got together with some fellow writers. We are working on developing an upcoming kid's poetry project. I will also be one of four judges for the contest. It will be called POPP (Power of Poetry Project). I entered 5 photos in the Lake County Fair this year and won one second place ribbon. Earlier this month I also sent in 4 poems to The Minnesota League of Poets Poetry Contest and one poem and photo to Spider Magazine. I am keeping my fingers crossed. The kids are back in school now so I hope to have time to polish some more of my stories and submit a couple to publishers. Submitting is one of September's goals for our Magic Hour Writers group.

A big hit!

Yesterday I read Sally Mae and the Three Wolves to a class of 2nd graders after I finished my final Fine Art presention for the year. They were very kind and encouraging. They liked my story and illustrations and suggested I give a copy to thier school library. What a great bunch of kids!

latest projects

I have been researching pod and self-publishing companies lately. I am also working on watercolor paintings for my Sally Mae illustrations. This summer I plan to submit more poems to various state poetry contests.

Next Magic Hour Writers meeting is scheduled for Thurs. May 13th.

"Life" is good!

Today I found out I tied for first with the most votes for David L. Harrison's word of the month poetry contest. March's word was "Life". I submitted "The Life of a Housewife" (this poem is posted on my other site, see link). I am very excited and honored to be included on his site. His link is posted on the right also. I cannot say enough wonderful things about him and his work. ...April's word is "Spring". Everyone is welcome to enter a poem - check it out and write something up! Voting takes place the last week of the month - anyone can vote. David himself and his group of poets on there always give positive and helpful feedback.

Other News: Yesterday I submitted two poems and a short story (with related photos) to The Prairie Writer's Guild in hopes of being included in their next publication due out in October, 2010. They are are a local group out of Rensselaer, Indiana. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I cannot imagine how wonderful it would be to have something actually published.

Last night we had our second Magic Hour Writers meeting. It was again very informative and enjoyable. We shared our latest projects and began our discussion on the topic self-publishing. I wrote a poem this week entitled "The Life of a Housewife" for David L. Harrison's word of the month contest (this month the word was Life). I like it so much I am going to enter it (and another poem) in a contest this weekend. I also started a Wordpress blogsite and will post some of my pictures and poems on there.

I have a lot to report.

I attended my first official Write on Hoosiers Meeting at Borders earlier this week. I am excited about being a part of this dynamic group. They are very inspiring.

I have also officially become a member of the Indiana Writers Consortium.

Judy and I have been working hard planning for our first Magic Hour Writers group meeting. It is scheduled for Feb. 11th.

I have written a short story titled "EEL River". It is a true story about a rafting trip our family took last summer as told by my 2 1/2 year old. I made it into a photo book and made extra copies for the extended family as gifts. Although I am happy with the "end" result, I think of this photo book as more of a "dummy book". I was allowed to play around with page layouts and fonts, etc. It is a good stepping stone for a more polished work someday.

I am planning on submitting a few poems to the Prarie Writers Guild for hopes of publication. I am also working on a poem for David Harrison's "Adult word of the month" poetry contest.

I still have to finish editing "Sally Mae" and start doing research on publishers for "What Makes You Special" but I'll get there one of these days.