“A poem is the record of a discovery, either the discovery of something in the world, or within one’s self, or perhaps the discovery of something through the juxtaposition of sounds and sense within our language. Our job as poets is to set down the record of those discoveries in such a way that our readers will make the discoveries theirs and will delight in them.” – Former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser
Farmers’ Market
Posted by Tammy on April 12, 2013
https://agrigirl.com/2013/04/12/poetry-at-the-farmers-market/
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a food and wine pairing meal. It was an exquisitely prepared 5 or 6 courses each with a special tasting of wine to accompany. As we head into April, I’d like to acknowledge another type of pairing – that of food and poetry.
Cortney Davis, the poetry editor of “Alimentum: The Literature of Food,” also acknowledges this pairing.
“The best foods are layered–we notice the hint of rosemary behind the muscular taste of tomato or the suggestion of oak that appears moments after the swallow of a fine wine. . . . Some foods taste better left-over–the second-day helping of turkey and stuffing at Thanksgiving. Poems must be multi-layered too, and they must last not only through the second serving, but through many readings, offering us . . . another revelation, another way of looking at ourselves. . . .”
Posted by Tammy on April 1, 2013
https://agrigirl.com/2013/04/01/tammys-top-ten-t3-report-ways-to-celebrate-poetry/
Who knew? I was on my way to the office listening to an update about last night’s games when this story from National Public Radio struck me from across the airwaves. Apparently, from the dawn of the Olympic games until 1948, poetry was included as part of the competition.
Olympic Stamp 1960 Greece
Posted by Tammy on August 4, 2012
https://agrigirl.com/2012/08/04/honoring-okra-and-the-summer-games/
The idea is simple. Find a poem that you love or one that makes you laugh or something that conjures up wistful memories. Write it down. Put it in your pocket and throughout the day, share it with your friends and your coworkers and the people in line at the coffee shop and the students in your class and your family at the dinner table and whoever else you come into contact with. It’s National Poetry Month. Read poetry.
Posted by Tammy on April 22, 2012
https://agrigirl.com/2012/04/22/poem-in-your-pocket-day/
A colleague recently told me, “I’m not nearly as good as you are at getting my kids out to cultural events.” I knew instantly that my own kids might prefer to live in her house. You see, I love arts and humanities and I have this twisted parental attitude that developed years ago while reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting that says, exposure to said events will result in increased synapse firing for developing brains. In other words, what I love must be good for them!
flickr.com/photos/peasap/photostream/
Posted by Tammy on April 9, 2011
https://agrigirl.com/2011/04/09/introducing-kids-to-art-and-culture/
I admit to a self-centered fascination with wordpress stats. I know, write for good content, write for enjoyment, write to write, the subscribers will follow. I still look at the numbers and marvel at what drives them.
Oddly, one of things I learn when examining my search term stats are that a great deal of the googlers in the world find me by using the search words: Ant Farm.
Posted by Tammy on February 19, 2011
https://agrigirl.com/2011/02/19/ant-farm/
I thought it would be hard to find ten. But the struggle came in the whittling down of a brutally long list of food songs. Who knew there were so many and that I’d have had to spend hours on youtube listening to ensure that I’ve happened upon the right selection. I don’t know that I have. I loosened my criteria. Weird Al was disqualified. I closed out anything from Sesame Street or Raffi. And while Taco Wagon by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones is right up there for great music, it had no lyrics. The good news is, that while there are oodles of old songs about savory morsels, the new genre is keeping up just fine. This however, is a sort of an oldies list.
I’d never heard this song before and thought that it was quite fitting for my own story.
1. Canned Goods by Greg Brown (more…)
Posted by Tammy on January 21, 2011
https://agrigirl.com/2011/01/21/tammys-top-ten-the-t3-report-food-songs/
I’m cheering for Auburn in the BCS Bowl. Auburn is in Alabama – a state I’ve never visited. I don’t even like football much but I do read a mind-stretching blog by Professor Jose Llanes, of the Education Department there and hence, I now find some affinity with this Southern school.
flickr.com/photos/lulieboo - Go Tigers!
Posted by Tammy on January 1, 2011
https://agrigirl.com/2011/01/01/beans-books-and-learning-to-blog/
My skin started to prickle as I drove into the underpass. Of course I was secure in my car even if it was dark and I was in a new neighborhood but, I was still thinking of my evening conversation. That guy on the bridge was there for seven days.
flickr.creativecommons/photos/shawnzlea
Posted by Tammy on December 11, 2010
https://agrigirl.com/2010/12/11/louisiana-9th-ward-hurricane-katrina-race-gender/
Thanks to Ollin for the invite to guest post at his blog, Courage 2 Create. Click over there to read my contribution, after you’ve read what Ollin has to say about how nature can inspire us and our writing.
The Creator of Courage
By Ollin Morales
I walk through a little dirt pathway, hugged on either side by bright green grass. There are trees all around that seem to greet me in their silence. The little stream whispers, “Hello.” A leaf or two can be seen falling to the ground, with the power and grace of any Olympic diver. There, in this sacred place, you feel yourself embraced by a cool, tender brush of mountain wind. There, you can almost swear the branches are speaking to you in a language all their own. There, you are almost certain that a squirrel, who freezes just underneath the sunlight as you approach, is reminding you of something you forgot. {That living occurs in the moment.}
Posted by Tammy on December 6, 2010
https://agrigirl.com/2010/12/06/guest-post-ollin-morales/
A wife, a mom, an executive, a certified leadership coach and a breast cancer survivor. I love learning and I love to write and I'm often fascinated with the life lessons that come from my kitchen. Focusing on community-based Placemaking is the way that I work towards creating a healthier planet.
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