Holly Jahangiri | A More Positive Perspective

Banned Books Week: A Gift-Giving Occasion

by Holly Jahangiri | Sep 23, 2024

Today marks the beginning of Banned Books Week, which is "an annual awareness campaign promoted by the American Library Association and Amnesty International, that celebrates the freedom to read, draws attention to banned and challenged books, and highlights persecuted individuals. Held in late September or early October since 1982, the United States campaign "stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them" and the requirement to keep material publicly available so that people can develop their own conclusions and opinions. The international campaign notes individuals "persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read." Some of the events that occur during Banned Book Week are The Virtual Read-Out and The First Amendment Film Festival."*

Why is Banned Books Week a Gift-Giving Occasion?

When my daughter was in school, she came home and told me that they weren't allowed to read Fahrenheit 451 in class. I think she was in 8th or 9th grade, at the time.

"Put on your shoes. We're going to Barnes & Noble," I said.

I drove to our local Barnes & Noble with the intention of buying her a copy of Fahrenheit 451 and showing her the irony of her school banning it. "I'll buy it for you, but under one condition: You have to take it to school and read it conspicuously during free reading time."

"Won't I get in trouble?" she asked.

"Maybe, but if you do, just politely sit in the principal's office until I get there." I envisioned myself raging into the administrative offices like some avenging book-angel, expressing pride in my child's interest in good literature and deriding an educational institution that could be cowed by sheer ignorance. I was full of righteous indignation and excited at the prospect.

When we got to Barnes & Noble, we found several tables bearing a display of "Banned & Challenged" books - a feast for readers of all ages. I told my daughter that, in addition to Fahrenheit 451, she could pick out anything she wanted from that display. No holds barred. After all, I'd read Jaws (which did not stop me from swimming in the Atlantic), The Exorcist (which did not convince me that demonic possession was real) and perused most of my grandfather's and uncle's old back-issues of Playboy Magazine (kept discreetly on an upper shelf in the closet, but I was a tall and nosy child). There, I discovered some top-notch fiction. Naked bodies are all pretty similar, but the short stories published in Playboy were amazing.

If your child's curious about things, you should be, too - so that you can have an informed, calm, rational discussion with them. If you are pro-book-banning, let me tell you - that is the fastest way to ensure that your child will move heaven and earth to read the thing you don't want them to read. The only book I didn't read, as a kid, was Valley of the Dolls. Because my mom asked me nicely not to, and told me I probably wouldn't enjoy it, anyway. I still haven't read it or seen the movie. Because I trusted her judgement and the fact that she knew me well. Her request wasn't an order, and that's key.

Now, back to Barnes & Noble. I don't remember what else my child chose to read, but we went home with an armload of new books, the weight of which was compensated for, slightly, by my lightened bank account.

A day or two later, I learned that Fahrenheit 451 wasn't actually "banned" in her school or class. It just wasn't going to be required in Language Arts that year. Fun times.

But out of that slight misunderstanding, a tradition was born. And I carry it on, now, even though both my daughter and son are grown and living far from me. I send them Amazon gift certificates and point them towards the latest "Banned and Challenged Books" list. "Read widely and well - and don't limit it to the US!"

Celebrate! Get Involved! Buy BOOKS!

I do not dispute that parents, who should know their own children best, have a right to know what their children are reading. Again, I would urge them not to make books into "forbidden fruit" unless their aim is to encourage their children to seek out and read books of which they disapprove. The best option is to read the books themselves and tell their children why they would prefer for them to wait before reading them. Wait.

I told my kids to let me know if they accidentally clicked on some of the weirder parts of the Internet. I didn't yell or scold them if they ran across porn. "I don't want you thinking that's what normal love and sex are all about before you're old enough to experience them naturally."

And, "If you run across something disturbing or weirdly interesting, let's talk." Mostly what they found along such lines were debunked hoaxes involving colorful waffles and cups. I really hope that last one was just brownie mix. But seriously - your kids will find these things, if not at school, at a friend's house or on a friend's smartphone. Better to protect them through patient guidance and open communication, not shock, outrage, and authoritarian demands.

More Resources for Banned Books Week

* Wikipedia contributors, "Banned Books Week," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Banned_Books_Week&oldid=1227753490 (accessed September 23, 2024).

Formal Verse Magic Template

by Holly Jahangiri | Sep 2, 2024

If I had a dime for every time someone says, “I’ve read up on the rules for a [some complex poetry form] and no [expletives deleted] way can I write that!” followed by, “Still, I kinda want to try it” I’d be rich. If I had another dime for every time I’ve said or thought it, myself, I wouldn’t be writing this – I’d be buying a very large yacht. My friend Necia said it best, when she wrote, “Sestinas are not the cute green-eyed tree frog. They’re the formaldehyde-soaked bullfrog stuffed into a too-small jar that’s been forgotten in the back of a witch’s dilapidated shed.”

I quibbled with her. “That’s a villanelle. Sestinas are the newts’ eyes in a vat of pickling spices.”

“Ahhh, my bad,” she replied.

“They are the six-fingered chameleons needed for the Spell of Madness,” I added.

“Oh, absolutely!”

Necia and I have a lot of fun. Irreverent fun, when it comes to some of these mind-bending forms. We love a challenge…dammit.

Now, having tried the villanelle, the sestina, the ghazal, the ballade and more, and having wrestled each into submission at least once or twice (usually after muttering, “Never again!”), I’ve found that the easiest thing to do is to use an Excel spreadsheet. Forget pen and paper. Forget Word. The last sestina I wrote was called “an engineering marvel” and what engineer doesn’t love a good spreadsheet? I don’t like to hoard the goodies, so I’m sharing this here for my fellow poets. The rest of you can cast your spells using more mundane equipment. You’ll need Excel (Libre Office will probably open this, too).

poetic-forms-template (new) <<– click that, or right-click and Save as… (It’s a zip file containing one very simple little Excel file.)

There are two tabs in the zipped Excel file; the second is nothing more than a copy of the first, to use as a scratchpad when drafting a poem so that the first need never be touched. I’ll probably add onto this and update it, from time to time. The latest version adds a Sestina worksheet that makes rearranging your end words easier!

This post is dedicated to my new friend, Shannon Perry, in the hope that it helps to uncross her eyes from studying up on the sestina, and to Mervyn Seivwright, who also uses Excel as a scaffold for some of the trickier forms.

Just a Little Catch-Up on the Wall

by Holly Jahangiri | Aug 28, 2024

No, NOT Ketchup (or Catsup, for that Matter)

I didn’t throw food. I’m not a heathen.

But I haven’t blogged since April, and I think it’s about time to catch up with you, my three – make that four – faithful readers. Please accept my apologies if you got swept up in my housekeeping flurry – after archiving all 800+ posts here, I have been selectively restoring them. I wasn’t aware that they would go back out to you in email, again. I wasn’t trying to spam you, honestly. Maybe just remind you that I’m not dead. Nor is my blog. Forgive me?

Writing News

Last year, I was named a Councilor and Webmaster for The Poetry Society of Texas (PST). In May, I was elected a Director; my term starts September 1, 2024. The Poetry Society of Texas (PST) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose purpose is “to secure fuller public recognition of the art of poetry, to encourage the writing of poetry by Texans, and to kindle a finer and more intelligent appreciation of poetry, especially the work of living poets who interpret the spirit and heritage of Texas.” If you’d like to support PST while searching the internet and having a bit of fun with games and quizzes, check out Give with Bing (instructions for selecting PST so that your searches count towards donations by Microsoft are located here).

In February, I submitted three poems to the National Federation of Poetry Societies (NFSPS) Annual Contest; none were chosen as winners. My friend and fellow poet Mervyn R. Seivwright suggested aiming for at least 200 rejections a year, which means that I’m still behind! After all, if you’re a writer who is not winning contests, getting published, or receiving polite rejection slips, you’re not submitting your work often enough.

In May, I submitted 24 poems to Poets Northwest (I judged one category, or I’d have entered 25). As my mom used to say, “You can’t win if you don’t enter!” My poems won or placed in eleven categories! In August, I submitted 24 poems to the Poetry Society of Texas Annual Contests. I can’t share them here, because doing so would make them ineligible for contests and publication in some markets, but keep your fingers crossed for me – the Annual Awards Banquet is in Dallas on November 9, 2024, and I’ll know then how those did. Meanwhile, I have a few more looking for good homes.

In June, I participated in the Summer Writers Institute at the University of St. Thomas. I think of it as a 3-4 day retreat to focus solely on poetry or fiction. I’m always tempted to enroll, then, in the MFA program, but it makes little financial or practical sense for me, at this point. Still, it’s fun to stay in the dorm and be a full-time student for a few days!

I co-wrote a couple of poems, which my partner-in-crime, aka Necia Campbell, submitted to contests and journals. We have a little poetry group that’s an offshoot of the Stafford Poetry Challenge, and have been experimenting with invented, collaborative forms. We’re also planning to create an anthology later in the year.

Speaking of anthologies, this one is hot off the press: People, Places, and Pets. And if you missed it, I helped Poets Northwest publish Dreams+Nightmares last year.

Globe-Trotting

My husband and I have almost met our goal of visiting every state in the USA. Surprisingly enough, he’s ahead of me. And I have set foot in more countries than he has. He’s told me I ought to find a writing conference or workshop to attend in Kansas and in New Mexico – he’s been there, but I haven’t, and he’s happy for me to go alone. Now I’m worried – he doesn’t want to go back, or he’s tired of traveling with me? Maybe a little of both, by now!

We traveled to Rodanthe, NC, for a family reunion, then to the opposite coast to visit our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. It seems almost silly to say “on vacation” when you’re retired, but it was a pleasant change from the usual routine, and it’s always fun to spend time with family.

We were not renting the house that floated down the beach on our last day in Rodanthe, and thankfully, no one was in it when it broke loose from its moorings and took a swim in the sea. In fact, between the thunderstorms and the red flag warnings from Hurricane Ernesto and the runaway house, we had a few lovely beach days and lazy afternoons by the pool.

While we were in Oregon, we visited the Hopscotch immersive and interactive art exhibit. I highly recommend it, if you get the chance – especially with kids. It was my first-ever time playing in a huge, colorfully-lit ball pit. And we all got a chance to spray-paint laser graffiti on a digital brick wall.

Earlier this year, we visited Louisville, Kentucky, where we toured Bourbon distilleries, ate some great food, walked across the Ohio River to Indiana, and took a tour of Mammoth Cave – which I did not find “disappointing” in the least. We also met an online friend of mine, Sandy Knauer Morgan, who I met on the now-defunct writing site, Gather, longer ago than either of us care to admit. My husband admitted, after meeting her, that I have nice online friends. He’s now open to meeting more of them. We’ve come a long way since the late 1990s, when the family made one of my sisters-by-choice meet everyone and pass muster as “probably not a serial killer” before I could grab a coffee with her.

We traveled to Japan in March, to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. That was in June, but we figured we ought to go while the Sakura (cherry blossoms) were in bloom. They started blooming a day or two after we arrived. We enjoyed sightseeing in Tokyo, Fujikawaguchiko, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tōdai-Ji at Nara. I had told my husband that I would hold off eating any sort of Kobe (or Wagyu) beef until we were in Japan – preferably in or near Kobe. It was worth the wait! ! It practically melts in your mouth.

We met another online friend of mine, Yosuke, in Tokyo. He showed us around, had a lovely sushi dinner with us, and helped me find a replacement cable for my Garmin watch! Yosuke and I had once been in the same room, but not met, in 2012, at a Frank Zappa Unlocked tribute concert at UNT, featuring Arthur Barrow, Tommy Mars, and student musicians – my daughter was one, at the time. He was saluted from the stage for coming the farthest to see the concert, then left nice comments online about my daughter’s performance. We became Facebook friends, and I reached out before going to Tokyo asking for suggestions of things to see and do – and he agreed to meet up with us!

In April, we went to Dallas for the eclipse. The weather cleared just in time, and just long enough to give us a breathtaking view of a full solar eclipse. I could see, then, why people would “chase eclipses” around the world. It was entirely worth it, and we had a peaceful, uncrowded spot in an open field, with an unobstructed view, from which to watch it.

In May, I attended the annual Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc (OWFI) conference, hob-nobbed with fellow writers, and placed in one of the poetry contests. It was a fun, slightly bittersweet time, as it may be the last time my friend and publisher, Vivian Zabel, and I, attend.

We went to Austin for our niece, Lauren’s, graduation. There were two ceremonies! One for her college and one for all the graduates, together. UT Austin put on a stunning show – it was almost rained out, but again, the weather cleared and we were able to watch a drone show with congratulatory messages, a longhorn steer, a graduation cap with a moving tassel, and more looming over the stadium. While we were there, Lauren showed us where Thomas Dambo‘s Malin lives.

We traveled to Sacramento and to Yosemite National Park. I was surprised by how much of Yosemite you can see in a couple of days; I’d assumed we would miss a lot, but we left satisfied with the whole experience. So many beautiful waterfalls and hiking trails for every ability.

Invention is the Mother of All Poetry

Our Stafford “small group” of writers that meets on Zoom – originally dubbed “The Nameless” but now also calling itself “The Rebel Outpost” invented a new poetry form: the “Rebellian” (pronounced like “rebellion”).

Rules for the Rebellian:

Blank verse written in any number of couplets (If co-written, each participant should alternate submitting couplets)
A chosen word (eg, “Today”) must be the first word of the first and every other couplet (lines 1, 5, 9, 13, etc), and it must be the last word of the alternating couplet (lines 4, 8, 12, 16, etc)
Each quatrain should be able to stand alone, linked only by the word “today”

TIP: Start with a word that’s an iamb to make the meter easier. A very short phrase might be okay, as long as it could work at the end of the next couplet, is iambic, and isn’t too “leading” in its message Example: “Another day” or “A bird in flight.”

Give it a try! Send me a link to your poem, if you post it.

Pen & Keyboard Writers: People, Places, and Pets Anthology

by Holly Jahangiri | Aug 27, 2024

Another anthology, hot off the press!

In 2022, Pen & Keyboard Writers created an anthology of poetry and short stories called Celebrating the Seasons, which we interpreted both literally and figuratively.

This time, Pen & Keyboard Writers chose to write short stories about People, Places, and Pets. Divided into three sections, this book contains twenty-one short stories by twelve authors, all members of Pen & Keyboard Writers, which is an affiliate of the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. (OWFI). You can buy your copy at most online retail bookstores, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble online.

Here’s our group’s President, Jim Martin, with the first orders to be distributed – even before it reached the bookstores:

My short story, “The Artist’s Cat,” appears on page 263. It is a better story for the feedback and edits given by other members of Pen & Keyboard Writers, and I am especially grateful for the suggestions and edits I received from Carla Guthrie, Darlinda Hagens, and B.S. Adamsons.