2007_11_01_archive

Wisdom from Yuyi Morales and Se�or Tlalocan

I'm posting from sunny Tucson where I am attending the 7th Regional

Conference of the International Board on Books for Young People

(IBBY), hosted by the U.S. section (USBBY) of which I am the past

president. What a terrific event! It's a gathering of a few hundred

people dedicated to promoting international understanding through

children's literature, a cause near to my heart. Our first speaker was

the effervescent artist Yuyi Morales who inspired me with her odd and

clever juxtapositions of Mexican folk art and wisdom, pop culture

connections, and pithy use of language. She used a colorful character,

Se�or Tlalocan (rooted in Mexican folklore) to guide us through her

presentation and presented various prayers of this character both

visually and verbally. Here was one of my favorites:

Se�or Tlalocan's Prayer

"Mighty impulses of mine, give me the courage to follow you always.

Might I remember that there is no right or wrong decision, but only

commitment to what I choose. Help me stick with my favorite option and

work on it with conviction and passion so as to make everyone believe

it was the only choice I had."

I love this thought and I send it out to all of you and especially to

my daughter in honor of her 24th birthday today. And here's a poem

that echoes that conviction, as crazy as the connection might seem.

God Went to Beauty School

by Cynthia Rylant

He went there to learn how

to give a good perm

and ended up just crazy

about nails

so He opened up His own shop.

"Nails by Jim" He called it.

He was afraid to call it

Nails by God.

He was sure people would

think He was being

disrespectful and using

His own name in vain

and nobody would tip.

He got into nails, of course,

because He'd always loved

hands--

hands were some of the best things

He'd ever done

and this way He could just

hold one in His

and admire those delicate

bones just above the knuckles,

delicate as birds' wings,

and after He'd done that

awhile,

He could paint all the nails

any color He wanted,

then say,

"Beautiful,"

and mean it.

From God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant (HarperColllins,

2003)

Emily, just be who you want to be where you want to be it. All the

rest will take care of itself. Thinking about you...

I know it's late to join the Poetry Friday round up, but here's the

link for those who are interested.