Roger Tory Peterson Institute

One evening while at Chautauqua a bus whisked us away to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown New York where we had a barbeque (the salmon was yum). Roger Tory Peterson created the "Field Guide to Birds," first published in 1934. While we were at RTPI we had the option of taking an architectural tour of the building and/or a tour of the archives. Mark Baldwin of RTPI showed us one drawer of extinct birds and held up an Ivory Billed Woodpecker and a Passenger pigeon, both extinct. I couldn't help but think how exciting it would be to be let loose in those archives to open the drawers, examine the birds, turn them over in my hands and feel their tiny feet, but that was a no-no.

The photographs of bird artwork were Peterson's first and last illustrations. He died in 1996. The unfinished illustration left an impression on me. It was a stark reminder of how quickly and unexpected death can be. He was so passionate about his work that he was doing it until the day he died.

If you're interested in getting other writer's opinions of Chautauqua or RTPI, I've assembled a list of blog posts from friends I met there:

Marie Powell-Mendenhall - RTPI
Betsy Devany - how I landed in Oz
Kathy Mirkin - 10 reasons to attend
Gail Handler - The charm of Chautauqua

Here's a place to find information about Chautauqua 2011 alumni

My final comments about Chautauqua have to do with the publishing marketplace. I heard from a nonfiction writer that nonfiction is not selling right now. I heard from picture book writers that picture books are not selling right now. I got the distinct impression that the publishing industry is partially paralyzed by the changes rippling through it from e-books. They are cautious and waiting, only taking on projects that they know will sell.

I've been revising a chemistry article that took some getting used to after the editor shuffled it like a deck of cards. After looking at it, I realized it's mostly my cards rearranged a bit. Actually, the edits aren't that extensive, so it's moving along.

Although this bee on a coneflower shot could have been taken anywhere, I took this macro shot at Chautauqua one day as I walked back to the hotel.

Chautauqua - the people

At Chautauqua, the disparity between "them" and "us" was negligible. The faculty and invited authors were approachable and they weren't there to further their own agendas. At meals, they spread out among the conferees. During one dinner, I was happily sandwiched between Sivu from South Africa and Jerry Spinelli. At another dinner, I sat next to Kathi Appelt. On different days, I had breakfast with Chris French Cully, Carolyn Yoder, and Andy Boyles. At a barbeque I sat next to Julie Ham, an editor at Charlesbridge. It was not so much what will happen from this workshop, but creating the possibility that it can happen by making connections. My roommate, Janet Lloyd Weber, and I were amazed at how gracious Kent Brown's family was to open their homes to us for barbeques on two separate evenings.

The bottom photograph was taken at my dinner table one evening. The middle shot is my totebag from the conference signed by faculty and authors. I had my mentor, Andy Boyles, sign front and center. In the upper left hand corner you'll find the cryptic signature of Tommy James (and the Shondells). The top photograph is of the last morning where I laughed throughout breakfast. So many happy memories of Chautauqua......

Chautauqua - the program

The program at the writer's workshop at Chautauqua was more intense than I expected. I was quite busy the whole week and that left little time to participate in the scheduled Chautauqua Institution lectures and programs. There were inspirational keynote speeches in the morning and in the evening. In the afternoon, I scurried from one pre-selected workshop to another. During lunch, there were optional Lunch and Learn sessions where I ate and listened to a speaker. I participated in two of these. One was a session on how teachers select nonfiction books and the other was about school visits. At times I found it difficult to focus because of the heat and because I didn't sleep well while I was at Chautauqua. It seemed many people were not sleeping well. We were all caught up in the excitement.

Prior to arriving at Chautauqua, I submitted a manuscript for critique. Critiques were either Mon and Wed or Tue and Thurs. I was real happy with my first critique despite having a critique group that I consider to be quite thorough, I received some great suggestions. The second critique meeting either involved new material or revisions to the submitted material. In order to get those revisions done participants stayed up till the wee hours of the morning or they cut workshops and keynote speeches (that would be me).

There was a lot of stuff crammed into one week. I signed up for an early morning nature walk that I really enjoyed. We found a dead bat (I wish I used the macro setting of the camera!) . One day we went to Roger Tory Peterson Institute and got a tour of the archives and their Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Other conferees participated in a history field trip. Sharon Creech was one of the keynote speakers. The top photograph summarizes the keynoters words of wisdom. What a great conference!

Chautauqua - the place

Chautauqua Institution is unique. I know of no other place like it. It's not really a town, but more like a gated village devoted to the arts. It straddles Chautauqua Lake. At the front gate, there's a schedule of all the events that happen during the week. Lectures, concerts, animal shows.....all occur in open air buildings. The houses have small yards overflowing with flowers. Jerry Spinelli told me he and his wife bought a house in Chautauqua because they loved it so much. My first impression was that it was quaint.

The bottom photograph is the amphitheater where we saw Tommy James and the Shondells. The middle photograph is the lecture hall where I sat during lunch and also met my mentor, Andy Boyles. Many times during the week I'd walk past the lecture hall and hear someone speaking. The top photograph is the view from the front porch of the Athenaeum where I stayed. It's a magnificent historic hotel that has had many famous guests.

Chautauqua - First Day

To get into the Chautauqua Institution you have to go through one of the gates. You'd think the President was coming with all the security they have there. Every trip in and every trip out requires a scan of a ticket.

That first day I wandered the grounds walking all four of the streets that ran parallel to the lake. When I found the bell tower, why of course I wanted to climb to the top, but that was no-no. Carolyn Benton, the chimemaster who wanted this job since she was five, asked me what hymn or fun song I wanted to hear from her lists. Since I was there for a writing conference, I selected "I Could Write a Book." Since I was not familiar with what I was requesting, she could have played any old thing and I never would have caught on.

Last night I returned from Chautauqua. I had a fabulous time. One of the questions I had before I left was what is it about this conference that makes writers love it? I now know the answer to that. I hope to explain that in a series of blog posts about place, program and people and include key photographs. For now, I'm digging out and working on edits to an article.

Asiatic lily and coreopsis

I've adjusted to the new reality by looking at things differently. Instead of standing in the street and gazing at the top of a skyscraper and thinking what a devastating fall, I stand in the street gazing at the first floor thinking you can do it. You can get there. One step at a time. It's the same with writing. When you look at the mountain top and see the happy faces they seem so unreachable, but taking one careful step at a time you will move toward that peak and enjoy the journey more. Hopefully, after a week at Chautauqua there will be noticeable improvements all around. I am SO looking forward to getting away, attending lectures, meeting new people, enjoying the arts, listening to feedback and most of all immersing myself in the writing world. I have much to discuss with a mentor.

The top photograph is an Asiatic lily. They are stiff flowers that last a long time in bouquets. The bottom is coreopsis, a profusely flowering plant.

My brochure is 92.75% done. It came out great, but needs some photographs. It looks like I'll have to plan a swim date with my niece so I can get myself a real life model of the appropriate age. I'm quite content that now I have something, something concrete to show people. Ahhh. I've tried and I will have to keep on trying because I intend to honor my part of the bargain.

I received a 21-page emailed pdf file (e-book) from the Highlights Foundation. Inside were short biographies for all one hundred writers/illustrators attending from all over the United States, Canada, India and South Africa. As expected, there weren't many men, but there were lots of teachers and lots of people who loved being outdoors. Of course they loved writing/illustrating too.

I've posted more photographs from the National Museum of Natural History. These were taken at the dinosaur casting area

Time is ticking fast lately. Crit group suggestions are nearly complete. Then it's back to fact-checking. I hope I can get the article out the door by the end of the week.

I learned the name of my Chautauqua (is that the hardest darn word to say or what?) workshop mentor and I'm uber-delighted. The forty-five workshop descriptions that arrived via email were more detailed than those on the website and they included who the speaker was. For example, there was a workshop on e-books (by Harold Underdown) a workshop called "200 words or less" and another called work-for-hire. I got to pick 15, at times that was tough. Many of us on the Chautauqua discussion board plan to swap notes. So, I have to remember to write clearly and neatly (or I'll have to retype, ugh).

Squirrels are so common out here. This one is clinging to our oak tree out front. Earlier today, Walt took some awesome fast shutter speed images of the cat leaping. I'll post them another time. I have to read the owners manual to learn all its capabilities........but reading manuals is so bbbbbborinnnngzzzz.

My internet connection is still slow and spotty. They told us three days ago it would be fixed in three days. This is getting old.

I spent the weekend doing a great deal of revising and now the article is much more polished although the last two or three paragraphs still need work. My daughter picked it up and snickered at the title so I am trying to come up with a new more enticing one for this wildly exciting topic.

I'm waiting for a book about writing to arrive. In the meantime, I've been reading lots of books by Chautauqua faculty. Some of my favorites are:
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt - beautifully written.
Gator Gumbo by Candace Fleming - SO cute and flavorful language. Great illustrations.
Where Horses Run Free - by Joy Cowley - A really nice story where you really feel for those horses
Time Flies by Eric Rohmann - A fast read (no words!). Neat idea to pair the now with the then.
The Prairie Builders - by Sneed Collard - Nicely written unusual story about rebuilding a prairie.

"The Battle Against Invasive Species" by Sneed Collard came to mind as I yanked up Asian bittersweet yesterday. I've seen those orange roots before, but I always thought they were the roots of my Rose of Sharon (which I have taken to calling the Rose of Linda!). I noticed the invasive plant had snaked around a branch, choking the life out of it. A couple of branches of bittersweet had worked their way to the top of the "Rose of Linda" and reached up into our oak tree (bottom photo you can see it coming in from the right). I sawed and snipped the stalks. Now what's left of bittersweet has been severed from its roots. For now, I win this one.

Orchids

I lingered in the orchid room at the Botanical Gardens admiring the flowers and pondering the lure of their petals. I am not certain if all of these are orchids though.

Today, I will spend the day pouring through the _ _ _ ing (rhymes with pouring) pages of my daughter's high school chemistry book. Zzzzz. About 1/3 of my article is pretty polished.

I don't know what it is about that little 500 word piece of fiction that keeps me coming back for more. There is a lot in there--a humorous (or so I hope) main story, a connection to curriculum and a third little thing that leaves a reader wondering. I am pleased with it and I do think it's done (until I pick it up again).

Another thing I need to do soon is to review the Chautauqua workshops and start making some preliminary decisions about what classes I might want to take. Fun fun fun!!!

I received some great news this past week from the National Association of Science Writers:

In July, I'm headed to the Highlights Foundation Writer's Workshop at Chautauqua! Everything I've read about this workshop is a glowing review. It's nice to start the year with some fabulous news. As I told my kids, it takes persistence. This is the second time I've applied for funding to the workshop. I'm hoping they help me iron out the wrinkles in my big project.

Lately, I've been working on a magazine article about climate change for two reasons. First, I have an email critique deadline next week and nothing to show for myself. Secondly, I'm laying the groundwork for some bigger plans. Finally, this is the same subject I've been writing about, a subject I know very well, so it was fast and easy to put it together.