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Stone Soup Author Interview between Anya Geist and Lena Aloise. A note from William Wishing you all my best for this Valentine’s Day weekend! Hopefully, this is the last Valentine’s Day any of us will experience as part of a pandemic. When you are around strangers, please mask to stay extra safe. But, of course, take your mask off when eating chocolate! Our wonderful new employee, Caleb Berg, has been working behind the scenes to complete the Stone Soup Author Interview Project led by Stone Soup intern Anya Geist. We are now rolling out Anya’s Stone Soup Author Interview videos. This first release is a compilation of Anya, who is a Stone Soup intern, asking Stone Soup authors about the ongoing Saturday Writing Workshop. The thoughtfulness and eloquence of their responses should come as no surprise to those who’ve read their stunning work. Thanks to each of you who participated in this and the other Stone Soup Author Interviews. Now that they are edited, Caleb will begin releasing the remaining interviews on our blog, so make sure to look out for those over the coming week! Comments on blog posts are always welcome. Enrollment in the Saturday Writing Workshop is closed at this time. It currently has fifty-five students, which is actually more than we had planned! We are thinking of ways we may be able to increase our offering of writing classes—but for now I think the soonest we will have more classes is the summer.We will be posting the summer school schedule shortly. These shorter, more intensive workshops are conducted in association with the fabulous Society of Young Inklings. We have the teachers lined up and class descriptions written, so all that is left is for the final schedule to be worked out and published. “Wild World”—this story, with its fantastic descriptions, precise language, and unexpected twists and turns by Ever Sun, a writing workshop student, has so much going for it, I don’t know where to start. I could write about this story for an hour! The combination of realism and fantasy is, well, fantastic. Such an evocative story. Challenging. Thought-provoking. It is a story that rewards re-reading. Being practical, what I’d like focus on is the descriptive language. As you read the story, please note the vivid imagery. In the first paragraph, you have buildings that loom. In the second sentence, you have Luxi loving the “flash and lights” of the city. “Flash” and “lights” work together—we are all familiar with “flashing lights.” But, Ever speaks of the “flash and lights” of the city. Thus, she is using “flash” in the sense of “flashy,” “exciting,” “vibrant.” Throughout this story, Ever uses language that is both precise and carries us beneath the surface. In describing a tree she says, “Its trunk was old and rough, its branches weak but sturdy . . ..” “Weak” and “sturdy” are both words with precise meanings. “Weak but sturdy” takes us someplace special. It takes us into the inner nature of a tree. All those branches dancing in the wind—another term Ever used to talk about the trees—so weak, and ye so sturdy. Luxi is researching nature in a place that is both natural and supernatural. Thank you, Ever, for this wonderful story! Weekend project: after reading Ever’s story and paying attention to her descriptions, write about a piece of nature that you are familiar with. If the spirit moves you, allow a bit of the spirit world into your story. A little bit of the supernatural. As always, if you like what you come up with, please go to our website and submit what you have written to Emma to read for possible publication. Until next week, Congratulations to our most recent Monthly Flash Contest Winners! Our February Flash Contest was based on our weekly creativity prompt #138, asking writers to put themselves in the shoes of one of their favorite characters by pretending this character had social media, and entrants did not disappoint. From added wrinkles to the wizarding world of Harry Potter to illustrations of beloved cartoons—and even to the outer reaches of space—we received a wide array of submissions that challenged traditional modes of thinking and gave new perspective on what it means to grow up with social media. It is a marvel to be continually surprised by the amazing work we receive each month. So, well done to all who submitted! In particular, we congratulate our honorable mentions and our winners, whose work you can appreciate below. You can read the winning entries for this contest (and previous ones) at the Stone Soup website. Winners “Insta Pusheen” by Maggie Kershen, 11, Norman, OK “Godley Scribblings: How I Came To Be Uncle Totey” by Iago Macknik-Conde, 12, Brooklyn, NY “The Social Evolution of Our Beloved Wizard” by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 11, Newark, OH “@pluto9planet” by Ender Ippolito, 9, Portland, OR “Halloween with the Rooney’s” by Elizabeth Sabaev, 10, Forest Hills, NY Honorable Mentions “Better than Daily Prophet” by Jack Rubin, 9, Solon, OH “Tweets from Cricket” by Rex Huang, 11, Lake Oswego, OR “Chihiro Posts from ‘Spirited Away’” by Scarlet He, 10, Scarsdale, NY “Ariel—The Ocean Heroine” by Tang Li, 8, Palmetto Bay, FL “The Leader Who Gained Citizens with Twitter” by Chelsea Liang, 11, San Jose, CA Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Read Anya’s update from our most recent Book Club, where they discussed The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. The next book to be discussed will be The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. Nora, 12, reviewed Lloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three, which is part of the Chronicles of Prydain. Check out her review to find out why she enjoyed the series and found the characters relatable. In “The Courtroom Choir,” Charlie wrote a moving poem about former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Check out Aditi’s review of Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. Aditi writes that the book will “teach kids that confidence, self-appreciation, and belief in oneself are essential in whatever they do.” Don’t miss Adhi’s post on how you can combine Math and Art through drawing

“Norway’s Light” by Freyja Land, 10 (Brooklyn, NY) Published in the February 2021 issue of Stone Soup A note from Emma I teach poetry to undergraduates at the University of California-Santa Cruz, and many of the poems my students start out writing are a series of disconnected fragments—there’s no punctuation, and they maybe aren’t even written in full sentences. This is poetry! they seem to think. Anything goes! Well, yes and no. The form of the poem (how it uses grammar, lines, rhyme, and rhythm) should be connected to its content (what it’s about): ideally, the two form a symbiotic relationship (like the clownfish and the anemone!). This is another way of saying, formal choices shouldn’t be random. And often, my students’ choices about whether to punctuate or write in sentences feel random at first—the formal choices don’t complicate or deepen my reading of the poem. So, in class, we always end up discussing the role of the sentence in poetry. I’ll challenge them to write a poem from a single sentence or to try writing one in really long lines or sentences (you can find examples of both in Walt Whitman’s work).  I find we don’t get many poetry submissions for Stone Soup that use long lines or long sentences spread across many lines—so I was thrilled to read Amber Zhao’s incredible poems crafted from complex sentences. Her poem “Antarctic” opens: “The sea’s cold,” is all you write from Antarctica, “and we haven’t seen any penguins yet. Hope we do.” How to analyze that icy wilderness, with its harsh arc of grandiose majesty, luminous glaciers otherworldly in the setting sun? The Earth’s veins will be hidden deep beneath the icicle-crusted ground, my friend, and the surreal wonders of stepping onto land after many days at sea, a sensation to conquer. I was immediately taken in by Amber’s rich, descriptive language and expansive sentences that seem to capture the “grandiose majesty” of Antarctica. Observe how she spreads four sentences over seven lines of poetry. Amber is using a technique called “enjambment,” the practice of ending a line on an unfinished thought. An enjambed line is one that leaves you hanging, wondering, “Wait . . . what’s happening? Where’s the rest of this sentence?” “The sea’s cold,” is all you write from Antarctica, “and we haven’t . . . we haven’t what?! That’s enjambment! seen any penguins yet. Hope we do.” How to analyze . . . how to analyze what? That’s enjambment too.that icy wilderness, with its harsh arc of grandiose majesty, This isn’t the end of the sentence, but the thought still feels complete. The comma indicates a natural pause. This isn’t enjambed. luminous glaciers otherworldly in the setting sun? The Earth’s . . . the Earth’s what? It’s another enjambed line. Try to figure out for yourself whether the final three lines from the excerpt are enjambed or not. And then try to write a poem that uses long sentences and enjambment. Send your finished poems to Stone Soup! (Also, please scroll down to read more “Antarctic,” and you can find three more of Amber’s amazing poems in the February issue.) Until next week, There’s still time to submit to our Monthly Flash Contest! Here’s the prompt for this month’s contest: Take a character from one of your favorite books, TV shows, or movies, and pretend that they have a social media account. Write a few posts that they might share. Would they let their followers know what is going on in their lives? Or be secretive and vague in their posts? You can make it funny or serious, or a mixture of both! Feel free to keep it within the confines of the original story or make up new details. And you have until tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 7, at noon PST to submit here. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Read “Change,” a powerful poem by Kaya, 10, about the Black Lives Matter movement. She writes: “Let’s change direction and make correction. / Let’s make this our legacy—Unity in our community.” Another poem on the blog, this one by Aviva Rosenstock, titled “If Life Were Upside Down.” Aviva captures the disorienting feeling of everything changing. Speaking of poetry, we posted another Stone Soup author interview between intern Anya and Stone Soup poet Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer. They discuss the freedom of creative writing, even if it doesn’t “make sense.” From Stone Soup February 2021 Antarctic By Amber Zhao, 10 (Brisbane, Australia) “The sea’s cold,” is all you write from Antarctica, “and we haven’t seen any penguins yet. Hope we do.” How to analyze that icy wilderness, with its harsh arc of grandiose majesty, luminous glaciers otherworldly in the setting sun? The Earth’s veins will be hidden deep beneath the icicle-crusted ground, my friend, and the surreal wonders of stepping onto land after many days at sea, a sensation to conquer. I remember those waterfalls of ice, pluming into the distant rays of an underwater moon. Stinging chandeliers, jellyfish, pulsed deadly, deadly under a human touch, yet beguiling, a universal gravity drawing the fingers to the stingers. Translucent lives floated and flowered in a primal ripple-ring of wild nerves . . . /MORE   Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s Advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.  

“Spring” by Sloka Ganne, 10 (Overland Park, KS) Published in Stone Soup January 2021 A note from Caleb Summer school news. Stone Soup and the Society for Young Inklings are teaming up again this summer. We are going to offer more classes than last year. Our goal is to have the program finalized within the next two or three weeks so you can begin registering. We have a couple surprises for you—but, no spoilers today! Hello Stone Soup family! You have not yet heard from me, so a little bit about myself: my name is Caleb Berg, and I am a fourth-year student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where I study literature with a focus on creative writing. Fun fact: I started working for Stone Soup due in large part to the fact that William and I are neighbors! Working for Stone Soup, I have the privilege to not only read your incredible work but listen to it too, as I spend my time editing the writing workshops as well as the author interviews. As somebody who found writing late in life, the passion you have for writing at such young ages is an inspiration to me. Oftentimes, after listening to you read your work, I can’t help but start writing myself. It’s contagious! So, thank you, and know that by choosing the creative path, you are able to bring so much joy into the world. Truly, you give me more hope for the future. This week I wanted to spotlight two submissions in the January issue. Sloka Ganne’s piece, Spring, is a stunning, vibrant image of the moon shining through what I believe to be a cherry blossom. The painting is reminiscent of Tim Burton’s work, but the artist’s original touch transcends comparison. Gazing at this painting, it is easy to get lost in the allure of the shining moon and the mystery of the tree’s curling branches. While Sloka’s painting offers a brighter look at the moon, Alex Cole’s poem “The Moon” elicits something more dark and brooding. The poem is short and to the point, and yet it lingers. It reminds me of Bashō’s poem “In Kyoto . . . ”: In Kyoto, hearing the cuckoo, I long for Kyoto. I find that both poems offer up contradictions, and within these contradictions there is a haunting sense of longing. Both poems, along with Sloka’s painting, will stick with me for a while. My best to you all, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Lydia wrote a post about how 2020 was an incredibly difficult year, but she saw some silver linings to it. Read her thoughts here. Trina, 8, wrote a poem about a duel between two bugs: the virus and the Learning Bug. Read some selections from our first Writing Workshop of 2021, where students wrote about chance. Alex Cole, 10Mansfield, TX From Stone Soup January 2021 The Moon By Alex Cole, 10 (Mansfield, TX) The moon, cold as ice Glows beautifully in the darkness Abandoned by all Read more work from this issue.   Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s Advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.