Gentry's Journey
Evolving Canvases: Caroline's Journey Through Poetry, Quilts, and Garden Beds
Have you ever pondered a late-in-life career switch, or wondered if it's too late to chase a dream? Caroline the Creative, our guest this week, will affirm that it's never too late to unearth and pursue your passions. From her innovative "bait bucket" teaching technique that lit the spark of her poetry career to her vibrant presence in the Instagram poetry world, Caroline's story is a testament to the endless possibilities that come with self-discovery and growth. Her poetic voice and creative endeavors, including quilting and gardening, are interwoven into a narrative that celebrates the beauty of life's second acts.
As we navigate the intimate relationship between gardening and writing, I recount the challenges and triumphs of growing Cherokee tomatoes and the camaraderie found in writing groups. Caroline and I discuss the symbiotic nature of these pursuits—the meticulous care that brings a garden to fruition, and the reflective process that births a poem. There's a shared joy in cultivating the earth and the spirit, and we delve into how nurturing both leads to a profound sense of community and accomplishment.
Wrapping up our heartfelt exchange, Caroline reflects on the vital role of educators in guiding the next generation through the complexities of life and instills in us the importance of continual learning. Our dialogue spans from the personal impact of passionate teachers to the collective voice of poets as agents of change. Caroline's journey, complemented by the inspiring stories of fellow poets, underscores the transformative power of words and lifelong learning. As she bids us adieu, we're reminded that each visit to Caroline_creative_corner on Instagram is an opportunity to witness the unfolding of an ever-evolving creative life.
Have you ever pondered a late-in-life career switch, or wondered if it's too late to chase a dream? Caroline the Creative, our guest this week, will affirm that it's never too late to unearth and pursue your passions. From her innovative "bait bucket" teaching technique that lit the spark of her poetry career to her vibrant presence in the Instagram poetry world, Caroline's story is a testament to the endless possibilities that come with self-discovery and growth. Her poetic voice and creative endeavors, including quilting and gardening, are interwoven into a narrative that celebrates the beauty of life's second acts.
As we navigate the intimate relationship between gardening and writing, I recount the challenges and triumphs of growing Cherokee tomatoes and the camaraderie found in writing groups. Caroline and I discuss the symbiotic nature of these pursuits—the meticulous care that brings a garden to fruition, and the reflective process that births a poem. There's a shared joy in cultivating the earth and the spirit, and we delve into how nurturing both leads to a profound sense of community and accomplishment.
Wrapping up our heartfelt exchange, Caroline reflects on the vital role of educators in guiding the next generation through the complexities of life and instills in us the importance of continual learning. Our dialogue spans from the personal impact of passionate teachers to the collective voice of poets as agents of change. Caroline's journey, complemented by the inspiring stories of fellow poets, underscores the transformative power of words and lifelong learning. As she bids us adieu, we're reminded that each visit to Caroline_creative_corner on Instagram is an opportunity to witness the unfolding of an ever-evolving creative life.
One. Good evening everyone. Thank you for joining Gentry's Journey. I'm your host, carolyn Coleman, and we have our guest, caroline the Creative. We met on the book slam and it is a joy to have her today. We're going to start off with an inspirational scripture and then I'm going to let her introduce herself. Caroline is a poet and an educator, so education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. I kind of like that one. Ok now Caroline, if you will introduce yourself to us. I know I have read your bio. You are full of hobbies, but go ahead and introduce yourself to the audience, please.
Speaker 2:Hello, I'm Caroline underscore Creative Corner on Instagram. This is my new book, poetic Self-Portrait, and actually I bought the publishing rights from the original publisher so it was taken off of Amazon by them, so I have to republish it to get it back out into the world. I think I have like two copies left Okay, like two copies left and I had written poems. I didn't even start writing poems until I was 51. And a guy came to my class to Hello escape artist. A guy came to my class to teach my third graders how to use bait buckets to catch a poem. So we had little. We were fishing for poetry and we had little four-word groups all over this page and you could choose a bait bucket, a group to help you start a poem. And I remember when I was in school it was just here's a blank piece of paper and write a poem, and I hated it. So I was 51 when I discovered writing and I was like, yes, so I wrote a while with my students and they were my audience that first day. So my poems for them were, you know, towards third graders. And then I discovered the poetic world and Instagram in the 2020 and Henry X, who was so creative.
Speaker 2:I discovered the poetic world on Instagram in 2020. And Henry X, who was self-created once before, had said do you write poems? And I said yes. He said, well, are you posting them? I said no. He said, well, you need to post them. And I said, well, let me just send you an email with a couple of these. He's like, yes, you need to post them. And so I did. And then people started liking them and I think because I don't like all love poems or all angst that people enjoy the variety and started following me and it was kind of fun. And so here I am, four years later.
Speaker 1:That is wonderful. That is absolutely wonderful. Now you're a retired educator from the public school system of South Louisiana Great, and thank you for your service. The children need you, needed you at that time and still do so. Now. You're doing so many creative things. You're writing poetry, you're quilting, you're knitting, you're gardening and now you're learning how to crochet.
Speaker 2:Yes, and when we visited my son the other day, he taught me how to start a cap. It won't be as fancy as a scape artist. If you see her cute little cap she makes Tiana. This is Carolyn Colvin. I met her in Clubhouse a couple years ago.
Speaker 1:Nice to meet you, tiana, tiana is a very talented poet too. That's great. That is great. Now, your book titled Poetic Self-Poetry. Yes, where did you get your ideas for your poetry? I know you talked about the bait bucket.
Speaker 2:Well, most of my poems were about me. Not all. Some are historical and some are just observing nature around me, but I felt like a lot of them were about my life. Since I have this little portrait that I drew of myself, I said, well, I'll just use that for my cover and poetic self-portrait. That's how it went.
Speaker 1:That's good and you know, you mentioned your age on when you started, which is important, it's very important. But there is no age limit on learning, there's no age limit on discovery, there's no age limit on processing what you do. I was on, I was a part of a book discussion and this lady I think she may have been like 82 it was her birthday the day of the discussion, which was bad, which was good, but it was also her birthday and that was the first time she had authored a book. So it was like, you know, win, win, win for her and everybody was so excited for her and naturally she was excited for herself.
Speaker 1:So I always say age is truly just a number. If it's something you want to do, get it done. Sometimes we can't do things earlier in life, maybe for lack of maturity, maybe for lack of time, maybe for lack of being an instructor, raising children, being a housewife, all of those things you know, because you're all things to a lot of people at that time. So you're just trying to get from day to day activity. So I think when we start to slow down, we meet and rediscover ourselves. What do you think about that?
Speaker 2:True, and while I'm talking about that, I want to show y'all I am a newbie gardener too, so this little area that I'm about to show you used to be well, this corner with the siding is where the pine tree fell in our house with Hurricane Ida, and now it is my garden and I've got buku tomatoes, teri tomatoes, and I've got this is called the Three Sisters, and it's squash and corn and beans planted together. I learned about it in the book. Braiding Sweetgrass was written by an indigenous woman, how the indigenous peoples plant squash, beans and corn together instead of just separating them into different fields like the pilgrims thought they should do. It's kind of just an experiment with me. I found some seeds from rareseedscom and got to share some trails we use and pink corn and some little greens. For us it's scalloped on the edge, so we'll see. It's my little experiment.
Speaker 1:Okay, so this is the first time you've tried that part of gardening.
Speaker 2:Yes, I have planted tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are usually the ones that I do best with, but we planted some Cherokee tomatoes last year, which are like their green and purple and really delicious, so we're planting some more of those this year. I probably, in my enthusiasm, put everything too close together.
Speaker 1:Well, that's like you're a professional gardener, you did the best you knew how okay.
Speaker 2:And we're already eating salads with my spinach and tomatoes.
Speaker 1:So so you're winning, you're winning and that is wonderful. So it's like I say I did tomatoes one year. Couldn't do them as the way I wanted to because the squirrels were always digging them up, okay. So I was like I don't know if this is a good look for my neighbors to see me chasing squirrels or squirrels chasing me, because they won't stay out of my garden. So I moved the garden to the front, which is full sun, and they flourished very well there. Okay, I didn't have to fight the squirrels as bad.
Speaker 1:Then the little ground chipmunks would come. They would take one bite out of the tomato and run. I was like I got to find a remedy for you. It is a challenge, but they were the best tomatoes. That was my first time planting a vegetable. I do plants, but first time planting a vegetable I do plants. But you know, first time doing a vegetable and I gave away so many because I had, I guess, a bumper crop. I saw that it was good and it was exciting and I felt so rewarded because I was able to do it I was.
Speaker 2:I was able to do any kind of poison on them or anything. So you know we have squeezing bugs, you know, between the leaves I didn't even have that thaw.
Speaker 1:I put nothing. They were truly organic. I put nothing on them because I'm kind of like you. I didn't want to deal with that, especially being a newbie, but I haven't done it again. I plan on doing it again, but I just don't know when. Like I said, I have too much shade on the back for it, so they're not going to flourish because I've tried too many times, but on the front I'm just not sure. Now let's get back to your poetry. Do you have any specific techniques or rituals to get you started on a particular piece?
Speaker 2:Some of them. When I first started writing with those fake buckets and I was, you know, doing my children in mind buckets, and I was, you know, doing it with my children in mind I chose a big bucket called Photo, families, smiles and Imperfect. And so I wrote this little short one for my third graders and I tried to write things that they could learn from. When I was 12, I was Carl and Finn, friends from out of town visit. We seven children, had to pose for a New Orleans snapshot. Parents want to remember the day Smile. I hated that photo. Their children, though my age, were all much shorter than I. My kite suited them in perfection student protection. So I really enjoy using those prompts.
Speaker 2:But since I started with Instagram, so many people are putting up so many good prompts and I still have those bait buckets to choose from, but I do tend not to use them as much as a crutch as I did at first. Okay, what do you have? As much as a crutch as I did at first? Oh, go ahead. I'm part of Cynical Insomniacs Youth Kids group, which is where I met the lovely Tiana, and she gives us prompts on Sunday afternoons. So we do that and I've learned from Monday nights with Ramrock Speaks, they do prompts for 10-minute lights and everybody lights for 10 minutes and then you can go and read it yourself or you can send it to one of the hosts and they'll read it, and that has been very inspirational. It's amazing to see the variety that comes from that one word or that one phrase.
Speaker 1:Again to the audience. Caroline and I met on the book slam, where we had opportunity to read our work and her poetry. It was something about the pen, the power of the pen or something of that nature, but her poetry was always on point we all enjoyed. Everybody was not a poet there, so you know we had different genres, but that's where we met and that's where she would read. We would all read. Take the time to do that. It was a fun time.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry that room ended, but I still keep up with Melanie Johnson and she lives right in Natchez, which is not too far from me. Okay, and Reese, the storyteller, came to one of my poetry workshops at the library.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:It is. Yeah, met so many friends on the book slam Reese, Melanie, myself, jackie Laquita, dr Thelma yeah, that's what I'm trying to name the seven. And there's a newbie I don't remember her being on the book slam, dr Audrey Ann. So the seven of us are doing an anthology. So we don't have a true release date at this point in time, but you know, it's Christian nonfiction. So, yes, that's where I met all of you. I think I was kind of new to the group but it was addicting because there was so much talent coming through the book slam Not to say that there's not another platform out there similar to that, but that's where we met.
Speaker 2:And you really make such good connections because you're really sharing so much from your heart. That's what I told my students that when you're writing poetry you're sharing from your heart. So we're all going to be very accepting of each other. And they were when one year I did with my granddaughter's fifth grade class and that's a pretty vicious age beginning at that age and they were so respectful of each other and one little boy who was overweight wrote about in my world there are no bullies, and it was like the kids in the class looked at him for the first time like, oh, he's a person with feelings. It's really, you know, just, I think it's a. It's a great way for us to know each other and meet each other.
Speaker 1:Yes, Because you get to know or feel a person's inner thoughts. You know how they're really feeling and it does give you a glance inside who they really are.
Speaker 2:And you don't just usually get that in everyday conversation. No, ma'am.
Speaker 1:No, that's not going to happen. Ok, so how do you approach the use of language in your poems?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm glad that I've had some excellent teachers and some excellent vocabulary building workbooks that we used when I was in school. I think my vocabulary is strong. I do some alliteration and some rhyming, but most of mine is reverse, which was encouraged that day that Fort King to our class because he said the third graders try to rhyme. That ends up being forced. So he just said just write what you're feeling without worrying about rhyming. And so I kind of just got into that and most of mine play like that.
Speaker 1:Okay Now. Do you feel it's a poetry, or what role does poetry have in our society?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm learning so much more than I did in school, because in school I really, you know, it was all those old people like George Worth and Longfellow and you know, and I just didn't, I didn't enjoy it. And I took a class in college and we were supposed to translate these poems and and I hated it and the teacher didn't like the way I did it and it was like that's when I was like okay, no more poetry for me and until I was 51, so but, uh, yeah, I forgot what you asked because I think I got off my tongue no, you're, you're fine.
Speaker 1:I said what role do you think poetry plays in our society?
Speaker 2:Well, I think that in our Instagram poetic world and just in the poetry world in general, it helps us to see each other's feelings and we learn from each other, whereas if you're just reading a story or even a biography oh, I'm reading King A Life by Ike EIG, which is about Martin Luther King, and it's 20 hours to listen to. I've got about five hours left. It's been very well researched and I'm really learning a lot and I think about all the facts that I'm learning. But I see so much poetry in it too, because it's it's it's my life. I mean, he was starting his journey when I was three years old in 1953. Okay, when he first started that, you know, in the priesthood.
Speaker 1:I understand exactly what you're saying this is okay because, hey, we're literary beings, so we have so many words in our head, you know, I know you, hey, there's. There's no disrespect taken. I'm sure there was no disrespect meant but we have so many words building up in this literary world that we're in, you know. So, um, no, I understand exactly what you're saying and I think, in order to hone anyone's craft, you need to do research. You still need to listen, you still need to read, you still need to. Yeah, you know form ideas, and I guess that's why you stay connected to the poetry world. It's okay, it's okay, I'm out. You're definitely ready to say you're outside with all the plants and the pollen, but, um, that's why I think you stay connected to the poetry world, the literary world, because you still world, because you still want to think, you still want to grow. Is that not it?
Speaker 2:Yes, I still want to learn I mean I'm 74, but I'm learning things every day. And as I'm reading his book I'm thinking about the history that I've lived. So I was seven and learning how to read and saw the signs on the water fountain and on the bathroom and the TGNY or the Woolworths that said colored. I remember asking my mother what is that? Because she explained to me. And then when I was seven, that same year it was when Ruby Bridges entered the schools of New Orleans and we lived in New Orleans. So it's on the news and all these adults are screaming at this little girl and I was like why are they yelling at that little girl? And so mom explained it as best she could. But those were my first impressions of of discrimination and I didn't realize it at the time.
Speaker 1:but that was it well, you were a child. Yeah, I was 7 years old, absolutely. So that is basically as a child, you think as a child. A lot of times you don't see or understand what you don't know and what you're not taught.
Speaker 2:So that sort of explains that and I grew up, excuse me, and I grew up the first few years of my life where daddy was a farmer in georgia and you know, and I had um in Georgia and I had black women who helped care for me while daddy was working, mama was houseworking and stuff. So my own impression was of love and support. Sure, it was so different to come see these signs and this yelling.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is our world, Very diverse, that is for sure. But the innocents had to leave rather early or the knowledge of what's going on had to come in at a very early time. Now, can you share any? Go ahead, I'm sorry. When I taught preschool, can?
Speaker 2:you share any, Go ahead. I'm sorry. When I taught preschool it broke my heart to think of my precious little black students learning about discrimination.
Speaker 1:And I knew it was coming.
Speaker 2:I knew it was in their future, but it just broke my heart.
Speaker 1:I get that. But everyone has to slowly open up to see what the world is really like. It's not just in your, your, your, your home, it's not just in your front yard, it's not just a block down the street. We all have to come to that um realization of what's out here, and some days I think we still don't know what all is out here. But social media kind of has helped push that. You see more than you want to see and you know more than you want to know.
Speaker 2:And the extremes on both ends. Absolutely it is. I'm moderate, middle of the road. I am a Republican, but I'm a moderate Republican. I'm not some crazy right-wing racist that a lot of people would just assume I felt. My career as a teacher in the public schools in Louisiana pretty much said it for me. I walked the walk instead of just talking the talk, true.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's good to know. Now, I know you talked about some of the older poets, but are there some poets that influenced you or inspired you?
Speaker 2:Actually, a couple of years ago, ramon, who Ramrock speaks had a prompt for April, for poetry month, to write a poem in the style of your favorite poet, and since I taught preschool for all those years, dr Seuss was the one that came to my mind. I wrote a really cute poem in that style.
Speaker 1:I do understand, but who doesn't remember Dr Soons?
Speaker 2:Edward Allen Poe. We're always interested. I read all of his works but the basic ones that were in our textbooks and things. People discuss them on Instagram. I've learned a little bit more.
Speaker 1:Now, I was a big literature person but I was not a big poetry person. I kind of felt it had to rhyme and I just could not get it together. When we would break down poetry in the classroom it started making sense, but I just never grasped the concept.
Speaker 2:Let me just read.
Speaker 1:Let me just read. Read the story, read the book and let me explain it to you. That was my take on it. Okay, but there are some people who were truly gifted and talented and I would love to know what they're doing now, because we had such a huge class. It's just very hard to keep up, even though we're trying.
Speaker 2:Are you a teacher too?
Speaker 1:No, well, I do nursing students. I'm an adjunct professor and I have taught medical assistants, nursing assistants, lpn, so I've taught kind of across the board when it comes to that. But you know so our stuff is medicine. It's not about poetry, it's not about literature. It's not about literature. It's about I take care of a patient, what to look for signs and symptoms. But that is still. I'd rather be a positive influence in whatever I do Exactly.
Speaker 1:You know it's not. I'm the teacher and you're going to listen to me. No, no, we're going. We're going to talk about this, we're going to make this make sense before the end of the class and if we have to do another class on it, we'll do another class on it. So that's how you get to them.
Speaker 2:I graduated in 68 and I went to my 50th reunion a couple of years ago and my mother taught English where I went to school and this woman walked up to me and she said I know you're your mother's daughter because you look just like her and I want you to know that your mother brought literature to life in me and every hour in her class was the best hour of every day and it gives me the chills. And every time I meet a teacher I tell them the story.
Speaker 1:And that's wonderful because as much as I used to love to read when I did literature, I was always great at English. But when I did Lit in the eighth grade I had the most phenomenal. She was English and Lit. Now you know we didn't have a instructor for each one, but she woke up that part. Now I've been reading across all genres before then. You know probably some genres I shouldn't have been reading but I enjoyed reading them. But in the eighth grade Miss Tyner made lit come alive. She made literature come alive.
Speaker 1:And I often talk about Pip Great Expectations with Miss Havisham, as you can see. I still remember that. And the ending was so profound I could not. I was like wow, and you know we had to take it bit by bit. We could not just, you know, read the whole chunk because we had to discuss it and she just made it come alive for me. I just really enjoyed her class and I would I don't know I'm not in the the public school system or the private school system as an instructor to mold minds, you know, except for on that medical level, but I would want to think that teachers had a true buy-in to educating students when I was growing up. I honestly believe that. Now you know, sure, some of the substitutes, they probably wanted to be an instructor, but you were just a substitute and you didn't have the buy-in that the everyday instructor had. And, yes, they had to be firm. You know you have to be firm, but they didn't have to go home and write lesson plans.
Speaker 1:No, they did not, they did not, they did not, not, and they were not the face that you saw every day, um, but I honestly believe the majority of them enjoyed doing what they did and it showed because even when they were firm, when they were stern, they had to. You know, boys did more challenging than girls. When I was in school, you know so, boys can be more challenging.
Speaker 1:Even three-year-old boys, oh, I'm sure nowadays, yes, but I have been the room mom and all that stuff over the years. You can pretty much get the little ones in order, you know. But they think, because you're new, even the little ones, they think they can get away with some things. My little girl erased this guy's name off his paper so you know, I can see his name very clearly. So she didn't do a very good job. But I'm like how are you thinking about this in the second grade? So you will get some surprises. Okay, I never would have thought about that in the second grade to erase someone's name off the paper. And it was obvious. And so I kept it for the instructor.
Speaker 1:When she returned from her meeting and she was like you know, what do you do? I was like I don't know, but I'm gonna sit here and watch, I want to see, I want to learn. I do, because the mom, when the mom came, she was stunned, like how did she learn this? And we were like I had nothing to say. I mean, I'm just in the corner to learn. But I'm saying even the parent, the look on her face, she was like this is unbelievable. This is unbelievable. You know, she said I'll handle all this when I get home and you know this won't happen again. And I was like where did she get that from? But the world may never know. Okay.
Speaker 2:I think. I think, as a teacher, it's fun to see my students from 20, 30, 40 years ago grown and see what they're pursuing. Just the other day I posted a picture because one of the students I taught preschool to became a lawyer. But then she really loved to bake and she was doing a blog and she got discovered by Food Network, I think, and was featured on some kind of bake-off like the American version of the British bake-off, and then she just decided she wasn't going to be a lawyer and she's got a beautiful.
Speaker 2:She's been featured in several TV shows and magazines and her Instagram page is Foodie in New York and she's got a beautiful book that I gave a copy to my grandchildren for Easter. So when I was there last week I saw you know, I got the hardback with the spiral binding because it's easier to use cookbooks like that. It's beautiful. The quality of the pages are so much crisper than something that we publish for ourselves on Instagram and I love seeing that. And one of my students is now a neurosurgeon and one works for the Department of Transportation as an engineer it's just and one's an English teacher. So you just everyone's a head chef at a local restaurant. It's fun to see what they pursue as they grow.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Jackie has joined us and she said hello, but it is good to see how we all disperse and how we figure out life, um, even as students there. Um, and sometimes you don't know a person has a talent until it's displayed. And when some of the students had to get together and sing, I was like, oh, I never would have thought, I never would have thought they would have had such a beautiful voice. So it's something to be a lawyer now. She is, uh, baking, um, you know it's.
Speaker 2:It's fabulous because you never know what gifts are really in an individual well, if you ever get to interview a scape artist on the screen, she is um, a young mama, a poet, a very creative crocheter and maker of designer bags and a welder. So she's, she's got this really interesting life and she's young and and I've got, I feel like as I listened to her interview recently on a different one I identified so much with, with her young, creative self.
Speaker 1:And I can see where you would, because you're creative, she's creative. So, yes, absolutely, that probably can be very doable. Now, when do you decide a poem is completed?
Speaker 2:Sometimes it's just from the limit on a prompt, like 40 words or 15 words, and then sometimes I can just go on for pages and pages. One of the poems in my book is called Crying Woman and the prompt from Seneca Insomniac was to write about a photo in history. And I had a big photo album from World War Two when it showed this, this woman in Czechoslovakia saluting to Hitler's soldiers, and she, you know, she had her hand knitted sweater on, you could tell by looking at it and she had a wadded cloth in her hand and she brought, you know, obviously putting this wet cloth to her tears. And so I wrote a poem based on the history that I knew about the Nazis. They, you know, brought it to her personality and her clothes and her wedding ring and, you know, was her son, you know, in the service of the Nazis now and had her business been destroyed and was her Jewish doctor, you know, still living. So I just kind of took it to her, but just based on the details I saw in the photo.
Speaker 1:Okay. So when you decide that it is complete, it doesn't matter about the length, it's just if you feel as though you've said everything you need to say in that moment.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, that's the creative. Yeah, and that's one of the challenging things about being on Ramone's 10-minute rights, because everybody just rips out these brilliant pieces in 10 minutes and it's quite incredible. You know the thoughts that come out in a short amount of time.
Speaker 1:Do you ever experience writer's block when you're doing your poetry?
Speaker 2:Kind of. Sometimes I'll just like I haven't written in about two weeks and now I've got some prompts that I'm sitting on, that I like want to work on, and then I've been out of town for a week and then I came home and I've got chores to catch up on and things like that. But yeah, I wanted to sit down and write today but I ended up running errands.
Speaker 1:Sure, we still have a life, right yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and my husband's kind of jealous of my poetry taking up too much of my time, so I kind of sneak it in, you know, and he's still sleeping.
Speaker 1:Well, so you're a poet, Jackie's a poet and the escape artist is a poet, you know so. I have three poets in the audience today, and that's a beautiful thing. And I don't know if um jackie did any of her poetry while we were on the books land.
Speaker 2:I can't remember right now I know she read from her book, which I did buy and received it. I received it, you know, whenever it came out a couple of months ago yes, it is a good book um the. Rough Streets of Chicago.
Speaker 1:And you know it's a resilience, it's survival, it did not keep her yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1:It did not keep her from doing and accomplishing so much. It did not, you know. So it's as my mom says you can do whatever you want to do when if you really want to do it, you know. So, yes, we could cast blame, but how much quality time are you utilizing by blaming someone else when you can be working on yourself? And that you know, and so, uh, yeah, she is truly, um, for lack of a better term the poster child for that time, that resilience and wanting to have you know, uh, more than what she was dealt, and that's great. Now, what advice would you give any aspiring poets?
Speaker 2:well, give yourself permission to be a learner. Don't feel like you have to be like the star poet. I mean, my sister-in-law's son writes poetry and I've seen some that he's written for her. But he was like there's no way that I'm going to put my poems out on any media, but they're really well done and they're for his mother, for Mother's Day or something, but they're beautiful. When you were just talking about self-determination and that's one of the first poems in my book, can I read it?
Speaker 1:Absolutely no. I was going to ask you to do the truth before we left. Yes, I want you to read some of your poetry.
Speaker 2:All right. This is called Childhood Self-Determination and I don't know if you can see this photo, but it's just a picture of me dressed up, looking like a princess. Until I found this photo, I had had no idea of the inner strength with which my mother had empowered me when she had directed you Do it. When I had been in third grade, our school had held a Mardi Gras ball, an annual New Orleans celebration, an opportunity for a money-making event Enticement. Six students who sold the most tickets would be on the royal court. I had been determined to sell the most and dress in the garments of a queen. I had announced to my mother I want to sell tickets. Okay, you'll have to do it yourself. With purposeful steps. I set off with tickets tucked in a large envelope and proceeded door to door, only instructed not to go inside anyone's house and to be home well before winter's twilight. In 1958, tickets had been 50 cents. I still remember Mrs Madden's name, very impressed with her $3 donation, no tickets required. Very impressed for a three dollar donation, no tickets required, with images of silver crowns. Words of worlds of splendor, and beauty is my goal.
Speaker 2:I had waited patiently at neighbor's stores my independent sales had been third highest, not the top seller, but still on the court. My mother not yet a teacher, talented homemaker on a budget had made my dress Yards and yards of itchy tulle had been gathered around my waist, now protected by a cloth diaper. That was the days of cloth diapers. She had even created my crown of wire with strands of sequins, a scepter of styrofoam cane wrapped in pink ribbon.
Speaker 2:At the time, I had been disappointed that they hadn't been store-bought. Lipstick and curled hair had sufficed. Whenever I hear strains of the blue Danube, I recall the sheer delight of standing on my daddy's feet. Danube, I recalled the sheer delight of standing on my daddy's feet. The court had danced around the gym floor, opening the night's entertainment by other classrooms of children, not realizing then that mama's voice, assuring me of her pride in the fact that I've done it all by myself, not having aunts and grandmothers selling for me as had the queens, had provided wings of strength for me, her daughter, to weave worlds of her own design, achieved through self-determination.
Speaker 1:Oh, that sounds great. That is Now. I did get a glimpse of the picture and I've seen similar pictures over the years. Uh, you know my mom's sisters and you know the the grandparents, and how elegantly everyone would dress, especially for a special special occasions.
Speaker 2:Especially when my mother was all sewing.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. But they put their hard-earned, you know, they put their talent into it. They absolutely did. Now, Carolyn, I have enjoyed having you on. Is there anything, any final remarks that you would like to give any aspiring poets out there?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean write about your life and what you've lived. I mean I've written about my brother's suicide. I've written about my sister's alcoholism. I've written about my husband's love. I've written about you, written about the animals I see and the war I see. I just write about my life. I don't feel like I have to force a subject which is so much, especially in 74 years of living, from which to choose.
Speaker 1:That is great, and you mentioned Jacqueline's book and the title of it Mountains Can't Rise Without Earthquakes and it's on her website and it's on Amazon. So if anyone would love to pick that up, that's where you can get it. Caroline, love to pick that up? That's where you can get it. Caroline, you say you bought the rights to your book so you have to have them republished. You'll let us know when they will be available. You have three left right.
Speaker 2:And all my poems from the book are on my page. But that was from like 2020 and 2021 that I did all that posting, so I've gotten two and a half years more poems written since then. So I mean that's great under the book that's great.
Speaker 1:So that's the only book you have. Okay, okay, okay. So when you're ready, you'll put the second one into print or add to the first one. What, what, what, what is your plan? What is your plan for that?
Speaker 2:uh, well, I thought about, uh calling it reflections, um in this, in self-portrait, or something like that, um, sticking with the self-portrait but thinking about reflections on life and maybe, maybe, doing that.
Speaker 1:I was wondering if um tiana has some questions that she wanted to ask I don't see any post that she thanked you for letting us know about her and her gifts and her talents and she said I'm super excited about your creative endeavors. So yeah, she thanked you for giving her that shout out. But if she has anything else, she can definitely put it in the chat and well, hey, we'll gladly talk about it.
Speaker 2:Now, Caroline, what do you have planned for the rest of the day? Well, I did some gardening this morning while it was cool, and once it gets hot I have to go inside. I need to iron them, so we just got back from our I think you know a little trip to our son. So we just got back from our little trip to our son. So I've got laundry that's in the washer I need to take out and dry. I made dinner last night, so we're having leftovers tonight.
Speaker 1:Smart woman.
Speaker 1:Smart woman, greg likes to cook too, so that's a big plus and that is a great thing. Now we're going to end with an inspirational quote. We always just thank God for all that he's done and all that he's going to do. We thank him for the friendship and the fellowship. We just love him. So, Lord, these and other things we ask in your son, or we say in your son, jesus' name, amen. But with you being the teacher and the poet, we're going to also close out with that. Let us remember one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.
Speaker 2:For you poets out there. I enjoyed the interview.
Speaker 1:Thank you for inviting me and I appreciate to not come and keep in this company, absolutely, absolutely, and um, I put my email in the chat so that, um, she can reach out to me. Okay, all right, thank you so much. You have a beautiful view, so enjoy the rest of your day, don't overdo it, and we'll talk soon. Okay, okay, thank you so much. Oh, I forgot. Where can you be found? Tell them again.
Speaker 2:Caroline underscore creative corner on instagram on instagram.
Speaker 1:All right, thank you, caroline, and be sure to keep us up when, uh, that book comes up. Okay, I will. I will thank you.
Speaker 2:All right, I appreciate you all right, thank you, bye-bye bye-bye.