Virtual Book Tour - Apologies to an Apple

For some reason... Blogger didn't post my scheduled post earlier in the day (was supposed to post shortly after midnight), and the blog police at work blocked our access to Blogger so I couldn't tell until just now.  Grrrr. Without further ado...

Reading the introduction to Maya Ganesan’s book Apologies to an Apple, I am impressed and amazed by the fact that so many adults supported and encouraged a young girl’s dream of publication. From Maya’s parents to Katherine Grace Bond, adults were willing to listen, read, and embrace her words. This is huge.

Parents generally tend to be over-protective of their children. They want to keep them from negative comments or criticism. They want them to pursue sensible activities or athletics that could propel them to the NBA or the Major Leagues where they could make millions of dollars (ha-ha). Not many parents push their children to write poetry. And, if you are lucky enough to run across parents who are supportive and encourage their children to pursue dreams of publishing poetry, you would still be hard-pressed to find other adults willing to jump on that bandwagon. Writing is a competitive world. It is hard to find support. But Maya had a wonderfully caring mentor and then found publishers willing to take a chance on a kid. Amazing. It is all amazing. And because these adults believed in Maya, we were able to share in her words, her imagination, her life music.

“We tasted quarrel
Till our hearts burned into fire.”

“… and drinking a hundred vowels each”

Reading those snippets, it is hard to believe those words/phrases came from a 10-11 year old, but she has been writing since she was four!  It is hard to believe Maya could have felt such complexities at a young age, but her skills of observation are obviously tuned in to the world around her. It will be interesting to watch her work as she progresses into her teen years and then adulthood.  Maya's work runs the gamut from conversational to abstract and dreamlike, full of adult-speak and internal wisdom .  She includes lot of rich details and shares interesting observations.

The poems throughout this book treat us to a glimpse into a different perspective.  They also serve as reminders to us all. Read them, then think… are you a parent? A grandparent? An aunt? An uncle? A teacher? A neighbor? A friend? A writer? Look around you. Who can you encourage today? How would that impact the world?