Kay Honeyman

Angel Island Poetry

Kay Honeyman — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:14:53 +0000

For National Poetry Month, I am posting poems from the walls of the barracks on Angel Island.

For today…

There are tens of thousands of poems composed on these walls.

They are all cries of complaint and sadness.

The day I am rid of this prison and attain success,

I must remember that this chapter once existed.

In my daily needs, I must be frugal.

Needless extravagance leads youth to ruin.

All my compatriots should please be mindful.Once you have some small gains, return home early.

__________________________________

Something that always struck me about these poems was that they seemed to transcend the Chinese-American’s immigration experience. Maybe the poems still resonate today because the reasons the people come to this country have changed very little over its history.

Which is amazing when you think about it. While our country has gone through profound changes over the past two centuries, what we offer to people who leave their home country and come to America, is relatively the same.

The sacrifices have not changed that much either. Perhaps it is no surprise that the emotions in these poems still resonate today.

Dear Poet Project

Kay Honeyman — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:00:19 +0000

I love this idea from the Academy of American Poets! Students read and respond to the poetry of poets who serve on the Academy’s Board of Chancellors. What a great opportunity to connect students with writers.

There are specific instructions here for any other teachers or librarians who are interested. Select letters with receive a reply!

Poetry of Angel Island

Kay Honeyman — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 15:56:50 +0000

English: Angel Island (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy National Poetry Month. I thought I would celebrate by sharing some of my favorite poems from the Angel Island Immigration Station.

Angel Island was the point of entry for almost 300,000 immigrants coming to America from 1910-1940. The majority of those immigrants (around 175,000) were from China.

The process of immigrating and landing on American shores differed greatly from what immigrants experienced on Ellis Island. Officials processed immigrants in 2-3 hours on Ellis Island. On Angel Island, immigrants were detained for an average of two weeks. That average only tells part of the story. European and Australian immigrants who landed on Angel Island were sometimes detained overnight. Chinese immigrants were detained months.

While they were imprisoned on Angel Island, Chinese immigrants vented their frustration on the walls of the men’s barracks by carving and writing tibishi poems, poems of travelers. They are beautiful windows into the immigration experience, and I have always thought that they are still relevant to what many immigrants from all over the world face today. They tell of sacrifices and hopes. They beat with frustration and pain.

I have pulled a few of my favorites from Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940 by Him Mark Lai, Genny Lim, and Judy Yung.

Here is one that I often read and re-read. I can picture a man carving into the walls of the barracks at Angel Island, and I can also imagine it typed into an email sent home yesterday. That is the power of these poems for me. They capture the experience of leaving home and following the whisper of a hope that there might be possibilities somewhere else. I think that is a familiar experience to people around the world.

For what reason must I sit in jail?

It is only because my country is weak and my family is poor.

My parents wait at the door but there is no news.

My wife and child wrap themselves in quilt, sighing with loneliness.

Even if my petition is approved and I can enter the country,

When can I return to the Mountains of Tang with a full load?

From ancient times, those who venture out usually become worthless.

How many people ever return from battles?

Chinese New Year – Kitchen God

Kay Honeyman — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:22:23 +0000

“That is what I always thought love would be. A kind of understanding.”

“You are very romantic for a Fire Horse,” Spring Blossom said.

“Maybe. I also like the story of the kitchen god who throws himself into the fire.”

This is a story that I tried to work into THE FIRE HORSE GIRL several time. None of my attempts were successful because it is one of those great pieces that exist outside the story an author is telling at that moment. In the final version of THE FIRE HORSE GIRL, it exists only in the one line above. Still, I think Jade Moon would have a complicated and interesting relationship with the story. It is a good story, so she would like that. It ends with some pretty brutal justice, which would probably meet with her approval. On the other hand, she might not like that Zhang ends up as the eyes and ears of the Jade Emperor inside every household…including hers.

* * *

Once there was a mortal named Zhang. He was a wealthy farmer with fruitful lands, waters filled with fish, and fields filled with livestock. But Zhang could not be content with his vast riches and devoted wife. He wanted more. He took a mistress, a woman even greedier than himself. She demanded that Zhang banish his faithful wife from his home so that she could reign over the household. Zhang’s wife left quietly and Zhang and his mistress lived a life of excess and waste. Eventually, Zhang and his mistress squandered all of his wealth. Now that Zhang was poor, the mistress deserted him.

Zhang wandered from town to town, begging for food and shelter. Eventually, Zhang lost his sight and had to stumble along in darkness. One day, he arrived in a little village exhausted and hungry. He had not eaten for days and could barely walk another step, so he collapsed in the street.

When he woke, he could smell the smoke of a fire. “Eat,” a voice said softly.

Zhang’s hands were guided to plates of food in front of him. He ate greedily before falling asleep.

He woke again to find more food and drink. Zhang could hear the woman bustling around the kitchen. “I don’t deserve your kindness. I brought this on myself.”

Hands pressed a bowl between his palms.

“I had a good wife, wealth, and happiness, and I lost it all.”

The woman was still for a moment. “Not all,” she said. “Open your eyes, Zhang.”

Zhang opened his eyes and found that he could see, and the woman kneeling across from him was his wife. The shame of all he had done burned inside him. He jumped into the hearth fire and let the flames devour him. His wife tried to save him, but it was too late. When the Jade Emperor heard Zhang’s story, he declared him the Kitchen God. He made him the all-seeing, all-knowing presence in the house as a reward for learning his lesson.

A week before the lunar new year, the Kitchen God travels to the Jade Emperor to report the good and the bad of the year.

Homes keep a paper image near the hearth, the center of the home, and before he goes to report, they smear it’s mouth with honey or molasses and offer bribes to ensure a good report. Nushi probably had to leave some pretty big bribes and smear his mouth with the thickest syrup to keep him from talking about Jade Moon to the Jade Emperor. But that is another story.

Chinese New Year – Animal Race

Kay Honeyman — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:35:19 +0000

”It is a horrible match,” I said. “A snake and a horse. We will do nothing but fight.”

I have always loved the story of how the years got their animal names in the Chinese zodiac. There are many versions of this story, and several beautiful children’s books that tell the tale if you want to learn more.

Once upon a time, long ago…

the Jade Emperor decided to hold a race to decide how the years would be named. The twelve fastest animals would earn their places in the Chinese calendar by having years named after them.

After the announcement, the cat and rat huddled together. “We are not the fastest, so we will have to be the most clever,” the cat said, blinking his eyes at his friend the rat. “Wake me up early and we will be the first at the river. I am sure we can figure out a way to win first and second.”

The rat promised to wake the cat, but when morning came, he decided that one less competitor would better his chances of winning. He slunk away in the morning, causing the cat to miss the race.

But the rat still had to beat the larger and faster animals. he asked the ox to carry him through the race in exchange for a song.

The strong, hard-working ox agreed. The race began and the rat was thrilled to see the ox pull ahead of the other animals. The ox would arrive first and the rat would arrive second. “But why shouldn’t I be first,” thought the rat. I was clever enough to trick the cat and get a ride on the ox.” The rat decided to play one more trick. Just as the ox was ready to step across the finish line and claim the first year, the rat slipped down and scurried the last step just in front of the ox. The ox had to be content with second place.

The tiger arrived in third place. The rabbit, who had hopped across stones most of the way, had to use a log to get across the last bit of the river. But his quick feet landed him in fourth place.

The dragon arrived next. “I thought you would arrive first,” said the Jade Emperor, “since you are the only animal here who can fly.”

The dragon explained that he would have arrived first, but he stopped to help a few villagers and rabbit balancing precariously on a log who needed a breath of wind to keep him from falling in the water.

The horse galloped toward the finish line, but just as he was about to cross it, the snake snuck out from behind his hoof. The horse, startled, stumbled back. This allowed the snake to slither into seventh and left the horse in eighth place.

The goat, monkey and rooster arrive next. They had made a raft and worked together to cross the river. The Jade Emperor, impressed with their cooperation, awarded the goat eighth place, the monkey ninth place, and the rooster tenth place.

The dog arrived in eleventh place, pleased with his romp across the river. Eventually the pig arrive. He had eaten too much and fallen asleep, but he was lucky enough to arrive just in time to come in twelfth.

Chinese New Year – Food

Kay Honeyman — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:42:48 +0000

Nushi bustled in and out of the kitchen carrying plate after plate of food. I helped until I tipped a pile of tangerines into a bowl of rice.

As the Chinese New Year celebrations continue, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the traditional foods of the holiday. Food is an important part of the celebration. Relatives are greeted with the words “Have you eaten yet.” I love all the symbolism served with the foods and dishes.

Serve tangerines for luck and oranges and pineapples for wealth and good fortune. Apples bring wisdom and peace. Pomegranates with their treasure of seeds bring many off-springs.

Walnuts bring happiness for families and peanuts bring health and long life.

Fish is served whole. The center is eaten, but the head and tail are left in tact. It symbolizes a good start and finish to the year. It also means that there will be excess in the new year. Many ingredients are kept whole during new years meals since there is not supposed to be cutting in the new year.

The number of dishes is also important. Dishes are kept in even numbers to ensure double happiness in the new year.

Here are a couple of my favorites – spring roles, a symbol of wealth because their shape resembles a gold bar, and the Tray of Togetherness. It is a tray, usually divided into compartments (usually eight since it is an auspicious number) and filled with sweets and fruits such as kumquats (prosperity), coconut (togetherness), and red melon seeds (happiness).

Chinese New Year Preparations

Kay Honeyman — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:40:37 +0000

THE FIRE HORSE GIRL begins on the day before the new year. It is a time of preparation and looking forward – a perfect starting place for a journey. I loved researching the preparations that Nushi and Jade Moon would be busy with on this day for the first chapter.

Since tomorrow is the first day of the Chinese New Year celebration. If you haven’t started preparing yet, here are a few traditions you might embrace:

Clean – your house, yourself, and your life. Sweep the house for the beginning of the year to get rid of any of the leftover bad luck from the old year. Once the new year starts, you should not get out the brooms for a couple of weeks for fear that you might sweep away the new good luck. Once the house is clean, you can start to fill it with flowers – daffodils, hyacinths, lotus, peony. Avoid white since it is the color of funerals. You can also decorate with red ribbon and paper with good luck signs on them.

To clean up your life, you should settle debts and resolve disagreements. You want to have a fresh start in the new year.

To clean up yourself, you can get a hair cut and cut your nails. Using scissors at the beginning of the new year might cut the luck you have coming your way. You can also buy new clothes.

More Chinese New Year posts to come! I hope you enjoy!

The Fire Horse Girl’s Inspiration

Kay Honeyman — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:40:27 +0000

I wrote a blog post this week for Scholastic’s On Our Minds Blog about what inspired me to write The Fire Horse Girl. Click the link above to read. I hope you enjoy!

Year of the Snake

Kay Honeyman — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:32:16 +0000

English: Chinese for “Snake” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a few weeks (on February 10) the Chinese New Year celebrations begin and we enter the year of the Snake.

Just like the Fire Horse, the Snake has certain characteristics. In The Fire Horse Girl, Sterling Promise was born in the Year of the Snake. Snakes are clever and calculating, which makes them excellent at business. They have a laser focus on their goals, and sometimes manage to achieve them at the expense of others. On the other hand, their good business sense and cool exterior make them excellent mediators.

In the Chinese zodiac, each of the twelve animals is paired with one of five elements (earth, wood, metal, water, and fire). This year will be the Year of the Water Snake. Sterling Promise was born in the Year of the Wood Snake. While the element of fire intensifies all of Jade Moon’s traits, the element of wood softens some of the Snake’s rough edges. Wood Snakes tend to have a kindness and sincerity. They love deeply, and they can be less vain than your average Snake.

The Years of Horse and Snake are next to each other in the zodiac for a reason. When the Emperor was looking to name the years, he decided to have a race of the animals. The first twelve would have a place in the zodiac. The bold Horse was charging to the finish line, about to win sixth place, when the clever snake slithered off one of its hooves. The Horse jumped backwards and the snake won sixth leaving the horse in seventh place. Snakes and Horses tend to find themselves fighting a lot.

I have always loved the backstory of Jade Moon and Sterling Promise’s zodiac signs. The Horse got her revenge for being cheated by the Snake.

This is my favorite site on the different signs of the Chinese zodiac. I used it a lot while I was researching Fire Horse Girl:

http://www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes/Snake.htm

This site has the story of the animal race and some other good information:

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear/ZodiacStory.aspx

Outlines

Kay Honeyman — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 12:27:58 +0000

To be a writer is to sit down at one’s desk in the chill portion of every day, and to write; not waiting for the little jet of the blue flame of genius to start from the breastbone – just plain going at it, in pain and delight. To be a writer is to throw away a great deal, not to be satisfied, to type again, and then again, and once more, and over and over….

John Hersey

Every summer for eleven years I sat around campfires, sang camp songs, rode horses, and rowed canoes down the Guadalupe River at a wonderful camp in the Texas Hill Country. The summer after my last year as a camper, I returned as a counselor. It was still a beautiful, warm, and peaceful place. But the shift in perspective from camper to counselor made me realize the work that it took to create that easy, relaxed atmosphere.

I think I struggle with the same shift as a writer. When you come to writing from the experience of being a reader, it takes a little while to peer behind the curtain and see the complicated decisions that add up to a story. Years of reading have given me good instincts, but bad habits.

One thing I am working on is my ability to create an outline. My first book, THE FIRE HORSE GIRL was created with a loose outline based on The Hero’s Journey and then revised into submission. It was messy and a little chaotic. I spent a lot of time stepping blindfolded into the next plot point only to fall of a narrative cliff.

The first time a fellow writer tried to convert me to outlining, I cringed at the memories of my ninth-grade English teacher saying, “If you have an A you have to have a B under your roman numerals” as I hunched over my college-ruled paper that was full of eraser holes and tears.

That experience taught me that writing an outline is like etching your paper in stone…with your fingernail – painful, pointless, and permanent.

Now I am realizing that a story’s outline can have the fluidity that I crave. It can also allow me to layer story elements through scenes in a second or third draft instead of a twentieth or thirtieth draft. Sometimes I think of it as a first draft.

Stories can be created without outlines. I don’t think the outline serves the story. Stories existed long before outlines. I think it serves the author (which, of course, trickles down to the reader).

I am starting to buy into the ‘why’ of outlines, and I am trying to figure out the ‘how.’ Here are a few resources that have helped me.

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks – A great look at the structure that lies under stories.

Outlining Your Novel by K.M Weiland – I like

The Writer’s Journey by Christophe Vogler – This is what I used for my first novel. It is a nice way to mark places your story needs to stop before it gets to the end of the road.

My Next Read:

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

If you worry about getting too organized (or you just need a smile), you can check out this fun TED Talk on “Tidying up Art.” I get tickled every time I watch this:

http://www.flavorwire.com/261120/charts-and-diagrams-drawn-by-famous-authors/10