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Washed Up in the Waves
As you walk the sandy beaches and gaze out to sea, do you ever wonder what the inhabitants of the coastal community might have to say about themselves? The clams and crabs, the birds and starfish, the flounder, the shark, and the whale—what might they say to an inquisitive child?
Washed Up in the Waves, hatched from the sands of Cuttyhunk Island, is a classic poetic response to just those questions. Lyrical and funny, these poems liberate the minds of young and old with poetry of the beach and the treasures we see at the sea. Accompanied by whimsical color illustrations, these poems are sure to delight ocean lovers everywhere.
Washed Up in the Waves, hatched from the sands of Cuttyhunk Island, is a classic poetic response to just those questions. Lyrical and funny, these poems liberate the minds of young and old with poetry of the beach and the treasures we see at the sea. Accompanied by whimsical color illustrations, these poems are sure to delight ocean lovers everywhere.
41 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2016
2 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
About the author
Margo Solod
10 books14 followersI came to writing fairly late. That is, I did not grow up, as many of my friends did, knowing I had to write. There was so much to do – reading, swimming, horseback riding, riding bikes, reading, freeze-tag, staying outside in the summer until the streetlights came on, reading – who could choose just one thing?
Yes, I dabbled in writing at school; a few poetry contests as a child, and one brilliant 4th act to Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in college where I turned that classic drama into a mystery. I still don’t understand why that version didn’t catch on and make me a million dollars. But after that class I put down the pen and picked up first a crescent wrench (theater lighting design), then a hammer (building sets, learning construction), and finally a chef’s knife (I prefer a 6” Henkel with a plastic handle. For the knife, that is. I never had a brand preference in hammers or wrenches).
Sometime in my thirties, I moved to a remote island to run an Inn and restaurant, and during one long lonely winter’s off-season, I began to write again, returning to my first love, poetry. This was back in the ancient era of typewriters and actual snail mail anchored by handwritten letters (even slower when sent and delivered on a ferry that only ran once a week). In this way I received what little “formal” writing training I have; thick brown envelopes of poems sent back and forth between myself and a few amazing teachers who were willing to try and teach me by mail.
Slowly my poetry improved, and I got bold enough to send work out: at first, individual poems to small literary magazines and then, as these gained acceptance with some regularity, chapbooks of themed poetry to contests. While searching for contests I found Flight Of The Mind, a writing workshop for women that ran every summer for two weeks in a monastery in Oregon. This workshop not only got me off my island, but into the company of friends and mentors who remain a part of my life to this day (in fact, I befriended the woman who would become my wife there).
Soon, I applied to and was accepted at the Vermont Studio Center, where I worked on my own, but surrounded by the creative energy of others. I published my first and second chapbooks and won a few minor awards. Eventually I came to the realization it was time to close down the Inn where I’d served as chef for so long, leave the island and begin working on career four, or maybe five. At a certain point you lose track.
During several of my previous careers I’d moved around a lot, and I’d decided that when I settled down I would try the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
And that, dear reader, is where the official bio picks up. I traded Vermont for Virginia Center for Creative Arts, an artist’s residency that has afforded me much time and space to create. I published two more chapbooks and a full length book of poetry, and then, seemingly, I was done with that genre. I haven’t written a poem since 2006. Next I turned my hand to creative non-fiction, and published a memoir of place dealing with my island years.
Now I’m working on a trilogy of ‘tween adventure novels, set on an island suspiciously similar to the one I lived on for so long. After I finish those, I think I’d like to try my hand at a YA novel.
If I had the temerity to give anyone advice about writing, it would be this: READ. Read everything, and anything. Then turn off the editor in your head (she takes up too much space anyway), and let your imagination … run wild. No telling where you’ll end up. So many ideas … why choose just one?
Yes, I dabbled in writing at school; a few poetry contests as a child, and one brilliant 4th act to Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in college where I turned that classic drama into a mystery. I still don’t understand why that version didn’t catch on and make me a million dollars. But after that class I put down the pen and picked up first a crescent wrench (theater lighting design), then a hammer (building sets, learning construction), and finally a chef’s knife (I prefer a 6” Henkel with a plastic handle. For the knife, that is. I never had a brand preference in hammers or wrenches).
Sometime in my thirties, I moved to a remote island to run an Inn and restaurant, and during one long lonely winter’s off-season, I began to write again, returning to my first love, poetry. This was back in the ancient era of typewriters and actual snail mail anchored by handwritten letters (even slower when sent and delivered on a ferry that only ran once a week). In this way I received what little “formal” writing training I have; thick brown envelopes of poems sent back and forth between myself and a few amazing teachers who were willing to try and teach me by mail.
Slowly my poetry improved, and I got bold enough to send work out: at first, individual poems to small literary magazines and then, as these gained acceptance with some regularity, chapbooks of themed poetry to contests. While searching for contests I found Flight Of The Mind, a writing workshop for women that ran every summer for two weeks in a monastery in Oregon. This workshop not only got me off my island, but into the company of friends and mentors who remain a part of my life to this day (in fact, I befriended the woman who would become my wife there).
Soon, I applied to and was accepted at the Vermont Studio Center, where I worked on my own, but surrounded by the creative energy of others. I published my first and second chapbooks and won a few minor awards. Eventually I came to the realization it was time to close down the Inn where I’d served as chef for so long, leave the island and begin working on career four, or maybe five. At a certain point you lose track.
During several of my previous careers I’d moved around a lot, and I’d decided that when I settled down I would try the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
And that, dear reader, is where the official bio picks up. I traded Vermont for Virginia Center for Creative Arts, an artist’s residency that has afforded me much time and space to create. I published two more chapbooks and a full length book of poetry, and then, seemingly, I was done with that genre. I haven’t written a poem since 2006. Next I turned my hand to creative non-fiction, and published a memoir of place dealing with my island years.
Now I’m working on a trilogy of ‘tween adventure novels, set on an island suspiciously similar to the one I lived on for so long. After I finish those, I think I’d like to try my hand at a YA novel.
If I had the temerity to give anyone advice about writing, it would be this: READ. Read everything, and anything. Then turn off the editor in your head (she takes up too much space anyway), and let your imagination … run wild. No telling where you’ll end up. So many ideas … why choose just one?
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 19, 2016
There is so much I could say about this book. Honestly the rhymes are really good, and will take you back to your childhood. They will transport you back to a time you were on the beach. Although some times it is a bit over done.
The author is able to balance beautiful words with fun rhymes and pictures that will make kids enjoy reading it. Some of the words were a little challenging for a children's book. It is obvious the Author has a good grasp on the english language but I am unsure a child will be able to understood all the words.
Overall this is a great book. I really loved this book!
The author is able to balance beautiful words with fun rhymes and pictures that will make kids enjoy reading it. Some of the words were a little challenging for a children's book. It is obvious the Author has a good grasp on the english language but I am unsure a child will be able to understood all the words.
Overall this is a great book. I really loved this book!
April 25, 2016
Quick read, but wonderful to read again and again. Great book to pack in your beach bag to read to your kids on a day of adventure!
March 6, 2017
As a kid-at-heart and someone who spends a lot of time with actual kids, I can confidently say this book is a hit with people of all ages. You'll learn some things, you'll laugh, you'll wish it was summer and you were back at the beach (except if you don't like the beach. Then you'll be glad you can experience the beach without actually having to go there).
Read
May 22, 2016All y'all with little ones and not so little ones, you need this book. If you have a Kindle and Amazon Prime, especially, it's almost like you're paying them *not* to get it, unless you do. Margo's cadence and phrasing are solid and musical, and Bruce MacDonald's illustrations set the poems off perfectly. Some of the creatures' deliberately ungrammatically correct "voices" had me sniggering while trying to read aloud to my 6-year-old son, so you may want to do a first read-through on your own to get the giggles out - or not!
(Disclosure: I am Facebook friends with the author, although we haven't met offline. Yet. Hi, Margo!)
(Disclosure: I am Facebook friends with the author, although we haven't met offline. Yet. Hi, Margo!)
April 17, 2016
I loved this book! I loved the gracious, soft rhymes of the poems, I loved the language of them, I loved the particulars of the regional accent. The whole book has such a spoken feeling to it, it begs to be read aloud, again and again. The illustrations are just perfect. I'd write more but the book itself reminds me to go back outside, to live in the world.
April 17, 2016
Margo's poetry has always been wonderful, and this new collection of children's poems is fully accessible, but educational and smart. A great read, even for an adult, and the illustrations are charming!
August 22, 2016
thanks goodreads for a copy of this wonderful poems. each poems made me look at the creatures in a slightly different way and see the beauty in them. expecially the washed up in the waves one. the illustrations to go along are so beautiful and complement the poems perfectly.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews