It’s that time of year when just breathing can be challenging in Texas. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Typewriter Rodeo
Grackles Be Stealin’
Those loud, black birds are infamous across Texas — and they were the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Distracting Springtime Roads
In Texas, it’s that time of year when everything is blooming and it’s pretty hard to drive right by without stopping. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Break Room Etiquette
You can see the box of pizza or donuts in the break room. The scent draws you to it and you open it with anticipation — only to find crumbs and a dirty butter knife. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Tea
When you ask for “tea” when ordering in Texas, people make assumptions about what exactly you mean. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
The Reality Behind My Social Media Posts
We all have friends who seem to have the perfect life — at least on social media. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics are officially underway in South Korea. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
How Long Until Spring?
It’s mid-January, it’s cold, and it’s the time of year when we begin to ask the question: how long until spring? That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: December 1, 2017
The last man standing from the class of ’84 says goodbye to congress. Is this a start to a sea change in Texas Politics? We’ll have the latest. Also, a bill to authorize the army and navy to take over law enforcement south of the border. An essential step to stop the cartels or a militarization of security in Mexico? We’ll explore. The children’s health insurance program set to shut down for the first time in Texas, why letters may be going out at the first of next week. Plus the week in politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Medieval Festivals
Many weekends in Texas, revelers with a penchant for a certain time in history can find a place to celebrate. That was the inspiration for this poem.
What Everybody Thinks
Many of us live in bubbles of like-minded folks. Our friends think the way we do, whether it’s about politics, social issues or the best place to live. And we like it that way. And everyone else? They’re just wrong. That’s the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Mani Pedi
Oh, how wonderful it feels to have freshly painted fingernails and toes! That’s the inspiration for this week’s Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: June 10, 2016
There is no zika epidemic in Texas, but Houston’s mayor says the time has come to declare a public health state of emergency. Also Texas democrats try to build on a new anti-Trump momentum…but guess who’s coming to the Lone star state just in Time for the democratic convention? And, an state law says schools should be in the business of registering students to vote. So why isn’t that happening in many cases? Plus, the state plans to sink a massive ship of the coast … more than just one, more like hundreds…for the good of the sea. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Kari Anne Roy
K.A. Holt loves middle grade novels and poetry and has a gift for both.
Her novel Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel won praise from middle grade readers all over the nation. Her poetry shines in her collection Haiku Mama: Because 17 Syllables is All You Have Time to Read, written under the name Kari Anne Roy, is a collection of haikus hilariously bemoaning the struggles and joys of parenting.
In 2010 Holt combined the two genres and started writing middle grade novels in verse. Her first, Brains for Lunch (A Zombie Novel in Haiku?!), followed the misadventures of a preteen zombie dealing with all the romantic challenges of middle school while also being one of the living dead.
Rhyme Schemer follows a middle school bully with a secret passion for poetry. In her forth coming novel in verse, House Arrest, a young boy journals about his struggles through a year of probation and his younger brother’s health crisis.
Holt’s anti-heroes pop with life (even the undead ones). She depicts the emotional and social pre-teen challenges of her young characters with pitch perfect humor and riveting authenticity. She manages to avoid ever condescending to her readers or artificially endowing her middle grade characters with adult takes on the world. She nails the wildly turbulent thoughts and feelings of a 7th grader – and does it in verse.
Holt has a knack for bringing poetry to surprising places. In 2013 Holt and fellow Austinites Jodi Egerton, Sean Petrie and David Fruchter took a love of vintage typewrites and public poetry and formed Typewriter Rodeo. The group can be found at music concerts, museum openings, and SXSW parties banging out spontaneous poems on old school typewriters.
Holt, again writing as Kari Anne Roy, is also a celebrated blogger known for fearlessly diving into difficult issues ranging from abortion legislation to CPS investigations. Her insights are supported by relentless honesty and a wry wit. More than one entry on her blog www.haikuoftheday.com has gone viral and emerged on the national scene.
It’s a true pleasure to get to sit down with Holt on The Write Up and discuss her craft and career and how she balances daily life, deadlines, and being a mother of three. Join us as we chat about the attraction of writing for a younger audience, her love for underdogs and preteen ne’er-do-wells, and the allure of poetry.