On Friday, April 11th, I had the opportunity to attend the Virginia Hamilton Conference at Kent State. This was my first conference so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I was greeted with a folder and an awesome name tag that I wish I could wear around all the time. My classmates and I then went into the KIVA to await the start of the conference.
The keynote speakers were wonderful to watch and listen to; they were full of energy and inspiration and they shared those things with the entire audience. I was intrigued by Jerry Pinkney's illustrations and moved by Gloria Jean Pinkney's sensitivity to life and her journey to share her story. Together the couple made for a completely interesting and encompassing presentation about overcoming possible hardships and finding your voice through a talent that can then be shared with the world. The beginning of the conference was wonderful, and it was the perfect start to what was to follow.
The first break out session was very inspiring to me. The session was basically a conversation between an author and an editor and it explained the journey of the two in creating books for children. I was most interested in listening to the author because someday, way down the road, I would like to try and write something, whether it be a children's book or a young adult book or even a book of poetry or short stories. I liked to hear that she also has a "seed" for her writing, an occurrence or feeling in real life that inspires her to write a work of fiction. I always wondered if that was acceptable fiction, and now I know that not only is it acceptable, it makes for meaningful writing.
The second break out session explained many different YA lit books that can help adolescents to figure out their identity or at least to provide them some comfort with problems they may be having as teenagers. The list of books was extensive and organized wonderfully for easy reference to the subject or topic discussed within the book. The men who ran this session were enthusiastic about the books they were sharing and they seemed to be really knowledgeable about details in the books that may or may not be appropriate for certain people in certain situations. Overall it was a great session to get ideas for books for the classroom.
After lunch when the third break out session came around, I was a little unsure of whether we needed to attend the third one or we were allowed to leave at 2. So, instead of going to a session and leaving halfway through to go to work, I went to the bookstore to look at the books written by the presenters at the conference. I was just so amazed at the talent of the illustrations, the richness of the writing, and the quantity of books flying off of the shelves because everyone else was amazed as well. I wanted a copy of every book there, but because that would a little on the pricey side, I just stood and admired them all. Seeing the author's and illustrator's work impacting so many people really inspired me to the power of books and the power of writing stories.
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I really think that it is awesome that you went to the bookstore after to look at some of the keynote speakers' books. I wish I would've had time to stop and look at a couple of the books. Jerry Pinkney's (sp?) illustrations were so inspiring that I wish I could've been able to stop and look at them up close.
I also love listening to Gloria Pinkney's (sp?) speech. She was such an amazing woman with such a rich and sad history. I loved how inspirational she was. She went through several terrible things in her life, but she prevailed. She moved on and went on to inspire others. I love how she had that prayer book with signatures of other people who were praying for the healing of the pain on Earth. One word for this woman: inspirational!
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