 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect is hosting. She's offering a response to a prompt from her poetry sisters: writing "In The Style Of..." the triptych "August" by Louise Ireland, but with the general theme of diving into summer. One of my poetry pals, Shirley Thacker. I interviewed her here. She has a new book out, Farmku: Haiku Poems from the Heart of the Land. This is a project that is near and dear to her heart.  When I was teaching, I found it interesting to ask students where food and milk came from. Often their response was the store. Some appeared to not know about farms. Shirley Thacker knows farms. She grew up on a small farm with family, animals, and crops. Farmku takes through the seasons on a farm in a semi-autobiographical way. Thacker has artfully crafted haikus throughout the seasons on the farm starting in the spring through harvest. Farmku begins with Great Grandpa and ends with Grandpa. These were two very important people in the author’s life. Great Grandpa’s huge smile Outhouse, milk cows, told stories Creaking rocking chair Grandpa’s farm at dusk Safe, close to him on the glider Pipe smoke curls, love stays These two haiku as well as the rest of the book shows the importance of family and continuing the legacy. Shirley felt called to this project to shed a light on the importance of family farms when many are struggling. This book will be a fabulous addition to primary classrooms. It’s a great introduction to haiku. The illustrations complement the text and lend themselves for discussions about life on the farm. There is a farm glossary at the back of the book. The sales of the book will help support. Wes-Del elementary, the local school. Shirley intends to give each student a book. She's looking for local farmers to help support the project. Farmku can be purchase HERE. Save the Date: TomorrowJoin me tomorrow, Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 11 AM (EST) for a Poetry Pop Up Salon celebrating summer. If you can join me, please let me know in the comments.  Thank you for Tilt love.
I appreciate those who have taken the time to leave a review and also share their love of the book with our Poetry Friday community.
21 Comments
Shirley Thacker
6/26/2026 10:02:42 am
Thank you much for sharing Farmku:Haiku Poems from the Heart of the Land. Tomorrow may change for my plans, but I hope to be with you
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:32:55 am
It was my pleasure to showcase Farmku.
Wonderful JONE!
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:10:00 am
Jan, I am intriqued by The Milk House, I will pass the information on to Shirley. She would love additional connections.
Linda M.
6/26/2026 12:06:11 pm
Fabulous! I grew up in farm country. I didn't stay...it is NOT my cup of tea. However, I have immense respect for the hard work that any kind of farming is. Farming families are struggling. The land, equipment and business end of farming are no picnic. It's truly not all time spent outside in nature. It's a lot of jobs rolled under some barn roofs. Thanks for reviewing this book. Best to Shirley!
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:12:51 am
It's fun to see people's connecitons to farms. 6/26/2026 04:58:19 pm
Thanks for this intro to Shirley's new book, Jone. I grew up with both grandparents farming, stayed a lot with both in the summers-lucky me! And I'm been away so long, didn't know about your book! I'll find them both! I can't do tomorrow, have another commitment, sorry.
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:13:59 am
No worries, Linda. I am trying to have the Poetry Salon at least once a quarter.
Irene Latham
6/27/2026 05:04:50 am
Thank you for the Farmku rec -- I live in a rural county with kids who will love seeing their lives representedl xo
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:14:33 am
Thank you, Irene. I am glad that Shirley's book is resonating with others.
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:14:44 am
Thank you, Karen. 6/27/2026 07:19:15 am
Jone, thank you for sharing Shirley's Farmqu. The illustrations are wonderful and children will love to read about a life that might not be known to them. I am coming to your salon but may have to leave a bit early to join my little grands to commend them on their swimming race early this morning. I am looking forward to reading tilt so please send me the information on where to purchase it.
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:15:34 am
Caril, so glad you could make it to the salon. There's a link for Tilt at the bottom of this post. 6/27/2026 10:22:17 am
"Farmku" is a great title. Thank you for telling us about the book, Jone.
Margaret Simon
6/28/2026 05:26:49 am
Jone, I have enjoyed meeting Shirley on your Zoom meetings. I also want to introduce haiku to my grandchildren, so this is perfect timing.
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:18:38 am
Oh yay. I'm glad yu enjoyed the book.
Mary Lee
6/28/2026 01:25:03 pm
I loved meeting Shirley on the zoom meeting! I wish I had known her work when I was teaching!!
Jone Rush MacCulloch
6/29/2026 07:18:12 am
Im glad you finally met Shirley and could be at the Zoom meeting. 7/6/2026 02:17:10 pm
Farmku! Brilliant. I'm amazed at the ability of haiku to open up so many worlds to us. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAll photos and poems in these blog posts are copyrighted to Jone Rush MacCulloch 2006- Present. Please do not copy, reprint or reproduce without written permission from me. 
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