Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Page A-3
Illinois Valley local publishes children’s book
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
Illinois Valley resident Jim Lettis wrote
the occasional poem in high school, but never
took them beyond the classroom at the time.
Now retired after 33 years of teaching,
Lettis expanded his pursuit of photography,
taking photos of natural scenery when he
traveled, especially decorative doors.
The objects in those photos seemed to
tell a story of their own; Lettis wondered what
might happen if he turned those pictures into
something more.
“I was looking at them and thinking, if
I told a story, what would [the door] have to
say?” Lettis said. “I wrote about 20 poems of
stories I had. Then I was writing a poem about a
castle door from France, and it just kind of took
off into this other story.”
Now, one of his poems comes to life
in “The Squire and the White Dragon,” an
illustrated children’s book. It tells the story of
Will, an aspiring knight, who is sent to confront
the white dragon and recover the king’s stolen
sword.
The poem was a month-long project,
adjusted and tweaked after Lettis originally put
it on paper. Each line has 11 syllables, part of
the mental aspect he loves about poetry.
“I do daily Sudoku and I’ve really been
hooked on that,” Lettis said. “It’s similar to
me…trying to write a poem completely with 11
syllables in every sentence and fitting it together
is an interesting mental challenge, trying to find
the correct words that make sense. Even when I
read some of my poems now I think, how did I
come up with that?”
His poetry covers a range of subjects, from
romance to the difficulties of homelessness, to
the stories of a dissatisfied troll and a meeting
with Smokey the Bear.
According to Lettis, he keeps a notebook
by his bed in case a late-night idea comes to
him. The next morning, he deciphers his notes
written in the dark that could become future
poems.
“Back in grade school I wrote some
poems,” Lettis said. “The teacher thought they
were quite good but I never did it again. But
almost all of these poems [originate] in the
middle of the night.”
As he worked on the story, Lettis said
he consulted the opinions of many family
members, including his wife Celia, who was
also a teacher.
“Since it was a children’s book I had to
change the riddles again,” Lettis said. “The
riddles were the hardest thing to write since I’d
never written a riddle before.”
Lettis said he searched
online for an independent
publisher, hoping to get the story
in print by Christmas. It took
about nine months from the time
he sent his poem until the time it
was published.
“The
illustrator
was
assigned by the publishing
company,” Lettis said. “I thought
he did a really nice job. I had to
tell them a detailed description
of what I wanted, then they sent
back the initial drawings; it’s all
done over the Internet.”
While publishing his first
book, Lettis hit a few minor snags.
He said original illustrations had
the dragon in all different colors;
blue, grey and even pink. The
(Photo by Darcy Wallace, Illinois Valley News)
process was a little slower than
he hoped; all in all, however, Jim Lettis, author of “The Squire and the White
Lettis was satisfied.
Dragon.”
Lettis said he hopes to hold
“They seemed very impressed,” Lettis
a book-signing in Cave Junction at Shop Smart said. “It’s fun to think of something, all the
and donate some of the money from books sold words that connect to that particular thing, and
to a local nonprofit.
figure out how you can connect those words
So far, Lettis said he’s shown the story to together in a poem. It’s the mental challenge I
some folks at the Illinois Valley Senior Center enjoy.”
and the book is getting a good reaction.
LBMS musicians host final Disneyland fund raiser
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
Lorna Byrne Middle School
music groups showcased their talents
Sunday, April 3 at the Selma Center
as their last fundraiser before the
advanced groups depart for Anaheim,
Calif. this evening.
The concert band and Coro Vivo
Choir are scheduled to compete April
7 to 9 in the Heritage Music Festival
in Disneyland with 46 other groups.
Students have spent weeks raising
funds to help cover transportation and
other costs through concerts, grocery
bagging, pancake breakfasts and a
rummage sale.
According to band director
Brice Cloyd and several volunteers,
Sunday’s fundraiser raised close to
$1,500 towards the trip.
“I think this was an amazingly
successful event,” Cloyd said.
“Now this is a small town coming
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All Lorna Byrne ensembles
performed at the event, including
the two advanced groups, the Cadet
Band, and the new Marimba Band.
Several local musicians of all
ages also performed Sunday to round
out the performance list, including
B Wishes, the Honey Bees, Too Far
South, Zach Kay and G. R. Nelson.
“[Too Far South] probably
brought in 20 or 30 people who
otherwise wouldn’t have been there,”
Cloyd said.
Nelson, a local freelance
musician who has performed in
venues all over Oregon, made a
special appearance at the Selma
Center singing and playing acoustic
guitar. B Wishes included a handful
of students from Coro Vivo belting
out Beatles tunes and others.
As guests listened to music, they
also chose from dozens of homemade
baked goods from Anna Ortiz and
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A silent auction and raffle for
countless locally-produced items and
gift certificates also kept guests busy
between performances.
Cloyd and volunteers said they
greatly appreciated the help and
support from all sides; many parents
and community members chipped
in even though they didn’t have
children participating in Lorna Byrne
ensembles going to Disneyland.
“This is for the kids,” said
volunteer organizer Shawn Carmody.
“If it wasn’t for Mr. Cloyd, very
few would have the opportunity
to do something like this. I feel the
community can come together.”
Carmody said Solis Skin Care
owner Cherie Miller was a major
contributor in Sunday’s event. Other
volunteers who helped organize
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Byrne is the only middle school in
Oregon set to perform at the Heritage
Festival this year in Anaheim.
Students will be exposed to schools
with concert and symphonic bands,
jazz ensembles, choirs and orchestra
groups with years of experience at
this level.
“The kids are really excited for
this,” Cloyd said. “I’m not sure if
they really grasp it yet.”
Cloyd said that when he first
told students about the trip, some
compared it to the Boatnik parade in
Grants Pass, which they’ll perform in
for Memorial Day weekend.
“This is at a completely different
level,” Cloyd said. “They’ll be seeing
buildings that are a lot more than
four stories high, drive [in buses]
in seven lanes of traffic…it’s the
cultural experience of being outside
the Valley.”
In January, some local students
performed at a selective Oregon Music
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Super submarine
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(Photo by Darcy Wallace, Illinois Valley News)
Guest artist G. R. Nelson plays
guitar at the Selma Center April 3.
“Come grow with us!”
Are you ready for Spring?
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April 11
TUESDAY,
April 12
WEDNESDAY,
April 13
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But many have not yet had the chance
to play at an event of this scale.
At the Heritage Festival,
students will receive a judges critique
and get an on-stage clinic from one
of the judges to help give them more
direct, hands-on feedback.
Illinois Valley News
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Solution on page A-4
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