Pamela Harold, 75, of Edmonds, likes to write about what she knows and what she’s seen.
That means stories about road trips, letters about family and poems about green tree frogs inside kitchen sinks.
Come again?
Yes, Harold said this week. It happened. A few years ago, there were three green frogs inside her daughter’s kitchen sink. Apparently, it happens a lot. Now, Harold’s poem, which playfully explains the phenomenon, has won her acclaim.
The poem was one of 20 chosen out of 3,000 for publication in “Say Good Night to Illiteracy,” a full-color, hardback book with illustrated short stories from writers across America. Proceeds from sales benefit the National Center for Family Literacy, which aims to break the cycle of illiteracy that still affects more than 30 million Americans.
Her poem, “Little Green Tree Frogs,” was originally written and illustrated for Harold’s grandchildren. But she submitted it earlier this year to a contest sponsored by Half Price Books. When she won entry into the book, she was astonished.
A former art teacher, Harold is an accomplished watercolor artist, and she’s prominent in Edmonds’ art scene. In 1999, one of her paintings was the poster for the Edmonds Arts Festival. She also serves on the board of the Edmonds Arts Commission and the Women Painters of Washington.
In February, there was a retrospective of her painting at the Frances Anderson Center.
Growing up, Harold’s family used to write poems to each other. When they hid presents, clues were often written in verse.
But, while poetry is one of Harold’s oldest pursuits, it has also been more of a private effort.
“I was so knocked out (when I I realized I won),” Harold said this week. “I had never had any story or poem published before.”
Still, her private writings are prolific. She regularly writes poems for her grandkids, usually expanding on private jokes. There’s the poem about the Easter Coyote, the dragon on a dresser, and – of course – the frogs inside the kitchen sink.
Harold is also a prominent journal keeper. When she travels, which is often, she fills small notebooks from cover to cover with illustrated journal entries.
As with everything else, writing is about getting started, Harold said.
“If you want to paint, you will. If you want to write, you will,” she said. “The hardest thing is just applying the seat of the pants to the chair.”
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