Do you love a good book?

Published Books

Unsalted Blue Sunrise Poems of Lake Michigan Cover

Unsalted Blue Sunrise

For a year, Kathryn Haydon walked to the bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan to write poems that are as surprising as they are contemplative.

This book is the gift you share with everyone who has ever watched in awe as the sun rises and sets over our eloquent lake.

“I love the simplicity and ease of reading this poetry, like going to the lake ought to be.” —David Eyman, Miami University Institute for Entrepreneurship

NOW AVAILABLE!




Kathryn Haydon’s poems in Unsalted Blue Sunrise will awaken your deep soul thinking. They explore Lake Michigan’s richness as metaphor, art, relationship, and outspoken personality. Written over the four seasons of a year, the poems probe topics both personal and universal. They will surprise you with fresh images and bold perspectives.

This book is the gift you share with everyone who has ever watched in awe as the sun rises and sets over our eloquent lake.

Upcoming Events:

The Book Stall – Winnetka, IL
Sunday, October 1, 2023
3-4 pm
FREE Registration Required Here

Dickinson Hall – Lake Forest, IL
Friday, November 3, 2023
12:00 pm
Registration required by October 31.
Please call 847-234-2209 to register.

Past Events:

Printers Row Lit Fest
“Poetry of Lakes and Rivers”
September 2023

The Mather
Poetry Reading from Unsalted
September 2023

Lake Bluff History Museum
“An Evening of Poetry and Wine”
August 2023

Lake Forest Open Lands Association
“Nature’s Poetry” hike through Green Nature Preserve
July 2023

Lake Forest Book Store
Poetry Reading from Unsalted
June 2023

Highland Park Poetry
Poetry Reading from Unsalted
June 2023

What People Are Saying: 

“I love Kathryn Haydon’s poems. They’re both playful and profound, transporting us to Lake Michigan’s shores. Let this book inspire you to paint your own word pictures of a place you love.”—Susan G. Wooldridge, author of poemcrazy

“Artists like [Kathryn], journalists, scientists, and so many others are what will save our amazing, magnificent, majestic Great Lakes.”Cameron Davis, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner; former presidential “Great Lakes Czar” and CEO of Alliance for the Great Lakes

“These deceptively simple poems delight the senses. Lake Michigan becomes a witty mirror to human longings in Kathryn Haydon’s brief, luminous lyrics.”—Joshua Corey, author of Hannah and the Master

“The lake sparkles in this collection. There is musicality and energy to these poems.”—Jennifer Meyer, Highland Park Poetry

“Kathryn Haydon’s poetry has the power to transport us to tranquility. She offers both flow and dissonance in mood. She guides her readers to personal interpretation and visions of memorable images. All at once, Kathryn encourages us to breathe deeply, and still leaves us breathless.”—Julie Isaacson, Author of The Angry Chef: Satisfying Recipes Inspired by Unsatisfying Relationships 

 

Read More

The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative

This book has won an award, been praised by New York Times bestselling author Daniel Pink, and will be onstage at SXSW 2020 with author Kathryn Haydon.




The award-winning Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative is the fifth book in the Non-Obvious Guide Series, has been praised by New York Times bestselling author Daniel Pink and other top thought leaders, and will make an appearance onstage at SXSW 2020 with author Kathryn Haydon.

The book shares examples of creative thinking at work in organizations worldwide, across industries including banking, not-for-profit, manufacturing, and technology.

LinkedIn Learning revealed this year that the #1 in-demand skill sought by employers across industries is creativity. An MIT-IBM study found that once AI takes over job skills, creative thinking skills are most valued and highly paid.

Everyone’s talking about the need for more creative thinking, yet most people don’t know how to apply it to their daily work. 

The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative seeks to change this by empowering you to harness the full power of your creative thinking. It is filled with useful, immediately actionable advice to apply your best thinking at work. You will learn to harness your creativity so you can . . .

  • Think more powerfully and originally.
  • Solve problems more effectively.
  • Give feedback that leads to innovation.
  • Spot thinking strengths in yourself and others.
  • Leverage change to your advantage.
  • Turn problems into possibilities.
  • Ask questions that lead to valuable solutions.
  • Make meetings more productive.
  • Get inspired to do your best work.

With practical, easy-to-apply tips, tools, and case study stories from a wide range of industries, readers will quickly learn to consistently maximize their breakthrough thinking. Professionals can grab an idea from any chapter and apply it right away to their work, whether corporate, freelance, or personal. They will learn to spot thinking strengths in themselves and others; think more powerfully and originally; solve problems more effectively, and give the kind of feedback that leads to innovation.

Praise for The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative:

“Uncork all those ideas you’ve got bottled up inside you with this smart and engaging guide. You’ll understand where creativity comes from, what stands in its way (Hello, Impostor Syndrome!), and how to engender creativity in others. Any innovation starts with taking a risk, so take a risk on this book. It will pay off in creative dividends.”

New York Times best-selling author Daniel Pink, WhenDrive, and A Whole New Mind

“Creativity is the key to survival in the modern business world … and this book is your perfect guide to making it accessible.” 

– Pamela Slim, Author, Body of Work

 “The tools and strategies in this book help you take your creative thinking to the next level, to be more consistent and deliberate about using thinking practices that elicit new ideas and result in valuable solutions.” 

– Dorie Clark, Author of Reinventing You and Stand Out, and Executive Education Faculty, Duke University Fuqua School of Business 

“Your ability to be creative under pressure is what separates you from the pack. This book is full of practical tools and tips to help you unleash your creative brilliance.”

– Todd Henry, Author, The Accidental Creative 

“Your new go-to guide for transforming work through untapped creativity, ingenuity, and joy.”

Jenny Blake, Author, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

“As problems in the world mount, creative problem solving becomes an even more valuable skill. This book is a roadmap through the research and practice of maximizing your creativity and crushing your biggest barriers to more innovative work.”

– David Burkus, Author, Under New Management

“Over the years I have read dozens (hundreds?) of books on creativity and innovation. Most talk about silly techniques for developing wacky ideas. This book goes beyond the cliches and provides real insights and value. It is less about tactics and more about about mindset. It is a great exploration into the way the brain works in developing new solutions. I highly recommend this book if you are struggling to tap into your inner creative potential.”

– Stephen Shapiro, Author, Invisible Solutions

Read More

What Do Birds Say to the Moon?

Kathryn Haydon’s poetry has been described as “healing, with the surprise of grace.” Rooted in nature and joyful curiosity, she writes to uplift and inspire. This volume is her first chapbook and explores life and soul through nature’s lens.




This poetry chapbook resulted in part from Joan Smutny’s lifelong mentorship of Kathryn Haydon. Contrasting darkness and light, death and life, the poems speak of nature’s laws wherein discord and challenge give way to hope and growth. Haydon weaves words into unexpected images that surprise, delight, and challenge our way of looking at the world.

What people are saying: 

I loved the peaceful, imaginative images of somewhat everyday things that too often go unheralded in our busy lives.  Lovely! – RG

A most beautiful poetry collection! The poems are so dear, tender, and exacting in idea and metaphor. -LB

Who could not like these poems?  Who would not love them?  Who would not gain something of the inner communication of the tenor of such poetry?  I appreciate what you have done to enable those of us who love poetry to love it even more and to those who do not know poetry to walk into a new world of sunlight and love. -JF

Poem Sampling:

Gray Morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike

Trees have shed their
party clothes.
Flowing gracious gowns
that sparkled in auburn golden light
lie crumpled
on the forest floor.
No shame, they stand erect —
uncloaked by fog or foliage —
sleek, smooth-skinned bodies
proudly saluting
ephemeral gray sky;
nature’s figure drawing models,
each curving branch
an outline of
uninterrupted creation.
Up close
strong and separate,
they link arms on the horizon,
together
lending softness to the hillside.

“Gray Morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike” – First published in Written River, Issue 5, Vol. 2, 2014-2015

 

Reverence

Trees’ blush-white blossoms
perch daintily on sunlight;

five silent psalms sheltering
the steadfast stream below.

Translucence bathes the soul of one
who pauses to perceive.

 

Read More

Creativity for Everybody

How would it feel to discover that you have hidden superpowers?

What if you could harness your best thinking more often?

What if you could make work more meaningful?

Creativity for Everybody helps you see your creative thinking superpowers and use them to be more productive, innovative, and satisfied. This book is for you if you want an essential and profound overview of the science of creativity and how it can help you rock life, work, and family.




How would it feel to discover that you have hidden superpowers?

What if you could harness your best thinking more often?

What if you could make work more meaningful?

Creativity for Everybody helps you see your creative thinking superpowers and use them to be more productive, innovative, and satisfied. This book is for you if you want an essential and profound overview of the science of creativity and how it can help you rock life, work, and family.  

Haydon and Harvey condensed volumes of academic research into its elegant essence–the life-changing nature of creative thinking is now accessible to the busy reader. Creativity for Everybody includes:

-insights on the true meaning of creativity (hint: it’s not arts and crafts)
-guide to your own constellation of creative strengths
-the basics on how to practice creativity, encourage original ideas, and cultivate a creative thinking mindset
-characteristics of environments that support creative thinking
-overview of creative process
-illustrated page spreads for visual thinkers
-read the book sideways for tips to grow your creativity
-research footnotes that back up every page
-original poems that inspire

What people are saying:

“Groundbreaking new book!”- The Bedford Record Review

“The more hands we can get Creativity for Everybody into – the better – to help fan the flames of the movement to a more enlightened, creative, brave way of being human.” – Peter H. Reynolds, Author of The Dot

Read More

Creatividad para todos

Creatividad para todos is the Spanish version of Creativity for Everybody, translated by Nacho Arrizabalaga from Spain with poetry translations by Martha Chávez Negrete of Ecuador. Due to their inspired work, Spanish-speaking communities in the U.S. and abroad now have access to the simple yet profound principles and practices in the science of creativity.




Creatividad para todos is the Spanish version of Creativity for Everybody, translated by Nacho Arrizabalaga from Spain with poetry translations by Martha Chávez Negrete of Ecuador. Due to their inspired work, Spanish-speaking communities in the U.S. and abroad now have access to the simple yet profound principles and practices in the science of creativity.

What people are saying:

“Groundbreaking new book!”- The Bedford Record Review

“The more hands we can get Creativity for Everybody into – the better – to help fan the flames of the movement to a more enlightened, creative, brave way of being human.” – Peter H. Reynolds, Author of The Dot

Read More

Discovering and Developing Talents in Spanish-Speaking Students

Packed with strategies that teachers can use immediately to enhance instruction and assessment, this book shows how to:
Recognize students’ individual strengths; identify and develop the gifts of bilingualism and culture; create challenging learning experiences for every student in the class; adapt tools and strategies to meet each learner’s unique needs; connect with parents and the greater Spanish-speaking community.




Packed with strategies that teachers can use immediately to enhance instruction and assessment, this book shows how to:
Recognize students’ individual strengths; identify and develop the gifts of bilingualism and culture; create challenging learning experiences for every student in the class; adapt tools and strategies to meet each learner’s unique needs; connect with parents and the greater Spanish-speaking community.

Read More

Bibliography

Kathryn Haydon has written hundreds of pieces, including book chapters and articles in academic journals. The following is a sampling of her bibliography.




Kathryn Haydon has written hundreds of pieces, including book chapters and articles in academic journals. The following is a sampling of her bibliography.

Book Chapters

Haydon, K. P. (2019). The importance of parent intuition and observation in recognizing highly creative young children. In K. Niles, J. Jolly, T. Inman, and J. F. Smutny (Eds.), Success Strategies for Parenting Gifted Kids (41-46). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Haydon, K. P. (2019). How parents can nurture a lifelong love of the arts. In K. Niles, J. Jolly, T. Inman, and J. F. Smutny (Eds.), Success Strategies for Parenting Gifted Kids (171-176). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Haydon, K. P.  (2017).  What if we view our education system as an ecosystem? In M. K. Culpepper, C. Burnett, & P. Reali (Eds.),  Big questions in creativity 2017: The Best of Big Questions 2013-16 (65-80). Buffalo, NY: ICSC Press.

Burnett, C. A., & Haydon, K. P.  (2017).  Do we need a revolutionary approach to bring creativity into education? In R. Beghetto, Ed., Creative contradictions in education: Cross disciplinary paradoxes and perspectives (201-220).  New York, NY: Springer.

Haydon, K. P.  (2015).  What if we view our education system as an ecosystem? In M. K. Culpepper & C. Burnett (Eds.),  Big questions in creativity 2015 (113-128). Buffalo, NY:  ICSC Press.

Haydon, K. P.  (2009).  Exploring the rainforest through content-based foreign language instruction. In Smutny, J.F. & von Fremd, S.E. (Eds.), Igniting creativity in gifted learners, K-6 (191-198), Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press.

Article Sampling

(2019-present) ContributorPsychology Today. 

(2013-present) Contributor, The Creativity Post.

(2015-present) Contributor, Brightly, Penguin Random House.

Haydon, K. P. (2016, Summer).  The importance of parent intuition and advocacy in recognizing highly creative children.  Parenting for High Potential.  

Haydon, K. P., Goff, K., & Harvey,  J.  (2016,  June).  Academic creativity in your classroom.  Torrance Journal for Applied Creativity.

Haydon, K. P. (2016, May).  Response to Seymour Papert’s “The Gears of My Childhood.” Center for Gifted Newsletter.

Haydon, K. P. (2016, Spring).  Top 10 ways teachers are using Creativity for Everybody in the classroom.  NAGC Creativity Network Newsletter, 3-4.  

Haydon, K. P.  (2016, February).  Can a thinking profile pave your way to the corner office? FourSight Newsletter.

Haydon, K. P.  (2016, January 12).  What to do when they say your kindergartener needs a tutor. The Washington Post.

Haydon, K. P. (2016, Winter).  Why it’s essential that we identify and support creativity in gifted children.  Gifted Education Press Quarterly.

Haydon, K. P.  (2015, March/April).  Parenting the creatively gifted child.  Parenting for High Potential, 23.

Haydon, K. P. (2015, January). Classroom Q&A with Larry Ferlazzo: Supporting ELLs in the Common Core Era. Education Week

Haydon, K. P. (2015).  Safe haven: Parenting creative children amidst abundant conformity. Illinois Association for Gifted Children Journal, 63-66.

Haydon, K. P.  (2014).  Seedling Beyonders need champions from birth through adulthood. Illinois Association for Gifted Children Journal, 15-20.

Haydon, K. P.  (2013).  Importance of parents and what you can do to support the social emotional needs of your gifted child.  Illinois Association for Gifted Children Journal, 41-43.

Haydon, K. P.  (2012)  Article series for byrdseed.com blog

Haydon, K. P.  (2011).  Underachievers: Most neglected resources of the future?  Illinois Association for
Gifted Children Journal,
53-57.

 

Read More