WORDS OF WISDOM

I've always associated the moment of writing with a moment of lift, of joy, of unexpected reward.

~Seamus Heaney, Poet (1939-2013)

2023

With 2022 winding down, it's time to think of goals for 2023.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Suspense arises naturally from good writing-it's not a spice to be added separately.

~Leigh Michaels

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM NEW JERSEY

Amiri Baraka (1934-2014) 

Judy Blume

Harlan Coben

Junot Diaz

Janet Evanovich

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997)

Norman Mailer (1923-2007)

George R. R. Martin

John McPhee

Philip Roth (1933-2018)

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE

Philip Booth (1925-2007)

Connie Converse (1924-1974)

W. E. Butts (1944-2013)

Robert Eggers

Daniel Ford

John Irving

Carrie Jones

Warren Manzi (1955-2016)

Grace Metalious (1924-1964)

Carolyn Parkhurst

J.D. Salinger (1919-2010)

NEW WORDS

COPACETIC

RESIPISCENCE

WORDS OF WISDOM

However great a man's natural talent may be, the act of writing cannot be learned all at once. 

~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Philosopher (1712-1778) 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM NEVADA

Phyllis Barber

H. Lee Barnes

Nevada Barr

Akemi Dawn Bowman

Juanita Brooks (1898-1989)

Alta Gerry

Robert Laxalt

WRITING AND FINDING REDEMPTION

When I read Jack Kerouac's "Desoltion Peak", I believed that his search for spiritual conversion would have changed his life on that mountain peak. Instead, Kerouac only saw his flaws and shortcomings. His search for inner peace ended with this revelation. From that point it was all downhill.

While writing is a vehicle to express anger, disappointment, and hurt, it can also guide us as to what I need to do to improve my life.  I have rediscovered some desires and passions I have repressed. Writing has always given me a voice where I can speak my own dark secrets.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM NEBRASKA

Willa Cather (1873-1947)

Sean Doolittle

Roxane Gay

Alex Kava

Jean Potts (1910-1999)

Nicholas Sparks

Laurel Trivelpiece (1926-1998)

LEARNING NEW WORDS

Here are a few new words I have learned:

WONTED

BEL-ESPRIT

BETOKEN

MAUNDER

BECOMING ANOTHER CHARACTER

When I write about a character, I immerse myself into their psyche. How and what they are thinking. How they became what they are.  Perhaps they awaken some repressed/suppressed desires we may have. This is what those who censor and suppress books and writings fear. Once a person learns about themselves they are on the road to freedom.

I am drawn to complex characters, those one cannot readily define or put in a category. Shakespeare's Hamlet was a complex character caught between two worlds. The poetry of Sylvia Plath is poignant and haunting. The Jack Reacher books are popular. Many times we wish that we could be a particular character.  Perhaps he/she will awaken something in us and challenge us to become the person we desire to be.   

WORDS OF WISDOM

 Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.

~Wole Soyinka 

MY WRITING INFLUENCES

Edgar Allan Poe

Jack Kerouac

Sylvia Plath

Herman Melville

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM MISSOURI

Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)

Kate Chopin (1851-1904)

T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)

Gillian Flynn

Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

Marianne Moore (1887-1972)

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Margaret Weis

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold deliberate, thoughtful conversations with yourself.

~Robin S. Sharma 

GIVING THANKS

 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM MISSISSIPPI

Stephen E. Ambrose (1936-2002)

Howard Bahr

William Faulkner (1897-1962)

John Grisham

Donna Tartt

Donna Thomas

Margaret Walker (1915-1998)

Jasmyn Ward

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983)

Richard Wright (1908-1960)

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing means sharing. it's part of the human condition to want to share things- thoughts, ideas, opinions.

~Paulo Coelho

STRANGE NEW PLACES

Writing has taken me down some strange places. I don't always know where I will end up but I keep going. 

READING AGAIN

 

This is my favorite of all of Jack Kerouac's books. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM MINNESOTA

Robert Bly (1926-2021)

Bob Dylan

Vince Flynn (1966-2013)

Amanda Hocking

Garrison Keillor

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951)

Tim O'Brien

LaVyrle Spencer

T.J. Stiles

Will Weaver

WORDS OF WISDOM

You have to dream intentionally. Most people dream a dream when they are asleep. But to be a writer. you have to dream while you are awake, intentionally.

~Haruki Murakami

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM MICHIGAN

Mitch Albom

Jeffrey Eugenides

Jennifer Eaton Gokmen

Judith Guest

Jim Harrison (1937-2016)

Elmore Leonard (1925-2013)

Richelle Mead

Heather Raffo

Chris Van Allsburg

Christopher Wright

ELECTION DAY

 

POEM

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing is an extreme privilege but it is also a gift. It's a gift to yourself and it's a gift of giving a story to someone. 

~Amy Tan

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM MASSACHUSETTS

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

Russell Banks

James Boice

John Cheever (1912-1982)

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Robert Francis (1901-1987)

Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Madeleine George

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)

Ariana Reines

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)

A MUST

This is the only play Jack Kerouac wrote. There was talk about doing the play in the late 1950s, but it never came to fruition. I must purchase this book. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM MARYLAND

Sheri Booker

Tom Clancy (1947-2013)

Lucille Clifton (1936-2010)

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Barbara Kingsolver

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

Emily Post (1872-1960)

Nora Roberts

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968)

Anne Tyler

Leon Uris (1924-2003)

WORDS OF WISDOM

It's not what you look at that matters, it what you see.

~Henry David Thoreau, Author (1817-1862)

CREATIVE GENIUS?

So many authors had difficult childhoods. Dorothy Parker hated her stepmom. John Berryman never got over his father's suicide. Theodore Roethke took to alcohol after his father's death from cancer and his uncle's suicide.

I have heard it said that the shortcomings may have fueled their creativity. But were they happy? The world may view these three and others as genius. I often wonder what kind of works they would have created if they overcame their struggles.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM MAINE

Melissa Coleman

Paul Doiron

Tessa Gerritsen

Stephen King 

Tabitha King

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1892)

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

E. B. White (1899-1985)

BANNED BOOKS

These are some of the books that, at one time, were banned for various reasons. With the drive to ban books concerning LGBTQ, race, women, and minorities, a dangerous precedent is unfolding. This is nothing new. At one time slaves would be severely punished if they were caught reading a book. This book-banning scenario is happening all over the world. 

It is up to all of us to see that this doesn't take hold. Authors, teachers, students, parents, and others must stand up and say no to those who only want us to do what they say and not to speak or read for ourselves. Many came to America to escape such restrictions. I'm sure that we don't want something like this to happen again.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM LOUISIANA

Arna Bontemps (1902-1973)

Ernest J. Gaines (1933-2019)

Tim Gautreaux

Brian Keith Jackson

William Joyce

Patricia Maxwell

Anne Rice (1941-2021)

Cokie Roberts (1943-2019)

James Wilcox

WORDS OF WISDOM

The reading of all hood books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.

~Rene Descartes, Mathematician (1596-1650)

JAZZ AND PROSE

I was listening to Beat writer Jack Kerouac's jazz and prose sessions. Most were recorded in late 1940s and 1950s. I was impressed with how he was incorporated his prose with the rhythm of jazz. Bebop was famous back then and Kerouac was absorbed with it.

Over the years I have seen prose and music incorporated into an artist's act. I have a new found respect for songwriters and consider them as part of the writing community.

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

ENFIELD- Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina

HINSDALE- Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM KENTUCKY

Wendell Berry

Jane Gentry (1941-2014)

Sue Grafton (1940-2017)

Barbara Kingsolver

Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Marsha Norman

Allen Tate (1899-1979)

Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005)

Robert Penn Warren ( 1905-1989)

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing is like jazz. It can be learned, but it can't be taught.

~Paul Desmond, Musician (1924-1977)

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM KANSAS

Don Colsmith (1926-2009)

Cyrus Console

Paul Dickey

Bunny McBride

Michael McClure (1932-2020)

Max McCoy

Gordon Parks (1912-2006)

Janet Peery

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

INFLUENCES

Before taking a course on William Shakespeare in college, I read Romeo and Juliet. I'm so thankful for the glossary as it helped me negotiate the style of English in Shakespeare's world. I have read thirteen of his plays of which Hamlet is my favorite.

I have always been fascinated by the men and women of the Beat Generation. The spontaneous prose of On the Road was like being on one crazy continuous road trip. Upon reading Kerouac's other books, I better understood his style of writing, and the man himself.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM IOWA

Jonathan Ames

T. C. Boyle

Eva Carter Buckner

Tom Drury

Susan Engberg

John Irving

W. P. Kinsella (1935-2016)

Lucia Nevai

Z. Z. Packer

Marilynne Robinson

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing is like sewing together what I call these 'buttons', these bits and pieces.

~Sandra Cisneros

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

OSWEGO- Illinois, New York, Oregon

WILMINGTON- California, Delaware, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,                                                    Vermont       

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM INDIANA

Booth Tarkington (1869-1946)

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)

Meg Cabot

Mary Louise Chitwood (1832-1855)

Amy Welborn 

Etheridge Knight (1931-1991)

Catherine Bowman

CHARACTERS OF MY OWN CREATION

When reading a good book I sometimes envision myself being the protagonist. It's said that by reading, we authors live the lives of many characters.

I wonder how many authors have tried to emulate a particular character? A king. Queen. Superhero/ine. Maybe even a dragon. What I enjoy about writing is to create people however I want them to. This never gets boring. In fact, over time, they can be people we strive to be like.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM ILLINOIS

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)

Sandra Cisneros

Betty Friedan (1921-2006)

Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965)

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

Patti Smith

SAME CITY, DIFFERENTS STATES

ARCADIA- California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania

FLINT- Michigan, Ohio, Texas

WALNUT GROVE- Alabama, California, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi

WORDS OF WISDOM

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, with summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer.

~Helen Hunt Jackson, Writer (1830-1885)

BOOK VS. MOVIE

Whenever a book is put into a movie I have much trepidation that it will be any good. I have been so disappointed when a the movie done on a famous book is very disappointing. Many directors take liberties (too many, in my view) when they do this. They try to put their own spin on the book, instead of just telling the story. This, sometimes is an issue when doing a documentary about a person, group, or organization. I say to myself why can't the directors leave well enough alone. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM IDAHO

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

Ezra Pound (1885-1972)

Patricia Marcantonio

William Norman Grigg (1963-2017)

Donna Fletcher Crow

WORDS OF WISDOM

Now begins a torrent of words and a trickling of sense.

~Theocritus, Poet 

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

BENTON- Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas

VAIL- Arizona, Colorado

YORK- Alabama, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Carolina

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM HAWAII

Maxine Hong Kingston

Haynani-Kay Trask (1949-2021)

Milton Murayama (1923-2016)

Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Lee Cantaluna

Rodney Morales

SURGERY

 I haven't been here because of recent surgery. 

9/11

 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM GEORGIA

Alice Walker

Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964)

Conrad Aiken (1883-1973)

Janisse Ray

James Dickey (1923-1997)

Margaret Mitchell

James Alan McPherson (1943-2016)

Carson McCullers (1917-1967)

Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880-1966)

Natasha Twethewey

WORDS OF WISDOM

Prose is all about embellishing and describing.

~Mike Birbiglia, Comedian (b. 1978)

QUIRKY, FREAKY CHARACTERS

I like people who are quirky, weird, strange, etc. I'm currently creating characters using every day people who possess an affinity for the unusual. I have an Ivy league young man who frequents porn shops. I have a young woman who dresses in the clothing of superheroines at home. These are just examples. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM FLORIDA

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)

Carl Hiaasen

Elmore Leonard (1925-2013)

Dave Barry

Judy Blume

James Patterson

Tim Dorsey

Kristen Harmel

SUPPORT LABOR

 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM DELAWARE

Colleen Faulkner

Christopher Castellani

Robert Montgomery Bird (1806-1854)

JoAnn Balingit

Ed Dee

Fleda Brown

Cyrus Cassells

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM CONNECTICUT

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Zakiya Dalila Harris

Madeleine L' Engle

Dominick Dunne

Tom Tryon

Susan Strecker

Oliver Stone

WORDS OF WISDOM

No amount of money can replace the kind of happiness and satisfaction I derive from writing.

~Sreenivasan, Indian Actor (b.1956)

ANOTHER CASUALTY??

 

This venerable off-Broadway theater may become a casualty of developers and gentrification. I attended a play here a few years ago. It's a small place but I am a fan of off beat theater. The East Village has lost a lot of entertainment venue as many have migrated further uptown.

What's sad is that the average person is being shut out of attending these places because of the high price of tickets. Many folks living on a given income would go to theaters and concerts if the prices weren't so expensive. I hope that Theater 80 will be saved. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM COLORADO

Dalton Trumbo

Jack Collom

Andrew Gibson

Margaret Coel

Peter. Heller

Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Emma Ghent Curtis

THRIVING AFTER TROUBLE

I believe that no matter how far down a person falls, they can be redeemed. I look at the character and his/ her current situation. Fear. Confusion. Losing hope. A little spark within them keeps them from self destruction.

 I want the character to not only to overcome their situation but to thrive afterwards. As humans we all desire to overcome difficulties and thrive. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM CALIFORNIA

John Steinbeck

Joan Didion

Jack London

Ursula K. Le Guin

Octavia E. Butler

Walter Mosley

Frank Bidart

Amy Tan

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM ARKANSAS

John Grisham

Bette Greene

Charles Portis

Maya Angelou

Helen Gurley Brown

WORDS OF WISDOM

The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.

~Ursula K. LeGuin, Writer (1929-2018)

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM ARIZONA

Lew Welch

Zane Grey

Erma Bombeck

Diane Gabaldon

J.A. Jance

Barbara Park

Richard Shelton

Alberto Rios

Charles G. Finney

Stephenie Meyer

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM ALASKA

Dana Stabenow

David Marusek

Sara King

Velma Wallis

Eowyn Ivey

Ronald Spatz

Charles Wohlforth

William Scott Home

PEOPLE WHO ARE/WERE VORACIOUS READERS

Theodore Roosevelt

Jane Austen

Winston Churchill

Albert Einstein

Queen Elizabeth I

LeBron James

Warren Buffet

Mark Cuban

Reese Witherspoon

Oprah Winfrey

 Marilyn Monroe

Jim Morrison

SNIPPETS AND OUTLINES

 I have written mostly snippets and outlines for stories in recent days. So much goes through my mind that I write down. I always carry anotebook and pen. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM ALABAMA

Harper Lee

Truman Capote (born in New Orleans, raised in Monroeville, Alabama)

Fannie Flagg

Zora Neale Hurston

Helen Keller

Sonia Sanchez

Albert Murray

T.S. Stribling

Zelda Fitzgerald (wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald)

WORDS OF WISDOM

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.

 ~Salman Rushdie 

EAST VILLAGE

 I visited the East Village neighborhood of the city the other day. In the eighties, it was a thriving scene of arts, theater, writers, and creativity. Now with all the gentrification and rising rents, the East Village is a shell of its heyday.

I am saying here that the need for the arts is greater than ever. The need for more spaces for artists and performers to display their talents is greatly needed.

I MUST WRITE

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing is like any other sort of sport. In order for you to get better at it, you have to exercise the muscle. 

~Jason Reynolds

ROBERT HAYDEN

 

Robert Hayden (1913-1980) will be one of the authors I will do a feature on when my radio program is ready to go. I find him to be an interesting poet who is underappreciated by the public, especially by black audiences.

PLAYWRITING

I have written a couple of plays in the past. Having been to numerous plays, I'm drawn to the dialogue by the actors. I also like the various positions the performers in their scenes. 

Sometimes dialogue can be a challenge for me. Part of the reason is that I am a quiet and reserved person. When I write a play I'm concerned that it will be too short because of not enough dialogue.

When I read the works of Neil Simon, Edward Albee, and William Shakespeare, I'm amazed by the volume of works produced. Ancient Greek playwrights are fascinating in that their works often reflect everyday life. 

I wrote a play about the three days in between Jesus's  crucifixion and burial and his resurrection. I tried to capture the intense emotions Jesus friends were feeling during that time. It was challenge but I welcomed it and believed that I succeeded in writing it. I wrote the play over fifteen years ago and still have it in my possession. 

Once I learn more about playwriting I will take a stab at writing another one.  

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

FUTURE PROGRAM ON POETS AND WRITERS

I mentioned earlier this year my desire to create a radio program about poetry and writing. I have many authors in mind that I wish to discuss about. There's much to consider. Which authors. Excerpts of a poem recital. An author being interviewed. In the long run maybe a live reading. Lots of possibilities.

ARISTOTLE

 

I have an interest in the ancient Greek poets and philosophers. Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) is one of the most famous and recognized. He was knowledge on many subjects from zoology and biology to ethics to economics and politics. Aristotle wrote on these and numerous other topics.

Aristotle was a well rounded individual. This is what the purpose of going yo college should be. To be a successful writer, one has to read and research. It's a lifelong effort but it pays off in the long run. Are there any Aristotles out there today? Perhaps. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Against barbarity, poetry can resist only by conforming its attachment to human frailty like a blade of grass growing growing on a wall while armies march by.

~Mahmoud Darwish,  Poet (1941-2008)

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

ROSEVILLE- California, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio

WESTON- Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont

AGAINST CONVENTIONS

The prevailing conventions of a particular time has maligned some great writers. Their writing was excellent; they didn't follow conventions of their time. 

Beat writer Jack Kerouac wrote in a spontaneous style that went against the 1950s way of writing. Poet Robert Hayden didn't receive the notoriety he should have because he wrote during the rise of black militancy. Other black authors felt that he should do the same, but chose not to. Hayden wanted to be known as a poet, not just a black poet. Herman Melville novels didn't sell but he's acknowledged as one of America's greatest writers. He wrote much about the sea and his adventures but his style of writing was not in vogue.

Thinking about it, some of my favorite authors were ones who were marginalized and criticized. Writing isn't about conventions, it's the author share a part of him/ herself to a greater audience. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.

~William Strunk, Jr., Writer (1869-1946)

HORACE

Horace (Quintas Horatius Flaccus) (65 BC-8 BC) was a Roman lyric poet during the reign of Augustus. He wrote satires, odes, epodes, and epistles. 

WRITING MOST DIFFICULT

 The most difficult aspect of being a writer is actually writing.

WORDS OF WISDOM

The poetry of the earth is never dead.

~John Keats, Poet (1795-1821)

ODES; OUTLINES

I am almost finished reading Sharon Olds's Odes. I admit I'm not wowed by them save a few. However I have a better understanding of how to write them.

I'm writing outlines with scenes and narration. I like listening to old radio programs from the 1950s. I may record one story where I narrate the scene. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Well, one thing I'm interested in, when I'm writing, is being accurate.

~Sharon Olds

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

RICHMOND- California, Texas, Virginia

WHITEVILLE- North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

 

CURRENT READING

 

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

CHESTERFIELD- Missouri, New Jersey, Virginia

FARMVILLE- Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia

SHARON OLDS

I recently came upon the works of poet Sharon Olds. She has written many odes on various subjects. I am reading some of them and hope to post a few of them.

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

The ode lives upon the ideal, the epic upon the grandiose,  the drama upon the real.

~Victor Hugo, Author (1802-1885)

POEM

 

My Heart Leaps Up

William Wordsworth - 1770-1850

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

My heart leaps up when I behold 
   A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began; 
So is it now I am a man; 
So be it when I shall grow old, 
   Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

FATHER'S DAY

 

ODES

Odes are short lyrical poems that praise an individual, idea, or event. In ancient Greece, odes were accompanied by music. I once wrote an ode to the bus terminal here, noting that many times I have been there, and still pass through. 

In the album 'L.A. Woman' done by the 1960s rock group, The Doors. this is Jim Morrison's ode to the city that he loved but had changed. Beat writer Jack Kerouac sensed the same in the late 1950s regarding New York City.   

Are odes happy? Sad? Reflective? A change of direction?  That could be all. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

This is one of my favorite quotes.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.

~Wole Soyinka, Nigerian Dramatist (b.1934)

NOT ANGRY

I can honestly say that I'm not an angry writer. One poet that I have come to admire is Robert Hayden (1913-1980). He was criticized by other black authors during the 1960s because he did not go the way of black militancy. It was something that he shunned. Hayden wanted to be known as just a writer. 

I'm much the same way. If someone is touched by my poetry and stories, I'm happy for them. I'm attracted to authors who go against conventions of their times. Beat writer Jack Kerouac is a perfect example. I enjoy reading his novels.

Each writer has his/her particular style. No one should be browbeaten into writing something is not them. I appreciate each writer for their work and style. 

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT COUNTRY

ROME- New York, Georgia

                Italy

MOSCOW- Idaho  

                   Russia

HARLEM- New York

                    Holland*- spelled with two A's

WORDS OF WISDOM

A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story.

~Lynn Abbey (b. 1948)

WRITERS I WOULD LIKE TO MEET

There are many interesting writers, living and dead, I would to meet. There are five writers that really get my attention.

Jack Kerouac

Sylvia Plath

Robert Hayden

Edgar Allan Poe

Mary Oliver

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

SEAFORD- Delaware, New York

WHEELING- Illinois, West Virginia

WINDHAM- Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.

~Isaac Asimov, Scientist, (1920-1992)

CITIES THAT I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT

New York City will always be number one for me but there are other cities I have or want to visit. I visited Philadelphia a few years ago. I could live there as I felt comfortable, something that rare on my first trek to a new place. San Francisco is another place I want to visit. In the United States, New Orleans, Seattle, and Portland are few other places.

I am very interested in the literary history of these places. Overseas, Paris has a rich literary history. Many ex-pats have lived there. Berlin was interesting before Hitler took over. There are other places but these are the ones that come to mind.

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

ASHBURN- Georgia, Virginia

CAMDEN- Delaware, New Jersey, South Carolina

CARMEL- California, Maine, New York

WORDS OF WISDOM

Sometimes, what's not said is just as important to the writing as what is said. As a writer, we have our voices heard. I think that, at oftentimes, the ability to allow the dialog to recede properly into the world of the film is also a really valid sort of way to be a writer, I think.

~Joel Edgerton, Australian Actor (b. 1974)

DEPTH OF FEELING

 

CREATIONS OF OUR MINDS

Writers can create characters however they choose and in whatever they choose. I like creating characters who are complex, confused, or contemplating a significant change in his/her life. 

I avoid typecasting a character because of their physical features or handicaps. Examples are 'the jolly fat man', 'trusty sidekick', 'the dutiful secretary', 'the happy drunk'. I believe a character can be a multitude of many personalities. A boring character does not make a story compelling or interesting.

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

DES MOINES- Iowa, Washington

LEDYARD- Connecticut, New York

SUDBURY- Massachusetts, Ohio

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.

~Charles Simic, Poet (b. 1938)

HONORING MOMS

 

TELL IT YOUR WAY

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

If you wish to be a writer, write.

~Epictetus, Greek Philosopher (50-138 AD)

BANNED BOOKS

At the Strand's Bookstore here, there is a section where books that were banned at one time on display. I browsed the titles, noting that I had read a half dozen of them. Some of the other titles I have heard of them though I have not read them.

The reason those were banned are many. A common thread is that these books spoke of the ills of that particular society. There is a currently a drive to ban all books dealing with gender (specifically transgender) and sexuality. This is nothing new. Subjects such as homosexuality, women's rights, slavery, AIDS, and genocide were once taboo subjects.

I have a saying that if a person reads one book that was banned, then they are one right track. The truth eventually comes out, no matter how much the powers will try to suppress it.

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

WASHINGTON- Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

BOOK

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.

~Virginia Woolf, Author (1882-1941)