Words Of Wisdom

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

~William James

Book Review

Title: Wilderness-The Lost Writings Of Jim Morrison-Volume I
Publisher: Vintage Books  New York  Copyright 1988    
Rating: 6.5

Morrison's poetry was strange to say the least, but it was uniquely his own. It's to bad that there are no dates when Jim wrote these words. I recognize some lines right away. For example, on page 99 it has the lines
   Motel, money, murder, madness
   Change the mood from glad to sadness.
These two lines were featured in the song L.A. Woman. I found this pattern scattered throughout Wilderness. Morrison's intellectual and creativity challenged the conventions of his time, which I lived through. His poetry was as complex as he was. I wonder if he really wanted us to really know what he was thinking?   

Writing a Novella

I was talking with my spouse about writing and the things that go into it. She write horror stories and is trying to think of something to write about. I was looking over a novella I am writing and realized that I need to tighten up the structure.

 I read Herman Melville's Bartleby and saw how I need to focus on one particular time in the protagonist's life. Jack Kerouac's Subterraneans is another novella that I will read. I've written numerous short stories in the past so writing a novella is no different save the fact that it is longer, a short novel if you will. I have a protagonist and am further developing his character. 

Character development  has become one of my favorite parts about writing. As I mentioned in the past, I like quirky characters who do not fit the mold of being strange or weird. Guess that's the creative part of me.

Words Of Wisdom

And the idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for awhile s just bliss. 

~J. K. Rowling

Another Underrated Performer

Sam Cooke (1931-1964) was a singer with a smooth sound and a great entertainer. He was popular during 1950s and 1960s with songs like 'You Send Me', 'Chain Gang', 'A Change Is Gonna Come'  and 'Bring It On Home To Me'. Tragically, Sam Cooke was murdered in Los Angeles in December, 1964.

Writing Every Day

I make it a point of writing every day. It doesn't  matter how much but the fact that I write something. Too many times I've saw events or people which interested me but I didn't take note of them. The original thought I had is forever lost. I carry a notebook and pen everywhere I go and make note of little things that capture my thoughts.  

Words Of Wisdom

Writers were influenced by other writers preceding them. Conversely, today's writer will influence a generation of future writers.

Underrated

This a list of performers I believe were underrated during their careers. I'm sure that you have your own list.

Jackie Wilson 
Curtis Mayfield
The Hollies
The Moments

I'll add more along the way.

Early Writings of Jack Kerouac

This is my current reading.

Visiting The Places The Authors Were

Have you imagined that you could visit the places your favorite author has been and/or describes in their work? I can't go back to the 1800s but I can imagine and research that era. A time machine would help (smile)! 

When I read Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums and Big Sur, I researched the Oregon and Washington coastlines along with Big Sur in California.  I Googled photos of these places and found them to be unchanged in some instances. I plan on visiting these places in the next year or so.

Where I live now I could write a story, poem or essay about a particular place, person, or event. When you actually live through a particular time in history, it makes the article that more thrilling.

Words Of Wisdom

A poet is someone who can pour light into a cup, then raise it to nourish your beautiful parched holy mouth.


~Hafiz 

Book Review

Title: Jack's Book-An Oral Biography Of Jack Kerouac
Author: Barry Gifford and Lawrence Lee
Publisher: Penguin Books, Copyright 1978 
Rating: 8

I admit I'm picky about biographies because at times they can gloss over the person's failing and shortcomings. I enjoyed reading Jack's Book because  I hear the voices of Jack's friends and lovers and what they thought of him. 

Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady seemed to have the most influence on Kerouac for different reason. Kerouac learned much from Ginsberg but he wanted to be like Cassady. To me Kerouac was a momma's boy would couldn't seem to do much without her approval. Her influence on him was both caring and smothering. He wanted to be like Neal Cassady yet didn't seem to make the break from is mother's apron strings. 

I've read several of Kerouac's: On The Road, Dharma Bums and Big Sur.  Though I understood what he was saying, Jack's Book put me in his company and with his friends. Kerouac wanted to be noted as a writer but couldn't handle the fame when it came his way. Jack was a complicated person who was a modern day Hamlet; living between the days after WWII and the coming counter culture he came to detest. Two constants in his life were his conservative beliefs and his Catholicism.

Kerouac's last years were marred by alcoholism, tragedies, bitterness, loneliness and the sense that his life had been meaningless. This is a sad commentary for a man who tried to influence his contemporaries into a new way of thinking and writing. His books still resonate with audiences today. Jack's Book will give you a glimpse of Jack Kerouac and the friends who knew him best.  

Wilderness

I have decided to read a book of poems while reading a novel, biography or whatever other book. Rock and roll legend Jim Morrison was also a poet. The front man of the sixties rock group The Doors wrote poetry from his childhood to until the end of his life. Wilderness-The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison is a revealing look into the fragile, creative mind of a man searching for freedom. 

Morrison, as with Jack Kerouac,  is one of those people who totally fascinates me because their work was something no one had ever read nor try to put a label on. Jim Morrison poetry is as haunting as the many songs that he wrote. A review of the book is forthcoming.

Releasing The Spirit Through Poetry

I look at poetry as an opportunity to release the spirit of our real nature. We can speak free of whatever is on our hearts and minds. No outside entity can control what's on the heart. It's one reason I began writing poetry.

Poetic words can flow like a river. It can rise up like a storm or be dropped into our hearts as if a seed is being planted. It wasn't long after I began writing that I realized how much I had to say. There were things inside of me that needed to be shared with others. My own spirit was bound up and I didn't realize it or maybe the words were stored up until my epiphany came. The point is is that began writing poetry. 

I'm not sure as to what style I possess. the idea is to write freely without restraint from disciplines, trends, others criticisms. The point is to write. As I improve on the craft of poetry writing, I want to keep it fresh and natural. Each of us has his/her own style and we should not stifle it or try to emulate others. We go through experiences that are unique only to us as individuals.

When others read and hear your words you are sharing a part of your soul. People respond to it in different ways but it's you nevertheless.