WORDS OF WISDOM

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or does it explore?

~Langston Hughes

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

BRIDGEPORT- Connecticut, New Jersey, West Virginia

WILLIAMSTOWN- Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia

DRYNESS

 I'm sure many writers go through dry periods. I am in a dry patch but will emerge very, very soon. These periods are a good time to assess and reassess. where we need to go. One can look at dry periods as a negative. I view it as a positive. I have been reenergized or made some changes. I began writing poetry a number of years ago when my story writing felt stale. To date, I have written nearly three hundred poems. 

I've had periods that I didn't write at all. That was good for me because it cleared my mind of distractions and tensions of having to write something even when there was nothing to write. A writer's fear is that he/she has nothing more to write. It can seem like being on a desert road. There's no foliage or sign of life. Just barren wasteland. 

When there's nothing else I put down my pen and take in the situation. Dryness is telling me to stop and smell the roses. Enjoy the time from paper and pen. I can't tell how many times I come back invigorated, ready to start anew.

LOVER OF BOOKS

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

There's a mystery to writing, and you don't really know where most of it comes from.

~Neil Diamond, Musician (b.1941)

MINE NO MORE

A Neil Diamond song was in my head this morning. The song 'I Am...I Said' speaks to my feelings about where New York City is heading.

Well I'm New York City born and raised

but nowadays 

I'm lost between two shores

LA's fine but it ain't home

New York's home

But it ain't mine no more.

As a writer I see the rough edges and characters which defined the city giving way to conformity and a spirit killing sameness that I despise. The city has lost its soul. I can still go anywhere and sit and write down and write down ideas. Many of the places I visited, frequented, or passed by are gone. I understand change but a spirit killing change is not what I bargained for. 

I will find new places to go to. I still see characters out there. At times I feel like an outsider.

Like the song says; New York's home. but it ain't mine no more.

BE YOURSELF

 

WRITING MANY GENRES

I have a trunk full of notebooks of stuff written over the years. Poems, stories, commentaries, plays, and essays. I'm putting some poems in some kind of order as I am desiring to publish a chapbook. 

Though famous writers are known for writing in one genre, they wrote other works. Herman Melville wrote poetry and prose as well as novels. Dorothy Parker was a satirist beside being a novelist and poet. Maya Angelou is credited with a list of movies and plays. Known for her poems, she also wrote essays and autobiographies. 

Writing different genres has expanded my writing resume. I took to poetry writing when my story writing and commentaries grew stale. I've written a few plays also. I enjoy essay writing and dabbled writing horror. It's good to do something different for a change. I suggest giving it a try.

I CONCUR

 

MORE MOVIES

I'm happy that the movie venues have or are reopening.  I'm deciding if I will become a member of a particular place. Being a senior citizen the rates will be much cheaper. There are a number of places featuring independent films.  

What's being churned out of Hollywood is very disappointing. I don't relate to much of it. Some are a insult to my intelligence. It more about making money than putting out a creative film that will both entertain and educate. 

 I went the independent route a number of years ago.  If there's one thing the pandemic has taught me, it's to support and take advantage of the arts. I am going to attend at least one movie per month. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I but when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by. 

~Christina Rossetti, Poet (1830-1894)

MUCH WRITING AND READING

Been doing much writing and reading. Poems. Essays. Stories. Commentaries. Working on a couple of monologues.

ARE SOME CHARACTERS ME?

Over the years I have written many different characters. I have wanted to be a few of them; others I will write about then forget about them.

There are a few characters that have sparked aspects of my life I never knew existed. I am a loner who enjoys quiet spaces. Could I explore an abandoned house and not be spooked by my surroundings? Could I be that person who dives into the adult film industry? Can I be that crazy eccentric shunned by society? I feel like all three at various times. 

Writers do change over time. Herman Melville wrote about numerous sea adventures. Later he would write of the horrors of war. There are times I wish I could be transplanted to another period in time to experience what life was like.

It's interesting how connected I feel to certain characters. At times, I wish I were them. Writing about them is fun in itself. How far I will delve into a character's psyche only time will tell.

REREADING

 

Reading this book again. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.

~Edgar Allan Poe, Poet (1809-1849)

SAME CITY, DIFFERENT STATE

ANNISTON- Alabama, Mississippi

GERMANTOWN- Maryland, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania

MORTON- Minnesota, Mississippi, Texas

IF WALLS COULD TALK

 I enjoy reading the history of old New York. There are so many interesting places that have been around long before I was. I bet there were many great conversations in places like O' Henrys in Gramercy Park or the Cotton Club in Harlem. I have an interest in the now-closed Elk Hotel in Hell's Kitchen.

What really went on in these places? I would have liked to have heard the conversations and activities that when on in these places. Oh, if only the walls could talk. Probably would scare the mess out of me. Sometimes one has to put aside their own fears and preconceptions if they want to know about a person or place. Shoot! Maybe someday a wall will talk to me (LOL!)