Current Book

This is the second time I'm reading this book. Bram Stoker (1847-1912)was a brilliant and creative writer, on a par with Edgar Allan Poe in terms of subject matter and suspense. Stoker is an underrated but important author whom students should get to know. I would recommend it in MFA courses.

Stoker is most known for the classic Dracula which overshadows his excellence as a short story writer. My personal favorites are The Judge's House and The Secret of the Growing Gold.   

WORDS OF WISDOM

Much of our education is borne through experience, some hard knocks, and a clearer idea of where we need to go. 

Janis Joplin

Last week, I watched a documentary on the life of Janis Joplin (1943-1970). She was reared in Port Arthur, Texas. Joplin was a misfit who went against convention in a conservative town. She started singing her teens and rose to fame during the turbulent 1960s.

What piqued my interest was that she was the only female rock icon in a male dominated area. She, along with Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison of the Doors were three of the most popular icons of that time. Janis could really sing and she poured her heart out during her performances. Her bluesy-folk sound was appealing and women flocked to her.

Janis was also plagued by drug and alcohol problems. She was adored by fans but was lonely. All her life she looked for someone to love her for who she was. Her parents really didn't understand her and she ended her association with her hometown. Joplin died alone in an LA motel of a drug overdose.

Janis Joplin was misunderstood by her family and society. She was a feeling and loving person who wanted to accepted.  Joplin was a creative and energetic performer who could really sang.     

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.

       ~Plato

Poetry and Prose

Always be a poet, even in prose.

                                                  ~Charles Baudelaire

I have taken these words to heart. When I began writing poems in earnest a couple of years back, I realized that much poetry does not rhyme. Perhaps that might be the reason there's some angst in reading and writing poetry in schools. There's this misconception that poems have to rhyme.

Prose is spoken every day. It is speaking to others in normal everyday language. Writing it may be easier but the same time and effort to complete a quality piece is just the same as poetry or any form of writing. Many famous authors have written prose and poetry. With the former it has helped me to comprehend what they are speaking in the latter. You can say that poetry and prose can go hand in hand.

I've gone over my prose and poetry and find that my voice in both is strong and clear. Prose is more detailed while poetry more concise.  I'm always looking for ways to say things better. This should be the goal of every writer. 

Strand Books

I stopped by Strands a couple of days ago. This place flies under the radar but there's so many books here that it r  ivals some of the libraries I go to. There's new, used, and rare books, volumes of classics, arts, theatre, history, and loads of fiction and non-fiction.

You can purchase books below the retail price. For example,  you can get a 20 dollar book for 13 dollars. I have purchased book still in the wrapper for a low price. Strand literally has miles of books. One can easily lose themselves here. There are events featuring speakers, artists, and other literari and artistic persons. Some of the speakers hosted have been James Franco, David Sedaris, artist Alex Katz, Teju Cole, and Pete Hamill to mention a few.  

Strand is located on Broadway and East 12th Street, just below Union Square. For store hours and directions go to:


 www.strandbooks.com

Aldous Huxley

I will be doing research on Aldous Huxley but can anyone share with me what they know about him?

WORDS OF WISDOM

You can't suppress creativity, you can't suppress innovation.

~James Daly, actor (1918-1978)

Langston Hughes

James Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was one of the major players in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. His writings about life in Harlem during that time made me feel like I was there. In the 125th Street subway station there are large portraits of life in this black mecca during the 1920s and 1930s.

Hughes' work took in the whole breadth of life. Poems such as Dreams and Montage of a Dream Deferred reflect this. Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of his influences (mine too). Hughes is one of my top five influences.


www.poets.org  
 .

TODAY'S WORD

JEJUNE

adj. empty of food; hungry.


dull, lacking interest or significance.

Read At Open Mic

Last night my wife and I read at an open mic. She read a horror story while I read a couple of poems. It was my first time this year and it felt good. We both received compliments about our work. It's wonderful that there's a place like Word Up Bookstore where local artists can read, sing, and dance and present their work to the community.


www.wordupbooks.com

WORDS OF WISDOM

There's plenty to write about. We can use our imagination to create whatever plots and characters we desire.

Bluestockings Bookstore

 

Nestled on the Lower East Side just below Houston Street, I have been visiting this store since 1998. Back then the store was smaller (yeah, you could say a hole-in-the-wall), rustic in appearance, and independent in nature. Bluestockings is bigger and has a loyal following.

Bluestockings is very active,  hosting events almost every night. Topics range from vegan cooking, gender, and prison reform to comedy, radical politics, and feminist musings. The store is run by women who are helpful and pleasant. I'm happy that Bluestockings is there because, despite the constantly changing scene on the Lower East Side, is vital to the community as a source for bring another perspective on the sometimes artificial (my take on it) scene.

I support independent bookstores because, with the chains stores closing some establisments and/going online, they are really needed. 

Revising and Rewritng Old Work

I read some of the stories I've written in past years and see that they could be improved. Some may feel that it's sacrilegious to do this (I would feel this way if say, Romeo and Juliet, was redone) but the idea is to write a story that you feel comfortable with. The other point is that you want to keep the readers engaged.

I'm certainly not famous or rolling in cash and possessions but writing a quality story, article, or poem is important to me. I have evolved and am evolving as a writer. It's not always tangible but I notice the difference. Reading the work of others opens my mind to other styles. I ask what is the author trying to convey to the audience? This is what every writer, I believe, should ask.

I read about a dozen of my old stories and saw that some could be revised or even rewritten. No shame in that. What I have gained is an appreciation for putting out the best quality work that I can. I have a great respect for editing and revision because it can be the difference between engaging the audience and giving them a reason not to continue reading. Something to think about.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during the moment.


~Carl Sandburg 

Edgar Allan Poe

I have a personal list of my favorite authors. I have a top five list and Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) may be my favorite. He cultivated my current love for mystery and horror. That love wasn't manifested until many years later. Poe's famous poem, The Raven, opened the door.

Poe wrote many poems but it is his short stories that brought him fame. Two of my favorite stories are Fall of the House of Usher and Murders in the Rue Morgue. Poe is considered the father of the detective story. His stories still sends chills through me.  

Death and loss seem to follow Poe. He was plagued by alcoholism, financial woes, and the loss of meaningful people in his life. Poe was only forty years old when he died.

Lenore
Ah broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever! Let the bell toll!--a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river; And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear?--weep now or never more! See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore! Come! let the burial rite be read--the funeral song be sung!-- An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young-- A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young. "Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride, "And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her--that she died! "How shall the ritual, then, be read?--the requiem how be sung "By you--by yours, the evil eye,--by yours, the slanderous tongue "That did to death the innocent that died, and died so young?" Peccavimus; but rave not thus! and let a Sabbath song Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel so wrong! The sweet Lenore hath "gone before," with Hope, that flew beside Leaving thee wild for the dear child that should have been thy bride-- For her, the fair and debonair, that now so lowly lies, The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes-- The life still there, upon her hair--the death upon her eyes. "Avaunt! to-night my heart is light. No dirge will I upraise, "But waft the angel on her flight with a Pæan of old days! "Let no bell toll!--lest her sweet soul, amid its hallowed mirth, "Should catch the note, as it doth float up from the damnéd Earth. "To friends above, from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven-- "From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven-- "From grief and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven."

Writing Is Still Evolving

I was at my local bookstore and browsed books written by local authors. There are plenty of them here where I live. I have taken particular interest in them since I first came to the Word Up Bookstore two years ago. They may not be famous or wealthy but there is a wealth of talents and gifts and experiences.

As I read their works, I realize how much my own writing has and is still evolving. I don't know if there's any exact science to any style of writing. I believe that experiences and our particular styles dictates some of it. I believe the other is that as our writing matures we are able to present unique styles that may not always be  popular or even accepted by writing literary. It's part of the reason I'm drawn to author who were marginized.

Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe were marginized because they didn't write in the style that was popular at the time. Melville thought he was a failure as a novelist but found a second career as poet. Having read couple of his novels I found him very perceptive of his own experiences. He told so much about life on the seas and distant islands. 

To me the local poets and writers share their own gifts about things much closer to home. As I will join their ranks some time later this year, I trust that many budding artists will be inspired and challenged.

Sci-Fi and Horror Films

If you are a science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the Film Forum here in New York City will have classic films from these genre. Films like Psycho and Invasion of the Body Snatchers will be presented in their original form. I am also a big fan of Godzilla.  The summer festival will continue through September 5th.



www.filmforum.com

Poetry at Bryant Park

Red Hen Press at Bryant Park

Poet: Evie Shockley Featured Poets: Evie Shockley, Peggy Shumaker, Tess Taylor, Ron Carlson August 20, 2013, 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Bryant Park, 42nd St and 5th Ave., New York, NY Please join Red Hen Press at Bryant Park on August 20 for a reading event featuring Peggy Shumaker, Evie Shockley, Tess Taylor, and Ron Carlson Info: 626.356.4760 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 626.356.4760 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlightingpublicity@redhen.org http://redhen.org

WORDS OF WISDOM

There is creative reading as well as creative writing.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson



p.s- this is my 1200th post.