I'll be taking several days off from blogging, and please pray for all in our family as we mourn the loss of my father-in-law, who passed away this morning.
May he rest in peace in the arms of our Lord.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Writing Life -- Guest Posting at Peace Garden Writer
Roxane Salonen, of Peace Garden Writer, invited me to do a guest post in her series on writers and the writing life. It's a summary of my journey so far, and the link is here.
Since that post is a general reflection on how my faith life and writing are interwoven, I thought it would be fun to add a few more concrete, practical ideas here.
I was recently talking via email with a friend about writing, the publishing world, and books, and here's what I shared with her.
Things I've Learned in Retrospect
1. The importance of a platform.
Don't wait until the book contract is signed to establish a presence. Decide now who you are as a writer and what you want people to think of when they hear your name. Be honest and authentic about that. Create a website or blog that reflects your work, so that you have an online resume. Don't forget that Google+ and Twitter can offer great ways to get to know people, both readers and other writers.
I started my blog primarily to have that online resume, and hadn't considered the word "platform" until my first talk with a book editor. You can learn from my mistake.
(And, okay, to be honest here, I'm not sure what people think when they hear my name, other than "coffee" and "her blog is all over the place." But that's okay -- I am all over the place. That's honestly who I am. Get me another cup of coffee.)
2. Don't assume that your first book will be the one you've already written.
I remember when I was first talking with a book editor. I pitched ideas to her and her response -- eminently more polite, but here's the essence -- was "Yeah, yeah, those are nice, but we want a book on the Rosary. Do you have any interest in writing a book on the Rosary?" I did have an interest. I was thrilled to have the chance to write it. That was my first book.
Be open to ideas from editors. Be willing to abandon all your best ideas and try something else.
3. Don't forget that many of your words are expendable.
The end goal is always to create the best book possible. The most valuable lesson I've learned as a writer is: let editors do their job and make me a better writer. There's a reason they get paid to be editors. They're good at it.
When Mike Aquilina (editor of New Covenant magazine at the time) bought my conversion story, which was the first thing I ever sold, he emailed to say he'd had to cut it in half. (I'd cavalierly ignored their writers' guidelines and sent a piece that was far too long, so here's another piece of advice: don't do that. Not all editors are as nice as Mike was.) When I read the final version, I couldn't tell what he'd deleted. That's excellent editing, capable of correcting the rambling of a wordy woman.
I've always loved this passage from Annie Dillard's The Writing Life:
When I sent that passage to the above-mentioned friend, Atticus also reminded me of William Faulkner's advice that sometimes you have to "kill your darlings."
Writers should know and understand that there are times when it's worth standing firm to keep a particular passage or idea, but those moments are more rare than we writers want to admit.
4. Publishing is a more organic process than I thought.
Things change and grow: during the pitching process, in the midst of the writing, throughout the editing. Be willing to explore new directions.
And know that it takes time -- time, time, time -- before the final product is done and in the bookstores.
5. Don't use as many parentheses as I do.
Because (and this refers back to #3) the things you put in parentheses are often (not always, but often) things you can do without (even if you don't think so) and your writing (whether it's a blog post or a book) will be better off without it. (See?)
But, y'know, since I don't have my editor at my side when I'm blogging, you often (not always, but often) find too many parenthetical statements on my blog (sorry). That's just the way it ("it" referring to my general state of blog-being) is.
Since that post is a general reflection on how my faith life and writing are interwoven, I thought it would be fun to add a few more concrete, practical ideas here.
I was recently talking via email with a friend about writing, the publishing world, and books, and here's what I shared with her.
Things I've Learned in Retrospect
1. The importance of a platform.
Don't wait until the book contract is signed to establish a presence. Decide now who you are as a writer and what you want people to think of when they hear your name. Be honest and authentic about that. Create a website or blog that reflects your work, so that you have an online resume. Don't forget that Google+ and Twitter can offer great ways to get to know people, both readers and other writers.
I started my blog primarily to have that online resume, and hadn't considered the word "platform" until my first talk with a book editor. You can learn from my mistake.
(And, okay, to be honest here, I'm not sure what people think when they hear my name, other than "coffee" and "her blog is all over the place." But that's okay -- I am all over the place. That's honestly who I am. Get me another cup of coffee.)
2. Don't assume that your first book will be the one you've already written.
I remember when I was first talking with a book editor. I pitched ideas to her and her response -- eminently more polite, but here's the essence -- was "Yeah, yeah, those are nice, but we want a book on the Rosary. Do you have any interest in writing a book on the Rosary?" I did have an interest. I was thrilled to have the chance to write it. That was my first book.
Be open to ideas from editors. Be willing to abandon all your best ideas and try something else.
3. Don't forget that many of your words are expendable.
The end goal is always to create the best book possible. The most valuable lesson I've learned as a writer is: let editors do their job and make me a better writer. There's a reason they get paid to be editors. They're good at it.
When Mike Aquilina (editor of New Covenant magazine at the time) bought my conversion story, which was the first thing I ever sold, he emailed to say he'd had to cut it in half. (I'd cavalierly ignored their writers' guidelines and sent a piece that was far too long, so here's another piece of advice: don't do that. Not all editors are as nice as Mike was.) When I read the final version, I couldn't tell what he'd deleted. That's excellent editing, capable of correcting the rambling of a wordy woman.
I've always loved this passage from Annie Dillard's The Writing Life:
The line of words is a hammer. You hammer against the wall of your house. You tap the walls, lightly, everywhere. After giving many years’ attention to these things, you know what to listen for. Some of the walls are bearing walls; they have to stay, or everything will fall down. Other walls can go with impunity; you can hear the difference. Unfortunately, it is often a bearing wall that has to go. It cannot be helped. There is only one solution, which appalls you, but there it is. Knock it out. Duck.
Courage utterly opposes the bold hope that this is such fine stuff the work needs it, or the world. Courage, exhausted, stands on bare reality; this writing weakens the work. You must demolish the work and start over. You can save some of the sentences, like bricks. It will be a miracle if you can save some of the paragraphs, no matter how how excellent in themselves or hard-won. You can waste a year worrying about it, or you can get it over with now. (Are you a woman, or a mouse?)
The part you must jettison is not only the best-written part; it is also, oddly, that part which was to have been the very point. It is the original key passage, the passage on which the rest was to hang, and from which you yourself drew the courage to begin.
When I sent that passage to the above-mentioned friend, Atticus also reminded me of William Faulkner's advice that sometimes you have to "kill your darlings."
Writers should know and understand that there are times when it's worth standing firm to keep a particular passage or idea, but those moments are more rare than we writers want to admit.
4. Publishing is a more organic process than I thought.
Things change and grow: during the pitching process, in the midst of the writing, throughout the editing. Be willing to explore new directions.
And know that it takes time -- time, time, time -- before the final product is done and in the bookstores.
5. Don't use as many parentheses as I do.
Because (and this refers back to #3) the things you put in parentheses are often (not always, but often) things you can do without (even if you don't think so) and your writing (whether it's a blog post or a book) will be better off without it. (See?)
But, y'know, since I don't have my editor at my side when I'm blogging, you often (not always, but often) find too many parenthetical statements on my blog (sorry). That's just the way it ("it" referring to my general state of blog-being) is.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Stretching Myself As a Mom
You know how in my last post I talked about following the Church because I love and follow Jesus? Well, in a similar vein, I embrace certain Mom-ish behaviors, such as trying to decorate birthday cakes, purely because I love my children so dearly, not because I dream at night of finding the perfect cake decorating tip.
Ramona wanted a Webkinz cake. The Rainbow Armadillo Webkinz. On her cake. Uh-huh. That's right.
So, I tried:
If you're a legitimate cake-decorating-type, please excuse me. Don't examine the saggy borders and the crooked smile and the less-than-perfect consistency of the other accents.
You see, I thought "Mommy, I want chocolate cake with chocolate icing" meant, "Mommy, I want chocolate cake with chocolate icing" not, "Mommy, I'm going to ask at the last minute that you also furnish yellow, pink, purple and a dab of red icing for the mouth." But she was so earnest that I couldn't say no. Would you?
Happy birthday, Ramona!
Ramona wanted a Webkinz cake. The Rainbow Armadillo Webkinz. On her cake. Uh-huh. That's right.
So, I tried:
If you're a legitimate cake-decorating-type, please excuse me. Don't examine the saggy borders and the crooked smile and the less-than-perfect consistency of the other accents.
You see, I thought "Mommy, I want chocolate cake with chocolate icing" meant, "Mommy, I want chocolate cake with chocolate icing" not, "Mommy, I'm going to ask at the last minute that you also furnish yellow, pink, purple and a dab of red icing for the mouth." But she was so earnest that I couldn't say no. Would you?
Happy birthday, Ramona!
Talking About the Rules Doesn't Usually Work
The Catherine of Siena Institute knows that. I read their blog, Intentional Disciples, when I can, and they're spot on, giving voice to so many of the ideas I've batted around since I became a Catholic.
I didn't join the Catholic Church because she won the contest in the "Best Rules and Regulations in an Institution" category. I didn't submit because I was eager to give up birth control. I didn't rush to the front steps of my local parish because I thought that if I checked off all the right boxes I would be admitted to Heaven with a perfect score.
I was received into the Catholic Church because when I searched for the meaning of life, I found Jesus.
When I found Jesus, I wanted to follow Him.
When I followed Him, He led me -- not without protest, I might add -- to the Catholic Church.
I submitted to the Church because I believe it speaks for Him. That's why I accept it. Out of love for Jesus.
That's not to say that I didn't have intellectual curiosity. I did. I've written about the intellectual arguments that I needed to address (though I'd love to write about that in more detail.) I had common sense questions and I was looking for common sense answers. But it always came back to a relationship.
But where else would they go? Where else would I go? This is the best answer I'ver found. Ever. Anywhere. And, as C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity:
When we Catholics talk to the world about our rules, we're often scoffed at. If we were to say we follow those rules out of a fear of hell, we'd not be taken very seriously, and rightly so.
It's like a marriage: if you asked a man why he was faithful to his wife and the only answer he could give was, "Because I'm afraid of getting caught if I cheat," you'd find him severely lacking in love. If, on the other hand, he shook his head in disbelief, gave you a look that said you were insane, and replied, "How can you ask that? I'm faithful to her because I love her! Is it always easy? Do my eyes ever stray? Am I perfect? Of course not. But I love her. Everything else flows from there. Love makes the relationship worth the work."
And so it is with Jesus and His Church. My spiritual director recently shared this quote, from Fr. Cantalamessa, with me, and it sums up what I've believed since I said yes to Catholicism:
(And, um, can you imagine preaching to the Pope?)
I'll close today with a final quote, this one found at Intentional Disciples:
I don't consider myself a holy person, but I do consider this every day: the name upon which I feed, the Person who transports me, the transfiguration I need is found in Jesus.
I didn't join the Catholic Church because she won the contest in the "Best Rules and Regulations in an Institution" category. I didn't submit because I was eager to give up birth control. I didn't rush to the front steps of my local parish because I thought that if I checked off all the right boxes I would be admitted to Heaven with a perfect score.
I was received into the Catholic Church because when I searched for the meaning of life, I found Jesus.
When I found Jesus, I wanted to follow Him.
When I followed Him, He led me -- not without protest, I might add -- to the Catholic Church.
I submitted to the Church because I believe it speaks for Him. That's why I accept it. Out of love for Jesus.
That's not to say that I didn't have intellectual curiosity. I did. I've written about the intellectual arguments that I needed to address (though I'd love to write about that in more detail.) I had common sense questions and I was looking for common sense answers. But it always came back to a relationship.
"To whom shall we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life." St. Peter said that (Jn 6:68) when Jesus asked (after His disciples heard the particularly hard teaching about eating His flesh and drinking His blood) if they, too, would turn their backs on Him.
But where else would they go? Where else would I go? This is the best answer I'ver found. Ever. Anywhere. And, as C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity:
Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods “where they get off,” you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith.
When we Catholics talk to the world about our rules, we're often scoffed at. If we were to say we follow those rules out of a fear of hell, we'd not be taken very seriously, and rightly so.
It's like a marriage: if you asked a man why he was faithful to his wife and the only answer he could give was, "Because I'm afraid of getting caught if I cheat," you'd find him severely lacking in love. If, on the other hand, he shook his head in disbelief, gave you a look that said you were insane, and replied, "How can you ask that? I'm faithful to her because I love her! Is it always easy? Do my eyes ever stray? Am I perfect? Of course not. But I love her. Everything else flows from there. Love makes the relationship worth the work."
And so it is with Jesus and His Church. My spiritual director recently shared this quote, from Fr. Cantalamessa, with me, and it sums up what I've believed since I said yes to Catholicism:
If Christianity, as so often and so rightly has been said, is not primarily a doctrine but a person, Jesus Christ, it follows that the proclamation of this person and of one's relationship with him is the most important thing, the beginning of all true evangelization and the very condition for making such a thing possible. To reverse this order and put the doctrines and obligations of the Gospel before the discovery of Jesus would be like putting the carriages in front of the railway engine that is supposed to pull them.
... Insisting on the importance of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ is not a sign of subjectivism or emotionalism but the translation, on to the spiritual and pastoral plane, of a dogma central to our faith: that Jesus Christ is ‘a person.’ ~~ Fr. Cantalamessa
(And, um, can you imagine preaching to the Pope?)
I'll close today with a final quote, this one found at Intentional Disciples:
"To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living."
~~ Blessed John Henry Newman
I don't consider myself a holy person, but I do consider this every day: the name upon which I feed, the Person who transports me, the transfiguration I need is found in Jesus.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Poetry Friday: An Atticus Richard Wilbur Pick
Naturally I approve.
This week's poem is a suggestion from Atticus, Wilbur's "Mind." One might draw compelling conclusions from this short poem about either the mind of Wilbur, the mind of Atticus, or the mind of the woman who loves that she can put these two men together in a sentence.
Mind
Mind in its purest play is like some bat
That beats about in caverns all alone,
Contriving by a kind of senseless wit
Not to conclude against a wall of stone.
It has no need to falter or explore;
Darkly it knows what obstacles are there,
(Read the whole poem here. Hoping that link works for you -- tough to find a legitimate link to this one online, so I'm trying to direct you to a page from Collected poems, 1943-2004 at Google Books.)
Updated: The link isn't taking you directly to the poem but if you do a search there for Mind, you'll find a link to the poem on page 314.
Tabatha Yeatts has the round up today.
Feast of St. Mary Magdelene
Today is the feast of my beloved Confirmation saint, the penitent, Mary Magdelene.
Happy feast day ... happy fault ... happy to be Catholic.
Thanks, St. Mary Magdelene, for your intercession over the years.
(Painting: The Magdelen Reading, Rogier van der Weyden, from the National Gallery)
Happy feast day ... happy fault ... happy to be Catholic.
Thanks, St. Mary Magdelene, for your intercession over the years.
(Painting: The Magdelen Reading, Rogier van der Weyden, from the National Gallery)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Book Talk
Nothing makes me happier than friends who recommend books.
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette is the third book in the Penderwicks series. We were every bit as charmed by this one as we were by the others. Thanks to Lissa for first introducing us several years ago to Rosalind, Skye, Jane, Batty, their sweet dad, their friend Jeffrey, and assorted pets and pals.
I don't want to say much so as not to ruin this one for you but suffice to say that we still love these little women.
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes From My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg was recommended by my friend Danae and it was not only delightful but made me think -- repeatedly -- "Delicious! And that sounds delicious!" One delicious story after another -- cozy, funny, sad, real -- followed by recipes that come from this woman's heart and core. And, given how many real life friends I have made through my blog, I have to mention the fact that she met her husband through her blog. You just never know what will pop up in your Inbox and how it might change your life.
This one is going on my cookbook shelf, if only for the "Winning Hearts and Minds Chocolate Cake" recipe -- but really, no, not just for that. Also for the cabbage salad, the radishes, the glazed cupcakes, the .... you get the idea.
Wizenberg also blogs at Orangette, and has a great index of recipes there.
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette is the third book in the Penderwicks series. We were every bit as charmed by this one as we were by the others. Thanks to Lissa for first introducing us several years ago to Rosalind, Skye, Jane, Batty, their sweet dad, their friend Jeffrey, and assorted pets and pals.
I don't want to say much so as not to ruin this one for you but suffice to say that we still love these little women.
This one is going on my cookbook shelf, if only for the "Winning Hearts and Minds Chocolate Cake" recipe -- but really, no, not just for that. Also for the cabbage salad, the radishes, the glazed cupcakes, the .... you get the idea.
Wizenberg also blogs at Orangette, and has a great index of recipes there.
On the Son Rise Morning Show tomorrow
(Margaret, here's your heads-up):
I'll be on the Son Rise Morning Show tomorrow, July 22, at 7:10 a.m. central time. We'll be talking about faith and doubt.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Splurging on Purging
Yesterday I was getting caught up on some housecleaning and a closet (you know which one you are, mister, and you're not pretty) needed attention.
When I'm in full tilt declutter mode, my kids know they'd better stay out of my path or they might end up on the curb, along with the broken Kim Possible umbrella and the coffeemaker that hasn't worked since 2009. I don't exactly drool over the notion of this kind of cleaning, but I have to admit that when it's over, I feel mighty satisfied.
"She's splurging again," Ramona said.
"What?" I asked, pushing the pause button on my cyclonic activity for just a moment.
"You're splurging," she said, with a knowing nod.
"You mean purging? Purging is getting rid of stuff. Splurging is indulging in something."
"Well. Yeah. Same thing," she said.
Smart girl.
When I'm in full tilt declutter mode, my kids know they'd better stay out of my path or they might end up on the curb, along with the broken Kim Possible umbrella and the coffeemaker that hasn't worked since 2009. I don't exactly drool over the notion of this kind of cleaning, but I have to admit that when it's over, I feel mighty satisfied.
"She's splurging again," Ramona said.
"What?" I asked, pushing the pause button on my cyclonic activity for just a moment.
"You're splurging," she said, with a knowing nod.
"You mean purging? Purging is getting rid of stuff. Splurging is indulging in something."
"Well. Yeah. Same thing," she said.
Smart girl.
Monday, July 18, 2011
On Relevant Radio this morning
... at 8 a.m.
I'll be talking with Sean Herriott about summertime with the kids, and Harry Potter.
(Updated to note: Here's a post from 2007, in which I talked a little more extensively about our take on all things Potter.)
I'll be talking with Sean Herriott about summertime with the kids, and Harry Potter.
(Updated to note: Here's a post from 2007, in which I talked a little more extensively about our take on all things Potter.)
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Love him. end of message.
Telegram to self:
Matt Maher ... stop ... concert last night ... stop ... music, Jesus ... stop ... energizing, uplifting, prayerful, touching, foot-stomping show ... stop ... didn't want it to ... stop.
Happy daughters here this morning. It's the second time they've seen him in as many months. Last night they got to talk to the entire band, got another autograph and had the chance to tell him they're praying every night for his due-in-three-and-a-half-weeks baby. What a great guy, and what a great show he puts on.
(from his YouTube channel):
(P.S. I've just been corrected. Betsy said they met the whole band, except the drummer. Bummer.)
Matt Maher ... stop ... concert last night ... stop ... music, Jesus ... stop ... energizing, uplifting, prayerful, touching, foot-stomping show ... stop ... didn't want it to ... stop.
****************
Happy daughters here this morning. It's the second time they've seen him in as many months. Last night they got to talk to the entire band, got another autograph and had the chance to tell him they're praying every night for his due-in-three-and-a-half-weeks baby. What a great guy, and what a great show he puts on.
(from his YouTube channel):
(P.S. I've just been corrected. Betsy said they met the whole band, except the drummer. Bummer.)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Where did my week go?!
That's an excellent question. I'm so glad you asked. I'm not sure I have the answer but I'll try to create a reasonable facsimile of one.
First of all, in the last week or two, we've been to the eye doctor roughly five times. It feels more like eleventy-seven, but I think it's just five. The combination of eye exams for three of us, eye rolling at the vision insurance stipulations, and the choosing of new frames for Betsy and new (bifocal!) contacts for me has consumed what seems like huge chunks of time. So, there's that.
Preparing for the release of the final Harry Potter movie is also time consuming, but worth the eleventy-seven hours it takes. Costumes, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties .... all immensely more fun than talking to an insurance company about why they don't think that growing children need new glasses frames more than every two years.
Horseback riding, E.T. on the big screen at a local theater, library visits, planning ahead for two birthdays (Ramona will be nine! Atticus will be as old as dirt!), having teens over to work on the musical our girls and their friends are writing, playdates for Ramona, writingish, workish stuff for me, a class on the American Revolution for Atticus ... it's all good stuff.
And on top of all this, I've discovered Google+ ... have you discovered Google+? If you haven't, but you'd like an invite, let me know and I'll send you one. I may be falling helplessly in love with Google+ and ... ummm, well, I hate to tell you this Facebook ... but I've met someone new. He's smooth, he's intuitive, he's easy to get along with, charming, clean and organized, and he respects my privacy. I think he may be the one.
Check out Lissa's ongoing tutorial about Google+ at GeekMom.
First of all, in the last week or two, we've been to the eye doctor roughly five times. It feels more like eleventy-seven, but I think it's just five. The combination of eye exams for three of us, eye rolling at the vision insurance stipulations, and the choosing of new frames for Betsy and new (bifocal!) contacts for me has consumed what seems like huge chunks of time. So, there's that.
Preparing for the release of the final Harry Potter movie is also time consuming, but worth the eleventy-seven hours it takes. Costumes, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties .... all immensely more fun than talking to an insurance company about why they don't think that growing children need new glasses frames more than every two years.
 |
| Ribbit ... ribbit .... |
Horseback riding, E.T. on the big screen at a local theater, library visits, planning ahead for two birthdays (Ramona will be nine! Atticus will be as old as dirt!), having teens over to work on the musical our girls and their friends are writing, playdates for Ramona, writingish, workish stuff for me, a class on the American Revolution for Atticus ... it's all good stuff.
*****
And on top of all this, I've discovered Google+ ... have you discovered Google+? If you haven't, but you'd like an invite, let me know and I'll send you one. I may be falling helplessly in love with Google+ and ... ummm, well, I hate to tell you this Facebook ... but I've met someone new. He's smooth, he's intuitive, he's easy to get along with, charming, clean and organized, and he respects my privacy. I think he may be the one.
Check out Lissa's ongoing tutorial about Google+ at GeekMom.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Yes, Roger Ebert, Yes!
(Or, as Atticus just said I should title this post: "Someone is Right on the Internet!")
On a {shudder} dumbed-down version of The Great Gatsby (and I honestly can barely bring myself to share the fact that someone has done this), Ebert says:
If you read to the end of Ebert's piece, I'm sure that, like me, you'll check "Words fail me" on his multiple choice quiz.
I'm going to go beat my head against a wall now, in order to banish from my consciousness the rewritten ending, which includes -- I'm not kidding -- these words:
P.S.
Anne-with-an-e is now joining in the fun, adding, "See Jay mope. Mope, mope, mope ...." We have to laugh, you see, so that we don't weep well into the night.
(Caveat to younger readers regarding clicking through to Ebert -- some mature language near the end of the piece.)
On a {shudder} dumbed-down version of The Great Gatsby (and I honestly can barely bring myself to share the fact that someone has done this), Ebert says:
The first is: There is no purpose in "reading" The Great Gatsby unless you actually read it. Fitzgerald's novel is not about a story. It is about how the story is told. Its poetry, its message, its evocation of Gatsby's lost American dream, is expressed in Fitzgerald's style--in the precise words he chose to write what some consider the great American novel. Unless you have read them, you have not read the book at all. You have been imprisoned in an educational system that cheats and insults you by inflicting a barbaric dumbing-down process. You are left with the impression of having read a book, and may never feel you need return for a closer look.
If you read to the end of Ebert's piece, I'm sure that, like me, you'll check "Words fail me" on his multiple choice quiz.
I'm going to go beat my head against a wall now, in order to banish from my consciousness the rewritten ending, which includes -- I'm not kidding -- these words:
Some unpleasant people became part of Gatsby's dream. But he cannot be blamed for that. Gatsby was a success, in the end, wasn't he?Some unpleasant abridged versions of books have crept into my line of vision but I can't be blamed for that, can I? In the end, I'm still free to run screaming from the room.
P.S.
Anne-with-an-e is now joining in the fun, adding, "See Jay mope. Mope, mope, mope ...." We have to laugh, you see, so that we don't weep well into the night.
(Caveat to younger readers regarding clicking through to Ebert -- some mature language near the end of the piece.)
Friday, July 08, 2011
Poetry Friday: Essential
I am either an essentially happy person marred by a wide streak of melancholy, or I am essentially a melancholic capable of ridiculous happiness.
I haven't quite decided.
What I have decided is this: this line from Beverly Rollwagen's poem, Essential -- "There is value in the thread of sadness in each person." -- is true.
Happiness is, of course, a good thing. One of my favorite poems is Jane Kenyon's Happiness (although that fact that I would illustrate my thoughts on happiness with a poem written by a woman who struggled with depression all her life might just answer my initial question at the top of this post.)
At any rate, what I love about this poem is the way it points to something so solid and human in each and every one of us -- our longing for goodness, for happiness. Our sorrow at loss of every kind, and the dignity of that sorrow, because it points to something greater. Our yearning for something beyond this world, the thing that will engulf us, finally, in true and eternal happiness, that will take that long note of sadness mentioned at the end of the poem and transform it into a crashing and rapturous symphony.
Essential
by Beverly Rollwagen
She just wants to keep her essential
sorrow. Everyone wants her to
be happy all the time, but she doesn't
want that for them. There is value in
the thread of sadness in each person.
The sobbing child on an airplane, the
(Read the rest here, at The Writer's Almanac.)
The Poetry Friday round up is at Wild Rose Reader.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
What We've Been Doing
Saturday night: Big, noisy, community fireworks show. Big, traumatized dog.
Sunday night: Slumber party for Betsy, who recently turned 15 (They called it "The Feet Fifteen" party -- lots of toenails were painted.) Playtime for little girls while the teens were off being teenish. Lots of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. (That's my girl, Betsy.)
Monday night: Sat around a fire pit in friends' yard while kids made s'mores, played Ninja, or lolled in grass and talked. Went home to a big, noisy neighborhood. Big, traumatized dog. Watched Next Food Network Star. Betsy drew this on the whiteboard in the kitchen:
Tuesday: Finished reading Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis. Loved it -- loved the holy and noble Fr. Roche, loved the ending, loved having a good cry.
Wednesday: Traumatized dog still doesn't want to go out for walks. I know a lot of people love shooting off fireworks all week long as a prelude to the Fourth of July, but I'm thinking of moving to a state that has made them illegal. Moving, however, would lead to big, traumatized children. So I'm striking that idea.
Sunday night: Slumber party for Betsy, who recently turned 15 (They called it "The Feet Fifteen" party -- lots of toenails were painted.) Playtime for little girls while the teens were off being teenish. Lots of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. (That's my girl, Betsy.)
Monday night: Sat around a fire pit in friends' yard while kids made s'mores, played Ninja, or lolled in grass and talked. Went home to a big, noisy neighborhood. Big, traumatized dog. Watched Next Food Network Star. Betsy drew this on the whiteboard in the kitchen:
Tuesday: Finished reading Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis. Loved it -- loved the holy and noble Fr. Roche, loved the ending, loved having a good cry.
Wednesday: Traumatized dog still doesn't want to go out for walks. I know a lot of people love shooting off fireworks all week long as a prelude to the Fourth of July, but I'm thinking of moving to a state that has made them illegal. Moving, however, would lead to big, traumatized children. So I'm striking that idea.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Catching Up After "Camping" and Poetry Friday on a Saturday
I missed Poetry Friday yesterday, but do go check it out at A Wrung Sponge. Lots of great links there. And I'll be hosting Poetry Friday here on August 12th.
~~~~~
The reason I missed Poetry Friday is that we were "camping." I first wrote about why "camping" is in quotes here. We visited the same state park, enjoyed the same lovely views and s'mores (well, not exactly the same s'mores from four years ago ... that'd be disgusting), the same wildlife, plus some (bald eagles, a badger), and the same heavenly peace.
We did not enjoy the ticks, which were everywhere, including on my pillow at 6:30 in the morning (thank you, Ramona, for thinking it was time to get up that day -- thanks to you and my prayers for Tick Protection, that little guy ended his life in a toilet instead of feasting on me.)
We're home, laundry has been done (funny how quickly a mom can move from "I love being away from home with no laundry to do!" to "All! This! Laundry!"), and here is Ramona's latest thought on "camping." Our first night around the campfire, she wrote in her notebook:
Trees - A Poem
Trees are tall, short, any kind
of height, really. Scraggly, neat,
trees are always imperfect.
I just thought I would reflect
on that at this lovely campsite.
It, too, imperfect with juniper bushes.
That's all I have to say.
We did not enjoy the ticks, which were everywhere, including on my pillow at 6:30 in the morning (thank you, Ramona, for thinking it was time to get up that day -- thanks to you and my prayers for Tick Protection, that little guy ended his life in a toilet instead of feasting on me.)
We're home, laundry has been done (funny how quickly a mom can move from "I love being away from home with no laundry to do!" to "All! This! Laundry!"), and here is Ramona's latest thought on "camping." Our first night around the campfire, she wrote in her notebook:
Trees - A Poem
Trees are tall, short, any kind
of height, really. Scraggly, neat,
trees are always imperfect.
I just thought I would reflect
on that at this lovely campsite.
It, too, imperfect with juniper bushes.
That's all I have to say.
If you happened to view my Blogger profile recently ...
... you may have been confused to read this:
I'm home-sweet-home-schooled, I love the color pink, and just a few of my favorite books are: Harry Potter 1& 2 ... still have 93 pages left in the second book, but so far I love. it. I hope you enjoyed your stay!
Apparently, this is what happens when you allow your eight-year-old to start her own private blog, which is under the umbrella of your blog's dashboard. Then, when your eight-year-old edits her profile, she accidentally edits your profile.
I also like pink, and I also enjoyed the Harry Potter books. But I was not home-sweet-homeschooled.
I did, however, enjoy my stay at Ramona's blog.
I'm home-sweet-home-schooled, I love the color pink, and just a few of my favorite books are: Harry Potter 1& 2 ... still have 93 pages left in the second book, but so far I love. it. I hope you enjoyed your stay!
Apparently, this is what happens when you allow your eight-year-old to start her own private blog, which is under the umbrella of your blog's dashboard. Then, when your eight-year-old edits her profile, she accidentally edits your profile.
I also like pink, and I also enjoyed the Harry Potter books. But I was not home-sweet-homeschooled.
I did, however, enjoy my stay at Ramona's blog.
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