I am...

Apparently, it is quite difficult to force oneself inside on beautiful, warm, sunny days.  My computer lies untouched and neglected while I sit outside or visit with friends.  I know what some of your are thinking, "but, don't you have a laptop?"  Yes, yes I do.  However, have you ever tried to type on a laptop in the sun for an extended period of time?  My eyes do not appreciate exerting that much effort for something that should come naturally to them.  That being said, I do have an entire notebook full of  'great' poetry and prose that can be shared in the near future.  (If I can actually force myself inside long enough to type it up.)

In the interim, here is one for today:

I am...

...woman both gentle and bold

...a heart emitting love even through emptiness

...a hand held out when a step is too high to climb

...a smile sharing sunshine when the wind is cold

...the power of seeing the world through clear eyes

...made into the image of God

...Eve who comforted Adam

...Mary who refused to deny Jesus

...Sacajawea who guided explorers

...Clara who healed the fallen

...Harriet who laid the path to freedom

...Elinor who guided a country through despair

We are woman, both gentle and bold

You Say Geek Like It's a Bad Thing...

      I accepted my inner geek years ago--sometime between falling in love with Hans Solo in 2nd grade, and staying up all night to finish reading the last Harry Potter book the day it was released.  So, I have no problem admitting that I love literature--every part of it.  I love words.  I love looking up their synonyms in the thesaurus.  I love reading about their etymology and studying their connotations in different cultures.  I even love the word connotation, but not so much the word synonym, mostly because it's rather hard to spell.

     I even love grammar, though it can sometimes be a fickle and inconsistent friend.  If you say something incorrectly, I will correct you.  Don't take it personally, I do it to everyone.  It's an automatic reaction, like yelling out when I stub my toe.  I mean no harm.  However, if you correct me, I will deny ever having said whatever it is you thought you heard.
     Are you a word-addict like I am?  Do you commonly spend nights awake in bed because you just can't put down the book you decided to start reading at 9PM (just one more chapter and then I'll go to bed, promise)?  Well, if you are, here are some books, websites, and blogs to geek out about.

Books:
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson - This book is an insightful and entertaining investigation into how the English language has formed, altered, grown, and become the language it is today.  Bryson is a hilarious and honest writer who makes you look at something you thought you knew as if it is something else entirely.

The Great Typo Hunt by Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson - These two friends have traveled the United States armed with a permanent marker in order to free us all from our Typo Prison.  The book is full of pictures and stories of typos that they found on everything from restaurant menus to church signs, and they made sure to dot all the i's.

Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt - There are not many facts known about the great writer William Shakespeare, but if anyone can stir up a bit of truth within all the myths, my vote would go to Mr. Greenblatt.  This books is full of what may or may not have been the life of Shakespeare, that is, if Shakespeare existed at all.

Websites/Blogs:


www.bookglutton.com/ - What's better than access to hundreds of public domain novels?  Um, nothing! Plus, this website allows you to have discussions with people via the internet.  Book clubs will never be the same.

www.savethewords.org/ - If you don't visit this website, these words may die.  No, seriously.

www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet - If you love poetry, check this one out.  I promise you will love it.


       

     

If you have any good one's to add, please share!!

What's a Classic?

Today, a friend mentioned to me that she would be using this summer to catch up on her reading of The Classics, and that got me thinking about too things.

1. What exactly makes something a classic?  AND
2. What books would be on my reading list?

According to Mssrs. Merriam and Webster, a classic is defined as, "a work of enduring excellence".  So essentially, any book that is both good and old would be a classic?  Something tells me that it's more complex than that.

At what age can a book join the Classics party?
I'd say that at the minimum a book needs to span more than one generation in order to be considered to have endured.  Since the average length of a generation is about 25 years, I'm going to say that any book on my list must be over 25 years old, so that means only books published before 1986 can be considered.

What determines excellence?  
Now this discussion could undoubtedly go on for hours, but to make things more simple, I'm going to say that in order for a book to be considered to have excellence it must have both universality and complexity.

Universality - It speaks to people over different times and places in history because it reaches towards something truthful within humanity that can be understood beyond its own social or cultural context.

Concrete Evidence of Universality: Movie portrayals, modern rewrites, other media or movements inspired by this writing.

Complexity - Something about the book must be creative, intelligent, or inventive.  It could be the writing style, the subject matter, the theme, the narrative voice, or really anything that shows the authors ingenuity.
Concrete Evidence of Complexity- Varying scholarly interpretation, intellectual debates (presently or at its implementation), the creation of a new genre, dialogue, or topic of study


My List (ever growing, ever changing)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Dracula - Bram Stoker (As soon as I get over my fear of vampires.)
I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess (I will try again!)
The House of Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne (I think he's a genius writer.)
The Illiad - Homer
The Odyssey - Homer
Lord of the Ring Trilogy - JRR Tolkien (I know, I should have read them already.)
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

What books would make your Summer of Classics reading list??

Sail We Must

We must sail sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it -- but sail we must, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.   

--Oliver Wendell Holmes

I keep this quote in mind today, while fighting through my writer's block.  If I just keep moving forward, I know there will be gems that surface along the way.  I know he is speaking of life in general, but I like thinking of writing as a sailboat ride through the ocean.  Sometimes, the water is calm and easy going with the sun shining at you from above and below, and sometimes you have to fight a tempest just to make it out alive.  What a journey!

Searching for Truth

I have always found my greatest moments of inspiration during the hardest parts of my life.  I've had for the most part a very blessed life, so I don't mean great moments of despair, but sometimes just the simple ups and downs of an average life.   Looking backwards, my writing seems to explode in times of transition: bad break-ups, deaths/illnesses of loved ones, living in a foreign country, my parent's divorce.  In these moments, life seems somehow more raw, more real, and I can find comfort in the predictability of my own imagination, when the rest of the world seems completely out of my control.

In this sense, writing is a personal experience.  The characters and topics are solely of my creation and imagination; therefore, they are predictable and comforting for me.  While the rest of life spins rapidly without much of my say, the stories and situations I create through writing are mine.  For a little time, I own them and they in return own a little of me.   That is, of course, until I share them, because at that moment they also become a little of you.

It is this interaction of reader and writer, I believe, that gives us the opportunity to realize not only that we are a small part of something so much larger, but also that we are all in this together.  That deep inner connectedness of humanity is what I try desperately to express in all my writing.  The story, the plot, the words, they don't mean nearly as much to me as a writer compared to the emotional inspiration that the reader walks away with after reading.   A great poem should leave you in contemplation, or a great story should make you question something you previously believed to be true.  In this way, writing is an intellectual conversation.

It has been said that to be a true artist you must have a tortured soul, and I think that is accurate, but not necessarily in the way we assume.  We assume a tortured soul is someone who is damaged or tormented by life, but I see it instead as someone whose being is constantly fighting adversity in order to obtain a bit of truth.  Much like climbing a mountain may leave you with scrapes and cuts, searching for human understanding can leave your soul feeling much the same way.

A truly talented and great artist sees the world in a way that no one else can see it, their soul is ever searching for a truth which is impossible to either grasp or identify.  Writing is a personal experience, an intellectual conversation, and an internal struggle.  The writer embraces the suffering, the ecstasy, the inequality, the courage, and the idiosyncrasies of humanity, so that we as readers can experience the world through the eyes of another, which sometimes can see more clearly than our own.   I think that the true goal of any writer, or artist is to find truth hiding in plan sight.

The great ones (Poe, Hemingway, Austen, Morrison, etc) actually find it.




A Dream Within A Dream
Edgar Allen Poe (possibly my favorite 'tortured' soul)

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow--

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand--

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep--while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

Poe is a truly amazing poet.  If you like this one, which I'm sure many of you have already read, please check out some of his others: Annabel Lee,  Sonnet-To Science, The Raven.  Also, if you haven't read The Tell-Tale Heart, you must!!!

Rusty or Rested

Alright, so I'm back from a week long vacation and what I'm trying to figure out is if it improved my creativity or put it into hibernation.  In other words, did a full week of not thinking leave me with a week of stored creativity, or rusty from lack of use?  I suppose I'll have to give it a few days to figure out the results of my labors, and then I may know the answer.

On our trip we travelled through Alabama and Louisiana by both train and car.  I must say that many parts of those states are very beautiful, but their beauty is very much dampened by the foreclosure signs, and broken down houses which permeate the landscape in most of the small towns on our route.  The nostalgia fills the air like humidity, it's almost magical and makes you feel like if you stood there and closed your eyes, wishing really hard, you could whirl backwards into the good ol' days, which coincidentally really weren't that good either.  Yet, the people I met there had a sense of pride for their homes, and their towns, regardless of how much they've fallen apart, or failed to reach their true potential.  That kind of loyalty takes a special person.  Someone who loves life despite its pitfalls, and realizes that poverty isn't a word just used for someone who is lacking money, but someone who is lacking hope and spirit.  And in those last regards, they are wealthy.


...


He sits on the porch step
Of the house that he once slept in
Strumming the opening chords
For a song with lyrics he's forgotten
But he remembers that tune
Like it was only yesterday
Like they're all still sitting beside him
Humming along
The notes pop off the strings
Floating for a few blocks and then
Disappearing, melting into the treetops

Thomas Hardy-The Man He Killed

Today I am posting a poem that is not my own.  Thomas Hardy, with his poem 'The Man He Killed', makes us look at the casualties of war as the individual with a family, a life, and a hope for a future.  In light of all the anger that is erupting in Egypt right now, I felt the desire to read this poem today and thought I would share.

Hardy talks about how he and this man under peaceful circumstances may have shared a drink, or two, but because they are standing face to face in a war, they are enemies and one of them must go down.   He describes this man as if he is looking at himself across the battlefield, which begs us to ask the age old question: In war who are we destroying, the enemy, or ourselves?



The Man He Killed 
By Thomas Hardy


Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have set us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin*! 

But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place. 

I shot him dead because--
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough; although 

He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand like--just as I--
Was out of work--had sold his traps--
No other reason why. 

Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat, if met where any bar is,
Or help to half a crown.




*A nipperkin would have been similar to saying you were having a pint at the local pub, just a different glass size.

My 10 Favorite Book to Movie Adaptations

I am struggling with writing again today.  There is something about winter that freezes my creativity.  In the summer when I can go outside for a change of scenery, I have no problem getting inspired, but on days like today with the howling wind at my door and the threat of snowfall on every morning, I would much rather sit on my couch and watch my favorite movie.  Therefore, I've decided to dedicate this post to my 10 favorite book to movie adaptations.

Decision Process (from most important to least):

1. How much do I respect the book 
2. How much do I respect the movie 
3. How well does the movie represent the book 
4. If two books came out with an equal scoring, they were directly compared based on how much I like the book, because being a literature person, I always put books first

(As a note, a movie could only make this list if I had also read the book, or at least read enough of it to create an opinion.  Therefore, the absence of the Lord of the Rings Series, and the Bourne Series, are on purpose, even though I like the movies.)

10. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

     I honestly didn't have a lot of faith in this movie when I first heard that it was coming out.  It didn't sound believable that they could create an elegant and noble Aslan that didn't look completely ridiculous, but I'll admit that this adaptation is much better than I anticipated.  The book itself is quite childish in its writing, as C.S. Lewis was trying to reach a much younger audience than his friend Tolkien, but this movie was admittedly kind of epic.  I'd almost say (gasp) that Disney made this story quite a bit more exciting.

Book: 3    Movie: 3

9. Circle of Friends

     If this list was based solely on the movies, this one would rank much higher.  It must be that I can sympathize a bit with an Irish Catholic upbringing, although mine was not nearly as strict as poor Bernadette's, who cannot even go off to college on her own.  I adore Minnie Driver's portrayal of the main character and her sweet innocence.  The movie itself has beautiful views of Ireland and intricate character interaction, which are described in detail in the book, and are precisely why the book was so boring to read.

Book: 2    Movie: 4

8. The Notebook

     This is one of the most amazing books that I have ever read.  Nicolas Sparks completely captivates you into believing that you are the first person to ever read this notebook full of a love about two real people and their life together.  It's like you are sitting in your grandmother's attic and you just found a handwritten journal.  His writing is almost poetic in its descriptions of Noah's devotion for Allie.  The movie, although a wonderful Saturday night chick-flick, does not do the book sufficient justice.  The movie hollywoodizes a relationship that is very sincere and realistic in the book.

Book: 4   Movie: 2


7. Where the Heart Is

     When I went through the scoring up on top, I was actually surprised by how high I actually ended up ranking this movie.  The book itself was heartwarming and a great summertime read.  The movie is in much the same category.  Natalie Portman is wonderful, as always, and the story leaves you uplifted and happy.  Like any mainstream book, the movie adaptation is mostly accurate, but not perfect.

Book: 4   Movie: 3

6. James and the Giant Peach

     I loved this book growing up.  The idea that you could sail across the world in the pit of a giant peach with a spider, grasshopper, silkworm, ladybug and other insect companions was instantly mesmorizing.  The movie adaptation only worked because it was animated; it would be ridiculous to watch with real actors.  

Book: 4   Movie: 4

5. Sense and Sensibility

     I think that Jane Austen was a genius of her time.  Her humorous satire about the stupidity of modern society, and her mockery of most humans in general is something that I have always respected.  We all see the ridiculousness in our everyday lives, and Jane Austen makes fun of us all.  In Sense and Sensibility, she mocks the loudmouthed, gossiping neighbor who everyone tries to avoid except when the situation is advantageous for them (Mrs. Jennings), and the wealthy snob who really has no heart or soul at all, but assumes they are better than the world (Fanny Dashwood).  The movie adaptation is not entirely accurate with the book, which is why I didn't rank this higher, but I love Emma Thompson (who stars and wrote the screenplay) and Kate Winslet (who I knew as Marianne, before the world knew her as Rose), so in this case, I am quite forgiving.

Book: 5   Movie: 4


4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

     All of the Harry Potter book/movies could have been collectively on this list, but I chose this one in particular, because I think it is the best movie adaptation of its respective book.  It captures the plot, as well as the emotions and fear that are starting to surface in the series as the story progresses.  Gary Oldman is seriously sinister as Sirius Black without even having more than a few lines, and then just as believably he transforms into a loving uncle.  However, as in many movies, the book is just a little bit better.
Book: 5   Movie: 4

3. To Kill a Mockingbird

     Arguably, this is one of the best children's books of all time.  It captures the pain of injustice, misunderstanding, and ignorance through the trial of an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, in the deep south during the 1930s.  Atticus

Book: 5   Movie: 5

2. Jane Eyre

     The moment I read this book my senior year of high school, I fell in love.  It wasn't the romance that I enjoyed (since that only takes up about one eighth of the actual plot), it was the mystery and the Gothic imagery.  I was intrigued by the sinister Mr. Rochester, the mysterious laughter echoing the halls in the night, the screams that poured from the attic tower, and Jane's visions of her dead uncle in the red room.  They were all morbidly intriguing and yet, where I would have cowered in my bedroom, Jane searched for the answers to logically extinguish her fears.  Yes, in the end she does end up with the man, but he is no prince charming, and he is dependent upon her, rather than the other way around, which was a quite ambitious idea in 1847.  This movie adaptation has a nice mix of mystery and darkness, in order to keep it interesting.  It focuses a little bit more heavily on the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester than the book does, but that's to be expected when trying to reach a modern audience.

Book: 5   Movie: 5


1. Pride and Prejudice- BBC Version (Not that crappy one with Kierra Knightly)

     For anyone who knows me well, I don't think it will come as a surprise that this tops my list.  Reading this book is what solidified my choice of English as my major.  As previously stated, Jane Austen's satire is hilarious, if you actually take the time to look for the humor in each of her characters.  Mr. Bennet is my personal favorite, as he is constantly pointing out the folly in his neighbors, and quite frequently his ridiculous wife, but at the same time cannot see his own mistakes.  Also, Elizabeth Bennett is sarcastic, witty, and unforgiving, but also loyal.  (I could go on about Austin for a long time, but I'll save that for another post.)

     This movie is quite long (almost 6 hours), and I will admit that I usually am doing a million other things while I have it on the television.  I wish I had six hours of free time, but that doesn't usually happen.  However, this movie is almost perfect with its adaptation.  There will always be small decisions by cast and crew that will affect motivations of characters or interpretations of situations, but nearly every moment of the book's plot is present in this movie.  If you watched this movie and had a conversation with someone who read the book, they may not notice that you hadn't actually read it as well. 

     (Side Note: Six hours of Colin Firth doesn't hurt either)

Book: 5   Movie: 5

Perception

It has always intrigued me how people can see themselves so differently than how others see them.  When the woman sitting next to me at this coffee shop looks in the mirror, what does she see?  Is the image staring back at her, the same one that is now looking at me?

I see

A beautiful face filled with poise

A wrinkle--a story of laughter or love

A gray hair from a foe defeated or an obstacle met

A sparkling eye full of secrets that no one may ever discover

A novel of her life etched into her being

Does she only see,

A face

A wrinkle

A gray hair

and Secrets

I have seen so many friends go through bouts of self-doubt, when really they wouldn't be nearly as wonderful to me without their imperfections.  Love yourself, and if you can't, know that I love you, even if I don't know you yet.

I exist as I am, that is enough, If no other in the world be aware, I sit content, And if each and all be aware, I sit content. - Walt Whitman 

Begin at the Beginning

A clean piece of paper is one of the most refreshing things in the world.  It symbolizes endless possibility.  There are no forgotten promises, heartbreaking regrets or unforgivable mistakes.  A blank piece of paper has so much potential to become whatever it may.  The next great American, French or Russian novel, the details don’t matter.  Any piece of paper could be an opening page to something great. 

Here are some of my favorite beginnings:

"SUFFOCATE HER!" the midwife told my mother when I came into the world."

(When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, LeLy Hayslip)

"First the colors. Then the humans. That's usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try." 

(The Book Thief, Markus Zusak)

"They're out there." 

(One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey)

"Come, said my Soul, such verses for my Body let us write, (for we are one)" 

(Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman)

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." 

(Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin) 

Each of these pieces of literature is honored and cherished in its own right, but as a reader, I'll put down a book if I'm not intrigued from the start.  The first parts of a book are the introduction to a world created and dictated by the author, and if they cannot give it light, then there is nothing for me to see.

Fear and Loathing in Love Poems

So, I'll admit it; I hate love poems.  I find them to usually be forced and painful to read, yet, there are some that I can appreciate for the beauty of their verse.  Take Mrs. Barrett Browning's How Do I Love Thee as a precious example of the expression of love through poetry.  If you haven't read it, please do so by clicking on the title above.

I personally find it quite difficult to embrace my inner romantic in order to write a love poem that can actually capture the emotion, without causing a little bit of my lunch to rise back up into my throat.  Don't get me wrong, I love my husband dearly, but I find that love is a much more multi-dimensional emotion than even Mrs. Browning can express, and I think she is probably a much better poet than I am.  Love is all the warm fuzzy feelings we get, but it is also the daily ups and downs.  It is the fights over who was supposed to start the load of laundry, and the shared moments of quiet understanding.  It is this chaotic tranquility that defines love, and the cynic in me finds most love poems far too flowery to portray this emotion accurately.

I am human though, and can be as hypocritical as the next person, so of course, I do have a favorite love poem.  As in most things, I think the Bard says it best.

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.