A Writer's Moment: 'The tools to write'

A Writer's Moment: 'The tools to write':   “We all have tools to write (everyone has a brain I hope!), but that doesn't all of a sudden make us best selling authors.”  – Ken Hil...

'The tools to write'

 

“We all have tools to write (everyone has a brain I hope!), but that doesn't all of a sudden make us best selling authors.” – Ken Hill

 

Born in England on this date in 1937, Hill was an acclaimed theater producer and director, primarily on the stages at Theatre Royal Stratford East and London’s West End.  Among his many hits were The Invisible Man and the original stage version of The Phantom of the Opera, which inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber to create his own musical blockbuster.

 

Hill’s stock-in-trade was musical adventure stories, including Zorro, The Musical.  Hill died of cancer at age 57 and part of his lasting legacy was the establishment of a memorial trust to help nurture new writing talent for theater.  The trust also gives the annual “Ken Hill Awards” for Best New Musical and to support new playwrights with writing and producing their work.

 

An investigative journalist before he started writing for theater, Hill also was a gifted composer and said that composers, like authors, have a lot in common with the people for whom they are writing.  

“The prime goal of an author," Hill said, "is the same as a musician, which is to emotionally connect with the reader in some way or another.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Expressing the inexpressible'

A Writer's Moment: 'Expressing the inexpressible':   “Our job as writers, as far as I can tell, is to attempt to express what seems inexpressible.”  – Nick Flynn   Born in Scituate, Massa...

'Expressing the inexpressible'

 

“Our job as writers, as far as I can tell, is to attempt to express what seems inexpressible.” – Nick Flynn

 

Born in Scituate, Massachusetts on this date in 1960, Flynn is best known for a trilogy of memoirs about his relationships, especially with his parents, and for his 6 collections of poetry.   He also is the subject of a hit movie Being Flynn, based on his memoirs.

While living in New York City with his wife and daughter, Flynn also spends considerable time in Houston, TX, where he is in residence at the University of Houston each Spring teaching poetry and interdisciplinary/collaborative art workshops.   His poems, essays, and non-fiction have been featured in The New Yorker, Paris Review, on National Public Radio’s This American Life, and The New York Times Book Review and have been translated into 14 languages.  His most recent poetry collection is Low.

 

“Events in our life, they define who we are,” Flynn said.  “It's not a matter of getting over anything; we have to make the best of it.”

                       

A Writer's Moment: Few words, major impact

A Writer's Moment: Few words, major impact:   “You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.” – William Stafford Born in Hutchinson, Kansas on J...

Few words, major impact

 

“You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.” – William Stafford

Born in Hutchinson, Kansas on Jan. 17, 1914, Stafford taught poetry and writing for more than 30 years before his first major poetry collection - the National Book Award-winning Traveling Through the  - was published.  Over the next 30 years, until his death in 1993, Stafford published 60 more volumes of poetry and prose. Often compared to Robert Frost, Stafford won numerous honors and awards and served as Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress.  For Saturday’s Poem, here is Stafford’s,

 

                                                            Just Thinking

Got up on a cool morning. Leaned out a window.
No cloud, no wind. Air that flowers held
for awhile.  Some dove somewhere.

Been on probation most of my life. And
the rest of my life been condemned. So these moments
count for a lot--peace, you know.

Let the bucket of memory down into the well,
bring it up. Cool, cool minutes. No one
stirring, no plans. Just being there.

This is what the whole thing is about.

A Writer's Moment: Words at the heart of award-winning writing

A Writer's Moment: Words at the heart of award-winning writing:   “One should be able to return to the first sentence of a novel and find the resonances of the entire work.”  – Gloria Naylor   Born in...