A Writer's Moment: 'Nine-tenths of wisdom'

A Writer's Moment: 'Nine-tenths of wisdom':   I am a part of everything that I have read.” – Theodore Roosevelt Born in New York on Oct. 27, 1858 Roosevelt was ...

'Nine-tenths of wisdom'

 

I am a part of everything that I have read.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Born in New York on Oct. 27, 1858 Roosevelt was a statesman, explorer, soldier, naturalist, reformer and the 26^th President of the United States.  He played a major role in the development of the country’s national parks, monuments and history and also was a multi-book bestselling author.  Much of his writing success, in fact, preceded his time in politics. 

 

The author of 18 books on topics ranging from foreign policy to the importance of the national park system he also was a voracious reader, consuming up to 7 books each and every week of his adult life.  Among his favorites were books of poetry.  U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Frost once said of Roosevelt “(He) was our kind. He quoted poetry to me. He knew poetry.”

 

From his acclaimed autobiography The Rough Riders to his book History of the Naval War of 1812 (still taught in naval war classes), his writings covered everything from The Duties of American Citizenship to Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail – topics he both wrote about and lived.  He also served as editor of The Outlook magazine, where he had weekly access to a large, educated national audience. 

 

In the process, his thoughtful writings and wise editorial decisions played a key role in protecting some of our nation’s most valuable natural sites and resources.

 

“Nobody cares how much you know,” Roosevelt said, “until they know how much you care.   Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.”

 

'Near the heart of poetry'

 

“Poetry is not easy. Or should I say, real poetry is not easy.” – Robert Pinsky

Born in New Jersey in October of 1940, Pinsky is the United States’ first three-term Poet Laureate.  A “Distinguished” Professor of English at Boston University, he’s authored more than 20 books of poetry including this year’s Proverbs of Limbo: Poems. 

 

In addition to his poetic works, he’s written the highly regarded The Sounds of Poetry, A Brief Guide.   While Pinsky’s poems are not available for reprinting, you can read some or listen to him reading them at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/search?query=Robert%20Pinsky&page=5

 

A musician as well as a writer, Pinsky once noted: “A sentence is like a tune.   A memorable sentence gives its emotion a melodic shape. You want to hear it again, say it—in a way, to hum it to yourself. You desire, if only in the sound studio of your imagination, to repeat the physical experience of that sentence. That craving, emotional and intellectual but beginning in the body with a certain gesture of sound, is near the heart of poetry.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Near the heart of poetry'

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A deep - and wide - writing career

 

“Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is.  Love is the best school, but the tuition is high and the homework can be painful.” – Diane Ackerman

Born in October 1948, Ackerman is the author of One Hundred Names for Love, also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.  She also wrote The Zookeeper’s Wife (made into a popular movie as well) and A Natural History of the Senses, adapted into a 5-part NOVA television series called “The Mystery of the Senses.”  Ackerman also writes nature books for children.

A native of Pennsylvania, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Penn State University then went on to earn 3 degrees, including a Master of Fine Arts and a Ph.D., from Cornell University.    In addition to her many books, she has written essays and stories for magazines and journals around the globe, taught at several colleges and universities, and done wide-ranging poetic explorations of the natural world.

“I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it,” she said about her seemingly boundless energy.   “I want to have lived the width of it as well.”

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