A Writer's Moment: Where loyalty lies

A Writer's Moment: Where loyalty lies:   “If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.”  – Claude McKay   Born in Jamaica in September of...

Where loyalty lies

 

“If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.” – Claude McKay

 

Born in Jamaica in September of 1889, McKay was the son of peasant farmers, mostly self-taught and highly successful with his writing.  His 1912 book of poems, Songs of Jamaica, about Jamaican peasant life, established his credentials as a leading black poet, and his 1928 Home To Harlem is arguably considered the first commercially successful novel by a black writer.   For Saturday’s Poem, here is McKay’s,

To A Poet

There is a lovely noise about your name,
Above the shoutings of the city clear,
More than a moment's merriment, whose claim
Will greater grow with every mellowed year.

The people will not bear you down the street,
Dancing to the strong rhythm of your words,
The modern kings will throttle you to greet
The piping voice of artificial birds.

But the rare lonely spirits, even mine,
Who love the immortal music of all days,
Will see the glory of your trailing line,
The bedded beauty of your haunting lays.

A Writer's Moment: Low aspirations, soaring results'

A Writer's Moment: Low aspirations, soaring results':   “When I settled to writing seriously, which would be in my 30s, I did expect to be published eventually, but my aspirations weren't ve...

Low aspirations, soaring results'

 

“When I settled to writing seriously, which would be in my 30s, I did expect to be published eventually, but my aspirations weren't very high. A published book and a few appreciative readers was my idea of heaven.” – Jo Beverley

 

Born in England in September of 1947, Beverley started late but once she got going became a very prolific writer with millions of those “appreciate readers.”  Writing in historical, science fiction and romance genres, she produced 43 novels and 18 novellas lauded as well researched, filled with historical details, and peopled by communities of interesting interlinked characters.

 

After moving to Canada in 1976 she became a founding member of the Ottawa Romance Writers' Association (ORWA) in 1985 and in 1988 became the first “romance” writer to be a finalist in the "L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future" Science Fiction contest.    

 

Beverley won dozens of writing prizes and two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times, The Golden Leaf Award and the Readers' Choice Award.  She also is the sole Canadian romance author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame.    Shortly before her death in 2016 she was asked if she could meet someone from the past, who might that be?

“I'd pick Jane Austen," she said, "because I'd like to know what really made her tick. It's my opinion that she was inhibited by her family and a desire to do the right thing. Away from all that, I believe she'd show new facets and enjoy the adventure.”

A Writer's Moment: Mastering those 'puzzly' plots

A Writer's Moment: Mastering those 'puzzly' plots:   “The funny thing is, though I write mysteries, it is the one genre in adult fiction I never read.   I read Nancy Drew, of course, when I w...

Mastering those 'puzzly' plots

 

“The funny thing is, though I write mysteries, it is the one genre in adult fiction I never read.  I read Nancy Drew, of course, when I was a kid, but I think the real appeal is as a writer because I'm drawn to puzzly, complicated plots.” – Elise Broach

  

Born in Georgia on this date in 1963 (she now lives in Connecticut), Broach earned acclaim as a writer of Children’s and YA mystery tales.  Her dozen best-selling titles are led by her award-winning Shakespeare's Secret, Desert Crossing, and the Masterpiece series.   Her most recent “Masterpiece” offering is A Trip to the Country for Marvin & James.

 

Broach also has authored 10 Picture Books for young children, including When Dinosaurs Came with Everything, voted a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association, and My Pet Wants A Pet.   But writing mysteries seems to be at the top of her list.

 

 “I'm most interested in the relationship between the characters,” she said. “I'm trying to create characters who not only are solving a mystery but are solving the riddle of their own personal relationships.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Expansive, intelligent and non-medicinal'

A Writer's Moment: 'Expansive, intelligent and non-medicinal':   “The best novels are those that are important without being like medicine; they have something to say, are expansive and intelligent but n...