A Writer's Moment: Taking readers 'an extra two steps'

A Writer's Moment: Taking readers 'an extra two steps': "I've read up on magic, and I think it sets you free, and it gives you hope.  You can explore worlds you didn't know existed.  ...

Taking readers 'an extra two steps'

"I've read up on magic, and I think it sets you free, and it gives you hope.  You can explore worlds you didn't know existed.  It stretches your imagination . . . and gives you a sense of wonder." -  Jenny Nimmo 

Born in Windsor, England on this date in 1944, Nimmo has stretched kids’ imaginations for 60 years, writing dozens of fantasy and magical adventure novels.   Her two major series:  The Magician Trilogy and Children of the Red King, have been published in 9 languages around the globe.

Nimmo has lived in Wales for most of her writing life and many of her books are based in Welsh myth.  An only child, her father died when she was 5 and she escaped her grief by becoming first a voracious reader and then a devoted writer. 

  

Writing first for herself, she soon realized she had the talent to also entertain others with her words, and she’s been doing so since age 15.   She said she gravitated toward writing fantasy because she always thought a magical world would be, for most kids, a special place to think about visiting.

“Every book that you pick up takes you a step away from your real world,” she said, “but if you read a book about magic, it takes you an extra two steps.”

A Writer's Moment: 'And now, let there be dance'

A Writer's Moment: 'And now, let there be dance':   "All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the...

'And now, let there be dance'

 

"All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing." – Moliere

 

Born in France on this date in 1622, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who acted and wrote as Moliere, was a playwright considered one of the great masters of comedy in Western literature.  Among his best-known works are The Misanthrope, Tartuffe and The Miser.  He was one of the first theatrical writers to combine words with music and dance – a precursor to today’s musical theater.

 

Moliere died in 1673 while performing the last play he had written – ironically titled The Imaginary Invalid.   Playing the role of a hypochondriac, he had a severe coughing fit and collapsed during the last act; many in the audience thinking it was part of the show.  True to the old saying “The show must go on,” he insisted on finishing the performance and died on stage after the final curtain fell.

 

His works continue to resonate, being performed around the world.   As his quote above notes, he was a patron of and supporter of the dance, which he said would keep people so preoccupied and in good spirits that they wouldn’t have time for mischief and misdeeds. He felt equally strong about using comedy, both to entertain and “skewer.”

 

“The duty of comedy,” the playwright added, “is to correct men by amusing them.”

A Writer's Moment: 'The work of a generation'

A Writer's Moment: 'The work of a generation':   “If there is a special ‘Hell’ for writers it would probably be the forced contemplation of their own works.”  – John Dos Passos   Born...

'The work of a generation'

 

“If there is a special ‘Hell’ for writers it would probably be the forced contemplation of their own works.” – John Dos Passos

 

Born in Chicago on this date in 1896, Dos Passos’ mark on literature came primarily through writing about issues of social justice. 

 

Well-educated (private schools and a university degree from Harvard) and well-traveled, he visited Europe and the Middle East to study literature, art and architecture, experiences he balanced against time serving as an ambulance driver during World War I.  Both experiences, he said, shaped his views and his writings about “fairness and justice.” 

 

Both a gifted writer and artist (he did covers for Life magazine, for example) he is best known for his USA Trilogy, which consists of The 42^nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money – a trio of novels that has been rated in the top 25 of The 100 Best English Language novels of the 20^th Century.  He became part of the so-called “Lost Generation” of American writers living in Paris in the 1920s, his friendships with Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald also having an influence on his writings.

 

Near the end of his long life – he died at age 84 in 1970 – Dos Passos reflected on his life’s work and said: “The creation of a world view is the work of a generation rather than of an individual, but we, each of us, for better or worse, add our brick to the edifice.”

A Writer's Moment: It's 'the things that arise spontaneously'

A Writer's Moment: It's 'the things that arise spontaneously':   “I envy those writers who outline their novels, who know where they’re going, but I find writing is a process of discovery.” – Jay McIner...