A Writer's Moment: It's because 'of the love of words'

A Writer's Moment: It's because 'of the love of words':   “I always loved words.  I love to sing them and speak them and even now, I must admit, I have fallen into the joy of writing them.” – Anne...

It's because 'of the love of words'

 

“I always loved words.  I love to sing them and speak them and even now, I must admit, I have fallen into the joy of writing them.” – Anne Rice 

 

Born in New Orleans in October of 1941, Rice is probably best known for her popular and influential series of novels, The Vampire Chronicles, revolving around the central character of Lestat.   Two of the books – Interview With The Vampire and Queen of the Damned – were made into movies, and many were adapted later as comic books, adding to their luster and ongoing popularity.

 

In addition to the 13 books in the “Chronicles” series, Rice authored two dozen more novels, with sales of some 100 million copies, placing her among the most popular Amcrican authors in the 20^th and early 21^st centuries.  The winner of several Bram Stoker Awards for superior achievement, she was named for the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award, its highest honor, in 2004.   

 

While many of her books are set in New Orleans, she lived and wrote in California where she earned a master’s degree in creative writing at San Francisco State University.  Rice said one of the biggest influencers on her writing was British writer Charles Dickens.

 

 “Everyone in his time admired him,” she said, “but I think . . . he's not spoken of enough.  I claim Dickens as a mentor . . . one of my driving forces.”  

A Writer's Moment: 'What if we take a risk?'

A Writer's Moment: 'What if we take a risk?':   “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – e. ...

'What if we take a risk?'

 

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – e. e. cummings

 

Born in Cambridge, MA in October of 1894, Edward Estlin "E. E." Cummings, who died in 1962, wrote nearly 3,000 poems; 2 autobiographical novels; 4 plays, and several essays and was one of the eminent “voices” of 20^th century literature.  While his poetry often dealt with love and nature, he said some, “were just for fun.”  For Saturday’s Poem, here is cummings’

                                        If

If freckles were lovely, and day was night,
And measles were nice and a lie warn’t a lie,
Life would be delight,—
But things couldn’t go right
For in such a sad plight
I wouldn’t be I.

If earth was heaven and now was hence,
And past was present, and false was true,
There might be some sense
But I’d be in suspense
For on such a pretense
You wouldn’t be you.

If fear was plucky, and globes were square,
And dirt was cleanly and tears were glee
Things would seem fair,—
Yet they’d all despair,
For if here was there
We wouldn’t be we.

A Writer's Moment: 'Someone to tell it too'

A Writer's Moment: 'Someone to tell it too':   “Someone to tell it too is one of the fundamental needs of human beings.” – Miles Franklin   Born in New South Wales, Australia in Oct...

'Someone to tell it too'

 

“Someone to tell it too is one of the fundamental needs of human beings.” – Miles Franklin

 

Born in New South Wales, Australia in October of 1879, Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin was best known for her worldwide bestselling novel My Brilliant Career – now also a popular Netflix series.

 

Franklin grew up writing, first encouraged by her elementary school teacher Mary Gillespie and then by a local newspaper editor who published a number of her articles during her teenage years.   My Brilliant Career, published in 1901, is a semi-autobiographical retelling of those early writing years, following the life of an irrepressible teenage girl growing to womanhood in rural New South Wales.  

 

Her writing took her first to Britain and then the United States during the first part of the 1900s before she served as a nurse during World War I.  Returning to Australia she continued to find success with her books, including the popular novels All That Swagger and Who Was Joseph Furphy? (in collaboration with Kate Baker).  Both books won Australia’s coveted S.H. Prior Memorial Prize for fiction.

 

Traumatized by her war experiences, she became a staunch anti-war advocate, both cheered and vilified for her views.  Undaunted by those in the latter camp, she noted, “It’s a sign of your own worth sometimes if you are hated by the right people.”

A Writer's Moment: 'It's the great advantage of being a writer'

A Writer's Moment: 'It's the great advantage of being a writer':   “The great advantage of being a writer is that you're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is usef...