A Writer's Moment: Putting poetry in common speech

A Writer's Moment: Putting poetry in common speech: Jack Elliott Myers was a poet and teacher who focused his teaching on helping young writers overcome the notion that creative writers were ...

Putting poetry in common speech

Jack Elliott Myers was a poet and teacher who focused his teaching on helping young writers overcome the notion that creative writers were separated from much of society – and on putting poetry in common speech and making it accessible.

Myers, born on Nov. 29, 1941 had a distinguished career as a writer and teacher.  From 1993 until his death in 2009, Myers published 9 books of and about poetry, taught at 6 universities, directed the creative writing program at SMU, and served as Poet Laureate for the state of Texas.   For Saturday’s Poem (from Poetry) here is Myers’,

It’s Not My Cup Of Tea

My wife wants to know

what difference does it make

what cup I drink from

and I complain,

I like what I like

and that’s the story.

We have many kinds of cups.

But this morning my favorite is dirty

and I’m hunting for something

that won’t make me think.

One’s a fertility goddess,

huge fructuous belly, little head.

Another’s pleasant enough for guests

but has to have its finicky little saucer,

underneath so it won’t feel embarrassed.

And another, which is a smaller version

of what I like, would require me

to  get up and down too many times.

You think I am spoiled

or too set in my ways

or that I’m difficult

to live with,

and you’re right.

But there are so few things

that fit me in this life

I can count them in one hand,

things the spirit can sleep in

because whoever made them

put the things of this world –

vanity, greed, a sentimental wish

to be small again – aside. 

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A Writer's Moment: Always Trust Your Writing Instincts

A Writer's Moment: Always Trust Your Writing Instincts: “Art is moral passion married to entertainment. Moral passion without entertainment is propaganda, and entertainment w...

Always Trust Your Writing Instincts

“Art is moral passion married to entertainment. Moral passion without entertainment is propaganda, and entertainment without moral passion is television.” – Rita Mae Brown

Born in Pennsylvania on this date in 1944, Brown is a writer, activist, and feminist who first earned acclaim for her first novel, Rubyfruit Jungle.  Since then she’s been on many bestseller lists for her two long series’ of mystery novels, the “Mrs. Murphy” and “Sister” series.  Her most recent book in the two series is this year’s Whiskers In The Dark, part of “Mrs. Murphy.”  Her latest in the “Sisters” series is 2018’s Homeward Hound.

Over the years Brown’s interspersed her more than 50 books of mystery and suspense with 9 screenplays, several books of poetry, and 4 nonfiction pieces.   Among her many awards are two Emmy nominations, one for I Love Liberty, which also won a Writer’s Guild of America award before getting its Emmy nod.  

“Creativity comes from trust,” Brown said.  “Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.”

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A Writer's Moment: 'Observers and Watchers'

A Writer's Moment: 'Observers and Watchers': “I think writers are observers and watchers. We always have our ears open and eyes open, so I might see something in e...

'Observers and Watchers'

“I think writers are observers and watchers. We always have our ears open and eyes open, so I might see something in everyday life that inspires me. And I think that's probably more than anything else . . . where I get my inspiration.” – Kevin Henkes

The author/illustrator of nearly 50 books, Henkes was born in Racine, WI, on this date in 1960.  Only the second person to win both the Caldecott and Geisel Awards (for his book Waiting) in the same year (2016), he has a basketfull of prizes for the more than 40 books he has produced.  Henkes also won a Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon, and Newbery Medals for both Olive's Ocean and The Year of Billy Miller.   

“You don't need to have kids to write a good book for kids,” Henkes said.  “Like I said, ‘everyday life’ is my inspiration.” 

                                              Henkes (pronounced HANK-us) thought he would be an artist until his junior year of high school when one of his teachers encouraged his writing efforts.   Children's books have been a perfect combination for him to showcase both his literary and artistic interests.

“I usually know where I want to end up when I begin, but I have no idea how I'm going to get there... I don't write with an outline, and surprises happen on the way, and sometimes it changes.”

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A Writer's Moment: It's Always 'In The Doing'

A Writer's Moment: It's Always 'In The Doing': “The best part of one’s life is the working part, the creative part.   Believe me, I love to succeed…however, the real...

It's Always 'In The Doing'

“The best part of one’s life is the working part, the creative part.  Believe me, I love to succeed…however, the real spiritual and emotional excitement is in the doing.” – Garson Kanin.

Kanin, born in Rochester, NY on this date in 1912, was a prolific writer and noted Broadway director.  Among his many hit shows were The Diary of Anne Frank, Funny Girl and Born Yesterday, which he started writing while serving as a soldier and filmmaker in World War II. His major war role was documenting Dwight Eisenhower’s official record of the Allied Invasion, resulting in the Academy Award-winning documentary True Glory.  A novelist, too, he wrote the bestseller Smash, also the basis for a television series. 

His most famous line from the long-running Born Yesterday is enshrined on a New York City Public Library plaque.  It was delivered by character Paul Verrall, who says: "I want everyone to be smart. As smart as they can be. A world of ignorant people is too dangerous to live in.”

“When your work speaks for itself" Kanin said, "don't interrupt."

 

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A Writer's Moment: The Work of Truthful Hands

A Writer's Moment: The Work of Truthful Hands: “Only truthful hands write true poems. I cannot see any basic difference between a handshake and a poem.” – Paul Celan Born in Romania...

The Work of Truthful Hands

“Only truthful hands write true poems. I cannot see any basic difference between a handshake and a poem.” – Paul Celan

Born in Romania on this date in 1920, Paul Antschel, who wrote under the pseudonym Paul Celan, was the son of German-speaking Jews, who grew up speaking several languages, including Romanian, Russian, and French. He also understood Yiddish.

    Celan was one of the foremost translators and authors of post-World War II poetry and is regarded as one of the most important poets of the post-war era.   For Saturday’s Poem, here is Celan’s,

                                                Count The Almonds

Count the Almonds,
count, what was bitter, watched for you,
count me in:

I sought your Eye, as it opened and no one announced
you,
I spun that hidden Thread,
on which the Dew, of your thought,
slid down to the Pitchers,
that a Speech, which no one’s Heart found, guarded.

Only there did you enter wholly the Name, that is yours,
stepping sure-footedly into yourself,
the Hammers swung free in the Bell-Cradle of Silences,
yours,
the Listened-For reached you,
the Dead put its arm round you too,
and the three of you walked through the Evening.

Make me bitter.
Count me among the Almonds.

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A Writer's Moment: Ink Shared in Words and Pictures

A Writer's Moment: Ink Shared in Words and Pictures: “A newspaper is lumber made malleable. It is ink made into words and pictures. It is conceived, born, grows up and dies of old age in a da...

Ink Shared in Words and Pictures

“A newspaper is lumber made malleable. It is ink made into words and pictures. It is conceived, born, grows up and dies of old age in a day.” – Jim Bishop

Born in Jersey City, NJ, on this date in 1907, Bishop dropped out of school after 8th grade, then studied typing and shorthand on his own in hopes of becoming a journalist.  In 1929, he was hired as a copy boy at the New York Daily News, leading to a nearly 50-year career in newspapers and magazines. 

      When not writing journalistically, Bishop began working on biographies and ultimately published half-a-dozen well-received books, including the bestselling The Day Lincoln Was Shot, a book that took him 24 years to complete but ultimately sold 3 million-plus copies.  The book has been re-published in two dozen languages and made into two television specials and a feature-length movie.

Bishop also was a syndicated political columnist and book reviewer and critic, although the latter role concerned him.  “A good writer is not, per se, a good book critic. No more so than a good drunk is automatically a good bartender.”

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A Writer's Moment: Timely Observational Advice

A Writer's Moment: Timely Observational Advice: “Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die when you’re right in the middle of it.” – P.J. O'Rourke...

Timely Observational Advice

“Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die when you’re right in the middle of it.” – P.J. O'Rourke.

Patrick Jake "P.J."  O'Rourke, who turned 72 on Nov. 14, uses humor regularly in his role as a conservative political satirist, journalist and creative writer.  You often hear him as one of the respondents on the hit public radio show "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me" (one of my weekly faves). 

         A native of Toledo, Ohio, who now makes his home "mostly" in Washington, DC, he's authored 22 books, including the 2018 bestseller, None of My Business: P.J. Explains Money, Banking, Debt, Equity, Assets, Liabilities, and Why He's Not Rich and Neither Are You.

O’Rourke said judging who and what people are all about is easy to determine through the writer's art of observation.  “People will tell you anything,” he said, “ but what they do is always the truth.”

 

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A Writer's Moment: That 'What's Next?' Syndrome

A Writer's Moment: That 'What's Next?' Syndrome: "So what are you doing next?”   It’s kind of a weird question most writers face, that “What’s next on your list?” question. E ve...

That 'What's Next?' Syndrome

"So what are you doing next?”  It’s kind of a weird question most writers face, that “What’s next on your list?” question.

Even though I just finished the long process of writing another novel (and, believe me, it’s a long process), the pressure’s on, so I’d better start figuring it out.   And, of course, if my new novel flops, then I’ll be the one asking myself what I have next on my list?  Sort-of an act of vindication, I suppose.   

I like writing fiction, once I get going.  It’s just that “get going” part that always gets in the way, so to speak.   Most writers, by nature, procrastinate with their writing because it’s such a draining experience.  You pour everything into the process of bringing your characters and place to life.

“Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay,” Southern writer Flannery O’Connor once said. 

                                                                                   

                                                                                                                   Flannery O’Connor in 1947 

 “I'm always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality," she said.  "It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system.”

A Writer's Moment: Engaging in the 'Big Conversation'

A Writer's Moment: Engaging in the 'Big Conversation': “I want to write a book that makes people debate, and makes people think, interact with each other and exchange ideas... I write because I...

Engaging in the 'Big Conversation'

“I want to write a book that makes people debate, and makes people think, interact with each other and exchange ideas... I write because I'm engaged in this big conversation. – Miguel Syjuco

Born in The Philippines on this date in 1976, Syjuco started his writing career in the early 2000s and has won multiple writing awards, including the Man Asian Literary Prize for his novel Ilustrado.  He also is a contributing opinion writer for the International New York Times, and both his fiction and non-fiction focus on politics, history, inequality, cultural identity, literature, and formal experimentation.  

Currently a Visiting Professor in New York University’s Abu Dhabi writing program, he holds advanced writing degrees from both Columbia University and Australia’s Adelaide University, where he earned a Ph.D. in English Literature.

“I treat my writing like a day job, like my main job, even if for many years I was doing other jobs to pay the bills. I worked as a copy editor. I was a medical guinea pig. I was an eBay power seller of ladies' handbags. I was an assistant to a bookie at the horse races. I bartended. I did anything I could to make ends meet.”

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A Writer's Moment: The 'Music' of Poetry

A Writer's Moment: The 'Music' of Poetry: “Poems have a different music from ordinary language, and every poem has a different kind of music of necessity.   That's, in a way, t...

The 'Music' of Poetry

“Poems have a different music from ordinary language, and every poem has a different kind of music of necessity.  That's, in a way, the hardest thing about writing poetry; waiting for that music, and sometimes you never know if it's going to come.” – C.K. Williams

American poet, critic and translator, Charles Kenneth “C.K.,” Williams, born in November 1936, won nearly every major poetry award including the 1987 National Book Critics Circle Award for Flesh and Blood, the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Repair, the 2003 National Book Award for The Singing, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for lifetime achievement.    For Saturday’s Poem, here is Williams’ narrative poem,

SILENCE

The heron methodically pacing like an old-time librarian down the stream through the patch of woods at the end of the field, those great wings tucked in as neatly as clean sheets, is so intent on keeping her silence, extracting one leg, bending it like a paper clip, placing it back, then bending the other, the first again, that her concentration radiates out into the listening world, and everything obediently hushes, the ragged grasses that rise from the water, the light-sliced vault of sparkling aspens.

Then abruptly a flurry, a flapping, her lifting from the gravitied earth, her swoop out over the field, her banking and settling on a lightning-stricken oak, such a gangly, unwieldy contraption up there in the barkless branches, like a still Adam's-appled adolescent; then the cry, cranky, coarse, and wouldn't the waiting world laugh aloud if it could with glee?

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A Writer's Moment: Leaving A Lasting Legacy

A Writer's Moment: Leaving A Lasting Legacy: “Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson Stevenson, born on Nov. ...

Leaving A Lasting Legacy

“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson, born on Nov. 13, 1850, was one of the world’s most versatile and “translated” authors.   This Scottish-born writer left us everything from Treasure Island to Kidnapped to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and a host of great characters like the pirate Long John Silver, and Jekyll and Hyde (also a lasting descriptive phrase).

Stevenson’s creativity included essays, short stories and poetry for both adults and children (A Child’s Garden of Verses – with lasting poems like My Shadow:  “I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.”), and music.   An accomplished pianist, he wrote or arranged more than 120 original pieces for various combinations of flageolet, flute, clarinet, violin, guitar, mandolin, and piano, including ten songs written to his own poetry.     Stevenson’s many travels led to his connection with American Fanny Osbourne – their love story becoming one for the ages.  For a great read, check out my good friend Mark Wiederanders’ novel Stevenson’s Treasure – a truly wonderful tale.

Stevenson always seemed to be able to connect with readers from all walks of life and when asked why, he simply said, “The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish

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