A Writer's Moment: 'Artistic expression for its own time'

A Writer's Moment: 'Artistic expression for its own time':   “A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time has no relevance.” – Dario Fo Born on this dat...

'Artistic expression for its own time'

 

“A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time has no relevance.” – Dario Fo

Born on this date in 1926,  Fo often said he was “an idiot” who just happened to win the Nobel Prize.  But “brilliant” would be a more fitting description.   An Italian actor, playwright, director, songwriter, and political campaigner he was “arguably the most widely performed contemporary playwright in world theatre” during his lifetime.

A master of satire and irony, he grew up the son of a self-educated writing mother and day-laborer father who also was a traveling actor in the ancient Italian tradition of regional performance, lampooning local politicos and religious figures. “When I was a boy, unconsciously, spontaneously I learned the art of telling ironic stories,” he said.

Whether as an actor, writer or director, Fo found religion and politics to be “fertile ground” for his works.   “Every artistic expression is either influenced          

 by or adds something to politics,” he once wrote. 

Fo’s writings – translated into 30 languages – address issues ranging from dictatorial brutality to AIDS, religion, organized crime, and “military actions.”    His satire, he said, can be adapted to unjust situations throughout the world.    “Satire can always be found everywhere.  A people without love for satire is a dead people.” 

A Writer's Moment: 'Believeably involved, emotionally invested'

A Writer's Moment: 'Believeably involved, emotionally invested':   “In a mystery, the sleuth must be believably involved and emotionally invested in solving the crime.” – Diane Mott Davidson Mystery ...

'Believeably involved, emotionally invested'

 

“In a mystery, the sleuth must be believably involved and emotionally invested in solving the crime.” – Diane Mott Davidson

Mystery writer Davidson, born March 22, 1949, took a page (so to speak) out of author Robert B. Parker’s writing guide and decided to develop her ideas for mysteries around her two great loves – writing and recipes.  Thus, her novels use the theme of food and include several food or drink recipes within their pages.  On top of that, her clever titles are a play on food or drink words, like Dying for Chocolate, The Grilling Season, Killer Pancake and The Whole Enchilada (my personal fave).

Her protagonist, Goldy Schulz, is a small town caterer based in Colorado (also where Davidson resides) who solves mysteries on the side.

A native of Virginia who started writing while she was a student at Wellesley, Mott Davidson said she actually tried catering for a while and found it “exhausting.”  She honed her cooking skills after transferring from Wellesley to Stanford.  “If you don’t have much money, you have to learn to cook.”

 

Her advice to new writers is first write for the love of it.  “If you make best-sellerdom your goal, you're going to be in trouble.  It's a very nice thing to have happen, but if one makes that a goal like, say, a literary writer has the goal of getting the Pulitzer Prize, that's so unpredictable.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Putting brains to work'

A Writer's Moment: 'Putting brains to work':   “One of the nice things about books as opposed to television and movies … is people really do get involved, and they do create, and they d...

'Putting brains to work'

 “One of the nice things about books as opposed to television and movies … is people really do get involved, and they do create, and they do have their own visions of what different characters look like and what should happen.  It’s great.  It means their brains are working.” – James Patterson

Born this date in 1947, Patterson is the most prolific author of all time with his phenomenal success as a mystery and children’s writer.  Intending to become a college professor of English, he was a Ph.D. candidate when he decided to try his hand at advertising and, like everything he tries his hand at, succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.  After rising to a top executive position, he abruptly retired in 1996 to devote his time to writing.  Good move.

His novels featuring African-American detective/psychologist Alex Cross have been the most popular and top-selling U.S. detective series in the past 20 years.  Since 1976, when he first tried his hand at writing, Patterson's books have sold more than 425 million text and over 100 million e-books, most No. 1 books on New York Times bestseller list.

 

And he is the first author to ever have the Number 1 titles in both adult and children’s categories at the same time.  His awards include the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild’s Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year, and the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation.  But, he said, the award he most cherishes is Author of the Year from the Children’s Choice Awards.

“This is what I believe is most important:  Getting good books into the hands of kids – books that will make them want to say, ‘Wow, that was great.  Give me another one to read.’”

A Writer's Moment: 'Create a network in readers' minds'

A Writer's Moment: 'Create a network in readers' minds':   “I think books create a sort of network in the reader's mind, with one book reinforcing another. Some books form relationships. Other...

'Create a network in readers' minds'

 

“I think books create a sort of network in the reader's mind, with one book reinforcing another. Some books form relationships. Other books stand in opposition. No two writers or readers have the same pattern of interaction.” – Margaret Mahy

 

Mahy, born on this date in 1936, started her professional life as a librarian and it was this association with books and the words of writers, coupled with “the light in children’s eyes when they discovered new worlds through books” that led her to become a writer herself.

Twice awarded the Carnegie Medal – for The Haunting and The Changeover – she also won the world’s top international prize for children’s and young adult literature when she was named for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006, just a few years before her death.  The words written about her then bear repeating:

“Mahy's language is rich in poetic imagery, magic, and supernatural elements. Her oeuvre provides a vast, luminous, but intensely personal metaphorical arena for the expression and experience of childhood and adolescence.                 Equally important, however, are her rhymes and poems for children. Mahy's works are known to children and young adults all over the world.^”

The author of 100 picture books, 40 novels and 20 short story collections, she had this advice for new writers:  “Try not to become disappointed if someone doesn't like a story you've written. Stick up for your ideas, but listen to what other people say, too. They might have good advice.” 

A Writer's Moment: He made goodness attractive

A Writer's Moment: He made goodness attractive:   “Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of pe...

He made goodness attractive

 

“Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people.” – Fred Rogers

 

Probably no other man had as much impact on children’s television as Fred McFeely Rogers, born this date in 1928 and famous, of course, for creating and hosting Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS. 

 

Initially planning to be a minister, Rogers found himself displeased with how television addressed children and made an effort to write things that could cause change.  In the process he became an indelible icon of children’s entertainment and education, as well as a symbol of compassion, morality and morality.

 

At the time of his death (from cancer in 2003) he had been honored with some 40 honorary degrees, a Peabody Award for his writing, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  He also was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, the first “Children’s Advocate” so named. 

 

Rogers also became the first kids’ TV host to testify before Congress and get that grumpy group to support TV programming for kids and provide funding for it as well.  Honored with two Congressional resolutions, he is ranked among the 35 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

 

“Try your best to make goodness attractive,” Rogers advised. “That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given.”

A Writer's Moment: A 'hidden conspiracy of good will'

A Writer's Moment: A 'hidden conspiracy of good will': “The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, takes responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendlines...

A 'hidden conspiracy of good will'

“The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, takes responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendliness and courtesy, finds mischief boring and avoids it. Without the hidden conspiracy of good will, society would not endure an hour.” – Kenneth Rexroth 

 

Born in 1905, American poet, translator and critical essayist Rexroth laid the groundwork for what would become the 1950s beat movement.  Dubbed the "Father of the Beats" by Time, he was among the first U.S. poets to explore Asian styles and co-created an anthology of Chinese women poets titled The Orchid Boat.    

 

For Saturday’s Poem here is Rexroth’s, 

 

Yin and Yang

It is Spring once more in the Coast Range
Warm, perfumed, under the Easter moon.
The flowers are back in their places.
The birds are back in their usual trees.

The winter stars set in the ocean.
The summer stars rise from the mountains.
The air is filled with atoms of quicksilver.
Resurrection envelops the earth.

Goemetrical, blazing, deathless,
Animals and men march through heaven,
Pacing their secret ceremony.

The Lion gives the moon to the Virgin.
She stands at the crossroads of heaven,
Holding the full moon in her right hand,
A glittering wheat ear in her left.

The climax of the rite of rebirth
Has ascended from the underworld
Is proclaimed in light from the zenith.
In the underworld the sun swims
Between the fish called Yes and No.

 

A Writer's Moment: 'The pleasure of writing fiction'

A Writer's Moment: 'The pleasure of writing fiction':   “The pleasure of writing fiction is that you are always spotting some new approach, an alternative way of telling a story and manipulatin...

'The pleasure of writing fiction'

 

“The pleasure of writing fiction is that you are always spotting some new approach, an alternative way of telling a story and manipulating characters; the novel is such a wonderfully flexible form.” – Penelope Lively 

Born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1933, Lively started writing in her late 30s and achieved her first successes with a children’s fantasy book, Astercote.  Branching out to adult fiction in her 40s she was an instant success, her first two novels nominated for the Booker Prize and the third, Moon Tiger, winning the award.  She also won the Carnegie Medal for her children’s book The Ghost of Thomas Kempe.

Honored by the Queen as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for “services to literature,” she has authored some 30 books for children and 20 for adults, plus numerous short stories.  She also has written radio and television scripts, presented a radio program, and contributed reviews and articles to various newspapers and journals.  And, she said, a key part of her writing routine has been being a good reader. 

“All I know for certain is that reading is                       of the most intense importance to me,” she said.   “If I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment with names new to me, I would be starved – probably too starved to go on writing myself.”

A Writer's Moment: Editing copy to perfection

A Writer's Moment: Editing copy to perfection:   “Some books that I've read on the Kindle, I've been like, 'I want that on my shelf.' Because it says, 'I'm the ki...

Editing copy to perfection

 

“Some books that I've read on the Kindle, I've been like, 'I want that on my shelf.' Because it says, 'I'm the kind of person who has read this.' The kind of book that says, 'I'm serious and intellectual and historical and race-conscious.'" —Jennifer Lee

Born on the Ides of March in 1976, Lee holds the distinction of having the numeral 8 for her middle name.  After not being given a middle name at birth, she assigned this one to herself as an adult “because in the Chinese culture, that number signifies prosperity and good luck.”   

Author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles about "how Chinese food is more all-American than apple pie,” she is a part-time journalist and full-time writer while serving on a variety of boards including at the Center for Public Integrity and the Asian American Writers' Workshop.

Lee started writing as a journalist on The Harvard Crimson, then did a series of internships at some of the country’s best newspapers before working as a writer and editor for The New York Times.   There, she served as both a copy editor and a headline writer. 

 

“People often think that reporters write their own headlines. In fact, they almost never do,” she said.  “The people who do write headlines are the copy editors who are the front and last lines of quality-checking in a newspaper before it goes to print. “

A Writer's Moment: 'Never stop questioning'

A Writer's Moment: 'Never stop questioning':   “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.” – Albert Einstein   Today is a day Einstein wou...

'Never stop questioning'

 

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.” – Albert Einstein

 

Today is a day Einstein would have enjoyed.  It’s National Pi Day, named for the mathematical constant that’s the ratio of the distance around a circle to the circle’s diameter.  This produces a number, and that number is always 3.141592653 . . . continuing without end but always the same numbers.  It's quite helpful in solving problems or making discoveries.

 

Celebrating National Pi Day on 3-14 makes sense because the first three numbers are, of course, 3-14.   I think Einstein would especially like National Pi Day (something that wasn’t celebrated while he was still alive) because it also falls on his birthday.  Einstein (born in 1879) probably would have had as much fun with that as anyone because he often showed that he had a great sense of humor to go along with his brainy abilities. 

  

He once noted that people should never kiss and drive at the same time.  Because, he added, then you aren't giving the kiss the proper amount of attention.    He also said – probably with a bit too much modesty – that he didn’t keep a notebook of his great ideas because “I’ve only ever had one."

 

 A final note from Einstein:  “Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow.  The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

 

 

A Writer's Moment: 'Hitchhiking' into writing fame

A Writer's Moment: 'Hitchhiking' into writing fame:   “There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, 'Well, okay, today   I'm going to do something of high ...

'Hitchhiking' into writing fame

 

“There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, 'Well, okay, today  I'm going to do something of high artistic worth’.” – Douglas Adams

Born on this date in 1952, Adams is author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which originated in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before being turned into a series of books that sold more than 15 million copies.  Ultimately it also generated a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and a feature film. 

Adams, who died of a heart attack at age 49, also was known as an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, a lover of fast cars, cameras, and technological innovation.  And, of course, for his prowess as a writer, something he started in elementary school.  His first published piece came at age 10 in the school newspaper, and at age 13 a humorous short story was published in a national youth magazine.   

 

 He loved writing but struggled with deadlines.  “I love deadlines,” he once said.   “I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

                            

A true Renaissance man, he was not just a writer, but also an actor, singer, producer, computer game developer, and stand-up comic.  His work on “Hitchhiker’s Guide” has been enshrined in The UK Radio Academy’s Hall of Fame. 

 

“I seldom end up where I want to go,” he said about his movement among careers and opportunities.  “But I almost always end up where I need to be.”

A Writer's Moment: All the sounds of Spring

A Writer's Moment: All the sounds of Spring:   “Like a piece of ice on a hot stove a poem must ride on its own melting ... Read it a hundred times, it will forever ke...

All the sounds of Spring

 

“Like a piece of ice on a hot stove a poem must ride on its own melting ... Read it a hundred times, it will forever keep its freshness as a metal keeps its fragrance.  It can never lose its sense of a meaning that once unfolded by surprise as it went.”

 – Robert Frost

 

I almost always think of Robert Frost’s poetry when I hear or see things in nature.  This morning, unlike the bird that bothers Frost in his short poem below, the bird near our house is not singing off-key but, instead, just creating angry noise.

 

But I decided a noisy bird is still better than no bird.  I just wish, like the bird Frost is annoyed with in his poem, it would work a little on its singing.   For Saturday’s Poem, here is Frost’s,

 

A Minor Bird

 

I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.

A Writer's Moment: 'The heart and core of ages past'

A Writer's Moment: 'The heart and core of ages past':   “For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men lived and worked and died, th...

'The heart and core of ages past'

 

“For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men lived and worked and died, the essence and quintessence of their lives.” – Gene Fowler

Longtime journalist, screenwriter and novelist Fowler was born in Colorado in March of 1890.  During his lifetime (he died in 1960) he wrote 20 books, several plays and a couple dozen movie scripts while simultaneously serving as syndication manager for King Features.

I first learned about Fowler when researching my book And The Wind Whispered because of his interviews and connections with Buffalo Bill Cody, a key character in the book.  Fowler also was close friends with actors John Barrymore and W.C. Fields and did one of the best books ever written about Jimmy Durante, Schnozzola.

 

                                                              

His philosophy for success:  “Just believe in yourself and your abilities.  It is always easier to believe than to doubt.”

A Writer's Moment: Writing songs for the heart

A Writer's Moment: Writing songs for the heart:   “When my writing really started to take off was when I made a decision that I would write only what I wanted to write, for my heart, and...

Writing songs for the heart

 

“When my writing really started to take off was when I made a decision that I would write only what I wanted to write, for my heart, and if 10 people wanted to hear it, that's fine.” –  David Friedman

But, of course, far more than 10 people wanted to hear Friedman’s songs, which have included dozens and dozens of award winners and the scores of many movies, including numerous Disney animated features like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 

Friedman published the music book Listen To My Heart: The Songs of David Friedman through his own publishing firm Midder Music featuring 63 of his most popular songs, including "Listen to My Heart,”  "We Live On Borrowed Time,” and  "Trust the Wind,” all of which reached number one on Billboard's top hits.
                                                              

On Broadway, Friedman, who was born in 1950, served as musical director for such original productions as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Song & Dance and Beauty and the Beast.

 

“In the music industry, we value large success.  I realized that while I would like that, that it's not what my writing is about. And if I start making it about that, it becomes impure.  I think of my songs as there to be something to move people emotionally.”

 

A Writer's Moment: 'The pages that sell your book'

A Writer's Moment: 'The pages that sell your book':   “ Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle.   They read it to get to the end.   If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore.   The first...

'The pages that sell your book'

 

“Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle.  They read it to get to the end.  If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore.  The first page sells that book.  The last page sells your next book.” – Mickey Spillane

  

Born on this date in 1918, Spillane was a master of “successfully getting to that last page."  Born Frank Morrison Spillane, “Mickey” created one of the most memorable characters, hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer.  At the height of his popularity in 1980, Spillane, who died in 2006, was responsible for a remarkable 7 of the year’s 15 top-selling fiction books featuring his hero.  To date, his books have sold more than 230 million copies.

Like many great writers, Spillane used life experiences as background for his own work, starting during his high school days in New Jersey.  His jobs included time with the circus, lifeguarding, meatcutting, bartending and flying – something that led to serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II. 

                                            Spillane, who died in 2006, said he was “a writer not an author” who also loved to read, especially about history. 

 

 “I think a lot of authors like history because they want to be part of it.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Each is like a thousand words'

A Writer's Moment: 'Each is like a thousand words':   “I think many times news organizations, whether it's for lack of resources or something else, cover the headlines and don't follo...

'Each is like a thousand words'

 

“I think many times news organizations, whether it's for lack of resources or something else, cover the headlines and don't follow up, even though the story continues for the people living there - they can't leave. I think it's critical that they do these follow-up stories to realize that there is still suffering, and the need is dire.” – Carol Guzy

Born on this date in 1956, ZUMA press photographer Guzy has had a stellar career as a news reporter and  photographer, the latter earning her international acclaim.  Working for The Miami Herald and The Washington Post, she won a remarkable 4 Pulitzer Prizes —one of only 4 people and the only journalist to do so.          
                                                                                 

The first woman to win the “Newspaper Photographer of the Year” Award from the National Press Photographers Association, Guzy didn’t start out hoping to be a news photographer, planning instead to be a nurse.  

“The nursing program gave me more than a degree,” she said.  “It helped me gain an understanding of human suffering and an incredible sensitivity to it.   I know that without this background, my photography would have a totally different edge.”  With it, she’s brought us up close and personal to images of both anguish and joy.

“When I'm photographing, I think - like any rescue worker who deals with tragedy - you have to have some protective barrier around your heart so you can do your job,” she said. “You tend to have a delayed reaction to things. I feel things more deeply after I put the camera down.”   

A Writer's Moment: Shaping tales from the natural world

A Writer's Moment: Shaping tales from the natural world:   “The natural world is the only one we have. To try to not see the natural world - to put on blinders and avoid seeing it - would for me s...

Shaping tales from the natural world

 

“The natural world is the only one we have. To try to not see the natural world - to put on blinders and avoid seeing it - would for me seem like a form of madness. I'm also interested in the way landscape shapes individuals and populations, and from that, cultures.” - Rick Bass

Bass, who was born on this date in 1958, is the son of a geologist and studied petroleum geology at Utah State University. He started writing short stories on his lunch breaks while working as a petroleum geologist in Jackson, MS, and eventually gravitated toward environmental activism.  Today he and his wife, artist Elizabeth Hughes Bass, live in a remote area where he both writes and works on environmental issues.                                         

Among his more than two dozen books are the award-winning Where the Sea Used to Be, his short story collection The Lives of Rocks, and his autobiographical Why I Came West.  While he has an equal number of nonfiction and fiction works, he said approaching the latter, especially incorporating tales about real people, is more delicate.

“I think a novelist must be more tender with living or 'real' people,” he said.   “The moral imperative of having been entrusted with their story looms before you every day, in every sentence.    A novel that features real people is complicated, but in the end, that extra challenge is all for the good.”

A Writer's Moment: 'A call to action'

A Writer's Moment: 'A call to action':   “Poetry can tell us about what's going on in our lives - not only our personal but our social and political lives.”...

'A call to action'

 

“Poetry can tell us about what's going on in our lives - not only our personal but our social and political lives.” –  Juan Felipe Herrera

Born in 1948, the child of migrant farmers, Herrera served as U. S. Poet Laureate from 2015-17.  Among his many awards are the Ezra Jack Keats award for Calling the Doves, and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry for Half the World in Light.    “Poetry is a call to action," he said.  "And it also is action.”   For Saturday’s Poem, here is Herrera’s,

Let Me Tell You What A Poem Brings

Before you go further,
let me tell you what a poem brings,
first, you must know the secret, there is no poem
to speak of, it is a way to attain a life without boundaries,
yes, it is that easy, a poem, imagine me telling you this,
instead of going day by day against the razors, well,
the judgments, all the tick-tock bronze, a leather jacket
sizing you up, the fashion mall, for example, from
the outside you think you are being entertained,
when you enter, things change, you get caught by surprise,
your mouth goes sour, you get thirsty, your legs grow cold
standing still in the middle of a storm, a poem, of course,
is always open for business too, except, as you can see,
it isn't exactly business that pulls your spirit into
the alarming waters, there you can bathe, you can play,
you can even join in on the gossip—the mist, that is,
the mist becomes central to your existence.