A Writer's Moment: 'A recourse against the meaningless noise'

A Writer's Moment: 'A recourse against the meaningless noise': “Language is what makes us human. It is a recourse against the meaningless noise and silence of nature and history.” – ...

'A recourse against the meaningless noise'

“Language is what makes us human. It is a recourse against the meaningless noise and silence of nature and history.” – Octavio Paz
 

Born in Mexico on March 31, 1914 Paz represented his country as both a diplomat and a writer – primarily poetry.  He won three major awards, beginning with his own country’s Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1981, then the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1982, and capping it with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1990.  For Saturday’s Poem, here is Paz’s,

 

                                                       The Bridge
                                                Between now and now,
                                                between I am and you are,
                                                the word bridge.

                                                Entering it
                                                you enter yourself:
                                                the world connects
                                                and closes like a ring.

                                                From one bank to another,
                                                there is always
                                                a body stretched:
                                                a rainbow.
                                                I'll sleep beneath its arches

A Writer's Moment: 'Read, write . . .and wait'

A Writer's Moment: 'Read, write . . .and wait':   “There is no secret to success except hard work and getting something indefinable which we call 'the breaks.' I...

'Read, write . . .and wait'

 

“There is no secret to success except hard work and getting something indefinable which we call 'the breaks.' In order for a writer to succeed, I suggest three things - read and write - and wait.” – Countee Cullen

 

Born in Kentucky in 1903, Cullen was a renowned member of the Harlem Renaissance writing movement.  He began writing in high school, where he edited the school newspaper and literary magazine and won a citywide poetry competition.  He studied at NYU where he earned numerous awards for his writing and scholarship, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1925.  Shortly thereafter his professional writing career was jump-started with the publication of his first acclaimed book of poetry, Color.      

 

After publication of two more award-winning volumes, Copper Sun and The Ballad of the Brown Girl, Cullen was firmly established as a leading light among African-American writers.   Also a novelist, children’s author and playwright, he was just starting to make a splash with his theatrical writings when he died suddenly at the age of 43 due to  complications from high blood pressure. 

 

“Remember,” Cullen said about writers, “we must be one thing or the other, an asset or a liability, the sinew in your wing to help you soar, or the chain to bind you to earth.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Powerful language, powerful feelings and images'

A Writer's Moment: 'Powerful language, powerful feelings and images':   “The kinds of things that poetry can offer are timeless - mainly the kind of compression it offers of powerful language...

'Powerful language, powerful feelings and images'

 

“The kinds of things that poetry can offer are timeless - mainly the kind of compression it offers of powerful language, powerful feelings and images, and, you know, the inner experience becoming outer.” – Brenda Hillman

 

Born in Tucson, AZ in March of 1951, Hillman is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, named for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Northern California Book Award for Poetry.   Her newest book, just out this year, is In a Few Minutes Before Later.

 

A “writer” of poetry since age 9 (“the first time I wrote a poem that I was proud of,”) Hillman is known for poems that draw on elements of found texts and documents, personal meditation, and observation including about topics like geology, the environment, politics, family, and spirituality. 

 

 Among her many awards are The Pushcart Prize and Fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation.   A longtime writing professor, she holds the Olivia Filippi Chair in Poetry at Saint Mary’s College of California.  

 

“The techniques of contemporary poetry are probably the techniques of your daily life,” Hillman said.   “I don't know a single person who goes into the grocery store and thinks in complete sentences.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Genuine magic in what they do'

A Writer's Moment: 'Genuine magic in what they do':   “I love artists. I find them fascinating. To me, there really is a genuine magic in what they do.” – Elizabeth Hand ...

'Genuine magic in what they do'

 

“I love artists. I find them fascinating. To me, there really is a genuine magic in what they do.” – Elizabeth Hand

Hand, who was born in Yonkers, New York in March of 1957, studied drama and anthropology in college and thought of a career on stage before getting into writing. Since 1988, she has lived in coastal Maine, the setting for many of her stories, and she also lives part-time in Camden Town, London, the setting for her historical fantasy novel Mortal Love and short story "Cleopatra Brimstone.” 

 

While Science Fiction and Fantasy have been focal points for many of her works, she said she didn’t read much Science Fiction as a kid.  “I was a total Tolkien geek - but I started reading Samuel Delany and Angela Carter and Ursula LeGuin in high school, and I was definitely taken with the notion that here was a literature that could explore various notions of gender identity and how it affects the culture at large.”

 

Also a writer of television and sci-fi movie spin-offs, Hand is co-author of the DC Comics’ cult favorite Anima.  Her most recent book is 2023’s A Haunting on the Hill. And she is a longtime reviewer and critic for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Village Voice, among others, and writes a regular review column for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

  

“I never think about genré when I work,” she said.   “I've written fantasy, science fiction, supernatural fiction . . . suspense.   Genrés are mostly useful as a marketing tool, and to help booksellers know where to shelve a book.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Breaking the wall in a zig-zag pattern'

A Writer's Moment: 'Breaking the wall in a zig-zag pattern':   “People always think that history proceeds in a straight line. It doesn't. Social attitudes don't change in a straight line. Ther...

'Breaking the wall in a zig-zag pattern'

 

“People always think that history proceeds in a straight line. It doesn't. Social attitudes don't change in a straight line. There's always a backlash against progressive ideas.” – Erica Jong

Born on this date in 1942, Jong is a novelist, satirist, and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying, famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality.  To date it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

Jong earned degrees from Barnard and Columbia, where she majored in English Literature, and started writing for magazines and journals before trying her hand at fiction.  Fear of Flying was her first effort and catapulted her into a successful lifelong career.  She has authored 11 novels, 8 nonfiction books, and 7 books of poetry.  This past year she was the subject Kaspar Kasics' documentary film, Erica Jong - Breaking the Wall.

While fiction has led to most of her fame, she says she really enjoys poetry and her most recent book is a 2019 book of poetry titled – The World Began With Yes.  

 

                      “In poetry you can express almost inexpressible feelings,” she said.   “You can express the pain of loss, you can express love. People always turn to poetry when someone they love dies; when they fall in love.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Like diamonds in a sea of zircons'

A Writer's Moment: 'Like diamonds in a sea of zircons':   “Whether you are 12 or 70, you should sit down today and start being a writer if that is what you want to do. You might...

'Like diamonds in a sea of zircons'

 

“Whether you are 12 or 70, you should sit down today and start being a writer if that is what you want to do. You might have to write on a notebook while your kids are playing on the swings or write in your car on your coffee break. That's okay. I think we've all 'been there, done that.' Just remember, it all starts with the writing.” – Robin Hobb

 

Hobb, born in March of 1952, is the pen name of Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden who took her own advice and started writing for children’s magazines at the age of 18.  While successful in that field, she thought she’d be better at science fiction and fantasy and decided to give it a try.  Since then, over the past 4 decades, she’s arguably been the most prolific writer in those fields while capturing most of the genre’s major awards.

 

Most critics have praised Hobb as “the standard setter for modern serious fantasy.” And no less writer than George R.R. Martin (author of the Game of Thrones series) said she is the best fantasy writer he has ever read.  “In today’s crowded fantasy market,” Martin said, “Robin Hobb’s books are like diamonds in a sea of zircons.”

 

“Keep writing, keep faith in the idea that you have unique stories to tell,” Hobb advises, “and tell them.” 

A Writer's Moment: 'One defense: The creative act'

A Writer's Moment: 'One defense: The creative act':   “ Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense: the creative act. ” – Kenneth Rexroth    I've writ...

'One defense: The creative act'

 

“Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense: the creative act.” – Kenneth Rexroth 

 

I've written before about Rexroth, considered “Father” of the so-called “Beat Movement” of the 1950s.   Rexroth extensively studied and emulated the poetic works of Ancient Greeks and writers from Asia and was a champion for American women poets.  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: 'To find out about things'

A Writer's Moment: 'To find out about things': “God forbid that any book should be banned.  The practice is as indefensible as infanticide.” - Rebecca West   Cicely Isabel Fairfield,...

'To find out about things'

“God forbid that any book should be banned.  The practice is as indefensible as infanticide.” - Rebecca West

 

Cicely Isabel Fairfield, who wrote as Rebecca West, championed other writers, particularly those who were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era, and probably would be appalled that books are still being banned in today's society.

 

Born on this date in 1892, she grew up in a home full of intellectual stimulation, political debate, lively company, books and music and turned into a world-renowned author and reporter.  By the time she was 50 she was a leading spokesperson for feminism and feminist causes, and by the time of her death in 1983 she had published many hundreds of stimulating articles, short stories and books.     

She was called by Time Magazine "indisputably the world's number one woman writer,” and by U.S. President Harry S. Truman “the world’s best reporter.”

In addition to her dozens of books, West also was                       

feted for her essays and as a leading reviewer and travel writer for many of the world’s top newspapers and magazines.

Among her best-selling books were Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, on the history and culture of Yugoslavia; A Train of Powder – based on her magazine coverage of the Nuremberg trials; and the novels The Birds Fall Down and the autobiographical Aubrey Trilogy: The Fountain Overflows, This Real Night, and Cousin Rosamund.   

 

"I write books," she noted, "to find out about things.”

A Writer's Moment: 'The Most Important writing award'

A Writer's Moment: 'The Most Important writing award':   “One of the nice things about books as opposed to television and movies … is people really do get involved, and they do...

'The Most Important writing award'

 

“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 in March, 1947 Patterson is the most prolific author of all time with phenomenal success as a mystery, YA and children’s writer.  Intending to become an English professor, he was a Ph.D. candidate when he switched careers to advertising. After rising to a top executive position at New York ad agency  J. Walter Thompson, he abruptly switched again in 1996, deciding he might do well as a writer.  Good move.

 

His novels featuring African-American detective/psychologist Alex Cross have been among the most popular and top-selling U.S. detective series' in history.  His 150 titles (and counting) have sold in the hundreds of millions, and he also holds the distinction of having had more e-books sold than any other author.  

 

And he is the first author to ever have the Number 1 titles in the Adult, YA, and Children’s categories at the same time.  His awards include the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild’s Thriller of the Year, and the International Thriller of the Year and a National Humanities Medal.   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:” he said, “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: 'Dealing with possibilities, present and future'

A Writer's Moment: 'Dealing with possibilities, present and future':   “The historical novelist has to consider what has actually happened, while the SF writer is dealing in possibilities, b...

'Dealing with possibilities, present and future'

 

“The historical novelist has to consider what has actually happened, while the SF writer is dealing in possibilities, but they are both in the business of imagining a world unlike our own and yet connected to it.” – Pamela Sargent

Born on this date in 1948, Sargent is an American science fiction author and editor and winner of the prestigious Nebula Award.  She also has been presented The Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Achievement from The Science Fiction Research Association. 

 

Her best-known works are a series on the terraforming of Venus; the editing of various anthologies celebrating the contributions of women in the history of science fiction; and her excellent Firebrands: The Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy (co-authored with Ron Miller) and the Women of Wonder series.   

                                                                        

 Sargent has penned some 30 novels and half-dozen story collections and collaborated on several novels in the Star Trek series.  Her work is noted for its connections between time periods.  She said history is crucial to Sci Fi writing. “A feeling for history is almost an essential for writing and appreciating good science fiction,” she said.  “(It’s crucial) for sensing the connections between the past and future that run through our present.”

 

 “My grandfather allowed as how I might live long enough to see a Mars landing,” she said.   “I haven't, of course, except in fiction, including my own, and strongly doubt that I ever will.”

A Writer's Moment: And the beat goes on

A Writer's Moment: And the beat goes on:   “The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, takes responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendliness and courtesy,...

And the beat goes on

 

“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 goodwill, society would not endure an hour.” – Kenneth Rexroth 

 

Born on this date 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 magazine, he was among the first U.S. poets to explore styles like haiku. 

  

His poetry is marked by a sensitivity to Asian writings from throughout history, an appreciation of Ancient Greek lyric poetry, and of the work of women poets.  He co-created a wonderful anthology of Chinese women poets, titled The Orchid Boat, and he worked tirelessly in his last decade (he died in 1982) to promote the work of female poets in America.

 

 Not sure what he Rexroth meant when he wrote the following line, but thought it created an interesting point for discussion:  “Man thrives where angels would die of ecstasy, and where pigs would die of disgust.”

A Writer's Moment: "Everything's a potential scene; everyone a charac...

A Writer's Moment: "Everything's a potential scene; everyone a charac...:   “I don't e njoy doing a lot of research, preferring as a rule, to ‘make up my facts.’ That's why I write fiction. I firmly bel...

"Everything's a potential scene; everyone a character'

 

“I don't enjoy doing a lot of research, preferring as a rule, to ‘make up my facts.’ That's why I write fiction. I firmly believe that if you want facts, you read non-fiction; you read fiction to discover the truth.” – Joy Fielding

 

Fielding, born in Toronto, Canada on this date in 1945, said she knew early in her life that she wanted to be a writer, and to date she’s followed through big time.  She is the author of 29 novels and 1 novella – many of them bestsellers – including the extraordinarily successful See Jane Run and her 2022 book The Housekeeper.

    

Fielding said she loves writing because she feels like she’s in complete control.  And, she looks upon everything around her as a potential scene and everyone as a potential character.  While snippets of her ideas come from magazine and newspaper articles, more often they are from things that happen to herself or someone she knows. 

 

 “I use whatever I can and nothing is sacred. Of course, nothing is exactly the way it is in real life. A writer borrows a bit from here, there and everywhere, and adapts it to her own purpose.  (But) I find that the more of me I include, the more successful the book, the more readers can identify with.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Poetry is a call to action'

A Writer's Moment: 'Poetry is 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.”...

'Poetry is 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

The author of two dozen books, Herrera (born in 1948) is a poet, performer, writer, cartoonist, teacher and activist whose experiences as the child of migrant farmers has shaped much of his work.   His children's book Calling the Doves won the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award and his poetry book Half the World in Light won the National Book Critics Circle Award.  In 2023 he was awarded The Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement in American Poetry.

 

“Poetry is a call to action, and it also is action,”  he said.  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.

 

A Writer's Moment: 'Living in a story'

A Writer's Moment: 'Living in a story':   “I think the job of writing and literature is to encourage each one of us to believe that we're living in a story.”...

'Living in a story'

 

“I think the job of writing and literature is to encourage each one of us to believe that we're living in a story.” –  Naomi Shihab Nye

 

Born in 1952, Nye is a self-designated "wandering poet," traveling the world to lead writing workshops and conduct inspirational talks.  She lives in San Antonio – where she earned a degree in English Literature at Trinity University. 

 

Her writing career, which includes contributing to or publishing some 30 books of poetry, several novels, and many stories for kids and young adults, began as a child growing up in St. Louis, where her first poem was published at age 7.

 

Among Nye’s most notable works is the YA novel Habibi, the story of a 14-year-old girl and her Arab father and American mother who move from a home in St. Louis to live in Palestine, mirroring a time in her own life.    The semi-autobiographical piece, the title of which means “beloved,” addresses a wide range of themes including change, family values, war, peace and love.  Winner of multiple awards, the book was named by the American Library Association as one of the best books for Young Adults written in the 20^th Century. 

 

“Poetry calls us to pause,” Nye said.  “There is so much we overlook, while the abundance around us continues to shimmer, on its own.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Imagination' equals the root of intelligence

A Writer's Moment: 'Imagination' equals the root of intelligence:   “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.” – Albert Einstein Today is a day Einstein -- born on this date i...

'Imagination' equals the root of intelligence

 

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

Today is a day Einstein -- born on this date in 1879 -- would have enjoyed.  It’s National Pi Day.  Pi is a mathematical constant,  one of the first ever discovered and used extensively in Einstein's calculations.  

 

Pi, which is the ratio of the distance around a circle to the circle’s diameter, produces a number that is always the same.  The number starts 3.141592653... and continues without end.  But it's quite helpful in solving problems or making discoveries, something Einstein was pretty good at.   Celebrating National Pi Day on 3-14 makes sense because the first three numbers are, of course, 3-14.  

 

Einstein probably would have had as much fun as anyone celebrating National Pi Day on March 14th because 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 then you aren't giving the kiss the proper attention it deserves.   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."

 

  

 

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow," he said.  "The important thing is not to stop questioning.”    And maybe have a slice of pie with that.