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...