A Writer's Moment: Works of Imagination - Past and Future

A Writer's Moment: Works of Imagination - Past and Future:   “Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, a...

Works of Imagination - Past and Future

 

“Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.”— Jessamyn West

Mary “Jessamyn” West, born on this date in 1902, was an American author of short stories and novels, notably The Friendly Persuasion.  Her stories, although shaped by her imagination, are loosely based on tales told to her by her mother and grandmother about their Quaker farm life in rural Indiana. 

It’s interesting also to note that her grandmother also was the grandmother of Richard Nixon and to observe the divergent paths the cousins took to fame.   While Nixon was serving as vice president, West’s best-selling novel became an Academy Award-nominated movie.    Then, her sequel titled Except for Me and Thee, another best-seller, came out at the same time that Nixon became President.  That book, too, became a successful movie.

Although she spent most of her life in California,                                

almost all of her 21 novels are about Indiana, a state in which she did not live and seldom visited.   

 

 "I write about Indiana because knowing little about it, I can create it from the images I’ve learned from my grandmother’s stories.  The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future.”

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A Writer's Moment: 'Exploring the Nature of Courage'

A Writer's Moment: 'Exploring the Nature of Courage':   “I want to look at this character from all points of view. I know I don't want to make them all good or all bad or all anything... th...

'Exploring the Nature of Courage'

 

“I want to look at this character from all points of view. I know I don't want to make them all good or all bad or all anything... the story itself often helps create the character.” –  Chris Crutcher

Born in Ohio on this date in 1946, Crutcher grew up in a small town in Idaho where he was a multi-sport athlete and avid reader from early childhood.  Influenced by To Kill A Mockingbird and the idea that writing about small town life was a good thing, he went into writing for teens almost from the start of his writing career.  

The American Library Association named 8 of his 13 young adult novels and 2 short story collections “Best Books for Young Adults.”  Four of his books were on Booklist’s “Best 100 Books of the 20th Century” – more than any other single author on the list.  Crutcher also has received the Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement.

Crutcher's debut novel was Running Loose in 1983 about a senior in high school who has it all until life throws him for a few loops. Many of his novels concern teenaged athletes who have personal problems, often swimmers.         His recurring supporting characters include a wise teacher or coach.  One of his most honored is Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, the story of a girl who suffers a severe facial injury from an abusive parent.

 

“What I hope my writing reflects... is a sense of the connections between all human beings... and a different perspective on the true nature of courage,” he said.  “For me, those are things worth exploring and writing about.”

 

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A Writer's Moment: 'Who will teach the children our ways?'

A Writer's Moment: 'Who will teach the children our ways?':     "If legends fall silent who will teach the children of our ways?”   -Chief Dan George ...

'Who will teach the children our ways?'

 

 

"If legends fall silent who will teach the children of our ways?”  -Chief Dan George

Actor, poet and musician George was born in present-day North Vancouver in July of 1899, the son of a tribal chief on Burrard Indian Reserve Nº. 3. He was the only Aboriginal actor in Canadian history with the right to use the title "Chief,” serving as leader of the Squamish First Nation of Burrard Inlet.

For Saturday’s Poem, here is Chief George’s, 

 

To A Grandchild

Heed the days
when the rain flows freely,
in their greyness
lies the seed of much thought
The sky hangs low
and paints new colors
on the earth.
 
After the rain
the grass will shed its moisture,
the fog will lift from the trees,
a new light will brighten the sky
and play in the drops
that hang on all things.
Your heart will beat out
a new gladness
- if you let it happen.
 
In the midst of a land
without silence
you have to make a place for yourself.
Those who have worn out
their shoes many times
know where to step.
It is not their shoes
you can wear
only their footsteps
you may follow,
- if you let it happen.

                

 

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A Writer's Moment: 'Like Arranging Pieces of Music'

A Writer's Moment: 'Like Arranging Pieces of Music':   “Ordering is difficult. It's like arranging pieces of music in a concert: What do you put first? What do you put after the intermissio...