I managed to catch up on the Lizzie Bennet Diaries last night. In case you haven’t seen them yet, here’s the first video:
Such an awesome take on Pride and Prejudice, and really well executed as a web series. I’m kind of obsessed.
Tag: adult lit
Quote of the Day
“Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.”–Richard Ford
Very fortunate to have a yes on both counts.
Thanks to Stephanie for sharing this one!
(image by Cramer Photo)
Owl Development
Another poem for National Poetry Month. I couldn’t resist one with owls:
How To Build an Owl
By Kathleen Lynch1. Decide you must.
2. Develop deep respect
for feather, bone, claw.3. Place your trembling thumb
where the heart will be:
for one hundred hours watch
so you will know
where to put the first feather.4. Stay awake forever.
When the bird takes shape
gently pry open its beak
and whisper into it: mouse.5. Let it go.
(via swissmiss)
More Loving
I stumbled across this poem by W.H Auden the other day and thought it would be a good one to share for National Poetry Month:
The More Loving One
by W. H. AudenLooking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.
Inspiration for a YA novel, anyone? I feel like sections of this poem could be fantastic as a title or epigraph.
Poem to Go
One of the most fun National Poetry Month projects I’ve seen is Poem in Your Pocket Day. In Charlottesville, VA (one of my very favorite places in the world), Poem in Your Pocket Day has been lead by the fantastic librarians at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. Take a look at how they shared thousands of poems with Charlottesville residents in 2010:
So glad to hear about the response, including the enthusiasm of volunteers. Well done, Cville poem-lovers!
This year’s Poem in Your Pocket Day will be on Thursday, April 26. Any plans to share a poem?
Be Good, Not Perfect
From Steinbeck’s East of Eden:
A nice reminder that perfection holds us back. Must keep that in mind for a current first draft that’s plaguing me.
(via wit + delight)
More Info on JK Rowling’s Next Novel
A little treat for Thursday: Little Brown just released the title, release date, and synopsis of JK Rowling’s upcoming novel. The Casual Vacancy will be released on September 27, 2012. The plot:
When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
I’m very confident that Rowling can capture darkly comic struggles beneath English idyllic life. (Although my first thought was “I really hope it’s the book version of Hot Fuzz!”) Very excited to hear more about The Casual Vacancy in the months to come.
I Have Cool Writer Friends
Since finishing grad school, I’ve been part of a writing group with some similarly literary-loving friends. One of these friends submitted his novel, What Ends, to the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award, and now he’s a quarter finalist. Way to go, Andrew!
You can download a copy of his first chapter here. I’ve read the first chapter in writing group, so I can vouch for its awesomeness. In very short, it’s about the personal struggles of a family living on a dying island off the coast of Scotland. Between last year’s The Scorpio Races and this year’s Brave, who wouldn’t love a little Scottish island literature?
Friday Fifteen
What would a Friday be without the Friday Fifteen, in which I review fifteen books in fifteen words or less? Onto the books!
1. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens might be one of my favorite literary characters. Manor house intrigue, excellent writing.
2. Lucky Girls by Nell Freudenberger
People seem to love or hate Freudenberger. I thought her stories were fine, if forgettable.
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Possibly my favorite in the series, definitely my favorite twist at the end.
4. 2012 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market ed. Chuck Sambuchino
Always a solid choice. Nice interviews with authors like M.T. Anderson and Maggie Stiefvater, too.
5. King Rollo and the New Shoes by David McKee
New shoes are awesome, but what happens when they have laces?
6. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Sweet YA novel about accepting and finding strength in your past.
7. The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: Fifty North American American Stories Since 1970 ed. Michael Martone and Lex Williford
The standard anthology for intro to creative writing classes. Apparently there’s a new edition.
8. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Try not to love it. (The movie is awesome, too!)
9. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The first fifty pages punch you in the stomach. Moving and ultimately uplifting.
10. Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
Got it off the free table. Haven’t attempted anything, but the designs are all fun.
11. Kate’s Surprise (Sleepover Friends, #3) by Susan Saunders
The friends plan a birthday, get kittens. At eight I was the target audience.
12. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Dreamy and compelling, but ultimately less satisfying than I hoped.
13. Ariel by Sylvia Plath
Chilling and extremely well-crafted poems. Talent transcends associated life drama.
14. Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu
Cool art and funny story about mischievous bunnies. Weird in a good way.
15. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
We all want to be the courageous thirteen-year-old captain of a ship.