“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.”-Edgar Allan Poe
Quote
Reply
Monthly Archives: August 2012
Voices from the Grave-Joe Strummer Birthday Edition #1
For one day only, I’m switching from literature to punk, from the imagination to concrete humanity. Today is dedicated to Joe, on what would have been his 60th birthday. He had a heart bigger than the world, and lyrical ability to match. With compassion, clarity, and righteous anger, he, along with George Bernard Shaw*, pointed me in the only direction I am meant to face.
One of my favourite songs by The Clash.
My wedding song.
I still cry when I watch this video.
*If you think they are an odd pair to be so heavily influenced by, in equal and often parallel measure, please check out the Pinterest board I have dedicated to them: As Far as Thought Can Reach. It might not offer an intellectual explanation, but it is fun to see them side by side.
A Year in Books/Day 196: The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations from Shakespeare
- Title: The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations from Shakespeare
- Editors: Mary and Reginald Foakes
- Year Published: 1998 (Columbia University Press)/This Edition: 2000 (Barnes & Noble Books)
- Year Purchased: Early 2000s
- Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
- About: There is something off about heading to the Internet for your Shakespeare needs. If any writer cries out for an old-fashioned hard copy experience, it is the Bard of Avon. I will take this cheap clearance book over a Google search box every time. If you cannot find the quote you are looking for-or a suitable one you do not yet know exists-then you are a terrible, terrible contrarian in need of a scolding. Nearly 4000 quotations have been cross-indexed under a dizzying array of topics. The kicker? It was a labor of love by scholar Reginald Foakes and his wife, Mary (who died before it reached publication). How very Shakespearean.
- Motivation: A dictionary + quotes + Shakespeare? This book practically screamed my name.
- Times Read: Only as a reference tool, never cover-to-cover (it feels odd typing those words).
English: Title page of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- Random Excerpt/Page 83: “Well you deserve. They well deserve to have That know the strong’st and surest way to get.”
- Happiness Scale: 10
Shopping for the Bookworm: William Faulkner Mini-Edition
I put together this edition for the purpose of showing off a painting that I adore! Lest you get bored, I padded it with a few more related products from Etsy. Enjoy!
William Faulkner Canvas by CustomLife-$359.00
What an inspiring, center-of-attention piece! I’m not sure how much writing I would get done with Faulkner lording it over me like that. I’m afraid I’d have to banish him from my studio. He would look wonderful above my bar, though.
William Faulkner Necklace by ART HISTORY NERD-$20.00
I love jewelry that hasn’t been mass-produced by the tens of thousands. It’s a good thing that I have self-control, or I would own way too many pieces featuring writers’ mugs. I like Faulkner’s pipe and pensive pose here.
The Sound and the Fury at Random Voyeur Vintage-$14.00
A handsome1956 edition of Faulkner’s 4th novel (originally published in 1929). I love old books. Okay, I love books in general. Older ones just happen to be my favourites. This volume, with its gold embossed spine, is no exception.
Original Illustration-William Faulkner Quotation by Obvious State-$24.00
Quote + Art=happiness.
Voices from the Grave #33: Noel Coward on What’s My Line?
Noel Coward on What’s My Line?
A Year in Books/Day 195: Murder on the Menu
- Title: Murder on the Menu Cordon Bleu Stories of Crime and Mystery
- Editor: Peter Haining
- Year Published: 1991 (Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.)
- Year Purchased: I have no idea when this book was purchased, but it was given to me in 2010
- Source: A hand-me-down from my mom
- About: Murder on the Menu is a collection of stories about killing people by poisoning their food, or other dark dinnertime deeds. So fun! So lighthearted! So hunger-inducing! I love literary meals. I think it’s fascinating how authors represent the most basic of human needs in their writings. If you’ve never looked at fiction from that angle, you should give it a try. This crime compilation naturally focuses on the macabre, but the principle stands. The selection of authors is unexpectedly varied, offering a wider appeal than similar books.
- Motivation: People are always giving me books they no longer want. They know I will be kind. Or sell them when they aren’t looking.
- Times Read: 1
- Random Excerpt/Page 76: “Captain Michel had but one arm, which he found useful when he lit his pipe. He was an old sea dog whose acquaintance, with that of four other old salts, I made one evening on the open front of a cafe in the Vieille Darse, Toulon, where I was taking an appetiser. And in this way we fell into the habit of foregathering over a glass within a stone’s throw of the rippling wave and the swinging dinghys, about the hour when the sun sinks behind Tamaris.”
- Happiness Scale: 7
A Partial Inventory of Gustave Flaubert’s Personal Effects
[19 August 2012] This Week’s Lessons in Reading and Writing
What I’ve (re)learned in the last week.
- The rush that comes with writing fiction is like nothing else in the world. It feels entirely different from writing reviews or essays; not better, just different.
- Liking writers, artists or performers is one thing. Enjoying fictionalized accounts of their lives is another. Some of these books are wonderful; others are boring or just plain bad. I am currently reading one of the former and one of the middle. The disparity in levels of enjoyment is huge.
- Outlining an entire story and writing the opening 3 paragraphs in your head whilst still in bed is the best way to start a day.
- I feel sexiest while tapping away at my keyboard, trying to bang out everything that is in my head before it dissolves into nothingness. Even though I am usually wearing yoga pants, a tee, too much moisturizer and a baker’s dozen of hairpins.
- Taking five books and three magazines (and my Nook) on a road trip lasting 60 hours, start to finish, somehow does not seem excessive.
- The WordPress community is just that: a community of supportive, wonderful, mostly awesome people. Some of them even allow you to write short stories based on their photographs. Thank you, lovelies.
- Even when crazy shit happens (like this), reading a book makes it better.
A Year in Books/Day 194: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era
Lon Chaney Sr., still from The Miracle Man (1919) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- Title: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era
- Text: Frank Miller/Foreword by Robert Osborne/Introduction by Molly Haskell
- Year Published: 2006 (Chronicle Books)
- Year Purchased: 2010
- Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
- About: This book is a TMC Film Guide. It is straightforward but well-done, with each actor receiving a short bio, complete with vital statistics; a breakdown of their ‘essential’ films; and behind-the-scenes trivia. It’s best for classic film neophytes or fanatics-anyone in-between will likely be bored. Among the fabulous fifty, you’ll find: Barrymore, Chaney, Colman, Garfield, Gilbert, Keaton, Kelly, Ladd, Lloyd, Muni, Poitier, Powell, Taylor, and Valentino.
- Motivation: I’m running out of ways to say that I write about classic (especially silent) cinema and really love old movies. I even buy books that I know I am not going to learn anything from; it’s an addiction (see above).
- Times Read: 1
- Random Excerpt/Page 41: “What amazes audiences discovering Lon Chaney’s work for the first time, along with his impressive ability to transform his face and body, is the humanity shining through even the thickest makeup. Chaney was one of the screen’s greatest pantomime artists, a skill he developed as a child in order to communicate with his parents, both of whom were deaf.”
- Happiness Scale: 10
A Year in Books/Day 193: Elegy for Iris
- Title: Elegy for Iris
- Author: John Bayley
- Year Published: 1999 (St. Martin’s Press)
- Year Purchased: 2001?
- Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
- About: I get it, I really do: Iris Murdoch is one of those love them or hate them writers. The Sea, The Sea is one of my favourite novels of the later years of the 20th century, but I understand why her work isn’t for everyone. I don’t care where you stand on the subject of Iris-as-writer, if you aren’t affected to the point of tears whilst reading her husband’s memoir it can mean only one thing. You are dead inside. Continue reading
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 