Robert Benchley was a writer-humorist-actor who was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. In this clip, he proves (from the grave) that although the technology we use to document our daily lives has changed, not much else has.
Only very special books live on the shelf above the desk in my studio. I am about to start reading Hung in the Middle, a memoir by my dear friend Alana Nicole Sholar. Methinks she is in good company.
Hung in the Middle
Never forget: Zelda had a gift for words, too. Muses aren’t always mute.
Zelda Fitzgerald Quote Poster
“The slivers of artistic vision which she was able to develop reveal a singular sensibility, her raw ability yielding under a surprisingly effective command. Zelda Fitzgerald is, possibly, best known as the ultimate liver of life, a rare talent at which she excelled with panache, humour, and fortitude. She was also a creator of things beautiful, witty, complex, and sensual. How much was left unrealized, we will never know: that answer died with her in a sanitarium fire, on 10 March 1948.
The greatest work of art that it is in our limited power to create is that which we salvage, fashion, and edit from the raw material of our lives. Zelda Fitzgerald, in potential and adversity, made much of what she was given, as a human being and as an artist.”-from Zelda: The Other Fitzgerald, by Alicia Austen
Welcome to CAMPy WASHINGTON, where humor is a matter of civic pride.
Here’s George Washington, all dolled up to keep watch over the fine citizens of this urban neighborhood. He’s attended by Cincinnati’s famous flying pigs and a docile cow.
The purple gorilla and old-timey robot aren’t just mural stars: they have real life counterparts, statues that are an integral part of our local identity.
George is ready for his close-up.
The mural sits right off the highway, and is visible to random people filling their tanks at two gas stations. Although it doubtless makes them smile, its real importance is in brightening the lives of local residents who spend their days looking at manufacturing warehouses and crumbling 19th century brick buildings. In a neighborhood so far off the radar as to lack even the condescending appellation “up and coming”, public art really does make a difference.
Today my muses are spread so far across the map that there really is no map. Yay for eclectic inspiration. Enjoy!
I cannot get enough of John Grant’s new song, Pale Green Ghosts. It is the soundtrack for my packed writing weekend.
This mesmerizing gent is writer and publisher Robert McAlmon, who was born on 9 March 1895.
Robert McAlmon, one of my great inspirations, looking spiffy.
QUOTE: “He (Owen Johnson) didn’t have to argue with me about the beginning of the jazz and the flapper age. It began actively for me when I was fourteen. As a child I had noted it without curiosity in my elders. That means the jazz age proper and the flappers were going strong before 1910, some years before Scott Fitzgerald was beyond his own childhood. It was in its heyday when Irene and Vernon Castle were famous as ballroom dancers, and none of us as children considered ourselves grown up unless we could bonton, pigeon-trot, barn-dance, Spanish tango, or turkey-walk our two hundred miles a week of so-called dancing. In those days the hobble skirt and the sheath gown were creating a sensation, and I remember seeing the smart young ladies from the university doing a step or two on the street corners as they waited for the streetcar to come along.”
SOME WORKS: Village: As it Happened Through a Fifteen Year Period; A Companion Volume; The Portrait of a Generation; North America, Continent of Conjecture; Being Geniuses Together: An Autobiography.
FUN FACT: In 1923, Robert McAlmon started the Contact Publishing Company. It is in this capacity, more than any other, that he ranks as one of my great professional inspirations.
Vita Sackville-West was born on 9 March 1892.
Birthday girl Vita Sackville-West in 1916.
QUOTE: “I worshipped dead men for their strength, forgetting I was strong.”
SOME WORKS: Sissinghurst; Solitude; The Edwardians; All Passion Spent; The Dark Island; No Signposts in the Sea.
A KEEPSAKE:
The Edwardians by Vita-Sackville West at Eager for Word. $12.34.
I have reached the frenzied, delectable stage of writing my current short story. All of you writers know what I am talking about: that blissful point where everything-plot, characterization, language, action-clicks into place. When it all begins to make cohesive, beautiful sense. That is where I am at today, dear readers. It feels good, but it is also time-consuming. I will be back tomorrow with several posts. Until then, feel free to let your gaze wander over, and your mind reflect on, the charms of this little gallery. I’ve had a tasty and sociable few weeks, wouldn’t you agree?
“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.”-Henry David Thoreau
It all comes down to time management. In fact, most of my professional difficulties can be traced to that annoyingly persistent foe. Time management is, if you will, my arch-enemy. While I am extremely organized by nature, I have a hard time keeping firm control over my writing day. The busier I am, the worse my habits become. In March, I am working on the launch of two new blogs, editing a book and consulting on another, and creating three pieces of short fiction. This is in addition to my regular blogging, ‘zining, and writing commitments. My self-control is a shambles. My desk is, even as I type these words, littered with notes, most of which are scraps of half crossed-off to-do lists. My lovely notebooks, ditto. While it is deeply satisfying to strike lines through finished tasks, having a pile of disordered lists lounging about mocking my intentions does not encourage me to actually do anything. Quite the opposite. Technology is equally sterile when faced with dozens of work assignments. I will ignore every single electronic notification put in place to help me along the path to finishing jobs, and will do so every single time with unchained glee. Technology is only my friend when it is helping me waste time or stay connected with people. Otherwise, it can fly off. Continue reading
The Fascinating Self-Portraits of 20 Famous Authors [courtesy Flavorwire]
Do you have a favourite?
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 