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Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff

Goodreads author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/MargaretJeanLangstaff

born

December 08, 1958 in The United States

gender

female

website

http://garnetsullivanlivefromflorida.com/

twitter username

cedarhillpress

genre

Literature & Fiction, Humor, History

influences

William Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Cervantes, Voltaire, Mark Twain y...more

member since

July 2010

About this author

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Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff has written more than twenty books, both under her own name and as a ghostwriter for others, and countless feature articles and book reviews for prominent national periodicals, such as the L.A. Times, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, and the L.A. Times Book Review and Business Page. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and former board member of the Book Industry Study Group.

Clarification (or Obfuscation?) of the above by the Author:

"I should point out, in all fairness and consideration to my new readers, that my nickname is ***"Peggy"*** and for many many years I have confused my life and interested observers by writing erratically under both names. To further complicate things, when I discovered...more Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff has written more than twenty books, both under her own name and as a ghostwriter for others, and countless feature articles and book reviews for prominent national periodicals, such as the L.A. Times, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, and the L.A. Times Book Review and Business Page. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and former board member of the Book Industry Study Group.

Clarification (or Obfuscation?) of the above by the Author:

"I should point out, in all fairness and consideration to my new readers, that my nickname is ***"Peggy"*** and for many many years I have confused my life and interested observers by writing erratically under both names. To further complicate things, when I discovered there was (Good Lord! How could it be???!) another Margaret Langstaff, I just up and decided to start using my middle name as well ("Jean") for my books (what was I thinking? Obviously not about building a "brand.") So if anyone gives a hoot, or wants to "Google" me, you have to take all of these so-called aliases into account. Truth of the matter is, it's my Mother's fault, "Peggy" is an old Irish nickname for Margaret and, yes, she was full blarney, had a wicked sense of humor, could tell a hypnotizing, totally engrossing story. You know, Irish. Her best friend was a Margaret/"Peggy" and thus I was dubbed. So I've got all these monikers and genes. Anyway. We soldier on.

"Twitter: the info below is not my personal Twitter handle because I don't have one, but that of my publisher who lets me tweet a bit with it too."

Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff also is a rare book collector and dealer of many years. Mostly signed modern first editions and mostly (today) as FOREVER RARE BOOKS on Amazon.

How this all seems to have happened (?)---She owned and operated an independent bookstore for many years,achieved some sort of notoriety (if not distinction) in this role, then went off to bigger (but not better)things in NY as a publishing executive, subsequently (it's all a blur) she was VP marketing & sales for Ingram Book Company for a while, got to jet all over the world for a bit, for Ingram was/is/ever will be the largest distributor of books in the cosmos, and all of this time fully gorging herself on new literary books and acquiring thousands of signed modern first editions en route to the next book party or contretemps.

Quite by accident she discovered one day, years later, that they had quietly turned to gold in those dark closets where she'd shelved them. It was never a plan.

"And then, where was I? It was Publishers Weekly as a contributing editor for many years, reviews and criticism for major book media, other hokum, societies (a lot of this happened simultaneously, you know, in parallel universes I was able to inhabit, otherwise I'd be 300 yrs. old--and I'm not!)"

More boringly,but the foundation: She was educated at the University of Florida (English, magna cum laud, Phi Beta Kappa), she grew up in Florida and knows the Florida scene, culture, flora and fauna—and freaks—like the back of her own hand. Which led to...the Garnet Sullivan (FL)books.

"It all boils down to the fact that I love books, always have, and take books and words seriously. As you know, books can change the world, and a well- turned phrase can start a war--or stop one." (less)

56 posts
Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff's Blog

Reading Emily Dickinson

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Thomas H. Johnson, ed.--The Definitive Text, Accept No Substitute

***(c) Copyright 2012 Margaret Langstaff. All rights reserved.***

[from the forthcoming Reading Emily Dickinson by Margaret Langstaff]

So often misunderstood and ill-served by her editors and publishers, Emily Dickinson is a rara avis among major American poets. She shunned the spotlight, kept... read more »

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Published on April 20, 2012 10:15 • 70 views • Tags: emily-dickinson, lyric, margaret-langstaff, meter, poetry, poets

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Books by Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff

Average rating: 4.88 · 25 ratings · 16 reviews · 9 distinct works

	Marlin, Darlin': Garnet Sullivan Live from Florida #1 4.62 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	My rating:
	The Unbearable Lightness of Prunes 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2011	My rating:
	HOME FOR CHRISTMAS: Best Loved Stories of All Time by Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff (Goodreads Author), O. Henry, Grace S. Richmond 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2010	My rating:
	Alternative Medicine 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2010	My rating:
	Sneak Peek: DIVA: Garnet Sullivan Live from Florida (#2) 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2012	My rating:
	THE DEAD GOAT SCROLLS 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2010	My rating:
	Quoth the Raven: The Curious Case of Edgar Adam Pugh 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2011	My rating:
	CHEAP THRILLS: New Stories 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Ladies Man 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2010	My rating:

More books by Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff…

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Margaret's Writing

A Paranormal Q & A with T.S. Eliot (Literature & Fiction)

1 chapters — updated Dec 28, 2010 04:09pm

Description: A young clueless journalist is sent on an assignment by his editor to interview the late great T.S. Eliot.

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Margaret's Recent Updates

Margaret Langstaff is now friends with John Biccard
May 30, 2012 03:38pm
Margaret Langstaff is now following Ron Charles's reviews
May 20, 2012 09:56pm
Margaret Langstaff gave to: The Emily Dickinson Handbook by Gudrun Grabher read in December, 2011	My rating:
Having studied Dickinson for so many years and written about her and her poetry, I'm inclined to be rather skeptical of the merits of any book that claims to be a "handbook" or a definitive authority on her bio and poems. She has so often been hijack...more
May 09, 2012 03:58am · see review
Margaret Langstaff added a photo
May 09, 2012 03:39am · like · all of Margaret's photos
Margaret Langstaff made a comment on her review of The Quiet American "Shirley-- I can't access the site for some reason...Ever since I got this sooper dooper turbo-charged hyper-custom security software, a ramped up versi...more "
May 08, 2012 06:45am · see review
Margaret Langstaff gave to: The Frogs by Aristophanes	My rating:
Amazing to me something so dern OLD (5th cen BC!) can still be so funny today... that's literature for ya.....It's "news that's always news," according to the poet Ezra POUND...
May 06, 2012 09:02am · see review
Margaret Langstaff gave to: Leonardo on the Human Body by Leonardo da Vinci	My rating:
May 06, 2012 08:58am
Margaret Langstaff gave to: Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Works by Leonardo da Vinci	My rating:
May 06, 2012 08:58am
Margaret Langstaff gave to: Leonardo's Notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci	My rating:
May 06, 2012 08:57am
Margaret Langstaff gave to: The Dead goat Scrolls by Margaret Langstaff	My rating:
May 04, 2012 06:05am

More of Margaret's books…

Quotes by Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff

“Humility is an essential quality in writers who want to write well.”
― Margaret Jean (Peggy) Langstaff, Marlin, Darlin': Garnet Sullivan Live from Florida #1

tags: writers , writing , writing-craft , writing-process

2 people liked it

Quotes Margaret Likes

“This in response to blog and twitter blather: "Brevity is the soul of wit."--Alexander Pope”
― Alexander Pope, Poetry and Prose of Alexander Pope

tags: wit

2 people liked it

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey

tags: dance , heaven , hurt , inspirational , life , love , sing

46,006 people liked it

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

tags: carpe-diem , education , inspirational , learning

27,257 people liked it

“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”
― Oscar Wilde

tags: intelligence , self-deprecation

28,362 people liked it

“Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know.”
― Michael Lewis, Liar's Poker

37 people liked it

More quotes Margaret likes…