Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 121
October 21, 2023
A Writer's Moment: Inspired by 'The Flow and Tension of Jazz'
Inspired by 'The Flow and Tension of Jazz'
“Poetryis not easy. Or should I say, real poetry is not easy.”– Robert Pinsky
The former Poet Laureate Consultantto the Library of Congress, Pinsky is the author of nearly two dozen booksincluding this year’s Jersey Breaks: Becoming an American Poet.
Born on Oct. 20, 1940, he was a jazzmusician before turning to writing and says his poetry has been inspired by theflow and tension of jazz and the excitement that it made him feel. For Saturday’sPoem, here is Pinsky’s,
Samurai Song
When I had no roof I made
Audacity my roof. When I had
No supper my eyes dined.
When I had no eyes I listened.
When I had no ears I thought.
When I had no thought I waited.
When I had no father I made
Care my father. When I had
No mother I embraced order.
When I had no friend I made
Quiet my friend. When I had no
Enemy I opposed my body.
When I had no temple I made
My voice my temple. I have
No priest, my tongue is my choir.
When I have no means fortune
Is my means. When I have
Nothing, death will be my fortune.
Need is my tactic, detachment
Is my strategy. When I had
No lover I courted my sleep.
@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
October 20, 2023
A Writer's Moment: Championing the right to free and fair access
Championing the right to free and fair access
“Free and fair access to books - toreading - is a right and one we should all fight for.” – Kate Mosse
An Englishnovelist, non-fiction and short story writer and broadcaster, Katherine 'Kate' Mosse (born onthis date in 1961) is best known for her 2005 novel Labyrinth, which hasbeen translated into more than 37 languages. Mosse first got involved in the writingworld as a publishing assistant, then editor and journalist before switching over to managing aregional theatre. It was while servingin that role that she began writing creatively and came out with Labyrinth.
Although best known for heradventure and ghost fiction usually inspired by real history (her latest is this year's The Ghost Ship in her "City of Tears" series), Mosse'snon-fiction, particularly Becoming A Mother and The House: Behind theScenes at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, also have been best sellersand television specials.
[image error]Kate Mosse
“Usually I decide on what it is I'mwriting next by the books I'm reading,” she said. A champion for the free library system, shehas done many fund-raisers and written on their behalf.
“Themessage is clear: libraries matter,” she said. “Their solid presence at the heart of our towns sends the proud signalthat everyone - whoever they are, whatever their educational background,whatever their age or their needs - is welcome.”
October 19, 2023
'Write 3 pages a day'
“Onecurious thing about growing up is that you don't only move forward in time; youmove backwards as well, as pieces of your parents' and grandparents' lives cometo you.” – Philip Pullman
Born on this date in 1946, Pullmanis the author of the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials. His newest work The Imagination Chamber, published in 2022, is a companion piece tothat trilogy.
A native of Norwich, England,Pullman was a teacher when his first published work, The Haunted Storm,came out in 1972. It was an instant hit,winning the New English Library's Young Writer's Award. For the next 20 years, Pullman split his timebetween writing and teaching but has been writing full timesince 1996, producing some three dozen books and several plays.
Pullman is the recipient of theAstrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council, recognizing hiscareer contribution to "children's and young adult literature in thebroadest sense.” He also is a two-timefinalist for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, given biennially to the bestwriter of fiction for children and young adults. And the LondonTimes lists him among the 50 greatest British writers of the past 80 years.
His writing advice is simple: Write 3 pages a day. “If you can't think of what to write, toughluck; write anyway. If you can think of lots more when you've finished threepages, don't write it; it'll be that much easier to get going next day.”
@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
A Writer's Moment: 'Write 3 pages a day'
October 18, 2023
A Writer's Moment: Mastering the blend of science fiction
Mastering the blend of science fiction
“Novelsare one of the few remaining areas of narrative storytelling where one persondoes almost all of the creative heavy lifting.”– Charles Stross
Bornin Britain on this date in 1964, Stross is an award-winning science fiction writer of nearly three dozen books and numerous short stories. He also writes freelance pieces aboutcomputer science and science in general – his two college degree specialties.
While his first published short story,"The Boys,” came out in 1987, it wasn't widely read until it became part of his firstsuccessful short story collection in 2002. Since then, several collections of his shortstories have been nominated for both Hugo and Nebula Awards. His first novel, SingularitySky, was published in 2003 and went right to the top of bestseller lists, ultimately earning a nomination for Science Fiction’s top award, The Hugo.
“I think,” Stross mused, “that if there's one key insight science canbring to fiction, it's that fiction - the study of the human condition - needsto broaden its definition of the human condition. Because the human condition isn't immutableand doomed to remain uniform forever.”
October 17, 2023
A Writer's Moment: Choose 'real life' for your heroes
October 16, 2023
Choose 'real life' for your heroes
"Literature throws us many great heroes. Real life invariably outdoes them." -- Wilbur Smith Do you know what Smith's novel The Seventh Scroll has in common with novels like A Thief Of Time by Tony Hillerman, The Source by James Michener, TheDig by John Preston, and TheAdventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie? All are novels about archaeology and October is the month for celebrating International Archaeology Day. I say October because the "day" moves around each year, although it's usually during the third week (this year on the 21st).
While there are hundreds of factual,nonfiction books about archaeology, there also are a surprising number of novels about the genre, including many that are listed as “Archaeological thrillers!" And those in the know rank Smith's The Seventh Scroll as the number one archaeological “thriller” of all time. It got a score of 993 (out of 1000) from apanel of voters from around the world. Smith, a South Africanwriter (born in 1933 and died in 2021) studied archaeology and then wrote a series of adventure/thriller novels about a husband-and-wifearchaeological team exploring Egyptian tombs (where they find the aforementionedscroll and have a series of breathtaking experiences).
There’s an old adage that each writershould “Write What He or She Knows Best,” whether it be archaeology, education,sports or history.
"Write for yourself, not for a perceived audience," Smith advised. "And you have to read. That's how you learn what is good writing and what is bad. Then the main thing is application. It's hard work."
