Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 127
September 13, 2023
A Writer's Moment: 'Each new day demands new ideas'
'Each new day demands new ideas'
Dahl rose to writing prominenceduring WWII with works for both children and adults, ultimately becoming oneof the world's best-selling authors. His first books, written for adults, wereabout his wartime adventures, but his first big splash came with his tale Gremlins, the start of his terrific career in writing for children.
Born on this date in 1916, Dahl has been referred to as"one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century,”earning the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1983, and Children'sAuthor of the Year from the British Book Awards in 1990.
Dahl's adult stories, like Tales of the Unexpected, were adapted into movies and a televisionseries. But it's his works forchildren that are among the world’s most beloved, especially James and theGiant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Matilda. The “Charlie” book grew out of a childhoodfantasy that he might someday work for the famed Cadbury chocolate company.
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“When you're writing a book, with people in it as opposed toanimals, it is no good having people who are ordinary, because they are notgoing to interest your readers at all,” Dahl said about his writing style. “Every writer in the world has to use thecharacters that have something interesting about them.”
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September 12, 2023
A Writer's Moment: Writer of 'hard, unromatic truth'
Writer of 'hard, unromatic truth'
"Therealist . . . is really an optimist, a dreamer. He sees life in terms of whatit might be, as well as in terms of what it is; but he writes of what is, and,at his best, suggests what is to be, by contrast."– Hamlin Garland
Born on a Wisconsin farm on Sept. 14, 1860 "Hamlin" was actually named "Hannibal Hamlin" Garland, named after Abraham Lincoln’s vice presidential running mate. But he never much liked the name Hannibaland went by Hamlin most of his life, particularly after his writing career tookoff.
Novelist, poet, essayist and shortstory writer, Garland is best known for his fiction involving hard-workingMidwestern farmers – a reflection of his “Growing Up Days” in Wisconsin, Iowaand South Dakota. His first majorsuccess, in fact, was a book of short stories Main-Travelled Roads,inspired by his days on the farm. He then serialized a biography of Ulysses S.Grant in McClure's Magazine, publishing it as a book in 1898, the sameyear he traveled to the Yukon to witness the Klondike Gold Rush and inspiring hisbest-seller The Trail of the Gold Seekers. While he was a prolific writer inmany genres, his work as a memoirist brought him his most acclaim, beginningwith his autobiography A Son of the Middle Border, its PulitzerPrize-winning sequel A Daughter of the Middle Border. He also wrote memoirs about farm life, the people, and the harsh land they strove totame. “(It's) the hard, unromantic truth," he said, "of pioneer life on the plains.”
September 11, 2023
A Writer's Moment: 'Writing's only rule'
'Writing's only rule'
“Write what you like; there is no otherrule.” – O. Henry
Knownby his pen name, William Sydney Porter is arguably America’s greatest-ever short storywriter. Known for wit, wordplay,warm characterization and surprise endings, O. Henry’s works set the standard for generations of writers. Today, the O. Henry Award is aprestigious annual prize given for "exceptional" short stories published in American or Canadian periodicals.
Bornin North Carolina on this date in 1862, Porter grew up in Texas and was onthe road to success in a number of fields – trained in banking and pharmacywhile simultaneously building a reputation as a writer for newspapers and magazines – when hegot into trouble for alleged embezzlement from a bank at which he had beenworking.
Whilethe charges were never proven, he nonetheless was arrested and in a panic,jumped bail and fled the country, living for a time in Central America where he beganwriting short stories and coined the term “Banana Republic.” Drawn back to America when his wifedeveloped a fatal illness, he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years inprison. While there he wrote manysuccessful stories, published under various names to hide his identity. One of those pen names was O. Henry.
Releasedearly for good behavior, he began the most prolific part of his career,publishing dozens of best-selling stories and story collections and becomingone of America’s most well-known and beloved writers. Among his most famous stories are The Gift of the Magi; The Last Leaf; TheRansom of Red Chief (where a kidnap victim is so horrible that the kidnappersend up paying his family to take him back); Caballero’sWay (introducing the world to the character The Cisco Kid); and Cabbages and Kings (where “Banana Republic” was introduced).
Hedied young (age 47) from liver disease but said he loved every minute of his life andwork and coming up with another phrase that often is quoted in this and similar forms. “When one loves one's art," he said, "no serviceseems too hard.”
September 9, 2023
A change in the air
“Dreams come true; without thatpossibility, nature would not incite us to have them.”– John Updike
Asthe air went from super hot (mid-to-upper 90s most of the past week) to the brisk, coolmorning that greeted me today (53 degrees), I thought of Updike's“seasonal” poem. For Saturday’s Poem,here’s Updike’s,
September
The breezestaste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.
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A Writer's Moment: A change in the air
September 8, 2023
A Writer's Moment: 'Breaking out of established patterns'
'Breaking out of established patterns'
“Creativity involvesbreaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a differentway.”― Terry Tempest Williams Born in California on this date in 1955, author, conservationist, and activist Williams has focused many of herwritings on the American West. Her work ranges from issuesof ecology and wilderness preservation to women's health. Currently serving as Writer-in-Residence at the Harvard Divinity School,
she is recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Awardfrom the Western American Literature Association and the Wallace Stegner Awardfrom the Center of the American West at CU-Boulder. To read one of her great pieces pick up a copy of Refuge: An Unnatural History ofFamily and Place, a masterpiece of interweaving memoir and natural history. “Writingis also about a life engaged. And so, for me, community work, working in theschools or with grassroots conservation organizations is another criticalcomponent of my life as a writer . . . Writing isdaring to feel what nurtures and breaks our hearts. Bearing witness is its ownform of advocacy. It is a dance with pain and beauty.”
