Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 132

A Writer's Moment: Carved into a lifetime of success

A Writer's Moment: Carved into a lifetime of success:   “Your work is carved out of agony as a statue is carved out of marble.” – Louise Bogan   A native of Maine, Bogan ...

Carved into a lifetime of success

 

“Yourwork is carved out of agony as a statue is carved out of marble.”– Louise Bogan

 

A native of Maine, Bogan was born onthis date in 1897 and made history when she was appointed the fourth PoetLaureate to the Library of Congress in 1945 – the first woman in therole. 

 

Her works were widely published inmost mainstream and arts magazines, often highly praised by critics and fellowwriters alike, and she was honored by the American Academy of Poets for herlifetime efforts.  For Saturday’s Poem,here is Bogan’s,

 

                                Songfor the Last Act

 

Now that I have your face by heart,I look

Less at its features than itsdarkening frame
Where quince and melon, yellow as young flame,
Lie with quilled dahlias and the shepherd's crook.
Beyond, a garden, There, in insolent ease
The lead and marble figures watch the show
Of yet another summer loathe to go
Although the scythes hang in the apple trees.

Now that I have your face by heart, I look.

Now that I have your voice by heart, I read
In the black chords upon a dulling page
Music that is not meant for music's cage,
Whose emblems mix with words that shake and bleed.
The staves are shuttled over with a stark
Unprinted silence. In a double dream
I must spell out the storm, the running stream.
The beat's too swift. The notes shift in the dark.

Now that I have your voice by heart, I read.

Now that I have your heart by heart, I see
The wharves with their great ships and architraves;
The rigging and the cargo and the slaves
On a strange beach under a broken sky.
O not departure, but a voyage done!
The bales stand on the stone; the anchor weeps
Its red rust downward, and the long vine creeps
Beside the salt herb, in the lengthening sun.

Now that I have your heart by heart, I see.

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'Link to the past; bridge to the future'

 

“Inmy writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it.”–  Alex Haley 
Born on this date in 1921, Haley wrote one of thepre-eminent books on the African American experience with his massivebest-seller Roots: The Saga of an American Family.  The 1976 book has been in continous printsince it’s appearance, bolstered by two critically acclaimed televisionadaptations – the first in 1977 and the second in 2015.  The first adaptation established arecord-breaking audience of over 130 million viewers.
The book and mini-series raised the publicawareness of African American history and inspired a broad interest ingenealogy and family history for all races causing Haley to say that was one of hisproudest accomplishments.   ”In every conceivable manner," he said,  "the family is link to ourpast, bridge to our future.”

A native of New York, Haley's first book, whichcatapulted him onto the national scene, was The Autobiography of Malcolm Xpublished in 1965.
A Coast Guard veteran from bothWorld War II and the Korean War, he was self-taught as a writer in order to“report” on things to folks back home, writing both for individuals and for hiscommunity newspapers.  After his CoastGuard career, he expanded his reportorial efforts, which eventually led him tohis biographical writing.  While heachieved some recognition for his other works, it was Roots that always dominated. 
“(But) I look at my books the way parents look at their children,” Haley said.  “The fact that one becomes more successfulthan the others doesn't make me love the less successful one any less.”   

A Writer's Moment: 'Link to the past; bridge to the future'

A Writer's Moment: 'Link to the past; bridge to the future':   “In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it.” –   Alex Haley   Born on this date in 1921, Haley wro...

'Inventor of the past'

 

“Writersof historical fiction are not under the same obligation as historians to findevidence for the statements they make. For us it is sufficient if what we saycan't be disproved or shown to be false.” – Barry Unsworth

Born in England into a family ofcoal miners (on this date in 1930), Unsworth said he “got out of that trap”when his father bucked tradition and became an insurance salesman.  “He saved us,” Unsworth said.  

 

He started writing “traditional”novels but switched to historical fiction later in life with more than half ofhis 17 novels being in that genre.   At the time of his death – in 2012 on the sameday as science fiction writer Ray Bradbury – he was so well entrenched in thatstyle that Wall Street Journal writerCynthia Crossen noted:  "Mr.Bradbury invented the future; Mr. Unsworth invented the past."

 

Unsworth was noted for writing thatbrought “real people” back to life, although in terms and language he oftencreated for them.  “All my fiction startsfrom a feeling of unique perception, the pressure of a secret, a story thatneeds to be told."

 

Shortlisted three times for The Booker Prize, his 1992masterpiece Sacred Hunger, about the English involvement in the slavetrade, shared the prize with Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient (definitely not bad company with which to share a writing prize).  

 

 As for why he chose to focus on historical fiction,Unsworth said, “I like the condition of being an outsider, just passingthrough.”

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A Writer's Moment: 'Inventor of the past'

A Writer's Moment: 'Inventor of the past':   “Writers of historical fiction are not under the same obligation as historians to find evidence for the statements they...

A Writer's Moment: 'Keep your mind wide open'

A Writer's Moment: 'Keep your mind wide open':   “Life can't defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer's lover until death.” – Edna Ferber Bor...

'Keep your mind wide open'

 

“Lifecan't defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is awriter's lover until death.” – Edna Ferber
Born on Aug. 15. 1885 Ferberwas a novelist, short story writer and playwright whose novels were wildlypopular and won her a remarkable four Pulitzer Prizes – for So Big, Show Boat, Cimarron and Giant, the latter three also made intoaward-winning movies.   Show Boat was adapted for the stage as ahit Broadway musical and Cimarron wonthe Academy Award for Best Picture. 
Ferber's novels featuredstrong female protagonists and a rich and diverse collection ofsupporting characters. She usually highlighted at least one strong secondarycharacter who faced some sort of discrimination anddemonstrating her belief that people are people and that the not-so-prettypeople often have the best character.                                       Ferber died in 1968 after writing a wide range of stories and achieving worldwide celebrity.    “I like to look at all sides of people and be open to any idea,” shesaid.  “A closed mind is a dying mind.”

A Writer's Moment: Keeping her readers 'mesmerized'

A Writer's Moment: Keeping her readers 'mesmerized':   “In plotting a book, my goal is to raise the stakes for the characters and, in so doing, keep the reader mesmerized.“– Barbara Delinsky ...

Keeping her readers 'mesmerized'

 

“Inplotting a book, my goal is to raise the stakes for the characters and, in sodoing, keep the reader mesmerized.“– Barbara Delinsky
Born in Boston in August, 1945Delinsky started her writing career as a newspaperreporter and photographer while simultaneously becoming a volunteer andadvocate for many medical causes, particularly on behalf of cancer victims andsurvivors.    Her firstromance novels were written for Silhouette Books under the pseudonym Billie Douglass before she was signed by Harlequin Books under her own name.
After success with both names and another pseudonym, Bonnie Drake, she decided to workstrictly as herself and even re-issued some Billie Douglassbooks under her own name.  To date, she has more than 30 million copies of her books in print and has won numerous awards, including several “best novel” prizes.  One of those, A Woman's Place, also wasmade into a “Lifetime” movie. 
 A breast cancer survivor, Delinsky branched into nonfiction with Uplift:Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors.  She's donated proceeds from hernonfiction work to fight cancer and help train breast surgeons. 
Delinski, who writes in an office above her garage, has authored more than 60books.  “Eachof my books is different from the last, each with its own characters, its ownsetting, its own themes,” she said.   “Asa writer, I need the variety. I sense my readers do, too.”