Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 150
April 1, 2023
'Where true language lives'
“Languageis what makes us human. It is a recourse against the meaningless noise andsilence of nature and history.” – Octavio Paz
Born on March 31, 1914 Mexicanwriter Octavio Paz Lozano held the rare distinction of being both a diplomatand a writer. He won three major writingawards capped by the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1990.
Paz wrote the first of his long,ambitious poems "Between the Stone and the Flower" at age 23. The work explores the situation of Mexicanpeasants under the domineering landlords of the day. From that point Pazserved his country as both a diplomat and an eloquent and bold writer about life, the land, and the people around him.
"The poetry of OctavioPaz," wrote the critic Ramon Xirau, "does not hesitate between languageand silence; it leads into the realm of silence where true languagelives." For Saturday’s Poem, hereis Paz’s,
TheBridge
Between now and now,
between I am and you are,
the word bridge.
Entering it
you enter yourself:
the world connects
and closes like a ring.
From one bank to another,
there is always
a body stretched:
a rainbow.
I'll sleep beneath its arches.
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A Writer's Moment: 'Where true language lives'
March 30, 2023
A Writer's Moment: 'Walking into the unknown'
'Walking into the unknown'
“Witha novel, there is no hurrying it. You're constantly walking into the unknown.”– Tobias Hill Born in North London on this date in 1970, Hill is the prizewinning author of five novels, four volumes of poetry, a short storycollection and a children's book. He also is a critically acclaimed essayist.
Amongst contemporary British authors, Hill isunusual in achieving critical recognition in such a wide range of writing with works in all those fields published worldwide. Secrecy, revelationand obsession are recurrent themes in Hill's novels, which have all been best sellers. His short stories have won the prestigious International PEN/MacmillanSilver Pen Award. And,his poetry has been called “luminous” and “unforgettable.”
When asked what he likes best in his writinglife, he said probably poetry because it provides him the biggest challenge.
“At school, I was never given a sense thatpoetry was something flowery or light. It's a complex and controlled way ofusing language,” he said. “Rhythms andthe music of it are very important. But the difficulty is that poetry makessome kind of claim of honesty.”
March 29, 2023
A Writer's Moment: 'Invite readers into your world'
'Invite readers into your world'
“As a writer, you have to believe you’re one of the best writers in the world. To sit down every day at the typewriter filled with self-doubt is not a good idea.” – Jo Nesbo
If the Norwegian writer and singer Jo Nesbo lacks any self-confidence it’s not evident in his work. He has parlayed it into his two highly successful careers. The first, of course, is for his creative fiction where he writes about Norwegian and international crime solver Harry Hole, a gritty detective known for his ability to not only solve perplexing crimes but also “save the girl,” much to the delight of the legions of Nesbo readers.
Nesbo's books have sold some 50 million copies worldwide and been translated into 40 languages. Many of his readers also tune in to hear him sing. Nesbo has been the lead vocalist and songwriter for the rock band DJ Derre. The personable Nesbo, who grew up in a small town and has not forgotten his roots, says his readers and listeners think of him as “a family member made good.”
As for writing: “I’ve always said that you can’t visit readers where you think they are, but instead you need to invite them home to where you are,” he said. “They need to join you in your world. That’s the art of storytelling.”
March 27, 2023
A Writer's Moment: 'It goes on'
'It goes on'
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost
Frost was born March 26, 1874 in California but grew up and spent most of his life in New England. His realistic depictions of rural life, the beauty of the land, and command of American colloquial speech – all while examining complex social and philosophical themes – may never be equaled. "Poetry is a simple process," he liked to say. "It's emotion finding a thought and the thought finding its words." [image error]Robert Frost
Like every writer Frost hit dry periods, but noted, “Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. It’s the intervals that are the tough things.”
The only poet to win four Pulitzer Prizes, he also was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal and was Poet Laureate of Vermont. A great teacher, he liked to say that education is hanging around until you’ve caught on. “I talk in order to understand,” he said. “But I teach in order to learn.”
March 25, 2023
A Writer's Moment: Thinking along divergent lines
Thinking along divergent lines
“When you write it doesn't occur to you that somebody could think different from what you do.” – Howard Nemerov
Nemerov, born in March 1920, twice served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress and was thrice-honored for The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov, winning the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and Bollingen Prize.
A teacher first, he said he always enjoyed talking to kids. “I liked the kid who wrote me that he had to do a term paper on a modern poet and was doing me because, ‘though they say you have to read poems twice, he found he could handle mine in one try’.” For Saturday’s Poem, here is Nemerov’s,
Found Poem (After information received in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1986)
The population center of the USA
Has shifted to Potosi, in Missouri.
The calculation employed by authorities
In arriving at this dislocation assumes
That the country is a geometric plane,
Perfectly flat, and that every citizen,
Including those in Alaska and Hawaii
And the District of Columbia, weighs the same;
So that, given these simple presuppositions,
The entire bulk and spread of all the people
Should theoretically balance on the point
Of a needle under Potosi in Missouri
Where no one is residing nowadays
But the watchman over an abandoned mine
Whence the company got the lead out and left.
'It gets pretty lonely here,' he says, 'at night.'
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