Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 48
January 27, 2025
'Any road can get you there'
“Sometimes I’ve believed as many assix impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll
Born in Daresbury, England on thisdate in 1832, Carroll – the pseudonym for Charles Dodson – was the eldest in afamily of 11 children and grew adept at entertaining his siblings with hisstorytelling ability.
It was something he continued doinginto his 20s and 30s, including for the children of good friend Henry Liddell. It was Henry's daughter Alice who can be credited with Carroll's pinnacle inspiration. On a picnic outing with the Liddell family, Caroll toldAlice and her sisters an amazing tale of a dream world called Wonderland. Alice was soenamored she insisted Carroll write the story down so she could both relive itand share it with her friends.
Ultimately, the story fell into thehands of novelist Henry Kingsley, and in 1865 he urged Carroll to publish it. That year the book Alice's Adventuresin Wonderland was born. It would become the most popularchildren’s book in England, then America, and then throughout the world by thetime of Carroll’s death in 1898.
How did a professionalmathematician and photographer spin such a yarn? Perhaps two of hislasting quotes will suffice: “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come tothe end; then stop.” And, “If you don’t know where you are going,any road can get you there.”
January 25, 2025
A Writer's Moment: The 'beautiful noise' of life
The 'beautiful noise' of life
"I never really chosesongwriting. It just absorbed me andbecame more and more important in my life.” – Neil Diamond
Born in Brooklyn, NY on Jan. 24,1941 Diamond began writing poems while still in high school. After learning the guitar, he startedcombining his poetic skills with his musical compositions but didn’timmediately turn to those skills as a career.
But after studying pre-med at NewYork University – where he was a member of the NCAA Championship Fencing team –he took up songwriting full time in the early 1960s. His many dozens of songs since have included10 Number One hits and more than 130 million sales, making him one of thebest-selling singer-songwriters in history. Inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, he also is a Kennedy CenterHonoree and subject of the Broadway Musical “A Beautiful Noise.” For Saturday’s Poem, here is Diamond’s,
BeautifulNoise
What a beautiful noise
Comin' up from the street
Got a beautiful sound
It's got a beautiful beat
It's a beautiful noise
Goin' on ev'rywhere
Like the clickety-clack
Of a train on a track
It's got rhythm to spare
It's a beautiful noise
And it's a sound that I love
And it fits me as well
As a hand in a glove
Yes it does, yes it does
What a beautiful noise
Comin' up from the park
It's the song of the kids
And it plays until dark
It's the song of the cars
On their furious flights
But there's even romance
In the way that they dance
To the beat of the lights
It'sa beautiful noise
And it's a sound that I love
And it makes me feel good
Like a hand in a glove
Yes it does, yes it does
What a beautiful noise
It's a beautiful noise
Made of joy and of strife
Like a symphony played
By the passing parade
It's the music of life
It's a beautiful noise
And it's a sound that I love
And it makes me feel good
Just like a hand in a glove
Yes it does, yes it does
Whata beautiful noise
Comin' into my room
And it's beggin' for me
Just to give it a tune
January 24, 2025
A Writer's Moment: 'The candle . . . or the mirror'
'The candle . . . or the mirror'
“There are two ways of spreadinglight: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton
Wise words from one of the greatestwriters in history, who was born on this date in 1862. Raised in New York City, Wharton began writingpoetry and fiction as a young girl and even attempted to write a novel at age11. Her first published work came at age15.
Despite that, her “Upper CrustSociety” family discouraged her from writing and publishing because they didn’tthink it was either “ladylike” or worthwhile. But aftermarrying, she pursued it anyway and went on to publish 16 novels, dozens ofnovellas, 85 short stories, 3 books of poetry, and 9 nonfictionbooks. In 1921 she won the Pulitzer Prize for The Age ofInnocence, and in 1927, 1928 and 1930 she was a finalist for the NobelPrize.
Her novella Ethan Frome andher novel House of Mirth are widely studied in Americanliterature classes in both high schools and colleges and universities aroundthe world, lauded for their realism and portrayal of the times and places inwhich she lived.
Wharton loved life and writingabout it and said it kept her young and vibrant. “Life is always atightrope or a feather bed,” she said. “Give me thetightrope.”
January 23, 2025
'Reflecting reality . . . is rarely simple'
“Every published writer suffersthrough that first draft because most of the time, that's a disappointment.” – Rebecca Stead
Stead, born in Manhattan in Januaryof 1978, must write great “second” drafts because her works have all been winners. Her novel When You Reach Me won theNewbery Medal, the oldest award in children's literature. She won theGuardian Prize for best children's book released in Great Britain for herbook Liar & Spy; and her most recent book, The List ofThings That Will Not Change, has enjoyed great reviews and worldwide success.
Stead, who grew up in New York Cityand still makes her home there, said she enjoyed writing as a child but laterfelt that it was "impractical.” So,she studied law instead. But after thebirth of her two children, she returned to writing, authoring FirstLight, a book written to entertain her oldest son.
“I asked myself what it was that Iwanted from writing and where my connection with books began,” she said. “Andthe answer to that question was definitely in childhood, because that's wheremy connection with reading began.”
Her second book, When You Reach Me. has been ranked the 11th bestchildren’s novel of all time in a survey done by the School LibraryJournal, and the Newbery judges noted, "Every scene, every nuance, everyword is vital both to character development and the progression of the mysterythat really is going to engage young readers and satisfy them.”
“A lot of my ideas for books comefrom newspaper articles,” she said. “But I don't like to be actively lookingfor ideas. I do try to write in waysthat reflect reality, and I think that reality is rarely simple.”
A Writer's Moment: 'Reflecting reality . . . is rarely simple'
January 22, 2025
'Unfolding a gripping plot'
“Once the world has been created,the fantasy author still has to bring the story's characters to life and unfolda gripping plot. That's why good fantasy is such a hard act to bringoff.” – TonyBradman
Born in a suburb of London on thisdate in 1954, Bradman gravitated to reading fantasies while still in primaryschool; started writing while still a student at Queens’ College, Cambridge (wherehe earned his Master of Arts degree); and became a full-time writer ofchildren’s lit. and fantasy books in the 1980s.
He started his professional writingcareer as a music writer and children’s book reviewer before writing The BadBabies’ Counting Book in 1984. Hehas now written over 50 books for young people, most wildly successful and ledby his Dilly the Dinosaur series, which has sold over 2million copies alone.
Bradman said he first “discovered”books and stories reading Thomas the Tank Engine storiesbefore gravitating to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. “That,”he said, “really got me hooked.”
“I love the feeling of being drawn into astory, the delicious sense of tension that comes from wanting to know what isgoing to happen next and almost being afraid to find out,” he said. “That happens when you read the best stories –and as I found out, it can happen when you write a story of your own, too.”
A Writer's Moment: 'Unfolding a gripping plot'
January 21, 2025
'The feel of the book in your hands'
“If your reading habits areanything like mine, then you can remember the exact moment that certain bookscame into your life. You remember where you were standing and whom you werewith. You remember the feel of the book in your hands and the cover, that exactcover, even if the art has changed over the years.” – Alethea Kontis
Born in Vermont in January of 1976,Kontis is a writer of Teen & Young Adult Books and short stories aboutFantasy, Romance and Science Fiction. Primarily known for herbook Enchanted, also made into a top-grossing movie, she is aprolific writer in several genres. She has new works out as children’s books,in anthologies, and as short story collections, and has completed a new novel, TheThieftess.
Although she labels herself anintrovert, she makes dozens of writing and speaking appearances annually andmaintains a blog.
Her own favorite readsare “really dense, complicated stories with lots of layers, tons ofobscure literary references, and a plethora of inside jokes.”
She also enjoys dressing up as characters – either those she is reading about or those she is writing about – for appearances at writing events.
“It took me a long time to learnhow to be brave enough to put myself out there and try everything, no matterhow strange or silly,” she said. “If I can impart that same wisdomto other folks - no matter what age - it would be an honor.”
