Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 80

'The only sensible thing to do'

 

“Ijust knew I would be a writer.  It justseemed the only sensible thing to do.” – Jane Gardam 

 

Born on July 11, 1928, Gardam was inher 40s when her first book was published. “But then, my goodness, I never stopped.”  A writer of both children's and adultfiction, she also wrote reviews for The Spectator and The Telegraph,two of the most prestigious British journals, and for BBC radio. 

 

She is the author of 13 children’s books,beginning in 1971 with A Long Way From Verona, winner of the PhoenixAward in 1991 – recognizing the best children’s book published 20 years earlierthat had not already won a major award. 

 

In addition to her children’snovels, Gardam has authored 9 adult novels, 10 short story collections, and a non-fictionbook. 

 

Winner of numerous literary awards,including two coveted Whitbreads for The Hollow Land and TheQueen of the Tambourine, she also was nominated for the Booker Prize for God on the Rocks.   In 2015 a BBC survey listed her novel Old Filth among the 100 greatest Britishnovels.   

 

“I started to write as a child …when my mother would read me Beatrix Potter at bedtime,” she recalled.  “Writing seemed such a sensible way to liveand be happy.” 

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A Writer's Moment: 'You can't rewind the movie'

A Writer's Moment: 'You can't rewind the movie':   “It's a journalist's job to be a witness to history. We're not there to worry about ourselves. We're there to try and get...

'You can't rewind the movie'

 

“It'sa journalist's job to be a witness to history. We're not there to worry aboutourselves. We're there to try and get as near as we can, in an imperfect world,to the truth and get the truth out.” –  Robert Fisk Born in July of 1939 (he died of a stroke in 2020), Englishwriter and journalist Fisk grew up in the rural environs of England but becamea reporter of the world.  A longtime Middle East correspondent for various media - but primarily for TheIndependent - he worked from Beirut, Lebanon, intermittently one of the“hottest” of the Middle East hotspots.  His reporting has earned himaccolades from world leaders, the public, and his fellow journalists, and he was voted British InternationalJournalist of the Year seven times.  He earned more British and international journalism awards thanany other foreign correspondent and published a number of books based onmany of the wars and armed conflicts he covered, including the bestseller The Age of the Warrior: Selected Writings. 
  Despite his many accolades, Fisk saidcovering war and people’s suffering took a toll on his ownwell-being.                              “I'm not sure whether I've beenhappy,” he said about his career. “After my last book tour, I sat on my balcony with a cup oftea. I thought: 'You can't rewind the movie. I've spent more than half my lifein the Middle East. There have been great moments, of course, but also greatmoments of horror, depression and loneliness.'" 

A Writer's Moment: Writing a Line; Starting an Era

A Writer's Moment: Writing a Line; Starting an Era:   "I sat down one night and wrote the line rock, rock, rock everybody. I was going to use the word ‘stomp’ – like rock, rock, rock and...

Writing a Line; Starting an Era

 

"Isat down one night and wrote the line rock, rock, rock everybody. I was goingto use the word ‘stomp’ – like rock, rock, rock and then stomp, stomp, stomp.But that didn't fit. I went from one word to another and finally came up with‘roll.’” – Bill Haley

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When Rock Around the Clock appeared as the theme song of the 1955 film“Blackboard Jungle,” it soared to the top of the American Billboard chart for eight weeks and became the unofficial startingpoint for the rock and roll era.  Becoming the mantra for a whole generation, Haley's little idea changed the face of music forever. Quickly named the"Father of Rock and Roll" by media and the teenagers who embraced his style, rock and roll was here to stay.    Rock Around The Clock became the first million-seller in three countries – U.S., Great Britain andGermany – and Haley the first international touring rock singer.  
          Born in July of 1924, Haley intendedto hang his star on country music.  A professional entertainer by age 13 he worked as a singing cowboy and formed a bandcalled The Saddlemen.  He also worked as a disk jockey before renaming his bandBill Haley and the Comets after reading about Halley’s Comet (which actually ispronounced Hal Lee while his is Hay Lee, “But it seemed like a good fit,” hesaid.).
Haley had a whole series of numberone hits after age 30, including Shake,Rattle and Roll, See You Later Alligator and Razzle Dazzle.  His recordssold 25 million copies before his sudden death from an apparent heart attack at age 57.    He was inducted into the aptly named Rock andRoll Hall of Fame in 1987.

A Writer's Moment: Celebrating a master of suspense

A Writer's Moment: Celebrating a master of suspense:   “Books were this wonderful escape for me because I could open a book and disappear into it, and that was the only way out of that house...

Celebrating a master of suspense

 

“Bookswere this wonderful escape for me because I could open a book and disappearinto it, and that was the only way out of that house when I was a kid.”– Dean Koontz

Born in Pennsylvania on this date in 1945, Koontz has been a writeralmost his entire life.   His professional writing career began when he won an Atlantic Monthly fictioncompetition while in college, and since then he has written over 100books with 450 million copies sold.

 

A multiple award winner for his suspense thrillers, he often is emulated by other writers.  Sci Fi writer Brian Herbert noted, "Iwent though a phase where I read everything that Dean Koontz wrote, and in theprocess I learned a lot about characterization and building suspense.”

 

Fourteen of Koontz’s novels went tonumber one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list - led by Strangers,Sole Survivor, and What the Night Knows - making him one of only adozen writers to have achieved that milestone.   And perhaps even more remarkable is that 17 of his books have been made into movies.

 

Abused as a child, Koontz haschampioned causes to help victims of both alcohol and abuse.  “Even in thedarkest moments light exists if you have faith to see it.  Civilization rests on the fact that mostpeople do the right thing most of the time.”

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'Building bookshelves - the best decoration'

 

“Thereis little premium in poetry in a world that thinks of Pound and Whitman as aweight and a sampler, not an Ezra, a Walt, or a thing of beauty, a joyforever.”

– Anna Quindlen

 

Born in Philadelphia on this date in1952, Quindlen started writing in high school, joining the New York Times staff at age 18 as a copy girl and working her waythrough Barnard College with her earnings from the paper.  After college she spent some time at the New York Post before returning to the Times where she became only the thirdwoman in Times’ history to write aregular column for the Op-Ed Page.

 

That column, "Public andPrivate," won her a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary but she left the paperin 1995 to devote herself full time to writing novels.  She’s now written 10, all bestsellers includingOne True Thing, Black and Blue, and Blessings –  all made into movies.  Her newest is2024’s After Annie.

 

Since 2001 she’s also written 13nonfiction books, the latest being Writefor Your Life in 2022.

 

The mother of three writers (twosons and a daughter, who also is an actress), she once noted,  “I would be most content if my children grewup to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of buildingenough bookshelves.”

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A Writer's Moment: 'Building bookshelves - the best decoration'

A Writer's Moment: 'Building bookshelves - the best decoration':   “There is little premium in poetry in a world that thinks of Pound and Whitman as a weight and a sampler, not an Ezra, ...

A Writer's Moment: 'These Poems - are you ready?'

A Writer's Moment: 'These Poems - are you ready?':   “Poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth.” – June Jordan The daughter of Jamaican immigrant...