Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 87
May 28, 2024
'Just get the right words in the right order'
“Idon't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you getthe right ones in the right order, you might nudge the world a little or make apoem that children will speak for you when you are dead.”– Tom Stoppard
A Czech-born playwright (in 1937), Stoppard escapedthe Nazis as a child, ending up in Great Britain. He changed his name and started writingjournalistically in 1954. Then in 1960he decided to try writing plays and his first effort, A Walk on the Water, not only made it to the stage but wastelevised by the BBC. His second play Rosencrantz andGuildenstern Are Dead earned himinternational acclaim from which he never looked back, earning 4 Tony Awards inthe process.
Also a writer for radio, televisionand film, he co-wrote the Academy Award winning script for the film Shakespearein Love, in which Gwyneth Paltrow also won for Best Actress in her firststarring role. In 2013 Stoppard was awarded the prestigiousPEN Pinter Prize for lifetime achievement.
“I cannot say that I write with anysocial objective,” Stoppard said. “Onewrites because one loves writing, really.”
@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
May 27, 2024
A Writer's Moment: 'Write your story as it needs to be written'
'Write your story as it needs to be written'
“The main rule of writing is that ifyou do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whateveryou like. – Neil Gaiman A British author of . . . well, almost everything . . . Gaiman was born in Hampshire, England in 1960. A practitioner of what he preaches, he has won dozens of awards for works ranging from screenplays to short stories to graphic novels to journalism. He has homes in Wisconsin and Massachusetts and has been a longtime teacher at Bard College teaching courses in theater and performance, written arts and experimental humanities. He also writes a blog and is a regular poster on 'X,' formerly known as Twitter.
"So write your story as it needs to be written," Gaiman says." Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are anyother rules. At least, not ones that matter.”
May 25, 2024
A Writer's Moment: Nature's promises kept
Nature's promises kept
“Naturenever did betray the heart that loved her.” – WilliamWordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; butthey
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
May 24, 2024
A Writer's Moment: 'A yardstick for the language'
'A yardstick for the language'
“Everyindividual ought to know at least one poet from cover to cover: if not as aguide through the world, then as a yardstick for the language.”– Joseph Brodsky
Born in Leningrad on this date in1940, Brodsky started writing at age 15. Published by the underground journal Sintakss (Syntax)before he was out of high school, his early works got him in deep trouble asbeing “anti-Soviet” and by his late 20s the Soviet government had him “confined” to a mentalinstitution and then expelled from his homeland.
Then, thanks to the help of poetW.H. Auden, he came to live in the United States where he had a long andeventful writing career leading, ultimately, to being named for the Nobel Prize.
Besides writing, he taught poetry and creative writing at Yale, Columbia and Michigan beforebecoming a full-time faculty member at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusettswhere he taught until his death in 1996.
His 1987 Nobel Prize inLiterature was awarded "for an all-embracing authorship, imbued withclarity of thought and poetic intensity.” In 1991, he was appointed United States Poet Laureate, the firstnaturalized citizen to be so honored. America, he said, was a breath of fresh airthat renewed his spirit and belief in his fellow human beings.
“Cherish your human connections: yourrelationships with friends and family,” he advised. “Know how delightful it is to find a friend ineveryone you meet.”
@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
May 22, 2024
A Writer's Moment: 'Not a good place to hide your heart'
'Not a good place to hide your heart'
“Ihid my heart under my bed because my mother said if you're not careful somedaysomebody's going to break it. Take it from me, under the bed is not a good hidingspot.” – Shane Koyczan
Born on May 22, 1976 in Yellowknife inNorthwest Territories, Koyczan grew up in British Columbia and wasthe first Canadian to win an Individual Championship title at the U.S. NationalPoetry Slam.
A spoken word poet, writer, andmember of the group Tons of Fun University, he is best known for writing aboutissues like bullying, cancer, death, and eating disorders and internationallyfamous for his anti-bullying poem To ThisDay, which has more than 25 million YouTube views.
Also the author of 4 books of poetry and many essays –both written and spoken – Koyczan said he’s interested in pursuing operanext. “Opera is the original marriage ofwords and music, and there's a theatre element, a dramatic element,” hesaid. “It's right up my alley.”
@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
May 21, 2024
Tragedy to comedy, 'Everything is copy'
“Mymother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have thepotential to be comic stories the next.” – Nora Ephron
Ephron, born in May of 1941, was a journalist, essayist,playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, director, and blogger born into afamily of writers. She popularized the term "Everything is copy" when asked where she got her writing ideas. Ephron's parents were both writers, and she was the first of 4sisters to follow the profession. One of her three marriages was to WashingtonPost writer Carl Bernstein - with who she had two sons (one, Jacob, also becoming a writer). Ephron died from pneumonia in 2012, a complication brought on by leukemia. A three-timeAcademy Award nomineee for her writing of Silkwood,When Harry Met Sally, and Sleeplessin Seattle, she won numerous writing awardsin many different genres. And for When Harry Met Sally, hadthere had been an award for best original scene, she probably would have takenthat home too. It depicts an elderly womansitting in a restaurant watching Sally and telling the waitress “I’ll have whatshe’s having.” If you haven’t seen it, take a look onYou Tube to brighten your day. “I try to write parts for women thatare complicated and interesting,” Ephron said. “Just as women actually are.”
