Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 89

'Giving shape and meaning to chaos'

 

“Human life itself may be almost purechaos, but the work of the artist is to take these handfuls of confusion anddisparate things, things that seem to be irreconcilable, and put them togetherin a frame to give them some kind of shape and meaning.” – Katherine Anne Porter
APulitzer Prize-winning journalist, essayist, short story writer,novelist, and political activist, Porter was born in Texas on this date in 1890.   She wrote only one novel – but it was a really goodone.   Ship of Fools not only was a worldwidebestseller, it also earned her the Pulitzer, The National Book Award, and a boxoffice hit movie. 
Shealso won the National Book Award for The Collected Stories ofKatherine Anne Porter, often hailed as a hallmark of shortstory excellence.
Porter’sjournalism career began on the East Coast, then gravitated to Colorado whereshe was writing for the Rocky Mountain News when she almost died duringthe 1918 flu pandemic. When she was finally discharged from the hospital, she wasfrail and completely bald and when her hair finally grew back, it was white andremained that way for the rest of her life.  Her life-and-death experience was reflected inher award winning trilogy of novelettes led by the wonderful Pale Horse, Pale Rider. 
 Porter advised young writersto look upon writing as an art AND a profession.  “Writing is a craft,” she said.  “Take an apprenticeship in it just like anyother profession.”

'Perfect, unspoiled time awaits you'

 

“Thenext year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, asunspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all yourlife.  You can turn over a new leaf everyhour if you choose. “ – Arnold Bennett 
Bennett, born in Britain on this date in 1867, was a journalist, editor and filmmaker who  devoted the last half of his life to creative writing.  He also wrote several non-fiction books tht have stood the test of time, including the bestselling self-help book How to Live on24 Hours a Day from which the above quote comes.     But, it was his creative writing around which he focused most of his career.  He wrote 30 novels, led by The Old Wives' Tale, considered one of the great works of 20th Century English literature.  It gives us an in-depth look at 70 years inthe lives of two sisters, following their stories from youth through old age.
 Bennett also was acclaimed as a“discoverer” of other great writers and his reviews were highly soughtafter.   Reviewing a constant stream ofnew books, he unerringly picked out the important writers of the nextgeneration—James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway—andpraised them discerningly.  He said, inhis mind, everyone has “artistic” moments.   "At moments," he said, "we are all artists."

                                            

A Writer's Moment: 'Perfect, unspoiled time awaits you'

A Writer's Moment: 'Perfect, unspoiled time awaits you':   “The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a...

A Writer's Moment: A poet's Mother's Day praise

A Writer's Moment: A poet's Mother's Day praise:   “Poetry wishes to say what it is like for any man to be himself in the presence of a particular occurrence as though only he were alone...

A poet's Mother's Day praise

 

“Poetrywishes to say what it is like for any man to be himself in the presence of aparticular occurrence as though only he were alone there.”–  Archibald MacLeish

Born in May of 1892, MacLeish won a remarkable threePulitzer Prizes for his poems and strived throughout his life to promote the arts, culture and libraries.  And, he wasthe Library of Congress's first Poet Laureate.  For Saturday’s Poem and Mother's Day, here is MacLeish’s,

 

       Poemin Prose

 

This poem is for my wife.
I have made it plainly and honestly:
The mark is on it
Like the burl on the knife.

I have not made it for praise.
She has no more need for praise
Than summer has
Or the bright days.

In all that becomes a woman
Her words and her ways are beautiful:
Love's lovely duty,
the well-swept room.

Wherever she is there is sun
And time and a sweet air:
Peace is there,
Work done.

There are always curtains and flowers
And candles and baked bread
And a cloth spread
And a clean house.

Her voice when she sings is a voice
At dawn by a freshening spring
Where the wave leaps in the wind
And rejoices.

Wherever she is it is now.
It is here where the apples are:
Here in the stars,
In the quick hour.

The greatest and richest good,
My own life to live in,
This she has given me --

If giver could.

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A Writer's Moment: 'What could be more fulfilling than that?'

A Writer's Moment: 'What could be more fulfilling than that?':   “Librarians and romance writers accomplish one mission better than anyone, including English teachers: we create readers for life - and ...

'What could be more fulfilling than that?'

 

“Librariansand romance writers accomplish one mission better than anyone, includingEnglish teachers: we create readers for life - and what could be morefulfilling than that?” – Susan Elizabeth Phillips

 

Credited as being the creator of thesports romance genre, Phillips also has been called the “Queen of RomanticComedy” with books published in more than 30 languages.  Born in Ohio in 1944, she is the only 5-time winner of the Romance Writers of America FavoriteBook of the Year Award.

 

A graduate of Ohio University, shewas a teacher for a number of years, then a stay-at-home mom when she joinedwith neighbor Claire Kiehl to co-author her first book, The Copeland Bride, under the pen name Justine Cole.  By the mid-1980s she had begun her owncareer, which has now produced three dozen titles.

 

Among her many bestsellers are theterrific “Chicago Stars” series, including ItHad To Be You; Heaven, Texas; First Star I See Tonight; and this year's hit Simply The Best. 

 

Inducted into the Romance WritersHall of Fame, Phillips also is recipient of the Romance Writers LifetimeAchievement Award.    When she isn’t writing she enjoys hiking,gardening and reading – and supporting her local library.

 

A self-styled "positive person," she advises others to focus first on themselves and what they want to achieve.  “You can't do extraordinary things in the world if you're spending time criticizing othersbecause they don't look or behave the way you think they should.”

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A Writer's Moment: 'I love writing' every step of the way

A Writer's Moment: 'I love writing' every step of the way:   “I love writing and do not know why it is considered such a difficult, agonizing profession.” – Caroline B. Cooney ...

'I love writing' every step of the way

 

“Ilove writing and do not know why it is considered such a difficult, agonizingprofession.” – Caroline B. Cooney

Born in Geneva, NY, on May 10, 1947Cooney has authored some 80 books in a wide range of genres and primarily foryoung adults.   Now a resident of SouthCarolina, she said she thought from the 6th grade on that she mightwant to be a writer, but her early attempts met with failure.  After writing 8 historical fiction books andgetting none of them published, she switched to the YA and Children’s marketand hit her stride. 

 

 Her 1979 novel Safe As The Grave opened the door to her remarkable string of booksuccesses.  One of her best known, alsoadapted as a TV movie, is The Face on theMilk Carton.

  

She said she gets letters fromreaders who say they didn’t like reading before trying one of her books and nowthey are reading more if not every day.   “I'm thrilled that they have figured out thatreading is fun.”

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A Writer's Moment: 'Sweat, drudgery . . . but you love it'

A Writer's Moment: 'Sweat, drudgery . . . but you love it': “ Writing is sweat and drudgery most of the time. And you have to love it in order to endure the solitude and the discip...