Heidi Ayarbe's Blog, page 5
December 6, 2013
A Book A Day ... Remembering Barbara Park
When you ask someone about great literature (a grown up, I mean), they'll usually prattle off a list of the classics: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Hemingway ... A few might name Stranger in a Strange Land or other science fiction favorites. And if you asked about children's literature, after hemming and hawing, you might get a nod for Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein.
The importance of great children's literature is so so underrated. People don't begin cracking open the spine of Marcel Proust. They begin the enchantment of reading with storybooks and fairy tales. Then they move into independent reading and might be lucky enough to have their lives graced with Junie B Jones.
Junie B Jones is a misfit, loud mouth, warm-hearted little girl who makes me laugh on every single page. Honestly, how Barbara Park got into the brain of a five-year-old is beyond me, but she did it masterfully!
My Junie B. was Ramona the Pest. Oh, how I could relate to Ramona with the perfect big sister. She was a Tom boy and strong willed and such a royal pain in the behiney (a Junie B word). And now, my daughter relates to Junie B.
My daughter has been left out of birthday parties, has had friends blow her off, has traveled on airplanes with cranky people, has felt the crushing disappointment of a five-year-old's life. And Junie B brings those experiences to life. There's nothing I cherish more than opening a new Junie B and sharing it with my daughter because we just laugh together. Sometimes I don't get through the sentence before I have to stop and laugh. What a wonderful, beautiful thing to share with my girls!
In November, Barbara Park died after a long battle with ovarian cancer. I told my daughter, and she said, "So no more Junie B books?"
I shook my head.
This is a nod to Junie B and the misfits out there -- the ones who stick their foot in it too often; the ones who don't get invited everywhere; the ones who stumble through some days; and soar through others. Hats off to Junie B.
Age: 4+
The importance of great children's literature is so so underrated. People don't begin cracking open the spine of Marcel Proust. They begin the enchantment of reading with storybooks and fairy tales. Then they move into independent reading and might be lucky enough to have their lives graced with Junie B Jones.
Junie B Jones is a misfit, loud mouth, warm-hearted little girl who makes me laugh on every single page. Honestly, how Barbara Park got into the brain of a five-year-old is beyond me, but she did it masterfully!
My Junie B. was Ramona the Pest. Oh, how I could relate to Ramona with the perfect big sister. She was a Tom boy and strong willed and such a royal pain in the behiney (a Junie B word). And now, my daughter relates to Junie B.
My daughter has been left out of birthday parties, has had friends blow her off, has traveled on airplanes with cranky people, has felt the crushing disappointment of a five-year-old's life. And Junie B brings those experiences to life. There's nothing I cherish more than opening a new Junie B and sharing it with my daughter because we just laugh together. Sometimes I don't get through the sentence before I have to stop and laugh. What a wonderful, beautiful thing to share with my girls!
In November, Barbara Park died after a long battle with ovarian cancer. I told my daughter, and she said, "So no more Junie B books?"
I shook my head.
This is a nod to Junie B and the misfits out there -- the ones who stick their foot in it too often; the ones who don't get invited everywhere; the ones who stumble through some days; and soar through others. Hats off to Junie B.
Age: 4+
December 5, 2013
A Book A Day ... Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (back to the classics)
Okay, Yeah, I know. I'm late to the party here, 'so it goes.' I finally checked this book out of the library and was simply astonished. I loved it. I loved Billy Pilgrim and Vonnegut's sardonic view of war and how this wasn't going to be a "war novel." It's about people trying to survive atrocities (the bombings in Dresden) and making sense of the horror of war. (No one, we see, can make sense of the horror of war). The refrain, "so it goes," rings all too true.
I loved the timelessness and the idea that every moment is meaningless yet packed with meaning, and the idea that Billy Pilgrim could free fall back into any moment in his life and just "be." It takes the whole time-space continuum and knocks it on its head.
And I loved the prose. Tight and surprising. Unexpected.
Blurb:
Slaughterhous-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know.
Age: 15+
I loved the timelessness and the idea that every moment is meaningless yet packed with meaning, and the idea that Billy Pilgrim could free fall back into any moment in his life and just "be." It takes the whole time-space continuum and knocks it on its head.
And I loved the prose. Tight and surprising. Unexpected.
Blurb:
Slaughterhous-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know.
Age: 15+
December 4, 2013
A Book A Day ... The Gathering Dark by Christine Faul Johnson
Physics meets YA and hot romance. The Gathering Dark is ultra cool because it explores dark matter using real science. Christine Faul Johnson is a huge proponent of the sciences and especially getting girls "into" science. I loved that about this book. I also loved the music -- which plays a huge part of her character, the "hubba hubba", the mystery ending up with a downright ingenious concept. Like ... Wowzers. Something I never expected, and something that is not "hack science."
Kudos for bringing physics, YA, and romance in one big package.
Blurb:
Keira’s hallucinating. First it’s a door hovering above the road; then it’s a tree in her living room. But with her parents fighting and her best friend not speaking to her, Keira can’t tell anyone about her breakdown.
Until she meets Walker. They have an electric connection, and somehow he can see the same shadowy images plaguing Keira.
But trusting Walker may be more dangerous than Keira could have ever imagined. The more she confides in him, the more intense—and frightening—her visions become. Because Walker is not what he appears to be. And neither are her visions.
Age: Young adult -- 13+
Kudos for bringing physics, YA, and romance in one big package.
Blurb:
Keira’s hallucinating. First it’s a door hovering above the road; then it’s a tree in her living room. But with her parents fighting and her best friend not speaking to her, Keira can’t tell anyone about her breakdown.
Until she meets Walker. They have an electric connection, and somehow he can see the same shadowy images plaguing Keira.
But trusting Walker may be more dangerous than Keira could have ever imagined. The more she confides in him, the more intense—and frightening—her visions become. Because Walker is not what he appears to be. And neither are her visions.
Age: Young adult -- 13+
December 3, 2013
A Book A Day ... A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Okay.
It's hard for me to pick a "favorite of the year." But this has to be as close as it can get to "favorite of the year." Patrick Ness is a master telling the story of a mother dying and the process her young son is going through to learn to accept her death. It's beyond powerful. And I felt like the monster had punched through my chest and squeezed my heart into a pulp.
I loved the metaphor of the monster of our thoughts. I'm always guilty of letting my thoughts take on a life of their own. I so could relate to this boy, feeling responsible and guilty for something out of his control.
There are moments of absolute humor. There are moments that make your spine tingle. And there's the release of learning to let go.
This is a masterpiece. I couldn't stop crying for a long time when I finished it. And I still get choked up talking about it ... partly because I know Patrick Ness got the idea from a good friend and author, Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer ... the rest because I'm just a sap. (I've been known to sob in commercials and one particularly emotional episode of Handy Manny. Hey. Don't judge me.)
Blurb:
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.
Age: 10 and up.
It's hard for me to pick a "favorite of the year." But this has to be as close as it can get to "favorite of the year." Patrick Ness is a master telling the story of a mother dying and the process her young son is going through to learn to accept her death. It's beyond powerful. And I felt like the monster had punched through my chest and squeezed my heart into a pulp.
I loved the metaphor of the monster of our thoughts. I'm always guilty of letting my thoughts take on a life of their own. I so could relate to this boy, feeling responsible and guilty for something out of his control.
There are moments of absolute humor. There are moments that make your spine tingle. And there's the release of learning to let go.
This is a masterpiece. I couldn't stop crying for a long time when I finished it. And I still get choked up talking about it ... partly because I know Patrick Ness got the idea from a good friend and author, Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer ... the rest because I'm just a sap. (I've been known to sob in commercials and one particularly emotional episode of Handy Manny. Hey. Don't judge me.)
Blurb:
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.
Age: 10 and up.
December 2, 2013
A Book A Day ... Everything is Illuminated
Oh wow!
It's been a long, LONG time since a book has made me laugh and cry in the same breath. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer is masterful, heart breaking, hilarious (just pick a great adjective and place it here. Honestly!)
Blurb:
With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man - also named Jonathan Safran Foer - sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past.
Alex's chapters are works of art. His expressions, literal translations and misinterpretations of the English language are absolutely exquisite. His grandfather's story is one of the saddest I've read, one that takes us through a history of regret and guilt. And this misguided adventure becomes a road trip of sorts in which each character explores his wishes, his past, and attempts to make amends with it.
It's simply amazing. Honestly, every single page is just ... perfect.
Age: Adult. Mature readers.
It's been a long, LONG time since a book has made me laugh and cry in the same breath. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer is masterful, heart breaking, hilarious (just pick a great adjective and place it here. Honestly!)
Blurb:
With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man - also named Jonathan Safran Foer - sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past.
Alex's chapters are works of art. His expressions, literal translations and misinterpretations of the English language are absolutely exquisite. His grandfather's story is one of the saddest I've read, one that takes us through a history of regret and guilt. And this misguided adventure becomes a road trip of sorts in which each character explores his wishes, his past, and attempts to make amends with it.
It's simply amazing. Honestly, every single page is just ... perfect.
Age: Adult. Mature readers.
December 1, 2013
A Book A Day ... Eleanor and Park
We get this a lot. "THIS BOOK IS IMPORTANT." And I'm never really sure how to take it. What does that mean? How can we NOT classify a book about the holocaust or the Civil War or drug abuse important? But, with this book, I have to fall into the cliche.
Eleanor and Park is important.
Why?
Because we are so so unaware of what happens behind closed doors. We are so quick to judge. We are so quick to categorize and belittle. And reading a book that gives us a sneak peek into the battleground of Ellen is one I wish I'd read when I was younger. It, I think, would've made me a nicer, better person and friend.
This book, honestly, broke my heart every single page.
And Ellen, in no moment, is a victim. She is strong. She is courageous. And her great friend, and love, is Park -- the person I wish I was when I was in school. He's kind and generous. He chooses to risk his comfort zone to stand up for someone no one else would.
Here's the blurb:
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.
Eleanor and Park is a beautiful story that goes way beyond first loves for me. It deals with inequality, abuse, kindness, friendship and strength. If you have a teenager in the house, read this together. Talk about the Eleanors and Parks that your child studies with. Talk about how your child can make the difference in someone's life; how your child can be that moment of goodness in someone's otherwise shitty shitty day. That is more powerful than anything.
Age: Mature middle graders or early high schoolers on up. (No one is EVER too old to read this!)
Eleanor and Park is important.
Why?
Because we are so so unaware of what happens behind closed doors. We are so quick to judge. We are so quick to categorize and belittle. And reading a book that gives us a sneak peek into the battleground of Ellen is one I wish I'd read when I was younger. It, I think, would've made me a nicer, better person and friend.
This book, honestly, broke my heart every single page.
And Ellen, in no moment, is a victim. She is strong. She is courageous. And her great friend, and love, is Park -- the person I wish I was when I was in school. He's kind and generous. He chooses to risk his comfort zone to stand up for someone no one else would.
Here's the blurb:
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.
Eleanor and Park is a beautiful story that goes way beyond first loves for me. It deals with inequality, abuse, kindness, friendship and strength. If you have a teenager in the house, read this together. Talk about the Eleanors and Parks that your child studies with. Talk about how your child can make the difference in someone's life; how your child can be that moment of goodness in someone's otherwise shitty shitty day. That is more powerful than anything.
Age: Mature middle graders or early high schoolers on up. (No one is EVER too old to read this!)
October 28, 2013
A Halloween Post ... My greatest fear (today, anyway) ...
The Superfluous Life … Greatest Fears … I’m a scared-y-cat. The last scary movie I saw was THE SIXTH SENSE. (And some people tell me that that doesn’t count.) I have the uncanny ability of freaking myself out under the most normal of circumstances. I can’t even watch advertisements for The Walking Dead, Supernatural, The X-Files, Hannibal, American HOrror Story … you get the picture. As for books. Sorry, Stephen King. You are a master. But your spines will never open under my roof. (Not since I was in high school almost 25 years ago!)
But that’s not my greatest fear. I’m going to go out on a limb here and expose myself BIG TIME.My greatest fear is irrelevance. It’s scary to me to think that I might live a life that doesn’t matter. I don’t think “matter” means to have paparazzi and fame and my face plastered on magazines. A life of that means something is one that is purpose-driven. Whether it be with my books or through teaching or mothering … I sometimes feel like I’ve lost the focus and I feel like my life my slip into a realm of irrelevance. So, for the second scariest things to see, I’ve put TED talks on my list.
They frighten the bejeezus out of me as they are the most terrifying segments of film on the planet. People who are greater than great and though I have moments of inspiration, it doesn’t take long for me to feel incredibly … irrelevant and superfluous, like I’m just not doing enough. How can I compare to:
A woman who was stung by box jellyfish and managed to swim another 24 hours afterward before “giving up.”
Authors who find a bit of “Allah” in their words … a piece of God.
Analysts and philosophers who have bucked belief systems.
Models, scientists, rock stars, musicians … all with gifts and genius and lives that scream RELEVANT.
I know. It sounds a bit neurotic. And as much as I love those TED talks, I feel intimidated more than inspired because greater than great can be found in simplicity, too. In quiet splashes and moments of grace. My grandma lived a life of relevance that, under the scope of today’s lens with trending and hashtags and hits and the social media boom, might seem small. But how can a woman who serves up coffee and treats for anybody who stopped by, worked a farm her whole life and SAVED it from being lost, and had more love and hugs in her than anyone be “irrelevant?” And how can I get to a place where I feel comfortable here … with what I’m doing … grounded and secure … knowing that my work matters?
So … there you have it. IRRELEVANCE. I’m terrified that my words will ring empty, my life will be a series of stumbles without focus and purpose. Simply terrified.
Okay. Somebody pass the coffee … I need a double dose today! (feeling incredibly vulnerable!)
September 30, 2013
HURRAH FOR BOOK BANNERS & CHALLENGERS!! (I am now the most unpopular YA writer in the USA.)
The hoopla, incredulity, gobsmacked disbelief and drama! There are few things more fantastic than the collective horror of librarians, teachers, authors, and readers across the country when we hear the words: challenged or banned.
I know. What's exciting about that? Isn't that so, like, 1900s communism? How can I get excited about ultra-conservatism and someone getting their panties in a wad because a book has the word fuck?
First, let's look at how common these challenges are in real numbers:
In 2012, the ALA reported 464 officially challenged books. Let's say not all books are registered -- books that have been challenged. To be generous, I'll times 464 by four. And we get ... just a sec ... 1856 challenged books. Yikes! Challenged books are books about which a parent, library patron, SOMEBODY makes a formal complaint. They are not books removed from shelves. They're kind of "red flagged", so to speak.
There are an estimated 119,987 libraries of all kinds in the United States today. (Taken from ALA fact sheet.) 8, 951 of this number are public.
Sooo ... mathematically speaking, if we take the generous number of challenges of ALL LIBRARIES in the states, that's 1856 challenges in 119,987 libraries for a total of (damn math) = FEWER than .015 books per library was challenged in all libraries and FEWER than .21 books in all public libraries were challenged.
According to the US Censor's population block, as of July 1, 2013, the US has a total resident population of 316,756,000. So, let's be dreamy and imagine all of these residents are readers or have readers in their homes. In 2012, then, there were fewer than .00006 challenges per person in the US in 2012.
So, we're hollering and celebrating and screaming! The drama! We're writers. We're teachers. We're parents. We're librarians. We're book lovers and we're LOUD about those who want to interfere with intellectual freedom: "the right to seek, receive, hold, and disseminate information from all points of view without restriction. “It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or movement may be explored” (Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A)."
But think about it: Challenges are a BEAUTIFUL thing.
To have misguided, however, perhaps, well meaning??, challenges we need to have kids reading. KIDS READING. So that means KIDS. ARE. READING. As 90% of all challenged books are children's books.
(It's rare the officious neighbor who takes the time to challenge her forty-year-old neighbor's taste in erotica with the exception of a current best seller.)
I don't argue that someone in a position of power, challenging and/or banning a book, doesn't do harm. The case of this national board certified teacher who lost her job because of books (Please, PLEASE read this story) horrifies and haunts me. But I applaud the indignation of the majority and how we rally together to keep that small, very boisterous minority in check screaming, "We read! We read! You. Can't. Stop. Us." We write letters. We will be heard because you can't stop readers. YOU SIMPLY CAN'T!
But here's where I'm coming from. I live in a country that, unfortunately, doesn't have the rich readers we have in the States. It doesn't have the American Library Association and SCBWI. It doesn't have lunchtime book clubs and hundreds of copies of a best seller in bookstore windows. In Colombia, we're working on it. It's a SLOW process. My city has an average of fewer than one book read per year per person. I once did a talk about challenged and banned books. And everybody kind of shrugged because nobody really had thought about it because nobody was really into reading. It wasn't a topic that set off alarms or any kind of angst. It was just ... "Oh. That's mildly interesting." Here, there's still more news about censorship of the press. But Colombia has the strongest democracy in South America and prides itself on being one of the most censorship-less countries.
See what I'm getting at?
Kids in Colombia aren't grabbing for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Captain Underpants, The Hunger Games, Lessons from a Dead Girl, and Crank, and parents aren't worried about what's being read ... because so little is being read. *SIGH*
So, bring on the challenges and the commotion and everything beautiful that comes with it. Celebrate readers! That's what I see every time I see banned and challenged books and authors ... readers. READERS are behind it all.
I know. What's exciting about that? Isn't that so, like, 1900s communism? How can I get excited about ultra-conservatism and someone getting their panties in a wad because a book has the word fuck?
First, let's look at how common these challenges are in real numbers:
In 2012, the ALA reported 464 officially challenged books. Let's say not all books are registered -- books that have been challenged. To be generous, I'll times 464 by four. And we get ... just a sec ... 1856 challenged books. Yikes! Challenged books are books about which a parent, library patron, SOMEBODY makes a formal complaint. They are not books removed from shelves. They're kind of "red flagged", so to speak.
There are an estimated 119,987 libraries of all kinds in the United States today. (Taken from ALA fact sheet.) 8, 951 of this number are public.
Sooo ... mathematically speaking, if we take the generous number of challenges of ALL LIBRARIES in the states, that's 1856 challenges in 119,987 libraries for a total of (damn math) = FEWER than .015 books per library was challenged in all libraries and FEWER than .21 books in all public libraries were challenged.
According to the US Censor's population block, as of July 1, 2013, the US has a total resident population of 316,756,000. So, let's be dreamy and imagine all of these residents are readers or have readers in their homes. In 2012, then, there were fewer than .00006 challenges per person in the US in 2012.
So, we're hollering and celebrating and screaming! The drama! We're writers. We're teachers. We're parents. We're librarians. We're book lovers and we're LOUD about those who want to interfere with intellectual freedom: "the right to seek, receive, hold, and disseminate information from all points of view without restriction. “It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or movement may be explored” (Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A)."
But think about it: Challenges are a BEAUTIFUL thing.
To have misguided, however, perhaps, well meaning??, challenges we need to have kids reading. KIDS READING. So that means KIDS. ARE. READING. As 90% of all challenged books are children's books.
(It's rare the officious neighbor who takes the time to challenge her forty-year-old neighbor's taste in erotica with the exception of a current best seller.)
I don't argue that someone in a position of power, challenging and/or banning a book, doesn't do harm. The case of this national board certified teacher who lost her job because of books (Please, PLEASE read this story) horrifies and haunts me. But I applaud the indignation of the majority and how we rally together to keep that small, very boisterous minority in check screaming, "We read! We read! You. Can't. Stop. Us." We write letters. We will be heard because you can't stop readers. YOU SIMPLY CAN'T!
But here's where I'm coming from. I live in a country that, unfortunately, doesn't have the rich readers we have in the States. It doesn't have the American Library Association and SCBWI. It doesn't have lunchtime book clubs and hundreds of copies of a best seller in bookstore windows. In Colombia, we're working on it. It's a SLOW process. My city has an average of fewer than one book read per year per person. I once did a talk about challenged and banned books. And everybody kind of shrugged because nobody really had thought about it because nobody was really into reading. It wasn't a topic that set off alarms or any kind of angst. It was just ... "Oh. That's mildly interesting." Here, there's still more news about censorship of the press. But Colombia has the strongest democracy in South America and prides itself on being one of the most censorship-less countries.
See what I'm getting at?
Kids in Colombia aren't grabbing for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Captain Underpants, The Hunger Games, Lessons from a Dead Girl, and Crank, and parents aren't worried about what's being read ... because so little is being read. *SIGH*
So, bring on the challenges and the commotion and everything beautiful that comes with it. Celebrate readers! That's what I see every time I see banned and challenged books and authors ... readers. READERS are behind it all.
September 3, 2013
Words for sale!!
My oldest daughter has just started to write. She wrote a page of words and stood on the balcony the other day shouting, "Vendo palabras! A cinco mil! Vendo palabras!"
Cinco mil -- five thousand -- is about 2.50 cents each word. NOT bad.
So the little capitalist in her has come out ... and also something precious. She believes words mean something. (So do I, by the way, but I have to put on the filter to find the ones I want to keep). And she believes HER words have value.
Now, I'm probably reading too much into this. She's five. She wrote down a page of made-up words. (yes ... they were made up). And she wanted to sell them to anybody who'd buy. Last year we did a lemonade stand. She sold a lot of cups of lemonade with her cousins and friend.
LEMONADE FOR SALE!
She didn't, however, sell any words.
She laughed. She hollered to everyone who walked by. But nobody wanted to buy her words.
I thought about it. Even though I'm in the business of hawking my own words, it's no wonder words are a hard sell:
We're all word slingers (Thanks, Trish, for the terminology).
We're all on stage, shouting out to the world, and it's become little more than a constant buzzzzzzzzzzzz ... Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy isn't so far from reality -- instead of hearing everyone's every thought, we are privy to vlogs, blogs, updates, tweets, linked ins, texts, what's ups and more. Groups form. The phone beeps every time somebody in the group wants to communicate, like we're all on automatic brain share.
Obviously, I'm blogging. I'm definitely guilty of using many of these forums.
But I've noticed how, in the last few years, our conversations have gotten diluted. Nothing fresh comes out of an encounter because we've all hashed it out over the thousands of above mentioned forums. So encounters become a series of inside jokes and references to the last what's up message instead of a dialogue about something ... something meaningful. It often feels exclusive and isolating, really, if you don't want to play the non-stop social media game.
So my daughter's words didn't sell. Not a one. They were good ones, too -- the kinds with all consonants you see in Eastern European languages. They got caught in the back of my throat and had to be pushed out. They were hard to say. They were heavy and gutteral and rare.
I think, though, I'd better try to teach her the value of listening. I bet she'd have lots of buyers if she screamed at the top of her lungs: "Attention for sale! I will pay attention. I will give you my time, listen to you, look you in the eye, and hear your story."
Think about the last time you stood and asked someone something and listened to what they had to say. I'm a writer. I get to do this a lot. I get to ask people about their jobs, their lives. People talk. People are grateful when you listen. It doesn't happen very often. I can tell because they light up, like somebody's opened a door. One that will be open longer than a 140 character blip or simple update.
It's called real interaction.
It's magical.
Okay. She's five. Maybe for now I can buy her words, listen to them, let her tell me their stories and show her how much they mean to me because they are hers. And because she matters, so do her words.
Inscribing Meaning
The Color of Words IX
Wosene Worke Kosrof, b. 1950, Ethiopia
2002
Acrylic on linen
H x W: 79 x 87 cm. (31 7/64 x 34)
Cinco mil -- five thousand -- is about 2.50 cents each word. NOT bad.
So the little capitalist in her has come out ... and also something precious. She believes words mean something. (So do I, by the way, but I have to put on the filter to find the ones I want to keep). And she believes HER words have value.
Now, I'm probably reading too much into this. She's five. She wrote down a page of made-up words. (yes ... they were made up). And she wanted to sell them to anybody who'd buy. Last year we did a lemonade stand. She sold a lot of cups of lemonade with her cousins and friend.
LEMONADE FOR SALE!She didn't, however, sell any words.
She laughed. She hollered to everyone who walked by. But nobody wanted to buy her words.
I thought about it. Even though I'm in the business of hawking my own words, it's no wonder words are a hard sell:
We're all word slingers (Thanks, Trish, for the terminology).
We're all on stage, shouting out to the world, and it's become little more than a constant buzzzzzzzzzzzz ... Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy isn't so far from reality -- instead of hearing everyone's every thought, we are privy to vlogs, blogs, updates, tweets, linked ins, texts, what's ups and more. Groups form. The phone beeps every time somebody in the group wants to communicate, like we're all on automatic brain share.
Obviously, I'm blogging. I'm definitely guilty of using many of these forums.
But I've noticed how, in the last few years, our conversations have gotten diluted. Nothing fresh comes out of an encounter because we've all hashed it out over the thousands of above mentioned forums. So encounters become a series of inside jokes and references to the last what's up message instead of a dialogue about something ... something meaningful. It often feels exclusive and isolating, really, if you don't want to play the non-stop social media game.
So my daughter's words didn't sell. Not a one. They were good ones, too -- the kinds with all consonants you see in Eastern European languages. They got caught in the back of my throat and had to be pushed out. They were hard to say. They were heavy and gutteral and rare.
I think, though, I'd better try to teach her the value of listening. I bet she'd have lots of buyers if she screamed at the top of her lungs: "Attention for sale! I will pay attention. I will give you my time, listen to you, look you in the eye, and hear your story."
Think about the last time you stood and asked someone something and listened to what they had to say. I'm a writer. I get to do this a lot. I get to ask people about their jobs, their lives. People talk. People are grateful when you listen. It doesn't happen very often. I can tell because they light up, like somebody's opened a door. One that will be open longer than a 140 character blip or simple update.
It's called real interaction.
It's magical.Okay. She's five. Maybe for now I can buy her words, listen to them, let her tell me their stories and show her how much they mean to me because they are hers. And because she matters, so do her words.
Inscribing MeaningThe Color of Words IX
Wosene Worke Kosrof, b. 1950, Ethiopia
2002
Acrylic on linen
H x W: 79 x 87 cm. (31 7/64 x 34)
August 20, 2013
Now THIS is a Beauty Pageant ... Colombia from the Hip
Colombia is the land of flowers, coffee, dance and really beautiful women. It's unnatural how consistently beautiful the women are here. Honestly, I sometimes look around me and wonder if they made some kind of genetic beauty pact with the devil years ago. Nevertheless, after so many years here, I've grown accustomed to them, and a little tired, I must say, of all the baggage that comes with the cult of beauty. The "Princess Complex" gets a little tiresome.
So it's no surprise to anybody who knows me or has read this blog that I pretty much despise beauty pageants, runways etc. etc. etc. There's so much more to a human being than silicone implants and swaying hips! But when friend called Cesar to tell him to stop by the studio he set up to photograph these beauties, we couldn't resist.
THIS is a beauty pageant -- with all the pomp and feathers, color and pizazz, and ... chicken shit that comes with it! THIS is style.
THE BEST LOOKING ROOSTER COMPETITION IN LA FLORIDA, RISARALDA
Most Likely to Become Sancocho
Mr. Congeniality
Best Hair (Nobody tell him Farrah Fawcett hair is passe)
Best Talent
Next Gillette Icon ... Shave Those Feet
As always, I really try to find books to tie into what I write about ... So, recommended rooster, or ridiculous beauty pageant reads are as follows:
So it's no surprise to anybody who knows me or has read this blog that I pretty much despise beauty pageants, runways etc. etc. etc. There's so much more to a human being than silicone implants and swaying hips! But when friend called Cesar to tell him to stop by the studio he set up to photograph these beauties, we couldn't resist.
THIS is a beauty pageant -- with all the pomp and feathers, color and pizazz, and ... chicken shit that comes with it! THIS is style.
THE BEST LOOKING ROOSTER COMPETITION IN LA FLORIDA, RISARALDA
Most Likely to Become Sancocho
Mr. Congeniality
Best Hair (Nobody tell him Farrah Fawcett hair is passe)
Best Talent
Next Gillette Icon ... Shave Those FeetAs always, I really try to find books to tie into what I write about ... So, recommended rooster, or ridiculous beauty pageant reads are as follows:
