Lori Ann Stephens's Blog
September 22, 2017
A bientot
Among all the other joys and discoveries in life, I haven't been able to keep up this blog. But you can find out what's up by following me on Facebook (@LoriAnnStephensWrites, https://www.facebook.com/LoriAnnStephensWrites/) and on my website at www.loriannstephens.com.
As always, I'll still be DIY-ing and writing and traveling. Bon courage, and have faith in the Good.
Lori
As always, I'll still be DIY-ing and writing and traveling. Bon courage, and have faith in the Good.
Lori
August 3, 2015
A Year in Pictures
I had noble goals as we packed up and headed to Paris for the long-awaited sabbatical year. When I wasn't dragging my younger son to museums ("too many museums"), I revised a novel (accomplished), submitted a few opera libretti pieces to composers (check), began a middle-grade novel, and wrote a jazz opera summary for an upcoming project. When I returned to Texas, I was seized by another wave of Do-It-Yourself mania (a form of writer's procrastination) and made a sliding door. What I didn't do was this: blog. Nor did I update my website.
Thus: A Year in Pictures. With subtitles.
I went to a writer's retreat in the French countryside:
said hello to this peacock every morning
trekked through these grounds at the retreat
saw his lady
slept and wrote in this glorious room
visited this grand cathedralAnd took part in this book singing for my Young Adult novel Some Act of Vision, at American Library in Paris:
I'm surrounded by cool people.
the toast afterward
We moved into in a cute apartment:
And I dragged Julien to museums with weird art:
Madonna's clothes (by Gaultier)
this odd fellow
gagged at these earth tumors
My libretto, Lingerer, a collaboration with composer Max Perryment, premiered at Meadows School of the Arts in September 2014. (No pics. Sad face.)
I geeked out at a special opera exhibition at the Grand Palais:
I ate too much food:
I watched Julien begin middle school in Paris (eek):
a brave soul, this one.
And walked home from his school on this street:
visited castles and a cave with Mother:
wine tasting at this cave
I said "so long" to my sweet friend, Amy, who made Paris feel like home:
And then, in February, my son re-enrolled in a Texas school for 3 months and I watched his first performance on the violin:
The kid is in there somewhere
My libretto, EVARISTE, a collaboration with composer Helgi Ingvarsson, premiered in London at two venues in July (and...no pics for this either because I was not in London).
And recently, I gave in to my DIY cravings and made a sliding barn door for my laundry room entrance:
And I baked this year, too:
Now everyone is all caught up and I don't feel as though I've completely abandoned my blog.
Thus: A Year in Pictures. With subtitles.
I went to a writer's retreat in the French countryside:
said hello to this peacock every morning
trekked through these grounds at the retreat
saw his lady
slept and wrote in this glorious room
visited this grand cathedralAnd took part in this book singing for my Young Adult novel Some Act of Vision, at American Library in Paris:
I'm surrounded by cool people.
the toast afterward
We moved into in a cute apartment:
And I dragged Julien to museums with weird art:
Madonna's clothes (by Gaultier)
this odd fellow
gagged at these earth tumorsMy libretto, Lingerer, a collaboration with composer Max Perryment, premiered at Meadows School of the Arts in September 2014. (No pics. Sad face.)
I geeked out at a special opera exhibition at the Grand Palais:
I ate too much food:
I watched Julien begin middle school in Paris (eek):
a brave soul, this one. And walked home from his school on this street:
visited castles and a cave with Mother:
wine tasting at this cave
I said "so long" to my sweet friend, Amy, who made Paris feel like home:
And then, in February, my son re-enrolled in a Texas school for 3 months and I watched his first performance on the violin:
The kid is in there somewhereMy libretto, EVARISTE, a collaboration with composer Helgi Ingvarsson, premiered in London at two venues in July (and...no pics for this either because I was not in London).
And recently, I gave in to my DIY cravings and made a sliding barn door for my laundry room entrance:
And I baked this year, too:
Now everyone is all caught up and I don't feel as though I've completely abandoned my blog.
April 5, 2015
On discovering cool opera cartoons
AH! I've just stumbled on Opera in Brief, a cartoon-like summary of operas that is finally (finally!) entertaining.
I have to admit, when I go to the opera and I'm waiting for the curtain to rise, the thing I want most to do is read the summary. Two sentences into the summary, I realize that, oh yeah, this is the thing I least like to do. Because opera summaries are, by nature, just incredibly boring. They manage to confuse the heck out of me, too.
Not anymore. I watched this little clip posted by the Dallas Opera, and I'm going to the opera because of this video. I kid you not. Watch it for yourself and tell me you don't want to go, too.
Thanks, Dallas Opera! Make these for all your operas for infinity, please?
I have to admit, when I go to the opera and I'm waiting for the curtain to rise, the thing I want most to do is read the summary. Two sentences into the summary, I realize that, oh yeah, this is the thing I least like to do. Because opera summaries are, by nature, just incredibly boring. They manage to confuse the heck out of me, too.
Not anymore. I watched this little clip posted by the Dallas Opera, and I'm going to the opera because of this video. I kid you not. Watch it for yourself and tell me you don't want to go, too.
Thanks, Dallas Opera! Make these for all your operas for infinity, please?
February 9, 2015
Special Guest: How I (Accidentally) Learned How Cool it is to Write About Things You Love
I belong to a lovely critique group in North Texas. We operate like the ocean. Most of the time, we're like the waters at Galveston beach, a manuscript chapter gently flowing in here, a critique ebbing out there. Sometimes we're more like Hawaii, with enormous waves of work drowning our database, our productivity taking us all by surprise.
I had the pleasure of meeting children's book author Murray Richter through SCBWI, and when he joined our critique group, his manuscript delighted me. To our great joy, Lucky Rocks was recently published by Ten Story Books. I enjoyed the book so much, I blurbed it! Murray's book reminded me of the ones I'd curl up with in elementary school, forget time, live someone else's adventure, and then run outside to recreate one just like it.
And because I think it's a fun read-aloud for parents and kids, I'm sharing the book jacket information with you:
Led by a one-legged World War II vet, Kevin, Preech and Rudy face a summer they'll never forget. From fishing to endless pranks that would make the most seasoned trickster jealous, they think they have the answer to all of life's mysteries. But as the steamy Texas days of summer roll by, Kevin and Preech discover Rudy's secret - a secret that could change their lives forever.
(Now, go buy a copy.) I asked Murray to write a guest post about his experience as a debut author. Enjoy~
How I (Accidentally) Learned How Cool it is to Write About Things You LoveDo you recall the super-smart things you were told as a kid? Things you said “sure, whatever" about at the time? And later in life, they turned out to be the best advice ever? For years, those tidbits came back to me one by one. I wrote them on shreds of paper, bar napkins, and matchbooks, then threw them in a file. I wanted to write a book for my kids so they could learn “the smart stuff” through a story. When I realized the story could also help give hospitalized kids an escape from their challenges for a bit, I found my "need" to write.
So I did.
LUCKY ROCKS was published late last year, and an entirely new, unexpected universe has opened up in front me. Fishing is something I've loved ever since I could hold a pole, and as such, it became the glue that holds LUCKY ROCKS together. Since publication, I've had the immense pleasure of connecting with people I never knew existed: organized groups that take inner-city kids out to teach them to fish and appreciate nature, and groups that find kids passionate about fishing and help them create fishing teams for their high schools. And now I get to be a part of it...how awesome is that?
Figure out why you need to write, and your book will get written. Write about what you know and love, and to quote Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the places you'll go!”
Keep writing and have fun,
Murray
Congrats to Murray! Lucky Rocks can be purchased at independent bookstores and other fine booksellers online.
I had the pleasure of meeting children's book author Murray Richter through SCBWI, and when he joined our critique group, his manuscript delighted me. To our great joy, Lucky Rocks was recently published by Ten Story Books. I enjoyed the book so much, I blurbed it! Murray's book reminded me of the ones I'd curl up with in elementary school, forget time, live someone else's adventure, and then run outside to recreate one just like it.
And because I think it's a fun read-aloud for parents and kids, I'm sharing the book jacket information with you:
Led by a one-legged World War II vet, Kevin, Preech and Rudy face a summer they'll never forget. From fishing to endless pranks that would make the most seasoned trickster jealous, they think they have the answer to all of life's mysteries. But as the steamy Texas days of summer roll by, Kevin and Preech discover Rudy's secret - a secret that could change their lives forever.
(Now, go buy a copy.) I asked Murray to write a guest post about his experience as a debut author. Enjoy~
How I (Accidentally) Learned How Cool it is to Write About Things You LoveDo you recall the super-smart things you were told as a kid? Things you said “sure, whatever" about at the time? And later in life, they turned out to be the best advice ever? For years, those tidbits came back to me one by one. I wrote them on shreds of paper, bar napkins, and matchbooks, then threw them in a file. I wanted to write a book for my kids so they could learn “the smart stuff” through a story. When I realized the story could also help give hospitalized kids an escape from their challenges for a bit, I found my "need" to write.
So I did.
LUCKY ROCKS was published late last year, and an entirely new, unexpected universe has opened up in front me. Fishing is something I've loved ever since I could hold a pole, and as such, it became the glue that holds LUCKY ROCKS together. Since publication, I've had the immense pleasure of connecting with people I never knew existed: organized groups that take inner-city kids out to teach them to fish and appreciate nature, and groups that find kids passionate about fishing and help them create fishing teams for their high schools. And now I get to be a part of it...how awesome is that?
Figure out why you need to write, and your book will get written. Write about what you know and love, and to quote Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the places you'll go!”
Keep writing and have fun,
Murray
Congrats to Murray! Lucky Rocks can be purchased at independent bookstores and other fine booksellers online.
December 10, 2014
Holiday Gift Idea for the Teens You Love (and for your inner-teen)
The holidays are upon us, and since I'm hiding out in Paris and haven't done a book promotion for
SOME ACT OF VISION
, my Young Adult novel that won the RWA NATIONAL READERS' CHOICE AWARD FOR YA this year, I think it's time to let these events collide and throw in some holiday fun!
From now until December 26 (yes, the day AFTER Christmas), if you buy a brand new copy of SOME ACT OF VISION (either hardback or digital), I'll mail a sturdy bookmark and bookplate, dedicated to your gift recipient, all the way from Paris. Here's what they look like:
If you order THREE new copies of the book, in addition to the signed swag for each of your gift recipients, I'll mail YOU (or one gift recipient) something lavender from Paris—an important smell and color in the book, but also a drool-worthy specialty of France. Just scan and email me your receipt, and your gifts will be in the mail for your gift recipient (and perhaps for you!). I'll be sure to write a message on the envelope that says the book swag is an extra gift from you, since it will arrive anytime before January 2. And, if you're interested in literary fiction for adults, you can still pick up a digital copy of SONG OF THE ORANGE MOONS for a "song."
From now until December 26 (yes, the day AFTER Christmas), if you buy a brand new copy of SOME ACT OF VISION (either hardback or digital), I'll mail a sturdy bookmark and bookplate, dedicated to your gift recipient, all the way from Paris. Here's what they look like:
If you order THREE new copies of the book, in addition to the signed swag for each of your gift recipients, I'll mail YOU (or one gift recipient) something lavender from Paris—an important smell and color in the book, but also a drool-worthy specialty of France. Just scan and email me your receipt, and your gifts will be in the mail for your gift recipient (and perhaps for you!). I'll be sure to write a message on the envelope that says the book swag is an extra gift from you, since it will arrive anytime before January 2. And, if you're interested in literary fiction for adults, you can still pick up a digital copy of SONG OF THE ORANGE MOONS for a "song."
November 15, 2014
Makes my heart break every time
For some time, I've been holding on to this clip of the opera performance at Southern Methodist University earlier this year. These singers kill me. So talented.
I wrote the storyline/libretto, and the talented Charlie McCarron (Minneapolis) composed the score. We are currently working on the rest of the opera.
Here's the libretto:
Scene:
A MOBILE HOME ON CINDER BLOCKS WITH A TARP PERCHED ON TWO POLES TO FUNCTION AS A SHADED PORCH. ON THE CINDER BLOCK STAIRS, RUBIE (MID-THIRTIES) SITS WITH HER SWADDLED INFANT CLUTCHED AGAINST HER CHEST. MAMMA, A PORTLY WOMAN IN A CHEAP HOUSEDRESS IS HANGING WET CLOTHES ON A LINE, OUT OF RUBIE’S LINE OF SIGHT.
AFTER RUNNING AWAY FROM A BAD MARRIAGE, RUBIE IS STILL A DREAMER AND YEARNS FOR SOME KIND OF ESCAPE FROM POVERTY AND HER MOTHER.
(RUBIE’s aria.)
RUBIE:
It’d be nice to have a man
A good man.
Would it, baby?
Wouldn’t it?
It’d be nice to have a hand,
A warm hand.
Wouldn’t it?
Wouldn’t it?
A simple man, a gentle man
Not a rough one, not a tough one
Just enough one…
(to the sleeping baby)
Don’t be happy.
Don’t be calm.
This place is poison
For dreamers who stay too
long.
How to get away…
One day?
With a good man—
(Having finished hanging the wet laundry, and with a full basket of line-dry clothes, MAMMA hears RUBIE and interrupts.)
MAMMA:
What man?
RUBIE: (embarrassed)
Nothing.
MAMMA:
Another man?
(RUBIE doesn’t answer)
Rubie, look at yourself. Look at where we at.
You’d best better not be fallin’
You’d best better not be fooled.
Cause there ain’t no love, ain’t no man,
Who’d want to take on you.
You’d best better not waste your time,
Cause time don’t waste on you.
Where you gonna run to? Ain’t no life
You’d best better learn to pay the price
A man ain’t happy with a sometime wife.
MAMMA takes the laundry into the mobile home (exit), but can still be seen through the window, folding the laundry.
RUBIE:
(to her baby )
Quiet, why are you so
Quiet? If you’d only
cry, I could see my
heart in you.
Maybe I’d know what to do.
Mamma don’t know how
She don’t have no dreams
But I seen it happen…
In stories, on screens.
Love could happen…
And if it don’t, it should.
RUBIE: AND MAMMA:
It’d be nice to have a man
A good man
Couldn’t it happen?
Couldn’t it?
Who ain’t afraid of times
‘Cause there’s hard times.
He ain’t likely to be here
He ain’t likely to be near
It’d be nice to have a man
Who won’t disappear.
It’d be nice to win the lottery.
It’d be nice to have warm hand.
Why not me? Why not me?
(to herself) Come to reality.
Still, it’d be nice.
Still, it’d be nice.
I wrote the storyline/libretto, and the talented Charlie McCarron (Minneapolis) composed the score. We are currently working on the rest of the opera.
Here's the libretto:
Scene:
A MOBILE HOME ON CINDER BLOCKS WITH A TARP PERCHED ON TWO POLES TO FUNCTION AS A SHADED PORCH. ON THE CINDER BLOCK STAIRS, RUBIE (MID-THIRTIES) SITS WITH HER SWADDLED INFANT CLUTCHED AGAINST HER CHEST. MAMMA, A PORTLY WOMAN IN A CHEAP HOUSEDRESS IS HANGING WET CLOTHES ON A LINE, OUT OF RUBIE’S LINE OF SIGHT.
AFTER RUNNING AWAY FROM A BAD MARRIAGE, RUBIE IS STILL A DREAMER AND YEARNS FOR SOME KIND OF ESCAPE FROM POVERTY AND HER MOTHER.
(RUBIE’s aria.)
RUBIE:
It’d be nice to have a man
A good man.
Would it, baby?
Wouldn’t it?
It’d be nice to have a hand,
A warm hand.
Wouldn’t it?
Wouldn’t it?
A simple man, a gentle man
Not a rough one, not a tough one
Just enough one…
(to the sleeping baby)
Don’t be happy.
Don’t be calm.
This place is poison
For dreamers who stay too
long.
How to get away…
One day?
With a good man—
(Having finished hanging the wet laundry, and with a full basket of line-dry clothes, MAMMA hears RUBIE and interrupts.)
MAMMA:
What man?
RUBIE: (embarrassed)
Nothing.
MAMMA:
Another man?
(RUBIE doesn’t answer)
Rubie, look at yourself. Look at where we at.
You’d best better not be fallin’
You’d best better not be fooled.
Cause there ain’t no love, ain’t no man,
Who’d want to take on you.
You’d best better not waste your time,
Cause time don’t waste on you.
Where you gonna run to? Ain’t no life
You’d best better learn to pay the price
A man ain’t happy with a sometime wife.
MAMMA takes the laundry into the mobile home (exit), but can still be seen through the window, folding the laundry.
RUBIE:
(to her baby )
Quiet, why are you so
Quiet? If you’d only
cry, I could see my
heart in you.
Maybe I’d know what to do.
Mamma don’t know how
She don’t have no dreams
But I seen it happen…
In stories, on screens.
Love could happen…
And if it don’t, it should.
RUBIE: AND MAMMA:
It’d be nice to have a man
A good man
Couldn’t it happen?
Couldn’t it?
Who ain’t afraid of times
‘Cause there’s hard times.
He ain’t likely to be here
He ain’t likely to be near
It’d be nice to have a man
Who won’t disappear.
It’d be nice to win the lottery.
It’d be nice to have warm hand.
Why not me? Why not me?
(to herself) Come to reality.
Still, it’d be nice.
Still, it’d be nice.
October 6, 2014
Live Opera, Thunder, and Lightning
Thursday night, "The Lingerer," my collaboration with London composer Max Perryment, was performed by SYZYGY in Dallas, Texas. Its world premiere! Outside, there was thunder, lightning, wind uprooting 40-year-old oak trees, mayhem and chaos. Inside the theatre, only music was stirring things up.
Congratulations to all the performers! What lush strings. What an emotional performance. Although I couldn't cross the Atlantic to attend, I did get to see the video sent to me through the magic of Dropbox. What a thrill!
Congratulations to all the performers! What lush strings. What an emotional performance. Although I couldn't cross the Atlantic to attend, I did get to see the video sent to me through the magic of Dropbox. What a thrill!
September 30, 2014
Hooray for unbanned books (and other happiness)
Excellent news!
Highland Park High School has reversed its decision and placed the previously banned books back into the English Department's reading lists again.
Whew! I was nervous for a bit there that the cruel irony of 1) banning a whole list of books on Banned Books Week, and 2) including the keynote speaker of their annual Literary Festival, was too much lunacy for the logic of this universe to handle without imploding.
But really. It had me perspiring all right.
This morning, as I walked from my metro stop to our apartment, I was suddenly assaulted by a nostalgia for Paris, as though my time were up here and I'd be returning to Texas within days. I love the blue-bowl sky and the wonk-wonk horns of the passing police cars. The itty-bitty French kids with their gigantic backpacks, walking to school alone because apparently kidnapping is not a thing here in Paris. The pissy stairs of the metro, the noisy upstairs neighbor who scrapes furniture across the floor at 3 in the morning without fail, and even the nasty ashtray odor of the brasseries down my street. I love it all. And I'm so glad that I have many more months to call Paris home.
To make tarte aux pommes with my little chef.
To write.To play violin when I can't write.Paris, I love you.
Highland Park High School has reversed its decision and placed the previously banned books back into the English Department's reading lists again.
Whew! I was nervous for a bit there that the cruel irony of 1) banning a whole list of books on Banned Books Week, and 2) including the keynote speaker of their annual Literary Festival, was too much lunacy for the logic of this universe to handle without imploding.
But really. It had me perspiring all right.
This morning, as I walked from my metro stop to our apartment, I was suddenly assaulted by a nostalgia for Paris, as though my time were up here and I'd be returning to Texas within days. I love the blue-bowl sky and the wonk-wonk horns of the passing police cars. The itty-bitty French kids with their gigantic backpacks, walking to school alone because apparently kidnapping is not a thing here in Paris. The pissy stairs of the metro, the noisy upstairs neighbor who scrapes furniture across the floor at 3 in the morning without fail, and even the nasty ashtray odor of the brasseries down my street. I love it all. And I'm so glad that I have many more months to call Paris home.
To make tarte aux pommes with my little chef.
To write.To play violin when I can't write.Paris, I love you.
September 13, 2014
on Things I've Discovered this Week
I'm writing! In my favorite city! The world is a beautiful place and the words are flowing freely.
Because I'm the kind of person who can log onto Facebook and ten seconds later an hour has passed, I'm on a self-imposed Facebook diet. It's freed up time for creative things and life in general. Good decision!
I'll post a few pictures of my new (temporary) home, but first:
I've run across a few things that are noteworthy enough to share.
First: the literary-political
Oh my god. Censorship, homophobia, and racism are alive and well back in the old hometown. (Sigh.) If you don't have time to listen to the broadcast, it's yet another group of parents who are concerned about the summer reading list for English class. The books on the list aren't even mandatory--they're optional, a list from which students can choose which to read. Kind of like a LIBRARY. But some parents in Highland Park are not happy enough to censor their own children's cultural education; they'd rather police the library books of the entire young population, including your kids and mine! Jiminy Cricket.
As soon as I heard about it, I wrote a few emails, including one to the principal of the school in support of the English teachers.
Parents, if you want to join the curriculum committee, get a d*%mned teaching certificate and join the faculty. Be qualified to voice your opinions. If you choose not to do that, then leave education in hands of your kids' capable, devoted teachers, who, by the way, are some of the finest in Texas.
Sheesh.
Second: happy, happy news
I just found out that "The Lingerer," a mini-opera collaboration between London composer Max Perryment and me, will be performed live at Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas on October 2. I blogged about how a tweet from Neil Gaiman changed my life here. The performances by the Meadows artists are incredible and inspiring, and I can't encourage Dallas/Ft. Worth people enough to go gO GO to their shows.
I'm sad (really sad. really.) that I'll still be in Paris during the performance, which means, of course, that I'll miss it. But I'm hoping that it will be recorded and I'll get to post it on the internet for everyone to see.
Third: This. My new favorite website.
Finally: pictures...of castles and skulls and other interesting things that have been part of my life this past month
With Mother and Jules, about to enter the Catacombs
In the Catacombs under Paris
It was, overall, a beautiful vacation with Mother
I want this castle.
Because I'm the kind of person who can log onto Facebook and ten seconds later an hour has passed, I'm on a self-imposed Facebook diet. It's freed up time for creative things and life in general. Good decision!
I'll post a few pictures of my new (temporary) home, but first:
I've run across a few things that are noteworthy enough to share.
First: the literary-political
Oh my god. Censorship, homophobia, and racism are alive and well back in the old hometown. (Sigh.) If you don't have time to listen to the broadcast, it's yet another group of parents who are concerned about the summer reading list for English class. The books on the list aren't even mandatory--they're optional, a list from which students can choose which to read. Kind of like a LIBRARY. But some parents in Highland Park are not happy enough to censor their own children's cultural education; they'd rather police the library books of the entire young population, including your kids and mine! Jiminy Cricket.
As soon as I heard about it, I wrote a few emails, including one to the principal of the school in support of the English teachers.
Parents, if you want to join the curriculum committee, get a d*%mned teaching certificate and join the faculty. Be qualified to voice your opinions. If you choose not to do that, then leave education in hands of your kids' capable, devoted teachers, who, by the way, are some of the finest in Texas.
Sheesh.
Second: happy, happy news
I just found out that "The Lingerer," a mini-opera collaboration between London composer Max Perryment and me, will be performed live at Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas on October 2. I blogged about how a tweet from Neil Gaiman changed my life here. The performances by the Meadows artists are incredible and inspiring, and I can't encourage Dallas/Ft. Worth people enough to go gO GO to their shows.
I'm sad (really sad. really.) that I'll still be in Paris during the performance, which means, of course, that I'll miss it. But I'm hoping that it will be recorded and I'll get to post it on the internet for everyone to see.
Third: This. My new favorite website.
Finally: pictures...of castles and skulls and other interesting things that have been part of my life this past month
With Mother and Jules, about to enter the Catacombs
In the Catacombs under Paris
It was, overall, a beautiful vacation with Mother
I want this castle.on Things I've Discovered this Week
I'm writing! In my favorite city! The world is a beautiful place and the words are flowing freely.
Because I'm the kind of person who can log onto Facebook and ten seconds later an hour has passed, I'm on a self-imposed Facebook diet. It's freed up time for creative things and life in general. Good decision!
I'll post a few pictures of my new (temporary) home, but first:
I've run across a few things that are noteworthy enough to share.
First: the literary-political
Oh my god. Censorship, homophobia, and racism are alive and well back in the old hometown. (Sigh.) If you don't have time to listen to the broadcast, it's yet another group of parents who are concerned about the summer reading list for English class. The books on the list aren't even mandatory--they're optional, a list from which students can choose which to read. Kind of like a LIBRARY. But some parents in Highland Park are not happy enough to censor their own children's cultural education; they'd rather police the library books of the entire young population, including your kids and mine! Jiminy Cricket.
As soon as I heard about it, I wrote a few emails, including one to the principal of the school in support of the English teachers.
Parents, if you want to join the curriculum committee, get a d*%mned teaching certificate and join the faculty. Be qualified to voice your opinions. If you choose not to do that, then leave education in hands of your kids' capable, devoted teachers, who, by the way, are some of the finest in Texas.
Sheesh.
Second: happy, happy news
I just found out that "The Lingerer," a mini-opera collaboration between London composer Max Perryment and me, will be performed live at Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas on October 2. I blogged about how a tweet from Neil Gaiman changed my life here. The performances by the Meadows artists are incredible and inspiring, and I can't encourage Dallas/Ft. Worth people enough to go gO GO to their shows.
I'm sad (really sad. really.) that I'll still be in Paris during the performance, which means, of course, that I'll miss it. But I'm hoping that it will be recorded and I'll get to post it on the internet for everyone to see.
Third: This. My new favorite website.
Finally: pictures...of castles and skulls and other interesting things that have been part of my life this past month
With Mother and Jules, about to enter the Catacombs
In the Catacombs under Paris
It was, overall, a beautiful vacation with Mother
I want this castle.
Because I'm the kind of person who can log onto Facebook and ten seconds later an hour has passed, I'm on a self-imposed Facebook diet. It's freed up time for creative things and life in general. Good decision!
I'll post a few pictures of my new (temporary) home, but first:
I've run across a few things that are noteworthy enough to share.
First: the literary-political
Oh my god. Censorship, homophobia, and racism are alive and well back in the old hometown. (Sigh.) If you don't have time to listen to the broadcast, it's yet another group of parents who are concerned about the summer reading list for English class. The books on the list aren't even mandatory--they're optional, a list from which students can choose which to read. Kind of like a LIBRARY. But some parents in Highland Park are not happy enough to censor their own children's cultural education; they'd rather police the library books of the entire young population, including your kids and mine! Jiminy Cricket.
As soon as I heard about it, I wrote a few emails, including one to the principal of the school in support of the English teachers.
Parents, if you want to join the curriculum committee, get a d*%mned teaching certificate and join the faculty. Be qualified to voice your opinions. If you choose not to do that, then leave education in hands of your kids' capable, devoted teachers, who, by the way, are some of the finest in Texas.
Sheesh.
Second: happy, happy news
I just found out that "The Lingerer," a mini-opera collaboration between London composer Max Perryment and me, will be performed live at Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas on October 2. I blogged about how a tweet from Neil Gaiman changed my life here. The performances by the Meadows artists are incredible and inspiring, and I can't encourage Dallas/Ft. Worth people enough to go gO GO to their shows.
I'm sad (really sad. really.) that I'll still be in Paris during the performance, which means, of course, that I'll miss it. But I'm hoping that it will be recorded and I'll get to post it on the internet for everyone to see.
Third: This. My new favorite website.
Finally: pictures...of castles and skulls and other interesting things that have been part of my life this past month
With Mother and Jules, about to enter the Catacombs
In the Catacombs under Paris
It was, overall, a beautiful vacation with Mother
I want this castle.
