Beth Kaplan's Blog, page 222

message for Ryerson's True to Life class

Writers, they've given us a new classroom which is bigger, has moveable desks - and maybe even windows! The height of luxury.

Still in the VIC building on the second floor, but Room 201. There will be a notice posted on the old door in case you forget. See you Monday. With room to breathe.

And while I have your attention - with regards to the homework that perhaps you've embarked upon by now - remember, you're just putting something on paper to get started. Remember that a first draft is always flawed, clumsy, all over the map. But try, even with only 500-600 words at your disposal, to write about an incident or a sense memory that matters to you.

I keep a notepad by my bed for those middle-of-the-night flashes of inspiration or lists or craziness, and this morning I woke to last night's scribble: "imposing coherence on the world." And I remembered - that's what, at 3 a.m., I decided writing was - a way of imposing coherence on the world. Mine, anyway. In order to understand the world, I need to write about it.

Baby it's cold outside

A quiet day. Some bug is trying to get into my system - this happens on a regular basis, doesn't it? - and I won't let it. Begone, scoundrel!

Yesterday, what joy: first, a piano lesson and some new pieces to learn, and then my Thursday group's potluck celebration - 8 student friends, some of whom have been coming for years, and I, feasting at my dining room table. We usually celebrate in December, but this year I said December is so crowded, why don't we switch to January when we really NEED fellowship and food? Last night, an outpouring of warmth, words and foodstuffs, a fabulous dinner followed by a series of very moving stories. For some reason - January, I'm looking at you - everyone was writing about dark topics. The one that started us off was specifically about death, from one of our two 87-year olds, elegant, beautiful, still at work and in love, contemplating what is to come.

January, I'm looking at you.

Still no birds at the feeder.

However, to cheer you up - at least if you're in Canada, not sure you can access outside the country - here's Canada's Academy Award nominee from the NFB, a beautiful animated short film about children and parents:
https://www.nfb.ca/film/me_and_my_moulton/

Merry Christmas!

Brian, who plays the Innkeeper in the Christmas pageant at Riverdale Farm - an innkeeper with a very large camera slung over his biblical robes - has just sent the photos he took of the event. Here, to remind you of the Christmas spirit, is the final tableau in the barn, with the Farm's new horse Ringo on the right, and on the far left, my neighbour, Juliet, the angel:
On the other side, sheep and goats, and a large crowd singing "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger." Adorable. If I say so my half-Jewish self.

Good news from the Toronto Public Library: the renovated reference library has a special space for writers! http://www.yongestreetmedia.ca/civicimpact/

Finally, an article in the NYT about a psychologist's exploration of how people fall in love. He asks a newly-introduced couple to ask themselves 36 profound and interesting questions, and then ... well, read the article and you'll see. I was most interested in the questions and tried answering them myself.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/fashion/modern-love-to-fall-in-love-with-anyone-do-this.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

But on another note - I am really worried. There are no birds in my yard and have not been for several days. The feeder is full of seed. I just went out to check and nearly cried - where are they? There's usually twittering and flittering, fluttering and perching and pecking going on, sparrows on all the branches, cardinals, an occasional blue jay. Could a sparrow hawk have scared them all away? But they live in the ivy, so that's where they sleep. Or at least, they used to.

I can only hope they've found a feeder with much better seed, maybe wifi and a heated pool, and are vacationing there. Come visit sometime, my friends. I miss you.

There's one! One sparrow, at last! All is not lost.

sandcastles in the snow

On Sunday, I wanted to go to the rally here in Toronto in support of freedom of speech - what a day in the world, especially in France - so much passion and heart. But my daughter was recovering from a bad flu and needed a hand, so instead I went across town to wear out her son. We walked a long way up Roncesvalles to Another Story bookshop - what a lovely place - and bought some books for him, including "The day the crayons quit," delightful - and then over to a playground where he pretended it was August and made sand castles. It was a tough slog to get him home - both of us chilled to the bone, but only one of us acknowledging it. But he slept that night,from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next morning. Mission accomplished.


That night - Downton. Loved it! Here's a hilarious article in the NYT for those of you following the plot.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/downton-abbey-recap-if-you-show-me-your-della-francesca/?emc=eta1

And Monday, the first class of term at Ryerson - very full, wonderful, all those keen writers.

The other day I saw something in Doubletake - a wonderful child's play kitchen. I photographed it but did not buy it, though when I showed the shot to Anna, she loved it and was sorry I hadn't. Why didn't I? I asked myself, and realized - because it's a kitchen. Because to me, feminist of the early Seventies, a kitchen means not play but drudgery - why encourage children to cook?
And then I realized - my son is in the restaurant business, my daughter is a homemaker, both of them love nothing better than to cook! One of Anna's school friends, Grant Van Gameren, is a rock star in Toronto, the city's best known young restauranteur. Cooking is hyper-cool for this generation.

I'm sorry I didn't buy this little red kitchen, which had disappeared by the time I got back to the store. I'd like to play with it myself. And I hope that despite not having a red play kitchen, my grandson turns his love of making mud pies into making real pies. I'll be first in line, with a spoon.

business

Dear readers, a few bits of business:

1. WRITE IN THE HOUSE SUNDAY FEB. 1: After my summer Write in the Garden workshop, the writers who'd spent the day scribbling in my garden asked if I'd organize the same event again six months later. So on Sunday Feb. 1, almost all of them are returning to write not in the garden but all over my house. There are one or two spots still available. The joy of on the spot writing is what I call memory work; with the challenge of putting stories down quickly, without mulling, come impromptu memories and thoughts, often startling the writer. And there is no obligation to read.

We start at 10.30 a.m. with coffee and writing prompts, eventually gathering to read - or not read. Then lunch and a bit of wine, more writing and reading and a bit more wine, till about 5.30. If you're interested, please let me know. The cost for the full day of writing, food and beverages is $150.

2. SO TRUE READINGS: Please note that on Sunday March 1 we are holding the next in our So True reading series at the Black Swan - information at Sotrue.ca. Please consider attending - and if you've worked with me before and are interested in participating, please send me a dramatic essay of 1200 - 1400 words on the topic Epiphany by the end of January.

3. ROOMS FOR RENT: I am going away as usual, from around March 19 to around April 23. My tenant and friend (and former writing student) Carol will be here in her attic room keeping the house running, but my bedroom and the spare room will be empty. If you know anyone coming to Toronto - or who wants to come to Toronto - for a few weeks at that time and would like to live in a huge and beautiful (if I say so myself) house downtown, please let me know.

4. COTTAGE WANTED: And - looking WAAY ahead - I would like to rent a cottage in August for a week, for my family - preferably less than 3 hours from Toronto. If you have a cottage or know of a cottage that would be suitable for my decrepit self plus my daughter, her new baby and 3 year old son, please get in touch.

Thank you for your kind attention. Over and out,
beth

Lynn was there, in Paris

A thoughtful and moving FB post from my dear friend Lynn, a Canadian who has lived in France since 1970:
Lynn Hetherington -Blin2 hrs · I have never been a fan of Charlie Hebdo. I must admit to not getting the humour and not being able to identify the genre being used as satire as I understand that genre to be. There is surely a cultural dimension to this, as there is to all things dealing with humour.
However, Wolinski, and Cabu, two of the cartoonists killed in the Charlie Hebdo massacre, were an integral part of my initiation in understanding French culture (and perhaps understanding why I can never become 100% French). Bernard Maris, the left-wing economist who each Friday morning debated economy with the (much) more conservative Dominique Seux, was pure joy to listen to. And so it is with overwhelming sadness and a sense of very personal loss that I have spent the past few days.
As chance would have it, I was in Paris, staying at a hotel near the Place de la République. How to describe the feeling of solidarity in this city I love so much? The “Je suis Charlie” signs on every Metro station, on every street corner, or hanging from the Mairie of each arrondissement. Or Thursday evening, Place de le République, about 50 young people making their way up to the top of the statue of Marianne, under the attentive eye of the CRS (the National Police Force), who were looking on in what seemed to me to be a spirit of solidarity. They were obviously following instructions, but instructions that clearly pointed that though the terrorist threat is very real, it did not come from these young people, brandishing slogans calling for brotherhood and acceptance of the Other.
My friend Stéphane told me she had spent the past 48 hours literally throwing up. Claire, the very staid and dignified President of the Agrégation Jury who was presiding the meeting I attended yesterday, nearly broke down when she evoked the massacre. My overwhelming sadness is shared by the nation.
This afternoon I will be marching here in Montpellier with the millions of people all over the country. The real question now, is how we are going to use this momentum of solidarity to really make space for the Other. Oui, je suis Charlie. Je suis, moi-même, l’Autre.

Searching for Mozart, and warmth

Headline I just read: "It's colder in Canada than it is on Mars."

Well woo hoo, ain't that grand. All I could think today, as I picked my way carefully along the frozen streets, is how stoic Canadians are. No choice. How foolish it would be if Africans always complained about the heat. That's where they live - it's hot. And where we live, it's as @#$# cold as Mars.

Movies. The escape. Today - heaven - Searching for Mozart, a documentary about the man's life and music. I wept and wept - my eyes are still puffy. What a story; what a score. It was heartening to know that the movie Amadeus distorted many facts and invented more. Mozart's scatological references were normal in his family and at his time, he wasn't a cackling idiot savant. He wasn't poisoned, didn't die a pauper. He did have money troubles toward the end but was becoming more prosperous in his last year. His marriage was a happy one, except for the tragedy of dead children - he adored Constanze and she him. He died probably of a combination of rheumatic fever and kidney failure, struggling in his dying moments to finish his Requiem. He was 35 years old. He started composing brilliantly at five.

The last shot of the doc was the stack of his compositions - up up up, reaching to the ceiling. A sublime and hardworking genius of the highest order. It made me glad, once more, to be a human being alive on this earth where such glory exists. The same planet where lunatics and fanatics slaughter their fellow men. I'd rather focus on Mozart.

One nice moment for me particularly - the doc interviewed all kinds of experts about his music and life, often watching them play his music. One, talking about Mozart's professionalism, said, "It's like Lennon and McCartney in the Sixties - the reason they were so successful was that like Mozart, they took the writing seriously." John, Paul and Wolfgang ... works for me.

Guardian cartoonist's response to Charlie Hebdo

Juliet has just posted on her blog, to the left, a thoughtful and moving response to the Charlie Hebdo tragedy, from a cartoonist at the Guardian. In case she has posted something else, here it is again:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/jan/09/joe-sacco-on-satire-a-response-to-the-attacks

What is most heartbreaking and appalling about Charlie Hebdo, beyond the horror of the actual event, is that enemies of civilization will use this new atrocity to further their goals. Stephen Harper has of course been banging his drum, announcing new "anti-terrorist measures" - which you can be sure will affect us all. You can also be sure he has his eye on re-election this year and will use whipping up hysteria and hatred to the utmost advantage. Netanyahu also.

I fear, I fear for our world.

In my world, my daughter was so ill yesterday that she went to Emerg to be sure it wasn't pregnancy-related, so there were a few tense hours. It's a bad 'flu. Our friend Holly is looking after Eli today so I'll take tomorrow's shift. This summer, Anna will have a baby and a toddler. Sometimes I am filled with anxiety, not just about the world, but about my tiny corner of it.

And sometimes I put anxiety aside and breathe and look at the sky and move on.

Into the Woods

When the weather is this cold, all that makes sense is to hunker down and eat a great deal. Meat. Cheese. Bread. Lots and lots of chocolate. And - of course - to drink red wine, though merely for one's health. If I roll out of winter, healthy but extremely round, you'll know why.

Another way to escape the howl of the winds - the movies. This afternoon I went to "Into the Woods,"  the Sondheim musical made into a film. I wasn't expecting much - I am not a huge Sondheim fan, much to the dismay of my musical-loving friends. He's an undisputed genius of musical theatre but too cynical and intellectual for me, too cold and clever. At least, that's what I've always thought.

But this film - I loved it. It's full of heart and wit and wisdom, not to mention Meryl Streep having a grand time as a wicked witch who's really a forlorn mother and daughter. Sondheim takes famous Grimm's fairy tales - Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and weaves them into a morality tale about issues that concern us all: weak sons anxious about the legacy of their flawed fathers, young women overpowered by romantic fantasies, mothers who are selfishly overprotective, mothers who are loving but overly critical ... been there, done that.

All this with groundbreaking music and lyrics, wonderful settings and cinematography - and mostly, again, superb performances. I am seriously in love once more. No, not with Johnny Depp as the wicked wolf, not James Corden, adorable as he is, as our hero the baker who learns to be strong and take charge, or with either of the handsome princes.

Emily Blunt. I now have a serious thing for Emily Blunt, who plays the Baker's Wife. She's stunning, sings like a dream, and is just - glorious. I remember her intelligence and grace from "Young Victoria" but here she soars.
The musical has been criticized for the "second act," where the sweet soufflé of fantasy and happy endings takes a dark turn with the arrival of an angry giantess. But that's what makes it worthwhile - that it resonates deeply.

The NYT talked about "the gospel according to Sondheim," which appears in his song "The Children are Listening":
Careful the things you say/ children will listen/ Careful the things you do/children will see/ and learn. /We are listening.

When you hear about Sondheim's own childhood, with a mother so vicious she told him once her main regret was having him, the song is more moving than ever. Highly recommended.

red wine=hour at gym:YES!

Joy! I love science. A new study proves just how good red wine is for you. Thank you, dear lord.
Unfortunately, the last line of the article is not so good. Working on that.

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/glass-wine-equivalent-going-gym/770635/