Yolanda A. Reid's Blog, page 2

ON THE LIFE AND POEMS OF ANNA AKHMATOVA

Anna Akhmatova discovered a lyre-shaped charm when she was a young child.  As a result,  her nanny predicted that little Anna would grow up to be a poet.  When she decided to be a poet, Akhmatova’s  father, Andrey,  demanded that she choose a different surname so as not to tarnish the Gorenko family name.  Akhmatova herself explains his concern, and her high-born family ancestry:


No one in my large family wrote poetry. But the first Russian woman poet, Anna Bunina...

ELIZABETH GILBERT: AN INTERVIEW

 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of my favorite books.  I loved the courage Gilbert showed in transforming herself and her life.  Now, she has written a new work--a novel entitled The Signature of All Things--due for an October 2013 release.  Here's an excerpt from her interview with Chantal Pierrat.

Chantal Pierrat: What is it right now that is stoking your passion? What perspective or practice is setting you on fire?
Elizabeth Gilbert: Returning to writing fictio...

HOT, SOUR, SALTY, SWEET by Sherri L. Smith

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Sherri L. Smith is, perhaps, the cutest book I’ve ever read.  It’s the charming YA novel about Ana Shen, a smart and sassy young girl of African-American/Chinese-American heritage, upon her graduation from junior-high school.
The book displays fourteen-year old Ana as she copes with  her many issues—her younger  brother, her parents, her nemesis at school.  Her junior-high graduation is a near ‘disaster’.  Though she has no boyfriend, Ana do...

VINTAGE CISNEROS by Sandra Cisneros

Vintage Cisneros is the perfectintroduction to the legendary writings of Sandra Cisneros.  A graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Cisneros is a poet and novelist.  Vintage Cisneros  is a compendium of her poems, stories and several chapters from her first novel, The House on Mango Street.
This YA novel is the story of Esperanza, a Mexican-American girl growing up in Chicago.  The thirteen-year old’s  tone and language suffuse the book with authentic emotion.  ...

THE COOKED SEED by Anchee Min

The most poignant moment in The Cooked Seedis when Anchee asked her lover, Qigu,  “Do you love me?”  They had been in a relationship for several months, but he had never said the words, I love you.  It was not  “the Chinese way,” he said. “You know how I feel about you, . . . and I know how you feel about me.  Isn't that enough?”
They wed, had a child and remained together for six years.  Qigu, an artist, was the grasshopper to Anchee’s worker-ant (although, she a...

LUNCH IN PARIS by Elizabeth Bard

Memoirist Elizabeth Bard states that there are two kinds of croissants.  The first is a “brioche”;  the second,  flaky.  “I like flake, a croissant with an outer layer so fine and brittle that you get crumbs all over yourself from the very first bite.”
Bard’s delectable memoir, Lunch in Paris, features multiple recipes—for swordfish, ribs with honey, mackerel, duck and blackberries, French onion soup, carrot soup, and salmon.  Also, “Fennel Salad with Lemon, Olive Oil,...

WAITING TO BE HEARD by Amanda Knox

Waiting To Be Heard is the  eagerly awaited memoir by Amanda Knox.   In 2009, Knox was convicted—then later acquitted—of murdering her housemate, Meredith Kercher, while both lived and studied in Italy.  During the trial, one reporter dubbed Knox the “angel face,” because she projects uncanny innocence, truth and beauty. 
The story of Knox’s life—in the Northwestern part of the U.S., before she landed in Perugia, Italy—makes for interesting reading.  A self-descr...

ON READING YA BOOKS

        

As a teenager, I used to read lots of books.  Our  basement had bookcases that lined the walls, end to end.  Alongside the bookcases were a couple of  boxes filled with books.  The basement was our private family library.  I'd descend to its nether world, peruse the bookshelves, then bring books—sometimes a batch at a time—up to my room, to read.  Sometimes, I’d pick a book from a bookshelf and sit as I read or skimmed ...

LEAN IN: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In  is author Sheryl Sandberg’s  handbook for contemporary women, to guide us in the 21st century work force.   A graduate of Harvard, Sandberg's own resume is impressive: she was the director of global sales at Google, and is  currently Facebook's COO. 
In the book, she reveals her own challenges in the workplace.  For instance, Lean In begins during her second pregnancy, while  at Google.  She had to  “waddle” from the parking lot to he...

AT HOME IN THE WORLD by Joyce Maynard

At Home in the World is the mesmerizing memoir by Joyce Maynard that chronicles her devastating, all-consuming relationship with  renowned novelist, J. D. Salinger.
On the surface, it seems inexplicable: why would an eighteen-year-old girl 'fall in love' with a fifty-three year-old man?  But now, having read the book, I feel understand.
Salinger’s  first letter seems innocent—he was a fan of  her New York Times essay, "An Eighteen-year old Looks Back on Life" and "cautions t...