"Procreate, Generate" by Anthony Doerr

[Sue]

Thank you Anthony and thanks Barbara for checking in with him. It seems like we have all hit on parts of his response.

[Betty]

Anthony, your reply clarified what the deeper point of the story is. thks.

[Betty]

Barb, really appreciate your going the extra mile!

[Betty]

A group hug for the participants.

[Sue]

Asmah wrote: "A group hug for the participants."

seconded!

[Kenneth P.]

Thanks for inviting me Barb. I've learned a lot!

[Barbara]

You're welcome, Kenneth and Asmah. I learned a lot too. It was great to have all of you here digging into it.

[Jane]

Barbara, thanks for writing to Anthony Doerr. It was so great to hear from him.

I think it must be heartening to know that people are reading and discussing what you have written. Writers have too few ways to know that they have reached their readers' hearts and engaged their minds. Asmah's tracing of themes and symbols was wonderful to read. And I always find it intriguing when a group of people have such different reactions to a piece of literature.

I have thoroughly enjoyed following this discussion. What's the next short story you'll be reading. I want to read along.

[Barbara]

Jane, we would love to have you in on the discussions here. Our next story is "Never Marry a Mexican" by Sandra Cisneros. There's a thread started in this conference. If you have trouble finding it, let me know. We alternate stories from The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories, edited by Daniel Halpern with ones that are available online. The Cisneros story is from the anthology but it's also in her collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. The Art of the Story anthology is excellent though, well worth purchasing.

[Barbara]

And, Jane, Asmah just found the Cisneros story scanned online at the following link:
http://flightline.highline.edu/tkim/F...

[Michael]

Dear Mr. Doerr: Have you never met a participial clause you've liked? : )

[Barbara]

Michael, I don't get your point. Are you referring to the email that Anthony Doerr was gracious enough to write us on the way to the airport or to the story?

[Michael]

Barbara, I noticed the story was narrated in such persistently short, simple declarative sentences. I am sure Mr. Doerr would enjoy my quizzical question; and I would enjoy hearing his answer. I am only sorry to have found the thread after his exchange with our site.

[Barbara]

Ah, interesting, Michael. I noticed the simplicity of the writing, but didn't think about the clauses.