Poetry Friday: Henry David Thoreau

Replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin where he lived and wrote.

I am so glad to be back doing Poetry Friday, and today I would like to choose a poem that was inspired by my recent trip to Concord, Massachusetts (only three days ago…sigh)  We didn’t get to go to Henry David Thoreau’s cabin on this trip, but I have visited it before.  Here is a picture of the inside (all replica) where he did his writing.

The peacefulness of this place looks very appealing to me after a long day of teaching and chasing my three-year-old and six-year-old boys!  I would love to work on my WIP all day in here.  :-)

The poem I have chosen is called, “My Life Has Been the Poem.”  I can completely relate to having to choose between “living life” and taking the time to write.  Of course, one must live life in order to be a great writer, and boy, do I live life with parenting and teaching and volunteering and traveling and cooking and cleaning and so forth.  I am always squeezing out precious minutes in order to write.  It is a delicate balance, and when I feel that balance is out of whack with life taking over, I try to remember that everything that I do in life will add to my writing later.

Living life and writing “the poem” cannot happen at the same time, but one cannot exist without the other.

MY LIFE HAS BEEN THE POEM by Henry David Thoreau My life has been the poem I would have writ,  But I could not both live and utter it.

Today’s Poetry Friday is being hosted by Fomagrams.  Check it out!  :-)

Writer’s Groups Throughout History- Thoughts from Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

Orchard House- where Louisa May Alcott wrote LITTLE WOMEN

During a recent family trip to Boston, Massachusetts, I was able to make my pilgrimage to Concord (yes, I’ve gone several times in my life already) to Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott where she wrote one of my all-time favorite classic books, Little Women.

While I stood inside Louisa’s bedroom and stared at the half-moon wooden desk her father built for her where she wrote all 400-plus pages of what was at first two books, each called Little Women and Good Wives, it got me to wondering– Did she have a critique or a writer’s group?  Who did she share her early drafts with? Did she share them with members of Concord’s literary society, like her family’s friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson? Her own father, Amos Bronson Alcott, who was a writer and social/educational reformer in his own right?  Neighbor, Nathaniel Hawthorne?  Family friend, Henry David Thoreau?

I do know that Louisa shared her early writings (her “theatricals”) with her sisters, as they performed them when they were young and lived in the house next door to Orchard House, which is now known as The Wayside but was then known as Hillside to the Alcotts.  She also began Flower Fables here, which I can’t imagine her not sharing with her sisters.  In Little Women, Jo is seen reading her work quite a bit to her sisters.  I can’t help but wonder if they ever offered advice or critique to her.  It’s very possible that they, or some of the others mentioned above, did.

 

The Wayside- known as Hillside to the Alcott girls when they lived there from 1845-1848

 

The Wayside in 1845 when it was known as Hillside

 

 

I always feel a sense of kinship with famous writers of the  past whenever I learn about their writing processes, and knowing whether or not they were part of a writing group brings about that same feeling since I am a member of Viva Scriva.  Having a group to either critique with, bounce around ideas with, or just have a sense of artistic camaraderie with is such an important part of my writing career, and I am fascinated when I find other writers who were part of a group themselves.

After my visit to Orchard House an my thoughts about Louisa, I decided to Google famous writer’s groups, and here is a small list that I found.

 

 

The Eagle and Child pub- the meeting place for The Inklings

The Inklings

(According to Wikipedia– “The more regular members of the Inklings, many of them academics at the University, included J. R. R. “Tollers” Tolkien, C. S. “Jack” Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, Christopher Tolkien (J. R. R. Tolkien’s son), Warren “Warnie” Lewis (C. S. Lewis’s elder brother), Roger Lancelyn Green, Adam Fox, Hugo Dyson, R. A. “Humphrey” Havard, J. A. W. Bennett, Lord David Cecil, and Nevill Coghill. Other less frequent attenders at their meetings included Percy Bates, Charles Leslie Wrenn, Colin Hardie, James Dundas-Grant, John David Arnett, Jon Fromke^[2] John Wain, R. B. McCallum, Gervase Mathew, and C. E. Stevens. Guests included author E. R. Eddison and South African poet Roy Campbell.”)

The Bloomsbury Group

(According to Wikipedia– “This English collective of friends and relatives lived, worked or studied near Bloomsbury in London during the first half of the twentieth century. ‘Although its members denied being a group in any formal sense, they were united by an abiding belief in the importance of the arts’.^[2] Their work deeply influenced literature, aesthetics, criticism, andeconomics as well as modern attitudes towards feminism, pacifism, and sexuality.^[3] Its best known members were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strachey.”)

 

 

Algonquin Round Table

(According to Wikipedia– “Members and associates of the Algonquin Round Table: (l-r) Art Samuels, Charles MacArthur, Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott“)

 

 

Shakespeare And Company Writers

(According to Wikipedia– “Writers and artists of the “Lost Generation,” such as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, George Antheil and Man Rayspent a great deal of time at Shakespeare and Company, and it was nicknamed “Stratford-on-Odéon” by James Joyce, who used it as his office.”)

 

Wow!  What a list!  And this is only the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure.  Yes, there are writers who really do work without other people’s input, but since writing is so solitary, having the right group to be a part of can really keep writers inspired, encouraged, and part of something greater than themselves as well as help their work be the best it can be.

I’m so thankful to my Scrivas for being my “sisters”and listening to my “theatricals,” just as Louisa’s listened to hers.  I definitely recommend joining a writer’s group, and if the first one doesn’t work out, try, try again.

 

The Mystique of Masks

 

The Hall of Masks-- Cesky Krumlov Castle, Czech Republic

 

Between May and September I have been to four Renaissance faires– speaking to experts on medieval cooking, lacemaking, and country dancing of the sixteenth century for my WIP.  One of the faire’s had a Renaissance mask theme for the day, and I had to take a few photographs of these exquisite creations, especially since I have another novel brewing that involves masks inspired by my visit to the Hall of Masks at Cesky Krumlov Castle in the Czech Republic two years ago.   Hope you find these as lovely as I did.  :-)

 

Believe

Being a member of my critique group, Viva Scriva, means sharing things with one another that help to inspire us, whether they be interesting blog posts, special speakers that we hear at a conference, articles that we read, books on the writer’s craft, etc…  This past week I actually watched something on the dreaded “T” word that helped inspire me to keep writing.

What is the “T” word, you ask?  It’s the ultimate time suck, of course (besides the internet)…television.

I don’t watch a ton of T.V., but I do like certain shows, and one of them is “America’s Got Talent.”  I enjoy rooting for my favorites, and sometimes I actually do go online and on the phone and vote for them.  I was saddened this week by the magician Landon Swank getting the boot, since I really enjoyed his performances and appreciated his artistry.  My husband is a magician, and I have acted as his assistant on numerous occasions, so I always appreciate watching a good magician.

My other favorite act this season is a dance troupe named “Silhouettes.”  They are a mixed –age group, the youngest being three-years-old, and mix dance with shadow play that looks almost like puppetry at times.  What I love most about the group is the way they tell a story with their dance.  This week’s performance was no different.  It is a story about believing in your dreams, with a boy struggling with his studies in the beginning of the act and then thinking about all he can accomplish if only he finish his schooling.

Though the craft of writing fiction is never mentioned or shown throughout the performance, I couldn’t help but think about my dream of being a full-time author while watching it.  I understand what that boy is feeling as he sits at his desk, struggling with his work, at the very beginning of the act.  I picture myself sitting there, struggling with a line of dialogue or how my main character should feel in a particular scene or what the best word would be for an action I am trying to convey.  Writing is HARD, and it’s easy to want to give up.  Heck, it would be SO easy to give up.  I would only have to close my laptop, stand up, and walk away to the infinite number of other things that beg for my attention at all hours of the day and night—cleaning, children, teaching, husbands, dogs, errands, and everything else in the world that needs me besides my writing.

But as the act progresses, and the audience sees how the boy can accomplish his dreams if he only keeps to his work, it makes me know that I too need to keep my bum in my chair and stick with it.    I too can be an author—if I work hard enough, long enough, keep on dreaming, and always, always BELIEVE.

I hope that all of you keep your belief in your dreams alive, too.

(Click here to see the Silhouettes perform on YouTube.  Enjoy!)

Writerly Words of Wisdom

While reading Terry Windling’s blog, The Drawing Board, I came upon these writerly words of wisdom here that really stuck with me, so I must share them.

“Every work of literature has both a situation and a story. The situation is the context or circumstance, sometimes the plot; the story is the emotional experience that preoccupies the writer: the insight, the wisdom, the thing one has to say.”

– Vivian Gornick, The Situation and the Story

I think I’m going to check out Vivian Gornick’s book for more!  Thank you to The Drawing Board for sharing this.

Back in The Blogging Saddle Again

It has been too long since I’ve posted.  And what are my excuses?

1.  Lots of writing!

I started a new writing regime a few months back in February where I try not to go more than two days without writing.  Besides a respite when on vacation visiting family in California for ten days in June and a couple of three day sprees, I have been pretty good with my schedule.  But it has led me to eventually neglect my blog here.

Also, back in May I went to my regional SCBWI Oregon conference and heard Emily Whitman (Radiant Darkness and Wildwing) speak.  She was very inspiring to me (as well as I LOVED Wildwing) and gave some fantastic advice that I have been following for my WIP.  Emily talked about a method that helped her when writing her books– write out a list of forty or more “scenes” that you can imagine which may or may not end up in the final book. Do this quickly, without thinking, like a free writing exercise. Then, choose one that speaks to you (could be anywhere in the story) and write it out. After you’ve written most of the scenes, put them together like a puzzle and see what works, what doesn’t, and fill in the gaps. I’m writing my WIP in this fashion now and I never feel stuck!

2.  Vacation in California in June

(see above)

3.  Summer sun!

When you live in the Pacific Northwest, the sun is like a god that MUST be worshipped when it shows itself.  This has led to more books being read outside, though.

4.  Lots of extra reading of YA historical and fantasy novels

(see above)

4.  Viva Scriva.com

I have done some posting on my critique group’s new group blog at Viva Scriva: On Critique and the Writing Process.  Check it out!

And finally…

(YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE A PICTURE OF US SICK, DO YOU?)

5.  Bad colds descend upon family in June

It stinks to get sick when summer is starting, especially when it spreads from me to my husband and my two boys.  Ugh.

But now…

It’s time to buckle down and get blogging again, so here I go…

Poetry Friday (on Saturday): Mother’s Day

I just had to post this week’s poem for Poetry Friday in honor of Mother’s Day, even though today is Saturday!  Sorry for the delay.

This week’s Poetry Friday round-up is being hosted by The Family Bookshelf.  Enjoy!

The Young Mother by Mary Cassatt

The Mother 

by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Here I lean over you, small son, sleeping
Warm in my arms,
And I con to my heart all your dew-fresh charms,
As you lie close, close in my hungry hold . . .
Your hair like a miser’s dream of gold,
And the white rose of your face far fairer,
Finer, and rarer
Than all the flowers in the young year’s keeping;
Over lips half parted your low breath creeping
Is sweeter than violets in April grasses;
Though your eyes are fast shut I can see their blue,
Splendid and soft as starshine in heaven,
With all the joyance and wisdom given
From the many souls who have stanchly striven
Through the dead years to be strong and true.

Those fine little feet in my worn hands holden . . .
Where will they tread ?
Valleys of shadow or heights dawn-red?
And those silken fingers, O, wee, white son,
What valorous deeds shall by them be done
In the future that yet so distant is seeming
To my fond dreaming?
What words all so musical and golden
With starry truth and poesy olden

Shall those lips speak in the years on-coming?
O, child of mine, with waxen brow,
Surely your words of that dim to-morrow
Rapture and power and grace must borrow
From the poignant love and holy sorrow
Of the heart that shrines and cradles you now!

Some bitter day you will love another,
To her will bear
Love-gifts and woo her . . . then must I share
You and your tenderness! Now you are mine
From your feet to your hair so golden and fine,
And your crumpled finger-tips . . . mine completely,
Wholly and sweetly;
Mine with kisses deep to smother,
No one so near to you now as your mother!
Others may hear your words of beauty,
But your precious silence is mine alone;
Here in my arms I have enrolled you,
Away from the grasping world I fold you,
Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone!

The Royal Wedding (And Why I Woke up at 1:00 am to Watch it)

Yes, I was one of the millions of American television viewers who woke up in the middle of the night (1:00 am west coast time) to begin the countdown to the royal wedding of Will and Kate.

If any readers are wondering why in the world I did that, it simply comes down to this picture– the very first royal wedding I ever witnessed– which had a profound influence on me and really helped shape who I am today.

  I remember watching Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding at a neighbor’s house in 1981.  I hadn’t known anything about it and was simply going over there for a “playdate” with a girlfriend.  My parents did not share that there was going to be a royal wedding to me, as they didn’t really pay attention to any cultural or historically significant events of any kind.  When I got to my friend’s house, she was watching the wedding on television with her mother.  I distinctly remember watching Diana walk down the aisle in her billowing meringue dress, and what caught my eye the most was the diamond tiara she wore with her veil.

I was HOOKED!

Believe it or not, I simply did not know that princesses actually EXISTED until that moment– that there really were castles and kings and queens and princes and princesses.  I was very into fairy tales at the time and loved to read them.   A family friend had given me a copy of a collection of Grimm’s fairy tales as a gift, and I read them over and over. Fairy tales had already stirred a love for princesses and all things royal, so I had already begun “pretending” to be a princess with costume jewelry and my mom’s old negligee nightgowns.  But this wedding, this wedding was REAL!  I couldn’t get over it. My love for pomp and all things British and castles and everything that goes with the medieval and renaissance period began in ernest at that moment.

A few months later, another friend of mine brought a coffee table book to school that had just been released all about Princess Diana, and it had close-up color pictures of the wedding and all of her different outfits that she had worn during the courtship and thus far in the marriage.  There were many, many hats in the pictures, and I think that is when I started really noticing hats and liking them (luckily, my mother always bought me an Easter hat, too, which I always loved wearing). And how I drooled over those wedding photos!  I really wanted to be one of those flower girls, too!

I realize now that both of these British “royal” moments helped define some of my tastes today (tea, traveling to Europe, hats, love of medieval and renaissance history, love of art history, etc…) and that these moments also help define the stories I choose to write today.

It was for all these reasons that I was so thrilled when I heard about Will and Kate’s engagement last November.  I definitely wanted to watch the wedding live and relive those childhood memories as well as share the event with my own children.  Even though I watched the wedding during the night (and my three-year-old son woke up with his cold and even watched it a bit with me live), we are having an afternoon tea with some friends after my six-year-old son gets home from school to let the kids watch some of it.  (Thank goodness for Tivo!)

As the Bishop of London said in his sermon during the royal wedding, quoting St. Catherine of Siena, whose festival day it is today,

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

I was destined to watch Prince Charles’ and Lady Diana’s wedding that day in 1981 to help me become who I was meant to be. And soon it will hopefully be time to set the world on fire with my writing!

Favorite Historical/Fantasy Dance Scenes: Romeo and Juliet (1968)

I’m having a lot of fun thinking about my favorite dance scenes while I work on my own for my WIP!  Of course, I need to be careful that it doesn’t take away from the actual writing of my scene itself.  :-)

My newest scene comes from  the 1968 Franco Zeffirelli version of “Romeo and Juliet.” I remember watching this movie as an eighth grader for the first time, but long after it had come out.  I had to rent it and watch it from home for extra credit, so I rented it from our local video store down the street (the ones where you brought the cover of the movie you wanted to the counter and the workers had to get the videos from a back room).  I fell instantly in love with this version, and it remains my favorite.

Here is a dance scene where Romeo sees Juliet for the first time, and it sings of romance to me.

A Preview of the Royal Wedding…

I just had to post this.  I love it so much!