Stillness: December 2017
Great Plains in Winter
Blue snow in the moonlight,
Set back from the road, a house
with a single lamplit window.
The whole world holds its breath.
--Ted Kooser
January Writing Workshop: Short Assignments
In 2018 I'll be offering one workshop per month for those who want to drop in and sharpen their pencils. The first will be Short Assignments. In her book Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott encourages us to get our writing started with short assignments, describing everything we can see through a one-inch picture frame. We'll focus in on the details to start creating place and character.
Date & time: January 22, 2018, 6:30pm-8:30pm.
Location: The Mothership, 401 W Geer St, Durham.
Cost $25. Register here.
Can't make it? Save the date for the next one: February 20, 2018. Details to follow!
Winter Reading List
If you need some good titles to curl up with this season or gifts for friends, here's a roundup of some books I found highly readable.
Ever read any Victor Lavalle? Try Devil in Silver or Big Machine--both spooky, elegant novels. Or start with his first book, a collection of short stories fantastically named Slapboxing With Jesus.
In the mood for essays? Check out Meghan Daum's The Unspeakable. Honest, beautiful, and funny.
Do you like long, consuming novels? You're ready for Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. Already read it? Go back and pick up The Secret History and My Little Friend.
Already read all of Donna Tartt? Here's another great, all-consuming novel for a gray winter day: The Signature of All Things. This book proves Elizabeth Gilbert can do a helluva lot more than just eat, pray & love.
Are you in the mood to get smarter? Pick up anything by Rebecca Solnit. The topics of her books may not be ones you thought you were interested in, but she is a fantastic storyteller and a brilliant researcher. I've recently enjoyed A Paradise Built in Hell and Savage Dreams. Next on my list is A Field Guide to Getting Lost.
If the world is getting you down and you just want straight up lyricism, sentences so beautiful you could cry, go for Ordinary Light, a memoir by poet Tracy K. Smith.
For maximum readability and entertainment, it's time for Jami Attenberg. The Middlesteins, Saint Mazie, All Grown Up -- they're all good.
Pressed for time? Go grab some poetry & read a few before bed, while waiting on line, between emails. Ada Limon, Mary Oliver, Matthew Olzmann, Danez Smith, Audre Lorde, Robinson Jeffers, Maggie Smith, Kiki Petrosino, Marie Howe, Meghan Privitello, Morgan Parker--the world, rotten as it may seem, is full of poetry. Ingest some today and feel better.
Before you head over to Amazon, please consider your local independent bookstore. Real live people run bookstores and they need your support. They also are very good at recommending books you will love. Bookstores and libraries are my favorite places, my havens. Please support them as you are able.
To Go Poem
Before you head off into your day,
read this poem by José Olivarez:
I Walk Into Every Room and Yell Where the Mexicans At