co-dependent
Here's a brief review and a video interview about Requiem, Mass., which the headline calls a memoir and I call a novel.
bond, john bond
My friend John's birthday is today. He writes stories; he plays poker; he helps people out.
an idiot speaks
Pat Robertson explains the reason for the earthquake in Haiti. What's wrong with this poor soul? Here's a photo essay on the destruction from The Big Picture.
on writing well
An essay by William Zinsser on writing good English--for journalists specifically, but we can all learn from it.
"But ultimately you’re in the storytelling business. We all are. It’s the oldest of narrative forms, going back to the caveman and the crib, endlessly riveting. What happened? Then what happened? Please remember, in moments of despair, whatever journalistic assignment you’ve been given, all you have to do is tell a story, using the simple tools of the English language and never losing your own humanity."
flash fiction
Very short stories by Robert Busby, Tim Curtis, M. J. Fievre, David Gonzalez, Donna Zalter, Barbara Swan, Sarah Pearsall, Joe Lapin, Hector Duarte. Just click on Flash Fiction up on the left.
the art of e
Here's a piece on my nephew Evan and his art show in Worcester.
gator
Saw this guy on New Year's Day in Shark Valley just before a thunderstorm. (And in a followup to the tumbling iguana post, I saw a little guy this morning who had frozen in the street--SW 2nd Place--and didn't thaw out before he was flattened by a vehicle.)
on the road
In the latest Kerouac news: a new CD Box set features words and music from Big Sur. And then there's the battle over his will.
the clash
Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the US release of The Clash's London Calling. Maybe the greatest rock album ever by my favorite band. (Still have my vinyl copy.)
Now every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the
world
And ends up making payments on a sofa or a girl
Love 'n' hate tattooed across the knuckles of his hands
Hands that slap his kids around 'cause they don't understand how
Death or glory becomes just another story
Death or glory becomes just another story
The song takes me back to 1980 when I was the Administrative Supervisor of the US Census (if you can imagine that) in Worcester, Mass., and I kept a radio going in my end of the enormous factory floor that was our headquarters. "Train in Vain" played every morning on the local community radio station WCUW. And every morning Jeff Bahr called in a request for "My Way," by Sid Vicious. One of my staff, Igdalia, who faced me at her desk, was amused by me and my constant muttering, and told me often, "John, you talk alone."
2010 banished words
Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Overuse, and General Uselessness.
love warps
A brief review of Love Warps the Mind.
suzy snowflake
Merry Christmas!
on requiem, mass.
Here's a brief review of Requiem, Mass.
a short story for christmas
"The Dancing Master's Music," by William Trevor. The story appeared in his collection A Bit on the Side. I'm now reading Trevor's My House in Umbria, and this morning while waiting for Sophia to cut my hair, I read this piece of writing advice by Trevor's narrator, Mrs. Emily Delahunty:
"To compose a romance it is necessary to have a set of circumstances and within those circumstances a cast of people. As the main protagonists of a cast, you have, for instance, Jason and Maggie and Maggie's self-centered sister, and Jason's well-to-do Uncle Cedric. The circumstances are that Jason and Maggie want to start a riding stables, but they have very little money. Maggie's sister wants Jason for herself, and Jason's Uncle Cedric will allow the pair a handsome income if Jason agrees to go into the family business, manufacturing girder rivets. You must also supply places of interest--in this instance the old mill that would make an ideal stables, the little hills over which the horses can be exercised, and far away--darkly unprepossessing--the family foundry. You need dramatic incident: the discovery of the machinations of Maggie's sister, the angry family quarrel when Jason refuses to toe his Uncle Cedric's line. Noe of it's any good if the people aren't real to you as you compose."
gulf stream #2
The new issue of FIU's Lit Mag is now online. Lee Martin, Steve Almond, Robert Wrigley, and lots more!
microscopic fictions
Three very brief stories by Merle Drown.
the al green story?
Today's short story, "Grits," waiting to be written. Frank O'Connor said there were three necessary elements in a short story: 1. Exposition: Carolyn Brown lived with her boyfriend in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. 2. Development: One day her boyfriend told her he was leaving her. 3. Drama: “No, you’re not,” she said. (thanks to Beth in Roanoke) Here's another story, "Elder Care." 1. Exposition. Laura Lundquist lived at Brandon Woods Nursing Home in Dartmouth, Mass. 2. Development: One day her roommate told her she was moving a table away from her bedside. 3. Drama: "No you're not," Laura said.
(What's this about Al Green?)
(What's this about Al Green?)