I’d Follow Joan Didion’s Mind Whatever It Roams
Monday, November 21st, 2011 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, Readings, the writing process | 2 Comments »I just read Joan Didion's new book, Blue Nights. She's just an amazing writer, so precise. I'd follow her mind anywhere. And this book is particularly remarkable, not only for the content, but for the style -- the texture of the ...
James Preller Interviews . . . Carmen Deedy, author of “THE CHESHIRE CHEESE CAT”
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 Posted in Before You Go, Interviews & Appreciations, Readings, the writing process | 4 Comments »As an author, mine was not the story of the wide-eyed boy who loved weekly trips to the library, the happy ritual of laden arms lugging home precious treasures. No, we didn't do that stuff in my family. For starters, ...
Raymond Carver: Quote of the Day
Thursday, September 29th, 2011 Posted in Around the Web, Readings | 3 Comments »In this age of desperate self-promotion, of tweets and status updates and high-cost book trailers, of authors being told, over and over again, about the importance of having a web presence, and -- God help me, I've heard this -- ...
Confession: I Finally Got Around to Reading “A Wrinkle In Time”
Monday, September 26th, 2011 Posted in Family, Readings | 2 Comments »". . . one thing I've learned is that you don't have to understand things for them to be." -- Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle In Time. When I was a kid, growing up in the 60's, I didn't read many children's books. ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #125 (further thoughts on bullying)
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Fan Mail, Readings, bullying | 2 Comments »As part of a late summer assignment, I received a terrific letter from Zander in Brooklyn, including his answer to the question, "What will happen to the characters in Bystander after the story?" Here's an excerpt from that letter . . ...
Quote: Zappa
Monday, September 5th, 2011 Posted in Readings | No Comments »"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible." -- Frank Zappa.
Einstein’s Eyes: Chilling Story Behind the Famous Photograph
Thursday, August 18th, 2011 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, Readings | 1 Comment »Last night I came across a chilling story behind a famous photograph of Albert Einstein. The portrait was taken by Philippe Halsman, a photographer who had escaped Nazi Germany with Einstein's help. Meeting together in 1947, Halsman held a camera while ...
Einstein’s Desk
Monday, August 15th, 2011 Posted in Around the Web, Readings | 2 Comments »I've been reading Walter Isaacson's warm, affectionate biography, Einstein: His Life and Universe. I purchased a copy when the book first came out, but it sat on my shelf for a few years before I tackled it. Einstein's popularity was, ...
Tom Waits Reads Charles Bukowski’s “Nirvana”
Monday, July 25th, 2011 Posted in Around the Web, Readings | No Comments »Tom Waits reads "Nirvana," a great poem by an imperfect man, Charles Bukowski. the young man thought, I'll just sit here, I'll just stay here. but then he rose and followed the others into the bus [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-vdPkESLZs] I really enjoyed this fan video, created by somebody out there and ...