Comments: Spring 2013

What TW Readers Are Saying

 


 

Talk Floats—Donate to TW!

When you donate to Talking Writing, a unique nonprofit magazine, you join an online literary community with connections around the world. TW sparks conversations like those you see here.

 


 

"One grandmother asked me if I was crazy, I read so much. I, too, love bookstores and visit a bookstore in every town I travel through. I now live near a small town in Idaho that has two independent bookstores. I love them both!" — Julie Weston

I share your fond memories of Parnassus in Yarmouthport. My family used to vacation every summer right up the street at the Colonial House, and we loved to walk over to that wonderful bookstore, with its musty smell, creaky floors, and books squeezed into every nook and cranny. Entering always felt like embarking on a hunt for mysterious treasure. You never knew what you would discover, which book would find its way off the shelf and into your hands."
Evelyn Herwitz

My parents didn’t mind my book obsession in the car so much, because it meant at least one of the three kids was quiet, and when we visited relatives and I hid in a corner with my book, they just thought I was a little bit weird."
Leslie McShane

Lisa Solod responds:

Those who love bookstores are a special breed. Leslie: Good point. When my two sisters and I were reading, we were not fighting! I am sure my love for books drove me to Brown: It looked to this young girl from East Tennessee like the college campus from a book. Books have saved me, more than once."

  

Inner StrengthAlivio: The Gift of Solace:

Although many of us believe that nature is only found outside us, I have come to understand that there are vast landscapes of wilderness within." — Steve Lewis

A few nights ago I saw, for the first time this year, the lilting flash of a firefly. You capture what I always experience when I see one: They are a phenom of nature, a perfect haunting light. There is no comparison in the bustling synthetic world. Firefly light inspires in me the sensation of opening up, inside and out, in many directions at once.... Your evocative writing, like the raw natural beauty you describe, affected me similarly." Laurie Weisz

Inez Holger responds:

When I read Melville’s description of the 'insular Tahiti' in the soul of man, or Thoreau’s 'Atlantic and Pacific Ocean of one’s being,' I definitely sense that inner landscape. Vast, it is."

 


I Hear the Woods Beating
:

I’ve had similar experiences with photography/being outdoors in general and find your awareness of the world in which you live to be beyond inspirational and admirable." — Ian Wenz

I’m compelled to think of Flannery O’Connor’s short story 'The River,' in which Bevel, an ignored little boy, is carried away by the river at the end. The image of Bevel walking out into the river, nonchalantly letting it take him, is eerily reminiscent of your reference to the ‘simplicity’ of death. The ease with which death can come, both instantly and irreversibly." — Carla M. Wilson

Theresa Williams responds:

There’s something mystical about ‘The River’ by O’Connor that I don’t see in her other work, even ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find.’ I think it is in how she handles the description of the river and of the little boy, Bevel. Bevel is portrayed so compassionately by her in this story. I teach Native American Literature, and what I’ve learned from this experience is that it’s possible to reconcile opposites: life and death, beauty and ugliness, sadness and joy. Within each set of opposites, there’s a ‘third thing’ that I always search for now, and that third thing, the reconciliation, drives my writing. It takes a while to find."

 

"Dark Sunburst" @ Mary DineenComing to Terms: TW Writers on Grief:

These are perfect—and moving—examples of ‘show, don’t tell,’ something I need to do more of in my own writing." — Elaine J. Jackson

It's hard to write about loss, and we have much to learn from those who have done it well." — Linda Frances Lein

If a writer starts thinking that fiction is trite and pointless, we’ve lost the true perspective of what literature is: a reflection of our lives and our times. As such, every story is built on the ruin and loss of real people and real history. That is what makes a writer’s job worthwhile." — KC Redding-Gonzalez

  

Hope Love Boston" © Martha NicholsBoston: Why I Revise:

"When I’m in writing mode, every waking and sleeping moment is spent editing, and I’m sure it comes as no surprise to other writers that new seeds of ideas burst through the seemingly dry, caked soil of want and hope, and yes, frustration." Darlene Olivio

Those nighttime editors rarely rest in this house, either…. As Mailer would say, you’re navigating the existential rim. I would add, dangerous work, but we must." — Mathew Paust

Martha Nichols responds:

We’re always revising and shifting our stories, aren’t we? Matt: I’m not normally a Mailer fan, but ‘existential rim’ works for me. So true."

 

‘A place where listening is enough.’ Yes. The whole last paragraph is splendid. Watermelon Pickle was the book we used to introduce our middle school writers to poetry in the creative writing program at Denver School of the Arts for all the years I taught there. It is a fine collection." — Patricia Dubrava

This made me remember, or try to, scenes from books I was read when young, though none are as peaceful as your leaning bush—more like the powerful Shere Khan hovering near the fire of jungle friends. Did that image linger because I have been so keenly aware of darkness at the edge of things all my life?" — Sarah Williams

 

Nora EphronEnough With the Copy:

"This belongs in the corpus of ‘Writings About Nora Ephron—and About Writing—That You Should Not Miss.’ Your piece rings true and sings lovely and is going in my personal anthology, as in taped inside my 8.5 × 11 sketchbook where I capture first drafts of poems. Also there: Dillard’s 1989 NYT essay, ‘Write Till You Drop.’" Richard A. Mullins

I’ve made much of my life and most of my living writing and ghostwriting memoirs, and I cringed a little when I realized how many times I’ve told my clients ‘everything is copy’ as a way to help them process their stories. The courage to be truthful is the greatest challenge in the art of memoir, and somehow that makes it easier. But you’re so right here. It can be an irritating copout—maybe because processing a story on paper is not the same as processing it emotionally. The storytelling process might help, but the hard work of truth has to happen in the skin." — Joni Rodgers

Christine Grimaldi responds:

I find redemption and strength in words. Never vengeance. That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately and really hit home at a writers conference I went to this past weekend. As writers, our motivation should never be to ‘settle the score,’ even if we’re writing about people we don’t particularly care for. We should always strive to do no harm, even if our subjects have harmed us."

 

"Dandelion Seeds" © Cynthia StaplesShe's Leaving Home:

Thank you for reminding me to relish and hold onto every moment with my son as he dips his toe into this wild, wondrous and scary world these next two years with the starting of driving, a first girlfriend, and interests of his own. And yet, reminding me also to let him go, to let him become the man he was meant to be." — Monica L. Dashwood

This stirs up memories of when my parents dropped me off at college…. I will never forget my mother’s voice, and her kiss on my cheek. In that moment and throughout her life, she reminded me that no matter how old I got, how much I thought I knew, how far I traveled, I would always be her baby." — Cynthia Staples

My older son turns 30 on Friday, and I, too, have been remembering the day he was born and all the birthdays that followed. Your daughter sounds lovely. She will always need you, and you will be surprised by the moments of closeness that come once she has left your nest." — Judith Ross

  

Forget the cooking, I'm going to sit and read!The Public Library Was My Bookstore:

When I was about eight, my mother went to a lecture about children and reading, and learned that you should never make your child pay library fines. For the next several months, stacks of books accumulated in my room. I didn’t bother to return them—I liked having them around so I could go back and look at a favorite section! My mother eventually figured out that this policy wasn’t designed for readers like me." — Meryl Natchez

To this day, I credit the fact that I lived within walking distance of three (!) public libraries in Brooklyn with educating me and incidentally saving my life. (I remember trudging to the nearest one, Rogers Ave., in all kinds of weather, carrying those heavy hardcovers. I can still smell the wet wool scarf and galoshes.) The library was my salvation. The other worlds I found there got me through. I had so many interests, even as a young child, and the library was where I found connections. For me, life-affirming." Linda Umans

 


 “Wikipedia Is Not Dying”: Jimmy Wales at Wikimania 2011 in Haifa, Israel  © Niccolò Caranti Special Shoutout: The Wikipedia Debate

What Should We Do About Wikipedia?

This essay by Martha Nichols and Lorraine Berry has generated a hundred-plus comments. Excerpting quotes from a few commenters would just take their points out of context, but we encourage you to look over this lively online conversation.

It covers everything from the inside workings of Wikipedia to institutionalized sexism and racism. Heady stuff—and a debate that is far from over at Talking Writing.

 


 

TW Talk Bubble Logo

More Like This

Dec 27, 2012 | Featured Comments
Apr 4, 2013 | Featured Comments