Shorts: Word Shop Newsletter July 2007
My idea of how to spend the summer is to read long, leisurely novels under a shade tree. Of course, my idea of how to spend the winter is to read long, leisurely novels in front of a crackling fire. This month, however, has been so fraught with people and events that the time between was mostly spent staring off into space with a glazed expression. I avoided entering into novel worlds with more characters, complexities and crisis. I avoided the frustration of constant interruptions to an epic novel. Instead I relied on small pleasures: poetry and children's' books."Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in." --Arthur Schopenhauer printer...A Future of Remembrances, is a book of poems by Jeff Towle, a local author, teacher, priest. Divided into several sections, the compendium of poems traverse nature, war, South American flavors, North American sins and the love that overreaches all. Being poetry challenged, it helps that I know Jeff. The book has been floating around--now in a beach bag, now lost on the floor of the car, now on my nightnight stand. I forget about it and then rediscover it. Very Jolly--although hard on book covers.
When I've lost Jeff I turn to Rainer Maria Rilke, who also seems to float around the house. I don't know him, and my German isn't up to the left hand pages in the edition of his poems that came into the store. However, Mary showed up in our writer's groups and talked about Rilke enough for me to grab the book. Oddly enough, knowing her has helped me access him. Funny how we can be doors into each other. What I want to read next is his Letters to a Young Poet, which I find references to everywhere.
"For what is a poem but a hazardous attempt at self-understanding: it is the deepest part of autobiography." -Robert Penn WarrenChildren's books are good when reading time is short. I read The Best School Year Ever the first afternoon of the Gerard Family Camp week. Author of Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson again presents the horrific Herdmans, this time wreaking havoc at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. I mentioned at the end of the week that this book was good preparation for dealing with some of the personalities at camp, where-upon it promptly disappeared from the camp book table.
"How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten?" -Logan Pearsall SmithI came back from Camp with eight sponsors for The Word Shop. This is a third of the total of all of last year's sponsors. Several of the sponsors even paid for their books in addition to giving a $100 check. I suspect this outpouring of love is because they only have to put up with me one week out of the year. Anyway, we are now accepting 07-08 sponsors and as of this writing are up to twelve. (We cleverly suggest sponsorship mid-year instead of right after Christmas.) Keep in mind that donations are not tax-deductible. We are not nonprofit (are highly prophetic).
My prayer is that The Lord would honor these gifts by doing His good and gracious work through our little corner of the kingdom. I am unspeakable grateful for the love and support they represent.
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." - Nelson HendersonFAT and FAST: The Book-Which-Cannot-Be-Named is NOT a long, leisurely novel. My adult kids read it hiding in the closet, speeding through the pages in the hope that they would finish before some spoiler on the internet ruined the story for them. I read it in a breathless few days. I forgot to sit under a shade tree and got a strange triangular sunburn on my belly. I'm proud to say that the canon finishes well. Maintains the inner integrity. I am well pleased.
"It takes a long time to grow young." - Pablo PicassoThe only children's book that nobody took at camp is The Spell by Bill Myers. Published by Tyndale House, it is part of a the Forbidden Door series that presents a Christian view about the occult and spiritual warfare. I can't figure out if nobody took the book because it looked too occult, or if they didn't take it because it looked like propaganda. Sometimes the narrow way is too tight to squeeze a book through.
"Propaganda is a soft weapon; hold it in your hands too long, and it will move about like a snake, and strike the other way." -Jean Anouilh,No sooner had I bought the ISBN numbers for my book, than two local publishers walked in the door. Emmalou King of Pigtail Press, published two books about growing up in the 50's. Sleeping Upside-Down is about the elementary years and Friends...Till Cows Wear Lipstick the teen years. So far I've only read the first one; a trip down memory lane. Then the long time local publisher of Many Hands Press, came in and gave me tons of advice along with her first book, Sam Hergo by Bill Stripe, and her most recent Stitches in Time by Leba Wine. It's all rather daunting.
"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." - William FaulknerI was hoping to have a blurb, one of Rodney Warren's wonderful illustrations and the introduction to my little book, Using the Word, posted on my webpage by the time I mailed this newsletter. Sigh. Maybe next week. I do, however, have the name of the publishing company: AD Books. I have the ISBN. We also have all but three pages formatted and ready to go to the printer. Soon I may even have a printer...
"To be happy, drop the words if only and substitute the words next time." - Smiley BlantonNext time.
Blessings,
Alliee +
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