Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue


William Wordsworth: "Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."


If the conversation around the water cooler or cafeteria revolves a little too much around any television show with a title that begins with "Real Housewives..." or latest YouTube sensation, try quoting a few lines of poetry to amaze everyone.

Tuesday, January 14 is National Poetry at Work Day. 

It doesn't matter what kind of day you're having...there's always a poem to describe your mood, the work piled on your desk, or a long afternoon.

For example, at closing time, exit gracefully with a thought from Walt Whitman:
"Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading me wherever I choose." 
(Song of the Open Road) 

Or, William Butler Yeats:
"I will arise and go now." (Lake Isle of Innisfree)

Or, John Howard Payne:
"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."  (Home, Sweet Home!)

If your vacation is a long way off and you're staring out the window, think of John Masefield's Sea Fever:
"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."

Cubicle walls closing in? Percy Bysshe Shelley:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair." (Ozymandias)

Wishing for a snow day? Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"Announced by all the trumpets of the sky, 
Arrives the snow." (The Snow Storm)

Made a big mistake? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
"I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I know not where." (The Arrow and the Song)

Too many projects? Edna St. Vincent Millay:
My candle burns at both ends, 
It will not last the night." (First Fig)

Going into a presentation completely unprepared? Ernest Lawrence Thayer's Casey at the Bat: "The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day."

If a job change isn't on the horizon, Nikki Giovanni:
"If I can't have what I want... then my job is to want what I've got." (Choices)  

Moody today? Ella Wheeler Wilcox understood:
"Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone." (Solitude)  

Feeling unappreciated? Emily Dickinson:
"I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody too?
Then there's a pair of us - don't tell! They'd banish us, you know."
(I'm Nobody! Who Are You?)

Or, for a fresh start, Emily Dickinson:
"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tunes without the words,
And never stops at all." (Hope is the Thing With Feathers)

And for all of the good days, quote e.e. cummings:

"the world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful." (in just)

Happy Poetry at Work Day

                        Thank you

Robert Louis Stevenson: "The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life."


In January, we are supposed to lose weight, organize our homes, dance to polka music and hunt for happiness.** With the temperature below zero, I look forward to combining two other celebrations - National Hot Tea Month and Book Blitz Month. There's one more observation that I don't want to overlook. January is National Thank You Month.

Saying "thank you" is (usually) one of our earliest lessons and certainly one of the most important. Where would we be without gratitude?

At our nephew's wedding reception, guests were asked to write down advice for the newlyweds. Immediately, I thought of five simple words. Thank you. Please. You're welcome.

What are you thankful for in your life? Good health? Education? Wealth? Children? 

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California/Berkeley and University of California/Davis have teamed up to study the practice of gratitude and its effects on society. Saying thank you may help us in more ways than just making the recipient smile.

According to Robert Emmons, who has studied the effects of gratitude, there are improvements in our physical, psychological and social well-being linked with being grateful. He wrote "Gratitude is Good" for the Greater Good Science Center at UC/Berkeley and reported that people who practice gratitude consistently reap benefits such as lower blood pressure, stronger immune systems, experience more joy and pleasure, and are more outgoing and forgiving. "This doesn't mean life is perfect," Emmons wrote. "It doesn't ignore complaints, burdens and hassles. But when we look at our lives as a whole, gratitude encourages us to identify some account of goodness in our life."

Still not convinced?

Francesca Gino, an associate professor at Harvard University and author of "Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan," said that "receiving expressions of gratitude make us feel a heightened sense of self-worth and that in turn triggers other helpful behaviors towards both the person we are helping and other people, too." She conducted experiments with students receiving either a curt acknowledgement or a friendly note of thanks for their work editing a mediocre cover letter. Students who received the curt acknowledgment said they'd be less likely to help in the future, according to an article in the Harvard Gazette.

In his book, "The End of Your Life Book Club," Will Schwalbe wrote often of gratitude. He credited his mother for teaching him the value of thank you in note or verbal form. "What I suddenly understood was that a thank you note isn't the price you pay for receiving a gift...but an opportunity to count your blessings," he wrote. Schwalbe found a letter penned by his mother that included this thought: "Just by giving friendship and love, you keep the people around you from giving up - and each expression of friendship or love may be the one that makes all the difference."

Gratitude played a role in changing John Kralik's life. Kralik, author of "365 Thanks Yous," was battling a life in disarray - a second divorce, estrangement from his older children, a sinking law firm, and a sizable weight gain. He picked up a pen and started writing thank you notes. He wrote notes to clients and friends, to a coffee barista and a doctor. Neighbors and hotel security guards received notes. Family members were thanked for their care and patience. 

Did it change his life?

Much like Emmons' discovery, Kralik's life did not become perfect and carefree but after 365 notes in 15 months, there was great change. Relationships had grown stronger, and Kralik realized that "I had examined the life I had viewed as perfectly awful and found that it was a lot better than I had been willing to acknowledge. Maybe I was not such a bad person after all." 

Or in the words of Carol Stuart who wrote "The Thank You Book" for children, "This saying thank you stuff is okay. The words don't cost you anything, but they are so good that people gobble them up like milk chocolate candies and vanilla ice cream cones."

Thank you!



                                               Book ideas 


Will Schwalbe - "The End of Your Life Book Club"
John Kralik - "365 Thank Yous"
Carol Stuart - "The Thank You Book" (juvenile)
Peggy Post & Cindy Post Senning - "Emily's Everyday Manners" (juvenile)
Eric Hill - "Spot Says Please" (juvenile)
Richard Scarry - "Please and Thank You Book" (juvenile)
Deborah Norville - "Thank You Power"
Connie Leas - "The Art of Thank You"
Margaret Shepherd - "The Art of the Handwritten Note"
Jimmy Fallon (and others) - "Thank You Notes" which includes notes such as:
Thank you...screen saver that popped up while I thought I was doing work, for reminding me that not only have I made zero progress, but I also haven't made a single keystroke, or even nudged my mouse, for the past 15 minutes."  



**It's true - this is:
Get Organized Month, National Polka Music Month, Book Blitz Month, National Hot Tea Month. Also, National Lose Weight Week is Jan. 5-12. National Letter Writing Week is Jan. 8-14, and Hunt for Happiness Week is Jan. 19-25.  

                       Literary Trivia


If you love a challenging pub quiz or just sharing your expansive knowledge of history, pop culture or sports, Saturday, January 4 is your day. It's Trivia Day.

Here's a (literary) head start on tomorrow's fun.

Answers follow the quiz. No peeking!


1)  Who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013?

2)  Finish the title of this 2002 National Book Award winner by Robert Caro: "Master of the Senate: The Years of _________________."

3)  According to Publisher's Weekly, what was the best-selling E-book in 2012?

4)  Match the author with the Caldecott Medal winning book.

A Time of Wonder
Polar Express
Where The Wild Things Are
The Snowy Day
Officer Buckle and Gloria


Robert McCloskey
Peggy Rathmann
Ezra Jack Keats
Chris Van Allsburg
Maurice Sendak

5)  According to Publisher's Weekly, which celebrity chef had the #4 bestselling hardcover cookbook in 2012? Ree Drummond or Rachael Ray or Ina Garten

6)  Who said: "It used to be a good hotel, but that proves nothing - I used to be a good boy."

7)  In 2010, T.J. Styles won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography for his book on this American businessman.

8)  Which of these writers died in 2013?

Vince Flynn
Tom Clancy
Anthony Lewis
Seamus Heaney
Elmore Leonard

9)  True or False...Khaled Hossein's "Kite Runner" was on the American Library Association's top 10 list of most challenged books in 2012.

10) Who wrote "The Beginner's Goodbye," "Earthly Possessions" and "Saint Maybe"? 
Jane Smiley or Anne Tyler or Louise Erdrich 

Answers 

1) Alice Munro - Canada

2) Lyndon Johnson

3) Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

4) A Time of Wonder/McCloskey
     Polar Express/Van Allsburg
     Wild Things/Sendak
     Snowy Day/Keats
     Officer Buckle/Rathmann

5) Ina Garten was rated fourth; Drummond rated sixth.

6) Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"

7) "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt"

8) They all died in 2013.

9) True, the book was #6 on the list for offensive language, homosexuality and religious viewpoints.

10) Anne Tyler   
     

                   

                       Happy New Year

The Books That I Have Loved

I see the books that I have loved

All primly set arow

In ordered line, and locked away

While seasons come and go.

The magic of their printed names

Behind the polished glass

Will lay no subtle spell upon

The casual ones who pass.

No one will heed the penciled line

Nor leave his task to mark

Their dog-eared pages shut away

And singing in the dark.

                Jessie St. John, 1931

                                                  

                                                                                                                   Thanks, Melinda!

                      Farewell to 2013

Lucy Maud Montgomery: "Blessed be the inventor of the alphabet, pen and printing press! Life would be to me in all events a terrible thing without books."


It's been a good year for readers. I started out the year with Wendy Welch's "Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap" and am winding it up with "Mud Season" by Ellen Stimson. In the middle, I've learned what really goes on in hotels, about a New York lawyer on her way to the Supreme Court, and how fiercely a parent can love a child.

What were your favorite books of 2013?

My top picks this year:

Fiction

Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society - Heath, Amy.
Snow Child - Ivey, Eowyn
The Dressmaker - Alcott, Kate
Aviator's Wife - Benjamin, Melanie.
Obituary Writer - Hood, Ann.
Joyland - King, Stephen.
The Husband's Secret - Moriarty, Liane.
Silent Wife - Harrison, A.S.A.
Rebecca - Du Maurier, Daphne
Sisterland - Sittenfeld, Curtis.

Nonfiction

Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap - Welch, Wendy. (More about the book in an upcoming post)
My Beloved World - Sotomayor, Sonia.
Heads in Beds - Tomsky, Jacob
Meet Me in Emotional Baggage - Scottoline, Lisa.
Good Dog. Stay. - Quindlen, Anna.
Fourth State of Matter (essay) - Beard, JoAnn.
Dad is Fat - Gaffigan, Jim.
World's Strongest Librarian - Hanagarne, Josh.
Weird Things People Say in Bookstores - Campbell, Jen.
Astronaut Wives Club - Koppel, Lily.



In 2014, I'm looking forward to reading Tom Nissley's "A Reader's Book of Days" which will keep me discovering something new about books and writers every day the entire year.Two books of essays are first (and second) on my list: "This is the Story of a Marriage" by Ann Patchett and "Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie - Midwestern Writers on Food" edited by Peggy Wolff. I recently had the opportunity to meet Peggy Wolff and two of writers featured in the book, Mary Kay Shanley and Timothy Bascom. Now I want to read more about peach cobbler and Thanksgiving dinners!

Happy Reading!

   

Halfway

James Michener: "I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions."



November 15 is "I Love to Write Day." 

If you've been busy writing your novel as part of NaNoWriMo (see Nov. 1 blog post), you're halfway there. Otherwise, better get cracking on that first draft.

There's one more book to add to the "how to" list. Be sure to read "Wretched Writing" by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras. You'll laugh and cringe as the Petras team inspires you to avoid bad allusions, flowery language and the overuse of sound effects (ding dong, anyone?)

No writer escapes their scrutiny. Various bad habits of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Martin Amis, Charles Dickens, and Vladimir Nabakov are all exposed. On a lighter note, Snooki, Pam Anderson and Naomi Campbell are featured in the celebrity novelist section, showcasing various offenses. 

If you need a laugh after an afternoon spent staring at a blank page/screen, check out this book.

Keep writing!

A Novel Idea

Somerset Maugham: "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no one knows what they are."                                                                                                                             

Do you dream of writing the Great American Novel? Seeing your book listed on the New York Times bestseller list?

You may be in luck. November is National Novel Writing Month. You are challenged to write 50,000 words in November. More information and support can be found at: http://nanowrimo.org/.

The NaNo blog is: http://blog.nanowrimo.org/.

You won't be alone as you write. In 2011, more than 250,000 people participated in NaNo's invitation to write a novel. If you choose to take part, keep in mind that halfway through the month, on Nov. 15, is "I Love to Write Day."                                                         

What is the first and most basic advice on writing that novel? Or essay? Or memoir?

Read. Read a lot. Read every day.

And write. Write a lot. Write every day.

Find a trusted writing partner ("first reader") or group. If you're not sure where to find a writing partner, try a library bulletin board or ask a librarian. Book stores often host writing groups. 

Take a writing class at a college or university. Some larger universities have creative writing centers. Check with the English department. A university is also a good place to find a writing partner or group.

Read Writer or Poets & Writers magazines.

Attend authors' readings or receptions. Ask questions. I always like to find out which writers other writers like to read. For example, Jonathan Franzen and David Foster Wallace were friends and sometimes each other's critics. Or, if you prefer a more feisty approach to writers critiquing other writers, this is what Mark Twain had to say about Jane Austen: "Every time I read "Pride and Prejudice" I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin bone." 

Exercise! Writing exercise examples: write about, don't merely describe, one room in your house. Write an essay about your favorite childhood super hero. Compose a list of your favorite words. Edit a short story or novel. How would you have opened "A Tale of Two Cities" or "The Grapes of Wrath"? 

Whether you want to write the perfect essay, best picture book or most profound novel, there are so many good or great writing books. These are just the beginning! Check your library for more book selections. 

Now Write series - Various. If you're interested in writing mysteries, fiction, non-fiction, screenwriting, this is the perfect series. Includes practical advice and writing exercises to get you started or to keep you moving along. 

Writing With Pictures - Shulevitz, Uri. For anyone interested in writing/illustrating picture books.

How to Write a Children's Book And Get It Published - Seuling, Barbara. This is a good place to start. Seuling shares tips on everything from plots to finding the right publisher.

Children's Writer's Word Book - Mogilner, Alijandra. Writing for children is especially tricky because of the language. For example, did you know that "unreasonable" is considered a second grade level word because of the use of a prefix and suffix? 

2014 Children's Writer's Market - Who accepts unsolicited manuscripts? What is the deadline for a winter holiday themed article? This is an excellent guide through children's publishing.

On Writing Well - Zinsser, William. If you write nonfiction, this is THE book to keep handy. 

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing - Fogarty, Mignon. Fogarty will help you with tricky grammar. Lie or lay? Subject/verb agreement? Too many commas?

The Art of Description - Doty, Mark. It's no surprise that a poet would produce such a beautiful book on rich, descriptive writing.   

On Writing - King, Stephen. Yes, that Stephen King. People sometimes laugh when I suggest this book. It's incredibly helpful and a kick to read. King brings us along on overcoming addiction, staring at that blank page, and gives us his dos and don'ts. My "don't" is don't miss reading this book.  

Bird by Bird - LaMott, Anne. One of the "must reads" for writers. If your writing coach doesn't suggest this book, consider a new coach! LaMott writes bluntly about shitty first drafts and battling writer's block. She also gives advice on handling writing classes that turn into "Lord of the Flies." 

Turning Life Into Fiction - Hemley, Robin. Our own experiences can be fictionalized, bringing to life the advice to "write what you know." Hemley is the director of the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa. His own writing jumps between fiction and memoir.  

Help! for Writers - Clark, Roy Peter. If you're stuck, the solution is probably in Clark's book.    

How to Write Short - Clark, Roy Peter. Keep it short and make every word count. Clark includes helpful tips and exercises at the end of each chapter.

Women Writing On Family - Smallwood, Carol & Holland, Suzann, editors. Includes dozens of essays on topics ranging from finding time to write to finding your writing style. 

Writing Down the Bones - Goldberg, Natalie. Writers argue about whether a pen or even the type of paper is important when writing. Goldberg maintains that our tools are important to the beginning of our writing. (You can decide for yourself) Also covered - syntax, writing time and mental blocks.

November is Family Literacy Month.