 |
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) laurasalas | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you need something amusing to read after the holidays (and who doesn't?), check out the book Twitterature: The World's Greatest Literature in Twenty Tweets or Less. This isn't a kids' book, though I suspect many teens will love this "ultimate Cliffs Notes."
I like books that mix forms. My neglected middle-grade novel is in blog form, and I enjoy books like Lauren Myracle's ttyl and Michelle Jaffe's Bad Kitty. I've also been thinking about a poetry collection of a certain kind of exchange between teens, but all done as if they were written on Facebook. So when my husband brought home Twitterature, I had to check it out. I don't tweet, but I love these series of tweets for each book. The funniest ones, to me, were the ones for books I've read and actually remember. And the ones where I actually got the pop culture references. I'm sure there were plenty in there that sailed right over my head, too.
Here are some of my individual favorites (I'm only sharing clean ones, but there's R-rated language in the book--consider yourself warned):
The Metamorphosis @bugged-out I seem to have transformed into a large bug. Has this ever happened to any of you? No solution on Web MD.
Oedipus the King @WhathappensinThebes... Oh my God. These people will NOT stop singing behind me. SHUT UP! SHUT UP! BTW: How do they know my name?
Harry Potter (1-7) @NotoriousHP Competing in a tournament. Also: is it just me, or should they really have a tougher vetting process for Dark Arts teachers?
Macbeth @BigMAC @LadyMac: THERE'S NOTHING ON YOUR HANDS, YOU'VE WASHED THEM 100 TIMES ALREADY!
Wuthering Heights @HeathBar My dying wish: that my spirit be united with Catherine's, that we roam the heath together forever, and that Kate Bush writes a song about us.
Frankenstein @NotoriousDOC So sometimes you build something, and it gets away. They're gonna can me at the university if they find out about this.
The Canterbury Tales @AprilFools Road trip guys. Who's with us? Send me a parchment if you're in need of spiritual healing.
Check out Twitterature. It's not gonna help you pass your lit exam, but it's definitely good for a laugh. Tags: twitterature
Current Mood: busy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
laurasalas | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My friend poet/writer/reviewer Carol-Ann Hoyte sent me some links to poems and readings by Scottish poet Jackie Kay. I finally got around to listening to her poems and interview the other day while I was doing some brainless puttering. Wow. I must get her collections. Here's the middle portion of one poem I really loved. It's called Old Tongue, and it's about a child moving away from Scotland and losing her accent (though Kay's is lovely and strong!).
From Old Tongue
My own vowels started to stretch like my bones
and I turned my back on Scotland.
Words disappeared in the dead of night,
new words marched in: ghastly, awful,
quite dreadful, scones said like stones.
Pokey hats into ice cream cones.
Oh where did all my words go —
my old words, my lost words?
Did you ever feel sad when you lost a word,
did you ever try and call it back
like calling in the sea?
If I could have found my words wandering,
I swear I would have taken them in,
swallowed them whole, knocked them back.
You can read the entire poem here (and hear Kay read it, if you like).
To learn more about Jackie Kay, you can check out her page at the Poetry Archive. You can listen to the interview I listened to here. I don't generally listen to many interviews online, but this was wonderful! It focused a fair amount on Kay's adoption, her search for identity, what happened when she met (separately) her birth parents, and more. And I see her page on the Poetry Archive has a link to an interview that actually includes some poetry tips, so I'll be checking that one out, too.
Thanks, Carol-Ann!
Susan Taylor Brown has the Poetry Friday Roundup today.
Go ahead...treat yourself! Tags: poetry, poetry friday
Current Mood:  sick
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
laurasalas | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recently, a writers' email list discussed how we keep writing (or don't!) during December. Some people change nothing this month, and others do no writing work whatsoever. Others tweak their routine.
I still have plenty of work I have to get done. Nothing optional about it. But I also have more social outings than I usually have, treats to make, gifts to order, drs' appointments, a broken washing machine, and kids home from school for two weeks. What to do?
I've tweaked my routine in two ways. First, I gave up my early morning session that includes morning pages, blogging, reading other blogs, and reading at least five poems out loud. Now, I blog. That's it. I had to choose between giving the other stuff up or giving up my two weekly workouts during the workday. I love both things, but this month, I need the workouts to keep me sane. I can't wait to get back to the other stuff in January! I've also had to give up doing the Monday Poetry Stretch and other collaborative exercises I enjoy. Instead, as soon as I finish blogging, around 5:45 a.m., I either do holiday-related things that need doing or I dive into my work list for the day.
My second adjustment is that I'm hardly doing any real writing. I've got work-for-hire projects due, several revisions, PR work, web editing, marketing tasks, and lesson plans all on the schedule. But my head is too noisy and my schedule too packed for real thought. My real writing projects will have to wait for the new year.
With these two changes, I'm keeping up--barely--with my deadlines and to-do lists. What about you? How does your writing change during this busy season? Any stories or rants or tips to share? Tags: writing routine
Current Mood: busy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
laurasalas | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nikki Grimes' latest picture book, Voices of Christmas (Zonderkidz, 2009), is one of those books that makes me go, Why hasn't someone done this before? It's a collection of poems that together tell the story of the birth of Christ. Each spread introduces the character with a Bible quotation and then presents a poem from that person's point of view.
These poems are from real, human people, with real, human failings: nosiness, greed, selfishness, etc. But also bravery, love, and faith. And the illustrations by Eric Velasquez are stunning. So gorgeous and evocative.
Here's the poem for Gaspar, introduced as "In the time of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the child who was born King of the Jews? We observed his star at its rising.' "
|  |
All those years of poring over
charts and scrolls on astronomy,
then suddenly, it was as if
the Morning Star
leapt from the page
and rose into the sky.
I have waiting for its appearing
so long, I know its shape by heart.
This star marks the Messiah's birth.
God, at last, has come to earth
and I must find him!
"Brothers, it is time for us
to begin the journey
for which we were born.
Pack quickly and take
a gift for the King.
We leave in the morning."
--Nikki Grimes, all rights reserved
I don't read many religious books, but I really enjoyed this one. I can't wait to listen to the CD that came with it, too, with the book read by Nikki.
Tags: nikki grimes, one book i love
Current Mood:  calm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
laurasalas | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last Friday, a group of seven of us, led by Liz Garton Scanlon of Liz in Ink, posted original villanelles. Mine was a nature-based poem called "Fierce."
I had wanted to do something other than a nature poem, because those feel like home, and I wanted to push myself out of the comforts of home. So I tried a war poem, written from a WWII veteran's point of view. I haven't glanced at it since I wrote it Thanksgiving week, so we'll see how it looks.
Wounded
Thanksgiving for my truth of yesterday— for battling a stark, concrete regime… But friends and hope both died along the way.
In war, my days were clear so far away. My squad, my unit, one unbroken team: thanksgiving for my truth of yesterday.
A bed, three meals, and comrades in the fray— when going home was nothing but a dream— But friends and hope both died along the way.
I played both roles, both predator and prey. I see myself in memory’s stark white beam. Thanksgiving for my truth of yesterday.
Now nothing keeps the nightmare sounds at bay: the chopper blades, the gunfire, and the scream, as friends and hope both died along the way.
My unseen wounds descend into decay. I have no sense of any larger scheme. Thanksgiving for my truth of yesterday, but friends and hope both died along the way.
---Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved Diane at Random Noodling has the Poetry Friday roundup today. Don't miss it! Tags: my poems, poetry friday, villanelle
Current Mood: busy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous
tired
exhausted
cheerful
excited