One of my favorite books is Till We Have Faces.
Click the link to learn more about it.
Till We Have Faces: A retelling of a classic myth
12.10.2011
Books that I love - Till We Have Faces
11.28.2011
Barnes & Noble's Cyber Monday Sales in Books
Last minute gifts for the lit lovers out there. Read about Barnes & Noble's Cyber Monday Sales in Books
11.21.2011
Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee provides socially relevent comentary
Here is one of my favorite books that I have read in a long time. Click Review of Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee provides socially relevent comentaryto read the commentary on the novel.
5.01.2010
Easy Answer.
There has to be a simple answer to the question: did you grow up with brothers. There has to be... and yet there isn't.
If I say no.. then its a lie.
But if I say yes... they might ask me about him.. in which case what do I say. I'd have to tell the truth and that is not easy for me.
Yes. I had an older brother. But he died two years ago. That's the simple, honest truth and it is more information than people want. They don't want to know because most people don't know what to say.
If I say no.. then its a lie.
But if I say yes... they might ask me about him.. in which case what do I say. I'd have to tell the truth and that is not easy for me.
Yes. I had an older brother. But he died two years ago. That's the simple, honest truth and it is more information than people want. They don't want to know because most people don't know what to say.
2.16.2010
On poetry
I have never had such a reaction to a poem before until I read
William Carlos Williams "Death". Each new stanza swelled into the next until I my heart was pounding and I wanted to cry.
My heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to stop beating at any moment. So hard that everyone should have felt it. It hurt my heart to hear the words, and yet I couldn't escape. Didn't want to escape. I have never felt something such a strong pull from a poem before. Never felt the meaning so deep down in my bones. Knew exactly what emotion every line was referring to. I never understood a poem the first time I heard it. But this one.. I got. The very marrow of my bones felt the sorrow in his words. The anguish. The angry.
William Carlos Williams "Death" (Williams refers to his father's death in 1918)
He's dead
the dog won't have to
sleep on his potatoes
any more to keep them
from freezing
he's dead
the old bastard -
he's a bastard because
there's nothing
legitimate in him any
more
he's dead
he's sick-dead
he's
a godforsaken curio
without
any breath in it
he's nothing at all
he's dead
shrunken up to skin
Put his head on
one chair and his
feet on another and
he'll lie there
like an acrobat -
Love's beaten. He
beat it. That's why
he's insufferable -
because
he's here needing a
shave and making love
an inside howl
of anguish and defeat -
he's come out of the man
and he's let
the man go -
the liar
Dead
his eyes
rolled up out of
the light - a mockery
which
love cannot touch -
just bury it
and hide its face
for shame.
William Carlos Williams "Death". Each new stanza swelled into the next until I my heart was pounding and I wanted to cry.
My heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to stop beating at any moment. So hard that everyone should have felt it. It hurt my heart to hear the words, and yet I couldn't escape. Didn't want to escape. I have never felt something such a strong pull from a poem before. Never felt the meaning so deep down in my bones. Knew exactly what emotion every line was referring to. I never understood a poem the first time I heard it. But this one.. I got. The very marrow of my bones felt the sorrow in his words. The anguish. The angry.
William Carlos Williams "Death" (Williams refers to his father's death in 1918)
He's dead
the dog won't have to
sleep on his potatoes
any more to keep them
from freezing
he's dead
the old bastard -
he's a bastard because
there's nothing
legitimate in him any
more
he's dead
he's sick-dead
he's
a godforsaken curio
without
any breath in it
he's nothing at all
he's dead
shrunken up to skin
Put his head on
one chair and his
feet on another and
he'll lie there
like an acrobat -
Love's beaten. He
beat it. That's why
he's insufferable -
because
he's here needing a
shave and making love
an inside howl
of anguish and defeat -
he's come out of the man
and he's let
the man go -
the liar
Dead
his eyes
rolled up out of
the light - a mockery
which
love cannot touch -
just bury it
and hide its face
for shame.
2.12.2010
Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
1.21.2010
My theory
Here is my theory:
A few days ago my mom was whistling the song "If I only had a brain" from the Wizard of OZ. "I wonder why that song is stuck in my head," she said.
"I don't know. Maybe because you are happy," I replied.
"Do you ever feel guilty for being happy?"
"No. Do you?"
"All the time."
"Why?"
"I don't have the right to be happy."
"Yes you do. In fact, you have more of a right to be happy."
"Then who?"
"Then people who have never lost anyone."
"You're right. I should celebrate life. Thank you Katie. Thank you."
"You're welcome." I said shyly and my mom went back to whistling. I joined in.
That's my theory anyway. If you have lost someone, you have more of a right to be happy then someone who has never lost anyone, someone who hasn't been sick with cancer or face death in some way. A lot of my friends think movies where dogs die are the saddest movie they ever saw. Try watching a movie where a sister has to watch her brother die a few months after your brother died and then try telling me that the movie "Marley and Me" is sad. One of my friends was telling me how sad it was and I told her that it wasn't. And then she asked me if I had every lost a dog. So I told her. Yes. And a brother, aunt, grandfather, 2 dogs and 2 cats. She apologized.
A few days ago my mom was whistling the song "If I only had a brain" from the Wizard of OZ. "I wonder why that song is stuck in my head," she said.
"I don't know. Maybe because you are happy," I replied.
"Do you ever feel guilty for being happy?"
"No. Do you?"
"All the time."
"Why?"
"I don't have the right to be happy."
"Yes you do. In fact, you have more of a right to be happy."
"Then who?"
"Then people who have never lost anyone."
"You're right. I should celebrate life. Thank you Katie. Thank you."
"You're welcome." I said shyly and my mom went back to whistling. I joined in.
That's my theory anyway. If you have lost someone, you have more of a right to be happy then someone who has never lost anyone, someone who hasn't been sick with cancer or face death in some way. A lot of my friends think movies where dogs die are the saddest movie they ever saw. Try watching a movie where a sister has to watch her brother die a few months after your brother died and then try telling me that the movie "Marley and Me" is sad. One of my friends was telling me how sad it was and I told her that it wasn't. And then she asked me if I had every lost a dog. So I told her. Yes. And a brother, aunt, grandfather, 2 dogs and 2 cats. She apologized.
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