My feature article on domestic violence has been published; you can read the PDF version by clicking on the magazine cover image above.

Poet #4: Dorothy Parker

I know that was fast but the poetry reading got me in the mood. I went to the library and came home with three poetry books by different authors, so prepare yourselves for a rapid succession of posts pertaining to the Poetry Project :)

Dorothy Parker was fun to read! (It was my first time, except for Resume, which most people know, I think.)

"This is no sea of mine, that humbly laves
Untroubled sands, spread glittering and warm.
I have need of wilder, crueler waves;
They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm."

"And if my heart be scarred and burned,
The safer, I, for all I learned"

"Should they whisper false of you,
Never trouble to deny;
Should the words they say be true,
Weep and storm and swear they lie."

Note: Parker did a cool thing, which was to read some of her favorite poets like ee cummings and T.S. Eliot, then take a line or two from their work and begin her poems with those lines. That is probably something I will experiment with; I invite you poets out there to do the same!

The Emergence of the Poet

I went to another poetry reading last night with my friend who is a poet. I am a writer but I hesitate to refer to myself as a poet, though I do like that term. It describes a lifestyle I want to have, a person I want to be! The truth of the matter, though, is that I write poetry significantly less than I write in other genres, and significantly less than I used to. It's a sad thing.

I am a veritable shrinking violet around other people and it was difficult to get myself to begin reading poetry at these gatherings, but last night, when I had no poems on hand to read, I enjoyed the experience a bit less. That sounds vain but it isn't. It's not like people are trailing me around for my autograph afterwards. I just feel more a part of the community aspect of it when I read. You know... we are all poets here, sipping lattes in dark light, half-outdoors in the night with a small stage and a microphone, sharing our craft. That's what I love about it, and last night I felt more like an outsider.

The only reason I didn't read is because I haven't written anything new! I flipped through my poems and discovered that I had already read the ones I felt were good. There is also that pesky "it's too personal" mantra of mine that prevents me from reading much of the quality work. Alas. My goal now is to write new material and be able to read at the poetry reading in April (next month's is at a venue I don't care for), when my friend will be the featured reader.

TSS Week 3

I am sorry to say that I gave up on Proust. I have wanted to read him for so long but I was just not enjoying it enough. I try to abide by the 50-page rule, and I gave Swann's Way 90 pages because it's so large, but it was just too much work for too little in return. Perhaps I will try again when I am older or have more time on my hands (retirement?).



To move along to another My Year of Reading Dangerously title, I started the Decameron by Boccaccio. I am pretty excited about this one because I love reading works from countries where my family has come from. So far, the narrator has given a backdrop of how the plague is sweeping Italy and has all but wiped out Florence. This set the stage for the fact that seven ladies and three gentlemen who met in the church of Santa Maria Novella left the city for their own safety. They are passing the time at a nearby palace (how convenient) and so they tell each other stories each day. I have visited both Florence and the church, which makes the work resonate even more with me.

This week I also read the first three books of the Fables series. I got the recommendation from a trusty bookish friend but was surprised when I picked them up at the library. I hadn't expected these "graphic novels" to be compilations of a comic book series. I don't read comic books and was almost put off by this until I decided to give it a shot. I was immediately sucked in. Fables takes traditional fairy tale characters - Snow White, the three little pigs and the big bad wolf, Goldilocks and the bears - and puts them in modern New York City, where they have an underground community called Fabletown. It is amazing to watch characters I know so well become - *gasp* - real people!

Poet #3: Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton was a cool lady. Her poems are a breath of fresh air to a feminist like myself. She took fairy tales - not the Disney versions, but the real dark stuff from Brothers Grimm - and related them to the 20th century.

"Now the runaways would run no more and never
again would their hair be tangled into diamonds,
never again their shoes worn down to a laugh,
never the bed falling down into purgatory
to let them climb in after
with their Lucifer kicking."

"She married the prince
and all went well
except for the fear -
the fear of sleep.

Briar Rose
was an insomniac...
She could not nap
or lie in sleep
without the court chemist
mixing her some knock-out drops
and never in the prince's presence.
If if is to come, she said,
sleep must take me unawares
while I am laughing or dancing
so that I do not know that brutal place
where I lie down with cattle prods,
the hole in my cheek open.
Further, I must not dream
for when I do I see the table set
and a faltering crone at my place,
her eyes burnt by cigarettes
as she eats betrayal like a slice of meat."

TSS Week 2

This week I completed Land of a Thousand Eyes by Peter Olszewski. It is a travel memoir about his time spent in Myanmar, teaching the locals about journalism as a staff member and trainer at the Myanmar Times.

I became interested in Myanmar after reading Amy Tan's Saving Fish From Drowning, and this book did not disappoint. Olszewski describes the junta (military regime) and their involvement in the newspaper through censorship as well as the daily lives of the people, their customs and traditions, and how he eventually came to connect with and care for them. It even contains a romantic cross-cultural love story. Olszewski also has a great personality and sense of humor that comes out in his writing. All in all, I really couldn't put it down.

(The book is available for free download at Wowio.com.)

I also reread The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. I first read it a couple of years ago and enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it again this time, although it is very hard to read about female genital mutilation, rape and other atrocities committed against women and girls without becoming very uncomfortable and very angry. I am therefore glad this play was a quick read because I don't know how long I could have endured it. There were some light, funny and touching parts too, so it was not all darkness, which gives the book a great balance. I think that not only women but men too should read this book at least once. It is an important piece of literature for our time.
I also read Eve Ensler's The Good Body this week. It was another important read, in terms of how women view their bodies and how harmful that can sometimes be. This is another book that packs a powerful punch, yet for someone who has only read both of these Ensler works, I think I should see both of them performed. I think that the theatrics and the faces are an integral part of the experience of these works.

In other notes, the SARK book I wrote about last week is complete, and it was excellent - a very worthwhile read (though if you want my opinion, Succulent Wild Woman is an important first SARK read for women). I am also reading Marcel Proust's Swann's Way and Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, so stay tuned for notes on those next week :)

I have not written poetry in a long while. I was doing well with and enjoying my little poetry challenge and need to get back on it. I will soon be scouring the shelves of the library to discover who Poet #3 will be :)

In other news, my editor is working over the domestic violence feature. This is a weird process for any writer - it feels like you have given birth to a baby and someone takes her and dyes her hair and changes her clothes and everything - but fortunately, my editor is a really smart, really nice guy. The process is, therefore, going well.

I am also writing an ebook on marketing tips and tricks for writers, so stay tuned for that.

TSS Week 1

Hey! This is my first posting as a member of the Sunday Salon, and I am psyched. I guess I will dive right in. (Note: I read a lot of books at once so bear with me. I am going to limit myself to three per post.)

I really have no more excuses for not participating in the "My Year of Reading Dangerously" challenge except perhaps because I'm scared. I have been trying to read David Copperfield, for example, for about 9 years now. I am terrified by its length and by Dickens, though I have read and enjoyed him before. I guess this is the point of the challenge. I might switch my schedule up to start with Proust though, since I have been given many books as gifts (including Proust) and people are anxious that I read their gifts soon. Stay tuned.

I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the first time this week. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did because, after all, don't we all know the story by heart? Apparently not. I know this is cliched but the book is so different! There are all kinds of characters and countries we were not introduced to in 1939. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it is pretty violent, and I wonder how appropriate it would be for young children.



I also read The Little Prince for the first time. (I was having a serious children's book craving.) It was fabulous! One of those children's books that really packs a lot of philosophy and wisdom under the guise of fun. I was confused by the end and again, think that it might be heavy for young readers, but perhaps I am biased in that I like to try and shelter children from everything! (It's a scary world out there.)


Because I fell in love with SARK recently, after having read the fabulous Succulent Wild Woman, I ran to the library to get more of her. I took out Eat Mangoes Naked, which is a book about pleasure: how to find pleasure in the smallest things, in the dark times, etc. While it has not hooked me so far, I am enjoying it. (As I recall, I felt the same way about SWM, and by the end I was totally recharged and inspired, so I'm not giving up yet.)

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Red Room, a site where authors blog and such, but I was over there today reading a list of literary articles from the Onion. Some of them are just hilarious and I wanted to recount a few here:

Ghost Of Anne Frank: "Quit Reading My Diary"

Shocked to learn that the diary containing her most intimate thoughts and feelings has been read by millions of people worldwide, the ghost of Anne Frank held a press conference Monday to tell the world to "stop reading my diary, and put it back where you found it right this second."

*Entire article

Rapture Wreaks Havoc On Local Book Club

MARION, IN—Following last week's rapture, which transported four members of the Marion Mockingbirds Book Club to heaven in order to be with Jesus Christ, the three remaining members have reportedly been scrambling to maintain a regular Wednesday meeting schedule as well as the usual coffee-and-pastry rotation.

*Entire article

Toaster-Instruction Booklet Author Enraged That Editor Betrayed His Vision

TOWSON, MD—Consolidated Concepts copywriter Ronald Leff announced Monday that his vision for the Black & Decker Electronic Toast-R-Oven™ Broiler instruction booklet was "thoroughly betrayed" in the final editing process.

*Entire article

First-Time Novelist Constantly Asking Wife What It's Like To Be A Woman

SAN JOSE, CA—Claims adjuster and novice author John Kitner is "constantly" asking what it's like to be a woman, reports his wife Becky.

*Entire article

The entire list can be found at the Red Room.

On Sunday morning, after having taken the op-ed seminar on Saturday, I was sitting at my kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading Half the Human Experience. When I came across the definition of sexual harassment, I soon realized that I had experienced it several times as a child in school. I had been upset by these occurrences but also thought of them as typical behavior for boys. I was immediately inspired to put the new skills I had learned to work and write an op-ed.

It always makes me nervous to publish personal things about myself, but I thought that it's important to talk about these things if I don't want them repeating in, say, the lives of my little sisters.

Today I was delighted to learn that the Austin American-Statesman had published my op-ed (albeit with their own title - I had dubbed it "The Dark Side of Coming of Age"), and many women I know are telling me that they, too, have experienced what I experienced. I'm glad I wrote it.

I joined the Sunday Salon, which means that once a week I will be blogging about books I am reading - yay! I know this is a writing blog but I also know that you won't mind because:

a) if you're a writer, you're a reader

b) I will be reading and discussing some super cool writing books

c) I'll keep it interesting, I promise

The Writer is Inspired

On Saturday I attended a fantastic event that was sponsored by the Woodhull Institute and Dove. In the morning, they held a panel on the topic "Defining Beauty." Panel members include the fabulous Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, which I have skimmed but never fully read (shame on me), who is one of the best speakers I have had the pleasure of listening to. There was another author there whom I hadn't heard of - Courtney E. Martin who wrote Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters - and she was just so cute and smart. (I call her cute because I don't know how old she is, but she had a little girl voice that was delightful.)

There was some great discussion on beauty, pressure, eating disorders, work discrimination, and other issues. We also watched some powerful videos from Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. I enjoyed it very much. It was also nice to see some Dads with their young daughters in the audience.

In the afternoon the Woodull Institute gave free seminars on different topics. I took "Financial Literacy" and "Writing to Change the World." The writing course was on writing op-eds for newspapers and was incredibly useful. Catherine Orenstein, an accomplished op-ed writer who is also the author of Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked, led the session. She began by saying, "I am Catherine and I'm an expert in the story of Little Red Riding Hood because I published a book on the subject." She then went around the room asking every woman to do the same. The first one, a college student, protested that she wasn't really an expert in anything. Catherine used this opportunity to point out that every time she conducts the seminar, women say that very same thing, while men do not. She asked why and the answers were generally centered around the same point: "I don't want to seem cocky." (Women are taught to downplay their achievements and be humble.) There was also, "What if I'm wrong about something?" indicating insecurity.

Catherine asked us to imagine that we were scientists who thought we had discovered the cure for cancer and were in a room surrounded by terminal cancer patients. Would we remain silent for fear of being wrong or sounding arrogant? A couple of women admitted that they would but most said that they would speak up. She talked of the responsibility to share what you know, especially if it will help another person. And so it is with writing op-eds (or anything else, for that matter).

More information is at the Op-Ed Project. I encourage you all to check it out!

The Writer Writes a Novel

I finished my feature and received positive feedback from my editor - yay :)

This has left me with free time to write for myself. So did I get cracking on my novel in progress?

No. I started a new one.

I was never aware that I had ADD until now.

I had an idea for a novel that is based on real events in my family's past (think great great greats). I know a bit about the lives of these people and I have always been fascinated to find out more, but very little information is available, which frustrates me. I decided that if I cannot know my history, then I will recreate it. That's all a writer can do.

So I took out my vintage photo of the great great greats and started writing. I'm happy with the one page or so I wrote and am anxious to continue. So do I just forget about my first novel?

I love the first novel but I kind of hit a wall considering I never learned how to write a novel. Writing a novel is quite different than writing a long story. It just is. You have to structure it in a special way and I need to learn that way, otherwise I will keep writing and writing and not getting anywhere.

I read so many novels it's unbelievable, so I feel that I should know how to create my own by now. Since I do not, I think I'm going to sit down and outline my favorite novels, as well as ask around at my writing groups. Only way to learn.

I dream of middle-of-the-night furious writing sessions with just me, a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a typewriter. I don't smoke and I don't own a typewriter but it's such grand imagery, and very sexy.