Words that stuck with me this week … a not-so-random collection.
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The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. ~~ George Eliot
But little girls are raised on fairytales. Is it any wonder we all crave the happy endings to the dark things in our lives? No one ever tells you that sad things stay sad, some people die angry and unforgiven, and some things are lost and never found. ~~ Lisa Unger, BEAUTIFUL LIES
Thank you. * Let me know what you need. * Great to hear from you. ~~ Messages from long-lost classmates
Frogs were keeping time in air drenched with honeysuckle. ~~ Mary Karr, LIT
The unsaid. I am spending my life trying to say it. That is what is mine. ~~ Dani Shapiro, STILL WRITING
Can you become a new version of you? New version of you, I need a new version of me. ~~ from the theme song of “Felicity”
The mess is holy. What we inherit — and how we come to understand what we inherit — is all we have to work with. ~~ Dani Shapiro, STILL WRITING
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What words stuck with you this week?
Teri Carter's Library 
ooohhh, i was going to message you about this book i found last night, but this is even better. it’s michael hainey’s After Visiting Friends. so good and i’m not even on page 100 yet. here’s something that has already stuck from it:
Each of us has a creation tale–how we came into the world. And I’ll ad this: Each of us has an uncreation tale–how our lives come apart. That which undoes us. Sooner or later, it will claim you. Mark you. More than your creation.
it’s a good one.
I’ve downloaded After Visiting Friends and am reading now. Have you noticed that he goes back and forth in past / present tense, even within the same paragraphs, and constantly. I don’t know that I’ve seen this before??
An uncreation tale. Yes. Surely everyone has one or ten of these —- and I know I spend an awful lot of time trying to figure out how the unraveling occurred and whether I have the ability to put it back together.
These words stuck:
“In the event of rain or snow, the run will not be cancelled.”
No rain or snow, but ice a few days ago, and 13 bitter degrees now. About to lace up and head out.
I bet you had a great (or at least memorable) race, Paul. 🙂
Cold. 5K distance with half marathon temps (13.1). 2nd best 5K I’ve ever done though.
I’ve been reading Flannery O’Connor’s Complete Stories so I’m full of southern words like “Ain’t no use settin’ yo’ line down dere, boss… Dis ol’ riber ain’t hidin’ none nowhere ’round hyar, nawsuh”
I love it! I’m also trying to see how she progresses towards her famous stories, to understand technique and tightness. It’s gonna be a great ride.
Like reading Mark Twain —- more than worth it, and there’s good work involved.
I try to read a session of the Gordon Lish class notes every day. Here’s what struck me this week: “You will always be tempted to temper your vision by the reactions of the world around you, which celebrates mediocrity. As the years go by, it will become more and more difficult, this struggle to stick to your art, to your excellence. You will be set upon by mediocre people — Mediocre people support mediocre people, and they support mediocre objects.”
This is so true it’s painful. I read yesterday about Joyce Carol Oates and her reviews — she woke up in the morning and her husband said, Here’s a review of your book, do you want to hear it? And she said, No, because if it’s bad it will ruin my writing day, and if it’s good it will ruin my writing day, and what I intend to have is a writing day.
She’s so right about that. But it’s ironic that we write because we have something to tell the world, and when the world responds it’s best to ignore them.
Damn. That’s a powerful truth.
It’s a snow day today. I decided to pull out the acrylics and do what I’ve always wanted to do, paint a picture of a photograph I had taken. It was an amazing experience and I kind of can’t wait to do it again but right in the middle of a magical moment one of my daughters (the only child NOT painting) looks at my piece and says to me, “It’s good, but you shouldn’t have made that part so dark.”
Ouch, that stung. Thankfully, being an adult and all I was able to move past the feeling and continue working but I was angry so I let this child of mine hear it.
It’s not that I don’t think critics have their place in the world. They are certainly necessary and I rely heavily on them. But I think they ought to have a little more respect for the artist. It is the artist/author who is the one putting themselves on the line. We must always respect that.
I love that BEAUTIFUL LIES quote.
I hate to say this, with how bad the weather has been back east, but I’m starting to yearn for a snow day.
You know those silly Facebook things where you’re supposed to, say, turn to page 45 in the book you’re reading, and the first line is meant to represent your sex life? Well, I’m reading THE LINE OF BEAUTY right now, and the first line of page 45 is: “Nick felt he’d stepped into the strange and seductive fusion of an art museum and a luxury hotel.” HELL YES.
Mine is, “He comes home annoyed.” Which sums it up perfectly.
I saw this one on facebook and it spoke to me: “When a bird is alive, it eats ants. When the bird has died, ants eat it. One tree can be made into a million matchsticks, but only one matchstick is needed to burn a million trees. Circumstances can change at any time…Don’t devalue or hurt anyone in this life…You may be powerful today, but time is more powerful than you” Not sure who wrote it, so can’t give the credit.
Fun tennis the other day, Teri!! Did you kick our butts, or did we kick yours? (LOL)
“What you resist persists.” Chuck Palahniuk
http://chuckpalahniuk.net/books/burnt-tongues-stories/the-power-of-persisting-an-introduction
I’m doing my periodic bulk read-through, and had to share. This quote has stuck with me for months, now.
“[…]I ask you right here please to agree with me that a scar is never ugly. That is what the scar makers want us to think. But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy them. We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived.”
-Little Bee by Chris Cleeve.
I absolutely love this quote.
J