Leafing Through

Happy Birthday Molly

Indifference

I said, -- for Love was laggard, O, Love was slow to come, --
  "I'll hear his step and know his step when I am warm in bed;
But I'll never leave my pillow, though there be some
  As would let him in -- and take him in with tears!" I said.
I lay, -- for Love was laggard, O, he came not until dawn, --
  I lay and listened for his step and could not get to sleep;
And he found me at my window with my big cloak on,
  All sorry with the tears some folks might weep!

Today, it's Molly's birthday. Yay! And in honor of her I'm going to post about Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Due to her controversial life I've had a hard time finding calm, balanced information about her. So many of the sources focus on her sexuality when her poetry is what really matters. I mean she was the first woman to win the Pulitzer for pete's sake! The following is what I could piece together that seems correct. If it's not, feel free to correct me.  Millay was born in February of 1892 in Rockland Maine, to Cora Lounella and Henry Tollman Millay.  Her middle name is derived from St. Vincent's hospital (where her uncle's life was saved just previous to her birth). In 1904 her mother divorced her husband for financial neglect. Cora, and her daughters Edna, Norma and Kathleen traveled about a good deal, living with friends and family due to their financial struggles. Her mother, always read to them from the classics. The family settled down eventually living in a house on property owned by Cora's aunt.

 

Millay took preparatory courses for one semester at Barnard College and then entered Vassar in 1913. While there she wrote poetry and plays (published in the Vassar Miscellany), acted, starred in her own play, The Princess Marries the Page, and studied literature and languages. Although she frequently rebelled against rules designed to protect female students, Millay graduated with an A.B. in 1917. That year Millay published Renascence and Other Poems. She moved to New York City, where she acted with the Provincetown Players, lived impecuniously in Greenwich Village, and indulged in love affairs with several men, including the novelist Floyd Dell and, briefly, the married poet Arthur Davison Ficke. She earned a little money by publishing short stories (under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd) and poems in Ainslee's magazine (1918-1921). In 1919 she wrote and directed a one-act, antiwar verse play with a fairy-tale motif titled Aria da Capo, for the Provincetown Players. During this period she also met the critic Edmund Wilson, at that time the managing editor of Vanity Fair, which had published some of her work (1920). Millay won a $100 prize from Poetry: A Magazine of Verse for "The Bean-Stalk" in 1920. She also published her second book of verse, A Few Figs from Thistles (1920; rev. eds., 1921 and 1922), and Aria da Capo (1920), which sold well.

With an agreement to write for Vanity Fair, the hardworking Millay enjoyed a varied sojourn in Europe from 1920 to 1923. In 1921 she published two more plays and a solid collection of poetry, Second April. Meanwhile, she had other love affairs, including a reported relationship with a French violinist that led to an abortion. She encouraged but soon decided not to marry the poet Witter Bynner. After obtaining a $500 advance from Horace Liveright for a novel titled "Hardigut" that was never completed, she sent for her mother, and the two toured France and England; they then returned to New York. In 1923 Millay was honored as the first woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. In that same year she published The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems, and after a brief courtship she married the 43-year-old widower Eugen Jan Boissevain; they had no children. He was a burly American importer of Dutch-Irish extraction who was sensitively intelligent, profeminist, and considerate. Millay went on arduous reading tours and sailed around the world with her husband in 1924. The couple bought and occupied "Steepletop," their permanent home on 700 acres of farmland near Austerlitz, New York, during 1925. Shortly thereafter Millay created the stirring libretto for The King's Henchman, Deems Taylor's splendid opera, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera of New York in 1927 starring the American baritone Lawrence Tibbett. The libretto was published and went through four quick editions, reportedly earning Millay $100 a day for a while.

The Woman Warrior

                 

Awhile ago someone pointed out the NPR summer reading list. I just haven't got around to posting about it. However two days ago I was driving home and listening to All Things Considered.  Diana Abu-Jaber, noted author of Arabian Jazz, was the guest for the day.  She started to discuss The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston.  Here is a small blurb from the show:

Back, back, before I'd found Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich, Jamaica Kincaid or any of the other shining writers who lit an early path for me, there was Maxine Hong Kingston.

I was still in high school, steeped in the words of Anglo men like Faulkner, Cheever and Updike. Wonderful writers, their stories rich and vibrant. But it seemed at the time that all writers must have lived in the same grand and tightly guarded house. There were locks on every door and window. How could someone like me — a girl from a mixed-race immigrant family — ever be allowed inside?

One day, when I was in 10th grade, I was combing the shelves of a little local bookstore at the mall and stumbled across a pretty, slender book called The Woman Warrior.

I flipped through it, curious. What was this? A novel, a collection, a memoir? I'd never encountered a book that made up so many of its own rules before. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts begins with the familiar words: "'You must not tell anyone,' my mother said, 'what I am about to tell you ...'" It goes on to tell the story of a pregnant, adulterous woman who is terrorized by her village, and it ends with her drowning in a well. The story traces the links of what it's like for those of us who live between identities.

Hong Kingston's voice edges between poetry and barely controlled rage throughout this work. I found it to be at once compelling, alien, and true.

I was excited. I owned this book. I picked it up for one of my college classes and loved it. I didn't remember it containing barely controlled rage and poetry but I did know that it has repeatedly survived the culling of the bookshelves at my house.  It had been quite a few years since I had read it. Last night, I re-read it. It's every bit as good as my memory remembered it being. Better even. You've got to read it. I've loaned my copy out this morning but try to find one yourself and read it.  It's broken into short stories so you can pretend that you're reading multiple books if you wish. 

Wish I could have been there

I love living in Alaska. Fabulous hiking, biking, fishing, hunting, boating, long, long days in the summertime.  I love it. In fact, I love living here that I changed my name over it. My husband doesn't really care for Alaska as he doesn't have any family up here. And I was/am rather fond of my former last name.  The Deal: I would change my last name IF he never asked me to move out of the state (for long term anyway).  So here I am with a new last name and here he is: in Alaska. However, we don't get very many famous people here, AND we don't often have a lot of fun events such as this:

Blumesday
Featuring Monica Drake, Courtenay Hameister, Erin Ergenbright, and others
BY CHAS BOWIE

For James Joyce fans around the globe, there are few days more significant than June 16, otherwise known as "Bloomsday." Joyce's seminal novel Ulysses—an urban retelling of the Greek legend, with antihero Leopold Bloom as its protagonist—unfolds the events of a single day (June 16). Now, every Bloomsday, Joyce fans get together for what local author Heather Larimer calls a "total literary dork thing," which includes look-alike contests, reenactments of Leopold's activities, and annoying Irish accents.

Larimer and Portland writer Joanna Miller were talking about the annual event recently, when inspiration struck Miller: Instead of designating a day to honor the imaginary protagonist of an 85-year-old novel, how about celebrating one of the most formative and beloved authors living today, Judy Blume?

And just like that, the first annual Blumesday was born—a tribute to the writer who introduced us to fourth grade nothings, and wrote books about kids named Fudge. This Saturday, June 16 (Blumesday), local writers will convene at the Bagdad to read passages from their favorite Blume books and share memories of discovering pieces of adolescence through her writing. Because in addition to writing books that were wildly fun and relatable for kids (Freckle Juice), she also provided the first exposure many kids had to menstruation (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret), masturbation (Then Again, Maybe I Won't), and birth control (Forever).

Perhaps not surprisingly, this has made Blume one of the most banned children's authors in the US, and after decades of battles with library censors and the religious right, Blume has become a passionate defender of free speech, and edited a collection of stories on the topic, Places I Never Meant to Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers.

But what we remember most about reading Judy Blume is how fun it was—Fudge's obsession with Superman, the thrill of discovering Blume's erotic adult novel, Wifey—and this is the spirit in which the first Blumesday is intended.

"Our number one requirement in asking people to be part of this," says Larimer, "is when we asked someone, if they didn't freak out with excitement, we moved on. But most people were like, 'Oh my God! What am I going to read? The wet dream scene from Then Again, Maybe I Won't? How can I choose?'"

Here's another link http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2007/06/good_times.html

The Hardest Thing

Well, I did the Hardest Thing. I call it the Hardest Thing because it always is: I thinned out my bookshelves. Last night, I got into our office and with a vengence got rid of about 20 books. I know that to some of you this doesn't seem like such a hard thing. Sure, I probably would never read these books again. Sure, there are a few in that stack that I would never read. But it's hard.  I love books, I hate to see them go. I am one of those people who re-read books. Apparently, this is weird to most of the nation, but there it is. So it is with this in mind that I found the following article particularly apropos. Molly just sent it to me this morning and it's pretty funny.

            "So we're in deacquisition mode around the bungalow. We already gave away many, many books, but that was several years ago, and in the interim we made the mistake of buying more books. Also, people lent us books, people who curiously did not want the books back. And, because I am an extremely influential tastemaker, publishers and self-publishers have sent me books.

Additionally, we have come to realize that certain books made it through the first culling on the basis of unrealistic assumptions. So I am packing up all the discards and taking them down to Bookmark, which is the Oakland Library bookstore. (721 Washington St. down near Ratto's and all that; (510) 444-0473.) Some books get tossed in the boxes without a second thought; others require a moment of contemplation:

"The Magus" by John Fowles: I absolutely thought this was the most profound book ever written when I read it in 1968 or so. It's about this guy with powers, and one or more Greek islands, and women who did things, and magic (or maybe not!). And other stuff. I tried to read it again 15 years later, and I was embarrassed for my younger self.

But it's dopey to be embarrassed by youthful enthusiasms. Always our tastes change, and maybe not even for the better. Stand proudly! The Magus! A light in a dark room! And now the light recedes. Rage, rage against ... never mind.

"How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill. Oh, this was a huge hit at the time. Many people purchased it, including Irish people like me who had been previously unaware that we had saved civilization. And probably we didn't, unless we all agree to turn our heads sideways and squint and sing "Tura-Lura-Lural."

And such a teeny book for such an imposing title. The past two decades have been a grand time for popular histories; how did this wispy little thing slip in? Maybe every Irish person bought 12 copies. I dunno; out it goes.

"Heirloom Knits" by Judith McLeod-Odell, "Complete Feltmaking" by Gillian Harris, "American Patchwork" by Sonja Hakala et al. A few years ago, St. Martin's Press got it into its head that I was the needlework correspondent for The Chronicle. You would not believe how many large-format, glossy-photo books are published each year on knitting, crocheting, tatting, embroidery, felt making, needlepoint, quilting, applique, darning, braiding and tassel making. Also scrapbooking, which I didn't even know was a noun until the elves at St. Martin's descended on me.

If you like that stuff, check Bookmark. God knows how many books on those topics I've given them in the past three years.

"Bangkok Tattoo" by John Burdett. Here's an interesting phenomenon. I thought Burdett's previous book, "Bangkok 8," was just wonderful. I was eager to read his second book. It's exactly like the first book, only not as good. It's like seeing a magic show twice in one night -- you know what to look for, and it begins to feel like a cheat. But hell: One good book is more than I've ever written.

"Fat, Forty and Fired" by Nigel Marsh. Oh no. Oh my no. Get thee behind me.

"The Keep" by Jennifer Egan. A hard call. I liked the book a lot; I would recommend that you read it. Apparently, her "Look at Me" is an even better book, and gosh darn it I'm going to read it someday. But this is not an awards ceremony; this is a housecleaning. What are the odds I will read this book again? Zero. Does it have any sentimental value? Nope. Is the author likely to come to my home and surreptitiously look at my bookshelves? If only. So someone else should get a chance to read this book, and I should get 1 more inch of shelf space.

"The Map of Love" by Ahdaf Soueif. Booker Prize finalist! "Intensely engaging" -- New York Times Book Review. "An intense, impressive love story set in turn-of-the-century Egypt" -- New York Daily News. "Been sitting on my nightstand for two years and I have yet to make it past Page 51" -- Jon Carroll, San Francisco Chronicle. I'm sure this is a fine book. I urge people who enjoy love stories set in turn-of-the-century Egypt to read it. But I must break through my denial. I have not read it, and I will not read it, and it must be cast back into the ocean of readers, where it may find more sympathetic eyeballs.

"The Interpretation of Dreams" by Sigmund Freud. A great man, Freud, unless he wasn't. Essential to an understanding of the whole 20th century. Whatever. Apparently not much read anymore except by people who have to. I don't have to.

I put the I Ching in the box and then I took it out again. It might be nice to have around when my rational constructs fail, as they probably will.

From now on all my friends are gonna be strangers; I'm all through ever trusting anyone. The only thing I can count on now is my fingers; I was a fool for believing jcarroll@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/20/DDGITP19RG1.DTL

This article appeared on page E - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Children of Men

I just got done reading this book. It wasn't bad. Some of my friends had read it and didn't like it, although I can't remember why. I will tell you one thing though: the ending sucked. It was just too hodgepodge for my liking. I posted the movie poster though because I thought that it was interesting. In the book, it's men who are infertile, not women. I think that it's an odd thing to change in a movie.  However, I just looked at the trailer since I haven't yet seen the movie and it doesn't look like the book at all. It look IRobot-ish.  That movie had NOTHING in common with the book. I'm not even sure why they called it IRobot. Have any of you read Issac Asimov's set of short stories? They're really good. I even LIKED the movie, it just didn't have anything to do with the book.  I think that I'll still see Children of Men.  That was my weekend book.  Next month, I'm going to start to ride the bus in an effort to curb the huge amount of money that I spend commuting, paying for parking (don't get me started on that), and general wear and tear on my car.  The bus finally has a direct route close to my house so it won't take me an hour and a half to ride anymore.  This means that I SHOULD in theory have more time to read. We'll see how smooth the ride is though. I have a hard time reading when the bus is jerking around like it does sometimes.   

Homer Public Library

Not too long ago Homer, Alaska opened the doors to their new library. Now, I grew up there. They raised funds for what seemed like FOREVER. But, bit, by bit they got some money for the new library. I'm not sure who funded the rest, but I suspect that the city, the borough, some wealthy people and perhaps some grants finished giving them the money for it. But people did give a lot of money. I in particular gave money every month from my tiny little McDonald's paycheck while I was in high school. Anyway, they got it. And I finally had the chance to take some photos of it last weekend.  The whole building is so great. I know that my mom and some other people think that it looks too "industrial" but I think that it looks clean and smooth, and even on a cloudy day had more light in it than one would expect.  The nice thing is that it's also built around energy conservation. There are no lights on above the stacks. They have motion sensors on the rows and when you walk down there, the lights turn on for you.  No wasted lights.  I was so pleased with myself for all of the photos that I took.  When I got home and downloaded them, I was horrified. I had acidentally set the dial on the "action" setting. I've done this once before. The camera, set thusly, is attempting to capture fast moving things and so often will not focus on stuff that isn't moving.  Long story short: almost all of my photos are blury. I'm glad that Molly got some nice ones and I'm going to post the bad ones anyway because I think you'll get the gist of how amazing the new library is.

See this window? I'm so very happy to see it in the new library.  They brought it over from the old library and I've always loved it. Entitled "Wave" it was created and donated by Adele and Victor Hiles, 1979. It was important to me that they keep this, so I"m glad that they did.

 

The Entrance

The front doors. I love that they included the sandhill cranes into the library.

The front entrance/hallway.

 

Shhhh...

I have a secret. A little secret that I'd like to share with you all. I have found the best store in this state, and perhaps the entire U.S. in which to buy books.  I went there with a friend who convinced me to go.  (She didn't have to try all that hard though).  So this place has tons of used hardback books in good to fantastic shape. Really, there's a LOT of hardbacks.  And the price is right too, about ...well, let's put it this way; shockingly cheap.  It's awesome. There are so many books that I just can't even decide which ones to take home. But I'm not going to tell anyone because once people find out they'll flock there and the prices will go up. It's happened time and time again to me. They're doing well as a shop so they don't need the press. I'm not even telling YOU where it is.  I can't. I love it too much. I must protect it against those who think they'd be doing good by it.  It must be safe.  I NEED it to be safe.

The Dark is Rising: The Motion Picture

I know that I've mentioned it numerous times before but I am excited for The Dark is Rising to come out. When done well, a movie made from a book is great. It brings to life the characters in a different way than you sometimes could have imagined. It also usually gets people reading who might not have looked twice at the book.  The tentetive release date is October 5, 2007. Directed by David Cunningham it does something that I like: has a lot of basically unheard of actors/actresses mixed with some that we know.

Here are two stills from the movie: Will after reading the book (I believe) or possibly in the church. And the Black Rider.

The Dark is Rising

I finally finished The Dark is Rising, not the series, just the book.  I've made it through Over Sea, Under Stone, and The Dark is Rising so far. Now I just need to finish the rest.  They're short books but I haven't had much time lately.  I did want to review these books though.

Over Sea, Under Stone

Over Sea, Under Stone is the first in the Dark is Rising series. Although it is written for a younger audience than the rest of the books it is still compelling.  The book is out and out well written. The Drew siblings are so well written that it is often painful. By this I am refering to the times where they talk openly about their quest.  The reader cringes because of COURSE they're going to be overheard by the multitude of adults who are always around. But of course they don't realize this because, they are in fact children and are unaware of adults in that way that children are.  The book is dark and a bit scary at times, but not overly so, and certainly not as scary as Harry Potter. The book is based in Aurthurian legend and set against the rich Cornwall seascape. The Drew siblings, on summer holiday, discover an ancient map that they believe leads to treasure. It leads them into unimaginable danger. Overall, this book is a great summer read for children who are looking for adventure themselves. They can be easily transported to Cornwall on an adventure filled with legend and mystery.

The Dark is Rising

The second book in the Dark is Rising Sequence, this book is longer and more complex than the first of this series.  Will Stanton gets the shock of his life, when on the morning of his eleventh birthday he discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones to be born.  The Old Ones have fought against the Dark since ancient times. Will's nemisis in this book is the Black Rider, a powerful and ancient being, bent on destroying Will in his quest to find the Signs. The story moves back and forth through the centuries with ease, creating a complex storyline for several books to come. 

Must Have

I love Etsy. All those small artists artistically crafting away for my buying pleasure. AND it appeals to my cheap side as well. Things are really reasonablly priced on the site.  This was sent to me recently. I like them alot and they're not too expensive.  I used to have a hatred of this sort of craft: tearing apart books. However, I see tons of books thrown away and I'd rather see them used this way than in the trash.  These two are my favorites.  I can't buy one now because I have way too much unused stationary that I need to use up.