Dear Literary Ladies

I write poetry and find myself wanting to put it d...

2009-11-28T07:52:45.863-08:00

I write poetry and find myself wanting to put it down with flourish! Sometimes the stanzas are so wordy,one stumbles through them to get to the rhyme or rhythm. The more simply things are said, the cleaner the work.

This was the inspiration I was needing while in th...

2009-11-04T18:01:50.213-08:00

This was the inspiration I was needing while in the midst of bathtime and tucking in - finding the time? I need an Anna.

I've signed on to the NoNoWriMo marathon - dignity...

2009-11-04T17:57:18.103-08:00

I've signed on to the NoNoWriMo marathon - dignity be damned!!

Off to find some more inspiration :-)

And I believe you are right, and I've replaced tha...

2009-11-01T05:16:58.014-08:00

And I believe you are right, and I've replaced that lovely image with this one, which I'm sure is Virginia Woolf. Sorry about that error. Perhaps I'll find a great passage from Vita to go with the image I replaced. Thanks for the call-out.

I believe this is a photo of Vita Sackville West, ...

2009-11-01T00:02:37.484-07:00

I believe this is a photo of Vita Sackville West, not Virginia Woolf.

I love these posts! Keep 'em coming.

2009-10-26T13:53:30.232-07:00

I love these posts! Keep 'em coming.

I agree with Porter, a cultivated style would be l...

2009-10-15T08:12:07.777-07:00

I agree with Porter, a cultivated style would be like wearing a mask. Although we all have a certain persona we share with the outer world, sooner or later our true being comes out. The same is with writing. Trying to create something that doesn't come naturally will inevitably fail anyway, so why not just be yourself?

That is such a Porter comment! This from the woma...

2009-10-14T09:39:52.693-07:00

That is such a Porter comment! This from the woman who cultivated the ultimate public persona! (Gotta love her. . .).

What a lovely comment . . . and so gracefully expr...

2009-10-02T16:12:01.572-07:00

What a lovely comment . . . and so gracefully expressed!

Jewett and Cather knew only too well the necessity...

2009-10-02T15:43:33.160-07:00

Jewett and Cather knew only too well the necessity and compromise of art, that includes solitude. To begin, a writer must be able to see the scenes and hear the voices in her head and not too many (at best, no)intervening ones without. The writer's room must be part of her creative space; it must be pure and free of such cobwebs. But when the writer loses hold of that grasp of the centre of consciousness, that "third eye" from which we all write, she has to go out into the world again, breathe fresh air, be a part of the energy and atmosphere. Soon, as she walks through the forest or by a river, or through the city, she is reminded of what she forgot - of where she last let go of the dream in her head, and the work begins to flow again from her body.

I was directed here by Nan at Letters From Hill Fa...

2009-09-12T09:49:55.651-07:00

I was directed here by Nan at Letters From Hill Farm. So happy to be here and peruse your wonderful blog. I know I shall return!!

I just happened upon this site while looking for r...

2009-09-08T23:38:47.669-07:00

I just happened upon this site while looking for recipes and you women are so courageous and energetic, I love this site because it speaks to me personally. I am always beginning over and over to write. I am busy with a 3yr. young granddaughter and boy oh boy, going back to school and looking for work is so time consuming, I hope I can find inspiration to past beginning and move on to part of my memoirs. Boy, do I appreciate this site and I will check it out some more, by the way, I love the recipes and stories about our fresh foods and versatile way of cooking. Thank you Nava.

How do you fit writing in? You make it one of the ...

2009-09-07T15:37:49.775-07:00

How do you fit writing in? You make it one of the things you do, set aside a regular appointment for it that you always keep. This can be hard if there are other competitors for your time and attention, but if you took up any new hobby you'd go through the same teething troubles. A friend of mine just started creative writing classes, so that she would have dedicated time to do it and could give it her best shot. But if the bug is there, you'll soon find that isn't a chore to sort out the time to do it, but a pleasure.

Writing is so very personal. It's frightening to p...

2009-09-05T08:13:19.451-07:00

Writing is so very personal. It's frightening to put oneself out there in words that appear in print or cyberspace for all the world to see. I think that's why most writers fear success and failure in equal measure. The entire process is concurrently exquisite pleasure and unremitting agony.

I do, too. It's one of my favorite novels, so unpr...

2009-09-03T08:14:01.247-07:00

I do, too. It's one of my favorite novels, so unpretentious and pitch-perfect. I love the movie, too, but not as much as the book.

I dearly wish Harper Lee would have written more. ...

2009-09-03T08:05:04.640-07:00

I dearly wish Harper Lee would have written more. I love To Kill a Mockingbird.

This is delightful. You have given me ideas, insp...

2009-09-02T11:52:50.902-07:00

This is delightful. You have given me ideas, inspired me and made me smile. I would love to say more but I must get back to work. THANK YOU!

Katherine

Edna Ferber is a name less known today than many o...

2009-08-26T17:19:03.161-07:00

Edna Ferber is a name less known today than many of the other classic authors who have appeared in this blog. In her time, she was very successful. She won the Pulitzer Prize for one of her first novels, So Big, and many of her works were made into major movies or plays, including Giant (with James Dean), Showboat, and the western, Cimarron. She made tons of money, was very independent and devoted to writing. Perhaps her works were of their time and place, but she is still a good role model.

Edna Ferber frequently appears as a clue in the NY...

2009-08-26T16:43:29.687-07:00

Edna Ferber frequently appears as a clue in the NYT crossword. But I confess, this is the first thing by her I have ever read, and I love it. Thank you.

Ah, if only we all had the self-discipline to say ...

2009-08-19T18:16:17.449-07:00

Ah, if only we all had the self-discipline to say that at least 50% of the time!

I'm thoroughly enjoying each post. Thank you!

2009-08-11T15:00:08.004-07:00

I'm thoroughly enjoying each post. Thank you!

I'm sorry about the it's that should have been its...

2009-08-10T09:03:50.126-07:00

I'm sorry about the it's that should have been its...thanks!

My mother was a meticulous household cleaning whiz...

2009-08-10T08:25:53.524-07:00

My mother was a meticulous household cleaning whiz. However, long ago on one comfortably warm Summer morning in 1967, it was a day of infamy for the old Kelvinator. Millie(my mother) wasn't in a good mood to begin with, and when cleaning out the tiny - 2 ice cube tray with enough room for a couple of pints of neopolitan ice cream - freezer, she decided to use a hammer and screw driver to hack away at the globs if ice attached to the bottom and sides of the compartment. Well, it didn't take long before she drove the screw-driver through the bottom, immediately releasing the freon that completely hissed it's way out of the body of the fridge. Though she protested it was an accident,...me? I was convinced otherwise.
That's how Millie got her new refridgerator.

I'm not sure. You're right, it is not apparent. Bu...

2009-08-06T09:10:47.130-07:00

I'm not sure. You're right, it is not apparent. But that's how she ends this little episode. Sounds like she used her writing to get a great new fridge, though!

This has left me hanging. Does she ever get it ope...

2009-08-06T08:56:02.424-07:00

This has left me hanging. Does she ever get it open, or does she just toss everything out when she gets the new fridge???