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March 19, 2001
I have returned ....What a week! March 11-18, I was in Louisville, KY for the Go Novel Workshop run by Green River Writers. After a long, difficult winter is was just the break I needed. I got a solid start on a new project and had a great time hanging out with sff.net's own Lena Sawyer and Julianne Lee. Night--being closely related to sleep--is a concept that doesn't exist there. Or else going to bed required more will power than I could summon up.
We played Dictionary (words of the week: burke and jactation, as in "If you don't stop that jactation, I'm going to burke you.") and Apples To Apples (there's an on-line version available, too) until all hours; a delightful mix of the profound and profane. The time to write free of distractions was a blessing in and of itself, but the company was priceless. I can't wait for next year!
Jan 28, 2001
My humble apologies to everyone who tried to access this page in the last couple of weeks. I screwed up. It seems I archived the old one but forgot to upload the replacement when I didn't get the Jan. 19 entry finished. I'll finish it later today.
January 19, 2001
"I was a cut-rate prodigal." Jayber CrowI've spent the last two weeks reading Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. To my surprise and delight, I didn't have to order it; Barnes & Noble received 20 copies of it upon release. Perhaps after all these years he's going to become an Overnight Success?
First off, I loved this book, and will no doubt read it many times. I can drown in the atmosphere, prose and philosophy. There enough perfect lines here to produce a daily quotes calendar. Indeed, it seems to me that Mr. Berry has created his own Lazarus Long in that respect. It's an attractive read, demanding participation by the reader and prompting deep thoughts. The usual Berry themes of self-sufficiency, conservation and community are here in full force, in all their oratorial glory, but are knit together by the most compelling narrative I've read in years. Framed as a memoir, Jayber Crow follows the life of young Jonah from birth to acceptance of his impending death. But despite this scope, this is not a novel. The definition of novel to me has always been, "someone grows, someone changes." Even over the course of a lifetime, Jayber Crow does neither.
More comments in next entry.
Past months:
Nov/Dec, 2000
August, 2000
May, 2000
Feb/March, 2000
December, 1999
November, 1999
October, 1999
September, 1999
August, 1999
July, 1999
June, 1999
May, 1999
April, 1999
March, 1999
Thanks to Shannon Wendt for the award!
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