Rant: Muses and Talent and all that CRAP ...

I'm ranting here, and taking all my angry energy out on an unsuspecting irritating human being who will not be named -- just described.

So I'm ending 2009 with a couple of my writing biases ... as I have quite a few. (Most of us writers do!) But this post is a bit of a lag reaction to an interview I did with a poet several months ago. We were both given a few classic questions:

1. Are writers born or made?

Friendly-neighborhood-poet-lady (no, I'm not anti-poet. In fact some of my favorite writers are poets, but you'll see where I'm going with this): She flipped her graying, unkempt hair and silky scarf and began to muse about how the mountains, the air she breathes, the scent of some unknown tropical flowers, and the untimely death of her poetry teachers in college (yeah, a bit, um, dark there) were just a few things that made her the writer she is today. (Shit, give me some of that air); that she breathed poetry, and the words on the page were her very existence. She was born to write and the lot of non-writers out there don't have a chance to achieve such sublime existence.

Ummm ... CRAP. (Okay, I didn't SAY that. Out loud. And I tried to keep the eye rolling to a minimum. It was a radio show, though, so the audience wouldn't have actually seen the eye rolling. Either way, it's not polite.)

Me: I'm homemade! I work my ass off. Yep. I have a vocation for it. Just as a surgeon has a vocation for what she does, a contract plumber, public accountant, farmer etc. all have "vocations". But everything I've achieved has been through hard work and great teachers (the novels I read for 25 years before beginning writing and my editors!). And It really pisses me off when somebody who writes says to people it's talent -- it's innate. Because unless you're one of those Picasso-types (which, from what I understand most of us aren't), talent has little to do with the success of a writer. It's discipline, desire, hard work. And when you throw the "talent card", you're especially telling a lot of young writers-to-be that they don't have a shot. That's. Not. Fair.

2. How important is publishing?

Poetry lady who's now grating on my nerves because she's so mannered and sighs too much: Oh! Publishing doesn't matter. In fact, I hate publishing because it's base. My words are for you, my listeners, for those sitting in a bar. The publishing houses just taint what's good and true about writing.

(My interpretation: CRAP.)

Me: VERY important. It's my job. It's what I want to do. Tell a teacher he can't teach anymore. Or tell a bus driver she can't drive a bus anymore. And no matter how many years I'm in this business, I'll always be wanting to get my words published because I feel like I have something to say and want to be heard. Publishing is a strange addiction. It's a rush. It's not ultimately why I write, but you can bet it's a big part of it. And as for publishing houses? They take huge risks on writers, novels, ideas etc. They put their necks on the line to bring books that might not necessarily sell loads to the market. Publishing houses are amazing entities that have given us novels like: The Road, Cannery Row, The Confederacy of Dunces, Octavian Nothing, Freeze Frame (yep, I'm grateful) and more.

Finally, our interview ended with

3. Any advice?

Poetry lady who clicks her nails on the table and breathes heavily (thinking she might have emphysema or maybe has spent too much time breathing more than mountain air): Find your muse and let the words come to you and flow onto the page. They'll be naked, bare, true. And that's your art.

(My interpretation: CRAP CRAP CRAP. Has she ever heard of revisions?? My bare, naked words are pretty much garbage ... ahem. But then again, I wasn't born to write.)

Me: Read. Read, read, read, read, read, read. Then work hard. Write. Join a writer's group. LISTEN. (Big one there: LISTEN) Listen to critiques. Listen to other writers. And inevitably your first novel will be a flaming pile of cow dung. But you'll finish it. And you'll write another one. And get better. And read, read, read, read, read. Get a thesaurus but DON'T SOUND LIKE A THESAURUS. And read, read, read. Oh yeah. And LISTEN.

Okay. Sure. It sounds like I'm being hard on the grate-on-my-nerves poetry lady. I get it. I get that she's created this personae and wants to be poetry. Fine. But don't go talking to kids, teens, or young writers about it so they feel like writing is this impossible obstacle because they weren't given a "gift." That's what bugs me. None of us are "given" anything in this world -- or very few are. And as soon as we throw those words around -- muses, talent and all that crap -- lots of kids will turn off and take a different road.

So that's my end-of-the-year rant!! Life is passion -- poetry. This is a hard job, just like any other. But if you're in, you're in, and it's worth the crazy ride.

Happy writing!

December 22 - 25th ...

I'm back!! I was in the clutches of a nasty influenza this past week which did little to improve my holiday mood.
But it's Christmas morning. Everybody's napping (except for me). And I'm feeling like I've accomplished something amazing. I survived December.
I survived December. (Okay. Technically I have one more week, but really, I'm just starting my "January" activities now because I can't go on!)
Okay. Yes a touch melodramatic. But just for kicks, I've decided to do a little calendar of events from the past month -- all done with a 21 month old child. Amelia is amazing!!
She survived this:

November 26: Thanksgiving with family and friends
November 27: Thanksgiving at the bi-national Center where I work
November 28: Turkey sandwich party
November 30 - December 3: Lag time ... Christmas shopping ... gearing up for...
December 3: Block party -- art and lanterns and Christmas music
December 5: Christmas carols and the Pereira symphonic orchestra
December 6: Friend arrives from Spain -- decorating the farm for Festival of Lights Party
December 7: Touring around the city with friend
December 8: (Another three friends arrive from Spain) Festival of Lights Party
December 9: Going out with friends from Spain
December 10: Cesar's 40th birthday party with live music and lots of friends
December 11: Hanukkah dinner
December 12: Another birthday party for Cesar
December 14: Friends arrive from Argentina
December 15: Touring with friends from Argentina
December 16: Big day with friends from Argentina, Spain, Mexico ... picnic and fun at the farm
December 17: What? No plans? Well ... I actually skipped out on a Novena (the nine days before Christmas people get together at each others' homes and sing carols and say the "novena" prayers here in Colombia)
December 18: I honestly don't remember. It's all blurring together now.
December 19: Big wedding that started at 1:00 pm and lasted until 3:00 am ... Amelia fell in love with the mariachi band. I finally got her to sleep at 9:00 pm and we danced and danced.
December 20: Back home.
December 20 - 23: the flu -- missing out on numerous Christmas activities
December 24: Christmas Eve at the family's until midnight!
December 25: Christmas Day -- lunch with family and dinner with friends

I'm tired.
I LOVED seeing friends we haven't seen for years! Friends from Spain, Mexico and Argentina. And I loved dancing and celebrating.
But no more.
Next year I think we'll go into hermit mode and keep things SIMPLE. It's all about survival!!

And, as promised, my last book recommendation for December. And it's a "parenting book." Granted all parenting books, after Amelia's birth, were burned in a massive bonfire. (Especially the ones that talked about simple 'routines'.) BLAST routines! All books except for this one.
Anyway, this book is one I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE recommended by my husband's student exchange mom who's a dietician/nutritionist. There's nothing that brings you back to the basics as much as parenting. What's important in life? Sleeping, eating, going to the bathroom, and laughter. But you can't have the last if the first three aren't in order. And this book is an amazing way to approaching eating and eating habits with kids. How to Get Your Kid to Eat ... But not Too Much has kept me sane and kept things in perspective at the dinner table.






Happy Holidays! I wish everyone peace and wonder in 2010. (Wonder is my favorite thing because so many forget about the magic of the world in which we live!)

December 19 - 21st and feeling surly ...

• Feeling overwhelmed. (Okay. Grinchy!)
  
• Have that itchy-need-to-write-but-the-screen-just-blinks-at-me feeling.
• Have a bit of a pit in my gut because of the blinking white screen/ blank-slate brain right now.
• Feeling like I've gotten wrapped up in everything and have lost a bit of the Christmas magic.
• Have a cough, fever, and am afraid that I'm getting a Christmas bug. (Yes, I'm whining here!)
  

So today's recommendations bring me back to what I love about Christmas because I watched them last night trying to capture a moment of peace in what has become a month of madness. Here are my recommendations for best videos on the planet. (They always make me cry.) Hell, a chunk of good, Manchego cheese makes me cry these days. Sheesh. Getting all sentimental and stuff. Anyway, get in the holiday spirit with The Grinch and Charlie Brown Christmas. And for good measure, maybe you can find a 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story, too.

December 18 and The Book Thief

"It's just a small story really, about, among other things:

• A girl
• Some words
• An accordionist
• Some fanatical Germans
• A Jewish fist fighter
• And quite a lot of thievery "
  

I really don't think you can get better than this (though you can bet I'll spend the rest of my life trying.) Narrated by death, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is the story of Liesl Meminger living in foster care outside of Munich, Germany. Her best friend is Rudy -- the boy who dreams of being Jesse Owens -- and she becomes the world for a Jewish refugee, Max, describing the outside to him since he hides, huddled in a cold basement.

Exquisite. Exquisite. Exquisite. Exquisite. Amazing imagery and the best narrator of a novel I've ever read.

Like I said, I really don't think you can get better than this!

Got milk? Colombia from the Hip

I FINALLY GOT A PICTURE OF HIM!!
Who?
Why, the goat man, of course.

One of my favorite things about Pereira is this man who walks around with three goats, selling fresh milk. So here he is (and the goats, too). And a glass of milk is less than a dollar. Fresh. Like, real fresh.

Anyway, had to share!!

December 16th

My pick for December 16th is a love story between two penguins in the New York Zoo who want to have a family. Simple enough? Apparently not because three years running this has been the most challenged book in the United States. (Which goes to show how limited and "challenged" people are when it comes to acceptance, tolerance, and imagination.)
And Tango Makes Three is about how two male penguins, Roy and Silo, longed to build their own family, incubating stones the shape of eggs, imitating the other penguins at the zoo. After observing their love affair and consistent desire to have a family, Mr. Gramzay, the keeper of the penguins, placed an abandoned egg in the nest of Silo and Roy. They tended to the nest like the others, taking special care to keep the egg safe and warm. Then Tango was born! Tango is their "adopted" child.
It's a pretty sad commentary that a book about love, family, and the simple joy of creating a family has been the most challenged book in the United States three years running.
That said, it's an exquisite book about a very simple thing: love. And it's a wonderful book to read to your children to teach them about tolerance, acceptance, kindness, love and family.

Colombia From the Hip + December 10 - 15 Book Recommendations

Well, I was caught up in the mad Colombian party vortex last week and was conspicuously absent from my keyboard.
Yikes!!
But for good reason. Really. It was worth every sleepless minute. :-)
On December 7th and 8th, Colombia celebrates the "Alumbrado" -- the Day of the Virgin. And we have a huge party at Cesar's farm the 8th with a group that sings Colombian Christmas carols, the weirdest bunuelo contest (bunuelos are Colombian cheese donuts), and lots of lights!! All the kids light lanterns and stick candles in the grass to burn. (Note: We're NOT in Nevada here where the whole state would go up in a ball of flames.)

Friends came in from Spain and Argentina! (Yay!) And after the big Alumbrado, Cesar celebrated his 40th. (Yikes!) So we had to have another party to commemorate four decades and danced under the stars until our feet hurt.

Then we were invited to a Hanukkah celebration, which was a treat!! And then, of course, another party to celebrate Cesar's four decades just to make sure our bones ached. Nope. Not twenty anymore.

And I think Amelia has officially gone on strike. She's done with all this activity. (Though she's quite the good dancer now!! :-) )

So I'm back. Limping just a tad. (I think I pulled a hamstring or something.) And now we're getting geared up for a big wedding this week, Christmas next week, then New Years with twenty + family from all over the country. Then January. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So here are my latest book recommendations. Yep. I've been slack. On the computer side of things. I think it's understandable, though. Really. Don't you??

I *heart* Skippyjon Jones. This Siamese cat, wannabe Mexican Chihuaha superhero is the best children's book series I've read in a long time. Skippyjon, much to his mother's chagrin, sleeps in bird nests, writes on walls, and gets into loads of trouble. And the best part? He's the leader of the Chimichangos, a group of vigilante Chihuahuas, that save the world from horrible things like bobbleheads, pinatas and more (most found in Skippyjon's closet). Holy Jalapeno Hilarious!!


Jeanette Winterson's novels blew me away when I was in college. And the other day when I was at the Dollar Store I found one I haven't read yet. That brought me back to my days of quoting Oranges Aren't the Only Fruit, The Passion, Written on the Body -- novels that deal with love, sexuality, past and present, magic and more. Oranges is a semi-autobiographical novel about Jess, a "typical" teen dealing with the things all teens deal with. Add to the pot an evangelical mother that spews bible quotes and expects Jess to do the same and the fact she's fallen in love with another woman. It's a GREAT great novel about identity and reconciling religion, faith, love, parenting, and who we really are.


The other day I was recommending this novel. Actually, I pretty much recommend this novel to every single person I meet. Feed, by MT Anderson changed the way I viewed YA novels before I began writing YA. After I read Feed, I thought, "This is serious. I had better give every word I write in every book 150% effort, or not write."
This. Is. Amazing. In the future world where people are given "feed" implants in their brains -- hard-wired to advertisement-information that constantly 'feeds' into their brains, Titus and his friends meet Violet -- a strange girl who does things nobody else does. Like talk. Everybody in FEED just chats. Brilliant. Thought-provoking. A novel in which even the Sky, Clouds, and Stars are "trademarked", this is a phenomenal criticism of our rampant consumerism, technology, and the inhumanness of it all. Read. This. Novel.

Okay. Hope to not be absent so so long next time. Because that means I've been sleeping and working -- both of which I am behind on!! Ugh.

December 8 and December 9th with Poetry ...

Well, I have one book for two days, but it's a book for two voices!! Does that count?


Flickering fireflies, honey bees who want to unionize, a moth's love affair with the porch light and more, Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (illustrated by Eric Beddows) is a phenomenal collection of bug poetry. Vivid images, palpable textures, Fleischman's poems are funny, witty, and full of wonder.
It's the perfect book to read with kids (poems for TWO voices), and it's a great gift for those who simply love words.

On the Seventh Day ...

Okay ...
Too biblical, and a somewhat irreverent reference; however, my pick for day seven is Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.

Set in small town, trailer-park central, Texas, USA, this is a story about how Vernon Gregory Little's life has been turned upside-down after his friend, Jesus Navarro, commits a Columbine-style massacre at his school.
This no-name town becomes the center of a media frenzy and a hungry-for-fame hack reporter, Eulalio Ledesma (yes, they all have weird names in the book!), manipulates events to look like Vernon was the perpetrator of the school killing.
Vernon heads to Mexico, Against All Odds-style to escape trial and possible death row with Taylor Figueros. As you can imagine, he doesn't escape and is represented by a Johnny Cochran-style big-shot lawyer
This is a slicing satire about American media, reality TV, fifteen-minute-famers, death row, and tragedy becoming a media orgy. And it's one of the funniest novels I've ever read in the midst of it all. I laughed out loud from beginning to end, and I sure wish this would be required reading when it comes to media ethics.
Writing a novel is hard work.
Writing comedy, real comedy, is an art.
Plus, Vernon is the best anti-hero I've ever read. And he's always nice to his mom (who's worth about as much as her latest perm).

READ. THIS. BOOK!!

December Sixth and Burned

This was a hard list to narrow down. Ellen Hopkins has six verse novels on the shelves, and I'm not sure how to choose. But I had to pick one, and I pick Burned.

Pattyn is caught in a world where abuse, subservience to men, and a rigid church hierarchy reign. Moreover, she'll do anything to prove herself to the person she most cares for -- the person who most abuses her -- her father. When she's suspended from school, her parents send her to live with an aunt in rural Nevada. There, she finds what she's never had her whole life: acceptance, love, her youth. And, through her aunt's kindness and love, Pattyn learns to understand more about her dysfunctional family and acceptance of her father and mother.
Nevertheless, a summer of youth isn't enough, and in the end, after the fairy tale is over, Pattyn is left with a choice that will inevitably make the difference between life and death.
This is an incredibly challenging novel because it doesn't take an easy route, happy-ending trail. Pattyn is tragic and leaves the reader wishing so many things could've been different in Pattyn's life. And Hopkins is a poet; her words are sparing, each one loaded with meaning.
A NYT best seller, Ellen's words have reached youth and adults alike across the states.

(From Burned)
...

When you were almost grown, did you ever sit in a bubble bath, perspiration pooling, notice a blow dryer plugged in within easy reach, and think about dropping it into the water?

Did you wonder if the expected rush might somehow fail you?

And now, do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?

On the Fifth Day of Christmas ...

As promised, my non-fiction reads of the moment!

In this memoir, Murakami connects the disciplines of running and writing -- both of which I do, neither as intensely or successfully as he does. This memoir, though, is a little bit of a training log with flashbacks of races and writing interspersed; generally, it's a great book about why we do what we do. Period. And how everything in our lives tends to weave together -- our hobbies, our careers, our choices, our relationships.
And, true to Murakami style, he has some great images that he notes while running. Murakami sometimes goes off on quasi-philosophical tangents, but he's more existential in his thinking and kind of throws his thoughts out to us on the page without wanting to shove his philosophy, whatever it is, down our throats.
It's a great read for readers, athletes (triathletes and runners), and anybody who likes biographies. Though it's not a "biography", it's a great insight into the mind of one of Japan's most formidable writers.


I'm a total sucker for Everest books having read practically every one written about climbing the mountain. It fascinates me that people would risk their lives to reach the top of a mountain. And British climber, George Mallory's words always amaze me. When somebody asked him why climb Everest, he simply said, "Because it's there."
That said, The Climb is one of countless books that were written about the tragedy of 1996 when eight climbers died the same day, one being Rob Hall, the famous New Zealander guide whose last telephone call with his wife determining the name of their baby-to-be was heard around the world. (He was just a little bit down from Everest's peak and too weak to come down the mountain.)
The Climb is Boukreev's account of the 1996 Everest expedition gone wrong. What I particularly love about his rendition of the event is he doesn't point fingers in a very typical Krakauer way (yes, I read Into Thin Air, too, and liked it. But Krakauer can't help himself. He's Krakauer and has to point fingers). Boukreev simply tells what happened from his point of view. And the point of view of a climber that had made seven ascents of 8000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen in his eighteen successful ascensions in his life is an opinion worth hearing. Moreover, Boukreev was personally responsible for saving several lives that day.

So many books to read ... So many!! :-) Hoping that, so far, some of these might work for you!


The photo below is one my husband took at Annapurna Base Camp in the Himalayas. This is Boukreev's memorial because he died here in an avalanche in 1997, just a little over a year after the Everest tragedies.

December 4th with Two Middle Grade Novels

Yeah. I'm all over the place here. But variety is good ... GREAT. So maybe tomorrow we'll have something non-fiction. We'll see.

Anyway, here are a couple of middle-grade novel choices! (perfect for third to sixth graders)

Written by Linda Urban, A Crooked Kind of Perfect is a touching story about Zoe Elias who has a lot to juggle in life: a dad with mental illness, a workaholic mom, losing her best friend Emma Dent to the cool crowd, and finding space in her world for Wheeler Diggs (the class outcast) -- all while trying to become a piano prodigy on "a wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ." (Her words, not mine).
This was one of those books that made me laugh out loud and want to be friends with Zoe. Instead of wallowing in self pity about the lot she's been given, instead of playing Mozart and Beethoven, she learns "Forever in Blue Jeans" to play at the Perform-O-Rama competition.
I simply can't wait until my nieces are old enough to read it!


How much do you know about being a dwarf? I knew nothing about dwarfism and its challenges. The Thing About Georgie, written by Lisa Graff, is a phenomenal story about Georgie, a fourth grader who, other than his height, is like any other fourth grader: he has a dog walking business with his best friend, Andy; he avoids some class members like "Jeanie the Meanie"; and he pretty much feels awkward about his appearance. When his parents, both accomplished musicians, announce they're going to have a baby, Georgie worries his sibling will grow tall, "normal", And be the prodigy they always hoped for. On top of everything, he and Andy have a fight when Andy starts hanging out with the new kid, and Jeanie the Meanie signs him up to play the part of Abraham Lincoln (the tallest president of the USA) in the class play. Instead of being a depressing novel about a fourth grader's limitations, it's a celebration of what he can do, and a story about friendship, tolerance, and breaking down our own prejudices about other people.

Three recommendations for December 3rd!!

I know. It's supposed to be one per day. I'm not REALLY cheating. But I'm taking artistic license to share three of my favorite children's books of the moment.


This is one of the most beautiful, poetic books I've read, written by Mexican author Jorje Lujan and illustrated by Piet Grobler. (It has both the Spanish and English text).
Sky Blue Accident is a poetic account of a little boy who crashes into the sky and breaks it, saving some pieces in his pocket. It's simply magical. I've read it to adult and children and all of them fall in love with the funky drawings and beautiful text.
Sure, it's for kids. But if you have somebody on your wish list who loves poetry and magic, I'd definitely buy this for my closest friends!


Now here's a princess I can relate to!! Written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko (the same author of the famous book Love You Forever). I LOVE this story about a princess who's castle has been destroyed and her "true love" stolen away by a terrible dragon. She's left with a paper bag for a dress and does what Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and all the others should've done. She goes for her man, tromping across burned forests to rescue him.
And the ending? PRICELESS!! Now I only hope that Amelia one day will say, "I want to be the Paper Bag Princess for Halloween." :-)

Written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Leslie Staub, this should be required reading for all heads of state, religious leaders, teachers, parents, children ... human beings. And then read again. And again. And again. If we take a look at our world, it seems we've kind of lost our way. Whoever You Are is an exquisite story about the fact that no matter how different we look, how different our beliefs, homes, lands and religions are, we're still one of the same. Beautiful beautiful illustrations and a story that melts my heart!!

On the First Day of December ...(And Second)

It's December!!
And to celebrate I'm going to post a book a day and why I loved it!!
So celebrate the holidays and give people a book. Keep writers writing, publishers publishing, kids, children, teens and adults reading, and imaginations blooming.

And because I'm late. I'm doing December 1st and 2nd today!!

First up: Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams. This is a beautiful vignette into the life of a rural American family dealing with war and how it effects us all. When Cam's big brother Ben returns from Iraq severely injured, Cam, a huge skateboarding fan who has never had the slightest inkling to follow in his big brother's bull riding boots makes a pact with Ben: he'll ride bulls, and the never-ridden UGLY, for a fifteen thousand dollar prize if Ben works as hard as he can to get better. It's a beautiful book about healing, courage, and dealing with tragedy. And the relationship between the brothers was incredibly real, not sickly sweet. Morgan Williams did a superb job of creating characters we not only love but also relate to!



Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted was my decadent read while waiting for a twenty-four pound turkey to cook on Thanksgiving Day. (I don't remember the last time I got to read during the day!) This is a beautiful story about Lucius and Aurora -- young teens new to the same school. Aurora is immediately popular while Lucius becomes the school pariah because of a mysterious explosion that blew his hands off. (He now wears prosthetic arms and uses hooks for hands.) Baratz-Logsted does a beautiful job of giving bits and pieces of information about Lucius's past while developing the relationship between him and Aurora. One of my all-time favorite relationships in the book is between Lucius and the school security guard, unlikely allies in a hostile environment: high school.


So every day I will send a book recommendation your way hoping you have a wonderful holiday filled with beautiful words, images, and endless-reading days. Ahhh ... Maybe that's what I'll ask for Christmas. A day to read. :-)