What is it in a book that makes it great? What makes a book a piece of literature we cannot put down? A good book keeps us up at night for just one more paragraph, one more page.
A good book engages us on so many levels. Our imagination soars as we see t he characters; the scenery; all come to life in our mind’s eye.
Let’s take a look at one of the greats.
Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The WindWhat is it about this book that makes it the page turner that it is? Truly, this is an immortal work, read by generations. Translated to film it is one of the most popular movies Hollywood has produced.
Clearly, Mitchell’s command of plot and structure develop an unforgettable tale, but it is in her characters that Mitchell traps us and holds our interest. Rich, full characters draw us in. A book can have a wonderful plot, but without engaging characters it will fail.
Just look at Scarlet O’Hara. Spoiled; wealthy debutant, who’s surprising strength and determination are the jewel of this novel. Not one thing that happened to Scarlet fit within her idea of how her life should have been, but through craftiness and self preservation she prevailed over circumstances that were atrocious.
Rhett Butler, the scoundrel with a hidden heart is the other half of the character duo that enriches this wonderful novel. These characters are so very well developed that Hollywood had little to do but write a script and keep true to the overall story. Complex characters are tantamount to success in any novel.
The other aspect that is not only important but essential in any novel, whether it is an historical depiction or not, is research. It is obvious that Margaret Mitchell went through many hours of research for this book. She wrote this novel many years after the American Civil War, but the reader sees the homes, the soldiers, the battles and destruction as fresh as if they happened yesterday.
Margaret Mitchell’s fluent story telling and historical accuracy make Gone With The Wind one of those page turners that you just can’t put down.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A Horse Of A Different Color
Slam Poetry
In November of 1984, Marc Smith opened the mic to Slam Poetry at a club called Get Me High Lounge in Chicago Illinois. By 1990 it had moved to another club, Green Mills Jazz Club. By 1990 the first Slam Poetry competition was held in San Francisco, California.
Since then, Slam Poetry has spread throughout the world. Competitions are held in such far away places as New Zealand, Serbia, Bosnia, China and Singapore to name a few.
Slam Poetry is a free form style of expression that involves many levels of emotion. Most Slam Poetry voices dissatisfaction with those in authority. A poet may be very vocal in his rant about anything from his family to the government. What makes you angry? So angry or upset that you can’t stand keeping silent any longer? That feeling that you are about to burst with what you have to say, and the act of finally saying that which you have waited to express, is the heart of Slam Poetry. It is the pent up energy of the disappointed; the disaffected.
Critics have been hard on Slam Poetry. They have said that it has killed art; that this form of expression is uncomfortable and not entertaining. Slam Poetry is raw and makes no excuses. There is no definite cadence, no rhyme, and it is comparable to rap.
Traditional forms of poetry are too restrictive to be used in Slam Poetry. Rhyme is used sometimes, but for the most part these are blank form renditions. Slam Poetry is exciting, innovative and I believe it to be poetry at it’s most expressive .
To experience this vibrant poetic form click this link: http://youtu.be/jOv47njeLHQ
In November of 1984, Marc Smith opened the mic to Slam Poetry at a club called Get Me High Lounge in Chicago Illinois. By 1990 it had moved to another club, Green Mills Jazz Club. By 1990 the first Slam Poetry competition was held in San Francisco, California.
Since then, Slam Poetry has spread throughout the world. Competitions are held in such far away places as New Zealand, Serbia, Bosnia, China and Singapore to name a few.
Slam Poetry is a free form style of expression that involves many levels of emotion. Most Slam Poetry voices dissatisfaction with those in authority. A poet may be very vocal in his rant about anything from his family to the government. What makes you angry? So angry or upset that you can’t stand keeping silent any longer? That feeling that you are about to burst with what you have to say, and the act of finally saying that which you have waited to express, is the heart of Slam Poetry. It is the pent up energy of the disappointed; the disaffected.
Critics have been hard on Slam Poetry. They have said that it has killed art; that this form of expression is uncomfortable and not entertaining. Slam Poetry is raw and makes no excuses. There is no definite cadence, no rhyme, and it is comparable to rap.
Traditional forms of poetry are too restrictive to be used in Slam Poetry. Rhyme is used sometimes, but for the most part these are blank form renditions. Slam Poetry is exciting, innovative and I believe it to be poetry at it’s most expressive .
To experience this vibrant poetic form click this link: http://youtu.be/jOv47njeLHQ
Sunday, June 5, 2011
This Blog
Perhaps this is the most difficult writing genre I have ever attempted. Writing for a blog is not like writing an assignment, or like writing a book report. It is not at all like writing short stories and poetry and I've read so many instructions on "How To Write For Your Blog" that I am totally confused.
I have read that it is fundametally wrong to write about yourself on a commercial blog. I don't know if this is considered a commercial blog; I have highlighted my co-op's books on the right side of the page but I wouldn't say that was commercial. And besides, I have also been told to "write what you know." Not that I shouldn't go out and try learn new stuff. Nobody knows it all, but, I thought a blog was for what you thought about certain things. What I think about writing is that mankind without it would not live in a civilization at all. Two marks scribed in the dirt is the bare bones of communication, but it is communication nonetheless. Writing shares the stories of the US rodeo circuit with a young man in Ceylon. Writing gives the latest discoveries in medicine from Germany to be realized in Senegal. It is through this medium that we communicate in a way second only to speech, and only, because I am certain speech came first.
A blog has to be personal to an extent, or no one will come. There has to be that spark of you in there. That's what makes the writing worth the reading and the reading worth the experience. I will write this blog about what I feel concerning writing, poetry in particular.
I am not an analyst to disect poetry, I will not critique work here. I welcome other opinions for lively debate.
I have been writing poetry for fifty-seven years. I only know what I have experienced when reading other people's work. That writing is the is one of The Seven Grand Keys and should be cherished as such.
Writing, Reading, Architecture, Husbandry, Mathematics, Healing, and Science. Without this straw the finest mortar will do little good.
I have read that it is fundametally wrong to write about yourself on a commercial blog. I don't know if this is considered a commercial blog; I have highlighted my co-op's books on the right side of the page but I wouldn't say that was commercial. And besides, I have also been told to "write what you know." Not that I shouldn't go out and try learn new stuff. Nobody knows it all, but, I thought a blog was for what you thought about certain things. What I think about writing is that mankind without it would not live in a civilization at all. Two marks scribed in the dirt is the bare bones of communication, but it is communication nonetheless. Writing shares the stories of the US rodeo circuit with a young man in Ceylon. Writing gives the latest discoveries in medicine from Germany to be realized in Senegal. It is through this medium that we communicate in a way second only to speech, and only, because I am certain speech came first.
A blog has to be personal to an extent, or no one will come. There has to be that spark of you in there. That's what makes the writing worth the reading and the reading worth the experience. I will write this blog about what I feel concerning writing, poetry in particular.
I am not an analyst to disect poetry, I will not critique work here. I welcome other opinions for lively debate.
I have been writing poetry for fifty-seven years. I only know what I have experienced when reading other people's work. That writing is the is one of The Seven Grand Keys and should be cherished as such.
Writing, Reading, Architecture, Husbandry, Mathematics, Healing, and Science. Without this straw the finest mortar will do little good.
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