In order to hone my fiction chops, I decided to join The Five Hundred, a site that presents a prompt every month with the outcome being some form of flash fiction between 400-600 words. Next week, I’ll have a ghazal (based on a “bonus” 100 word prompt) and flash fiction piece called, “In the Cup … Continue reading you’re never too old to apprentice and 7+ pieces of audio inspiration
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” Hemingway, New York Journal-American (11 July 1961) I’m lucky enough to have at least one friend who will devote time to reading projects. We just finished our Hemingway list started a year-and-a-half ago. Our goal was similar to the Vonnegut project: … Continue reading a farewell to Papa, for now
Since 2012 began with the world’s end in mind, I thought I’d start 2013 with something else in mind. From Sir James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough: “In some parts of Breadalbane it was formerly the custom on New Year’s Day to take a dog to the door, give him a bit of bread, and … Continue reading Allow the soul time to return
If there’s ever been a constant in my life, it’s been books. My grandparents had a massive library and my mother and grandmother regularly took me to the library. I remember the day I was finally old enough to get my own library card. It was exciting, particularly for such a shy and nerdy kid. … Continue reading I like big books and I cannot lie…
In a reading group I’m in, which may have two or four members, we are beginning Hemingway’s novels. His first, Torrents of Spring, is a parody of Sherwood Anderson’s Dark Laughter and, what I would call, High Modernists like James Joyce. Not having read Anderson’s novel, I’m not qualified to comment on the parody itself. Parodies … Continue reading France was a long way off.
Of course, it was an English teacher. We’ll call her Ms. G. Oh, what a crush I had on her in sixth grade. All it took was for her to talk about a book in class and I would go read it. One day she happened to mention a book by Stephen King. I knew … Continue reading Happy Halloween
Woke up early. Before my regular work time. Went straight to a book. Went to breakfast when one of my favorite diners in town opened. The first customer. Vegetable omelet, biscuits, hash browns, bacon. The whole time reading a book on reading. For school and for me to improve my teaching. Making chicken stock for … Continue reading Thoughts While Dogwalking and Elsewhere
All year I’ve been planning to read a giant novel or two that I’ve missed. So far, top spots went to War and Peace and Infinite Jest. After an intense year and a thoroughly mushy brain, I’ve decided to dig through our library for novels that I haven’t read, but are the shortest. If we … Continue reading Summer Reading Project
In an effort to unite some of my reading interests and writing subjects, I’ve gone back to the book lists. For most of my life, I have been reading through various “great books.” In elementary school, I found a ditto (before we had “copies”) that presented a list of books “to be read before college.” … Continue reading Great Books and Grecian Glory
Stephen McClurg 