Daisy Zamora “The Violent Foam.”
I am completely in love with poetry and the new forms of poetry that are continuously emerging. One of the authors that I have learned to love is Daisy Zamora. Her book “The Violent Foam” is fantastic.
Zamora is from Nicaragua and is known as one of the most renowned poets of the area. She was honored in 2006 as the Woman Writer of the year - a high honor for the Central American region. She has five books of poetry out right now, all which are focused on human rights and revolutionary concepts.
A couple of years ago, I had the bounty of meeting Zamora at a workshop that I was taking. There is one thing that she said that I will never forget. She was speaking about the culture of poets and the differences. (This is a huge paraphrase). During the time, she was living in America (California) and had several of her poems translated into English while moving this way. She said that she was continuously in culture shock. Most people would think of Nicaragua as a 3rd world country that was always in upheaval and violence. But, she also said that it was easier for her to live there than in America. Mostly because America was constantly in psychological battles. Along those lines, she said that in Nicaragua, she could expect to be respected because she was a poet, while in America, poets were considered flakes and secondary. (Again, a huge paraphrase - but a definite insight into ‘cultural differences.’)
So, with that said - everyone should be familiar with Zamora. Here’s a poem from her book “The Violent Foam” to get you started.
“THE FOREIGNER
She wants to forget what’s gone
beneath some sky
her nostalgia wishes
she’d confuse with her own.
Her children’s laughter
- the one intimate thing
where everything is alien -
floods the air with innocence.
And she reaches to touch the distance
- stone cold and definitive
as a tombstone.”
Character Mortality
After reading a friend’s work recently, I realized something. Killing off the characters in your novel is bad news in a number of different ways. Readers expect you, as the author, to help them build a rapport with the character. They expect you to give them everything they need to know about that character. The investment that a reader then puts in that character is what motivates him/her to finish the book. When that character dies, suddenly, in chapter six, just when the reader is really getting the hang of him/her, it comes as an irritating shock. If your characters must die, then kill them; but, don’t settle for the cop out: “I’m not really sure why I spent so much time on this guy. . . I’ll just kill him.” It may work great for eighteenth-century authors, but readers today aren’t going to stand for it. They’re going to throw down the book and walk away. Maybe, if you’re lucky, they’ll return to after they cool down a little. Most likely, your book’s going to be propping up the broken couch (that is if you can even get such a book published).
Anne McCaffery’s Moreta’s Ride features a heroine who is killed at the end of the novel, but it’s a bittersweet moment in the book that leaves you breathless with admiration for McCaffery’s prose (partly because the death comes at the end of the book).
Another thing you’ve got to take into account in trying to decide if you want to kill off your main character is whether or not you want to write a sequel or a series. Obviously, McCaffery couldn’t write a sequel to Moreta’s Ride using Moreta, because she’s dead. So, if you’re pushing for a series, throw your character a life raft . . . don’t let them drown because of a little writer’s block.
Hybrid Writing
The concept of hybrid writing is something that I’ve been fascinated with for years…and continue to work on being successful at. I was introduced to this when I was getting a degree in Creative Writing from a very…contemporary school.
While I was there, I was introduced to a person named Michelle Ellseworth. (Check her out on the web if you have a chance). Before her, I truly believed that writing was just that… writing. But, she has fallen in a line of a wide variety of other authors and contemporaries who are saying writing can be more than just that.
Hybrid writing is just that. You take different forms of whatever it is you want to do and smash them together…of course with some craft. For those who want to stick in the genre of writing - poetry mixed with prose mixed with essays or screen plays. For those that want to go outside of that - try music mixed with writing mixed with dance mixed with technology or science - mixed with just about anything you want.
My favorite quote by her is paraphrased like this. Writing and art is an entire world. When you are there, you don’t have to stick with just one. You have the ability to explore and play in all of the neighborhoods. Another favorite by her is that for some of us, working in one medium doesn’t allow us to express ourselves enough. It takes more than one expression to truly get across the point we want.
So, the next time you start practicing your ability to write, try a little hybrid. It will open up new worlds and new possibilities to what you are doing.
Billy Collins
In the years when I was studying poetry a lot, Billy Collins was one of the great, contemporary poets that I ran into. At the time, he was the American Poet Laureate, which I believe he was able to keep for two years in a row.
What sets Collins apart from just about any other poet, is that he doesn’t take his drama so seriously. He is known because he has taken poetry and given it a humorous touch. Even when he is talking about drama, grief or love, he adds in just a little bit of laughter. It makes a complete turn in how he is able to get his poetry through to the reader.
It’s not just this major technique that sets Collins apart. He is also very good about being a poet for the common man. I know that most of us are turned off by the poets of the past, who tend to talk above what we are used to and that create a space that is difficult to understand. The idea of analyzing poetry probably comes before enjoying poetry for the majority of us.
Collins doesn’t take that idea on. While you can easily analyze his poetry and think about it for a while, and re-read it, you don’t necessarily have to. You can also enjoy it at face value and take it as it is. It’s one of the genius things that he is able to do. His poetry creates a layer of emotions, information and joy that can be understood, no matter where we are at in our lives. That’s what makes him so great.
So, just for your enjoyment… A Billy Collins poem for you to enjoy.
“Introduction to Poetry
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to water - ski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.”
Billy Collins
“Cold Blooded” by Carlton Smith
Cold Blooded is a true and devasting story of a wealthy California attorney who at one time had everything he could desire. Larry McNabney had a successful law firm and was very well known in the well to do circles surrounding him. However, this was all about to take a drastic change for the worse when he met and hired a new office manager who set her sights on marriage and his money. The book details the life before and during the lives of Larry McNabney and Elisa McNabney. For a smart and accomplished attorney his friends were take back when he did marry Elisa. This was even after he discovered she had been stealing from his accounts at the law firm and almost cost him his law practice.
The book delves deep into finding out who Elisa McNabney was before she becamee Mrs. McNabney. She was a beautiful woman who was an ace at charming men, she had made that her lifestyle. She had thirty eight aliases and a very long rap sheet, at over one hundred pages in length. However, her worse crime was yet to unfold.
The book takes you on the whirlwind life that these two star crossed lovers went down. It entails Elisa reporting Larry missing in 2001 and takes you on the journey of her confession and conviction for his murder.
There is one last place the book will take you to and that is the suicide of Elisa McNabney. What really drove her to the murder of her successful husband and was it here guilt or something else that led to her suicide. It shows many sides to both Larry and Elisa. He was not easy to live with as he was an known alcoholic and drug user and instead of trying to curb these appetities Elisa seemed to feed into them. Perhaps this was her plan all along. All she left was a note to her daughter professing her love for her.
This is a true crime book that is well written and once you start the first page you will not be able to put it down for wanting to know more about the lives and events in the main characters tragic tale. It is well written and also includes eight pages of photographs of the couples life and of the ending.
Books with Purpose
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the times that we are living in, the struggles that are occurring and how we are choosing to create a lifestyle. For some, it’s good… for most, it’s a struggle. At the same time, I’m not one to come from a religious perspective or one that force feeds spirituality down one’s throat.
However, considering the times, I thought I would mention a book that is offering some perspective in who we are, what the times are and how to cope with what is going on.
The book to look out for is “and the truth shall set you free” by David Icke.
This book is a fascinating read, not only because of the perspective that it offers but also with the insights that are added into it. The book explains just about everything that you need to know about why things are happening - economically, career wise and even on personal and family levels.
Icke is great, not only in this book, but in his others, because he doesn’t take on a New Age, spiritual or even religious perspective. Even though it’s classified as New Age, the concept is one that incorporates history, ancient concepts and a truthful ideal into what is happening with the government, economy and cultures of the world. Not only does it show a logical explanation of why things are happening like they are, but also gives some insight into how one can look further into certain concepts and leaves the reader with the capacity to search on their own to find their own truth.
If you want to find truth through a different perspective and insight, as well as an understanding of what is happening right now in the world, this is definitely a book that you don’t want to miss. No matter what stage of life you are in, it will open your eyes to a completely alternate world that has been taking place behind the curtains.
Selling Your Used Books, Part Two: Think Locally
A few days ago I shared some thoughts about getting rid of your excess book inventory by selling books on Amazon. My experiment in online retail is going well so far; I’ve made about $100 in less than a week selling about a dozen books.
Of course I’ve still got 50 or more books listed that haven’t moved yet, and probably at least 50 more books to post before I’m done. Odds are good they won’t all sell for the price I’m willing to offer (or even for less), so then it will be on to step two: my local used book store.
If your town doesn’t have a used book store, there’s probably one in relatively close proximity, especially if you live anywhere near a college town. Used book stores are a great way to get rid of books that are in good condition, and they tend to pay pretty fair prices.
My local used book store offers payments in cash or larger payments in store credit, so you can clear space on the shelves to make room for your new finds. Either way, you’re getting your books somewhere where someone else might be able to find and enjoy them and you’re either getting more cash in your pocket or more reads for yourself. It’s a win-win.
Dumbing Down of America
A few weeks ago, I ordered something from a 16 year old from a delivery place. It was the same thing that I always ordered, with the same address and the same price. They showed up with the wrong drink, the wrong food and had a hard time finding my address….not to mention the extra money that was tagged onto the order. Funny thing was, it was the same person that took my order last time.
I was a little annoyed at the problem, but it wasn’t just that problem that was getting me. It was the fact that everywhere I went, from the grocery store to the bank to the store, the kids just didn’t seem to be cognizant of what went on.
So, I started doing a little research.
For those of you who aren’t familiar, you have to read the academic books on The Dumbing Down of America. The books you want to look into are:
1. ‘The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America - A Chronological Paper Trail” by Charlotte Thompson
2. “Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can’t Read, Write or Add” by Charles Sykes
3. “Dumbing Down: Culture Politics and the Mass Media” by Ivo Mosley
4. “Death By Supermarket: The Fattening, Dumbing Down, and Poisoning of America” by Nancy Deville
Start with those, and continue looking into the research that has been done. You will be as a amazed as I am. At this point we’ve lost close to two generations of children who are not being taught how to think, how to be logical or how to reason for themselves. If you have as many experiences with the places that you go as I do, than this will help you to understand why.
For anyone living in America who is concerned about the way things are going, nailing this educational problem is the beginning to understanding what is happening in the world of academia as well as in the work force and in our lives in general. This isn’t something to try to nail the parents in a certain place, because it’s based around the cultural and educational systems; however, if we want to start getting some kids that can think… it has to start with understanding what is happening to begin with.
Back to Classics
Often times, it’s easy to forget about the oldies - but the goodies - of books. There are so many authors that are on the playing field right now, that some of the classics are getting pushed to the wayside.
Of course, from my memory of books course 101, I have to mention Willa Cather. For anyone who wants to read something good and solid, and that will be remembered for centuries, she’s the one. A few years ago, I went on a Cather binge, reading everything from her first book of short stories to “Oh Pioneers” to “My Antonia” and “The Song of the Lark.” Every one of her stories is perfect in it’s own right.
Her writing career can’t be overlooked for the 20th century of writers - especially women writers. She received a ton of honors for her writing and was widely recognized as an author…something not common for a woman from the late 1800s and early 1900s from Nebraska.
What I love about her writing style is it isn’t difficult, complicated or intellectual. It just is. She’s the “sarah plain and tall” of books. One of the interesting things that has made me realize a lot about writing is, even though she had “it” (the writing bug) in the beginning, you can see a continuous new triumph with each book. If you want to see an author who works her entire life, go through the chronology of all of her stories. You’ll see each one improve until she lets them become a classic. (A huge motivation to us writers out there).
Despite all of the writing stuff, Cather is just a plain, good writer. She knows how to tell a story and she knows how to tell it well. I think she is often times overlooked and undervalued - maybe because of the time she was writing in (and the place), and maybe because she is sincere and genuine about the stories that she tells, which makes them easy to relate to.
So, if you haven’t taken the time out to read Willa Cather, it’s time to pioneer into her world.
Cuba Cocina!
This is a delicious book full of mouth watering recipes based on Cuban cooking. This was a Christmas present that my husband re ceived, and it was a perfect gift for him as he is Cuban and loves to cook!
The author, Joyce LaFray, is a restaurant reviewer in South Florida and over the years has become an expert on Cuban cooking.
LaFray does more than share recipes in her book, she also explains common Cuban techniques used in cooking, and also describes ingredients that are used frequently in Cuban style cooking.
A very helpful section of the book is the “Cuban Shopping List”. In it, there is a very detailed list of items commonly and uncommonly used in Cuban recipes. The ingredients are listed with their Spanish names and English names, which I found very useful!
But of course the best part of the book are the many many recipes it offers. From traditional meals to unique little known recipes, from bold and spicy to succulent and sweet, believe me there is something for every cook in this collection.
I am lucky that my husband is the main cook in our family, but I do cook as well, and often have found a recipe in this book that pleases even the kids! If you enjoy cooking and finding new recipes to try, then I suggest you get this book!