Knowing Nothing, Feeling Everything

"I like knowing nothing, but feeling everything." ---Sharon Creech, speaking about rough drafts in "Leaping Off the Porch," from Barbara Harrison and Gregory Maguire's collection of essays, Origins of Story.

"An acting teacher used to tell us, 'The best protection is stark naked,' meaning that if you commit yourself to a role and to your character’s objectives, and open yourself completely to the moment onstage, there is no room for self-consciousness or second-guessing. It’s when you indulge in half-measures that you screw up." ---Susan O'Doherty, Ph.D., from her column, The Doctor is In

I love both these quotes, but of course, they intimidate me, too. How to be so brave? How to be so balanced that leaping and committing are both possible?

What doesn't work is looking at my own feet.  Look out and up. Breathe. 

"I haven't got a clue, but . . ."

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I have a fondness for Big Questions, and indeed, several of my posts are tagged with that label. Occasionally, in a writer's workshop, I'll lead an exercise called 100 questions. Being able to ask crazy questions is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm an author. And if I were a punctuation mark, I'd be .... you guessed it, a question mark.

So you'll know why I loved this bit from David Almond, who recently received the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Author Award.

(from the interview in Shelf Awareness by Jennifer Brown)

Brown: It does seem as though we lose track of the big questions when we enter adulthood, doesn't it?


Almond: Because we realize that the questions are unanswerable. There's a tendency to turn away from them, to say they're boring or beyond solution. One of the things about writing for children is you look at the world through their eyes, and the world remains astonishing. I haven't got a clue what it is, and it seems to me more and more beautiful, but more and more unanswerable.


My yoga practice this morning was centered around the idea of releasing fear in order that there be more room for love. We hold both in our chests, in our hearts and lungs, which tighten when we're afraid. The Big Questions (along with a few Cow or Fish poses) are those that untangle that fear of the unanswerable and open our hearts and minds to the astonishing. It seems to me that if we uncurl, our question marks become exclamations.

Me: ?
World: !

Maybe David Almond hasn't "got a clue," but I don't think it's an accident his books explore "The Art of Transformation."

Poetry Quote of the Day: Hugo Williams

"There is more, not less intensity in plainness, because simple stuff operates without the safety net of the poetical"---Hugo Williams, Strong Words, 2000, as compiled by Dennis O'Driscoll in Quote Poet Unquote

Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day. It's a simple thing: take a poem; put it in your pocket. See what happens.

I'll be carrying Marie Ponsot's "One is One," which I'll share with you on Poetry Friday tomorrow. What will you carry?

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: John Keats

"In Poetry I have a few Axioms. 

1st. I think Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by Singularity—it should strike the Reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a Remembrance—

2nd. Its touches of Beauty should never be half way thereby making the reader breathless instead of content: the rise, the progress, the setting of imagery should like the Sun come natural to him—shine over him and set soberly although in magnificence leaving him in the Luxury of twilight—but it is easier to think what Poetry should be than to write it—and this leads me on to another axiom. 

That if Poetry comes not as naturally as the Leaves to a tree it had better not come at all." 

                                                               ---John Keats

Thanks to Jules at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast for pointing me to this quote, which can be found on Knopf's Poem-A-Day web site.

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Dennis O'Driscoll

"In Emily Dickinson's much-cited touchstone for a poem, she feels 'physically as if the top of my head were taken off.' A.E. Housman applies a bristling skin test to poetry, another famous example of a physical criterion for the efficacy of a poem. Goosebumps and decapitation are not the whole story, though. The physical aspect is the one that's easiest to be sure about - it registers on your pulse rate, after all, and is the one that's least embarrassing to talk about. But the deepest reactions to a great poem will - pace Emily Dickinson - actually be over the top. 

I know I am in the grip of a true poem when I can hardly bear to read it calmly at first, so all-embracing and far-reaching is its instantaneous effect on me. I realise I am about to meet with psychic turbulence..."

---Irish poet Dennis O'Driscoll, as interviewed at Ready, Steady, Book

With thanks to J. Patrick Lewis, who recommended Driscoll's book, Quote Poet Unquote: Contemporary Quotations on Poets and Poetry, to me.

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Thomas Hardy

"My opinion is that a poet should express the emotion of all the ages and the thought of his own."----Thomas Hardy, as quoted in Walking on Alligators, A Book of Meditations for Writers.

Walking on Alligators is filled with quotes like this, and daily intentions such as "Today, I'll release something surprising into my writing."  It would be a great book to take along on a retreat, which I mention because Linda Urban is compiling a list of such books.  Won't that be a handy resource? Go add your own favorites.

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Ursula K. Le Guin

"As great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the imagination that we achive perception, and compassion, and hope." ---Ursula K. Le Guin, poet and author

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Rita Dove

"Poetry is a kind of dance already. Technically, there's the play of contemporary speech against the bass-line of the iambic, but there's also the expression of desire that is continually restrained by the limits of the page, the breath, the very architecture of the language--just as dance is limited by the capabilities of our physical bodies as well as by gravity. 

A dancer toils in order to skim the surface of the floor, she develops muscles most of us don't even know we have; but the goal is to appear weightless. A poet struggles to render into words that which is unsayable--the ineffable, that which is deeper than language--in the hopes that whatever words make the final cut will, in turn, strike the reader speechless."

                          ---Rita Dove, as interviewed by Robert McDowell at poets.org

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Billy Collins

 "I try to presume that no one is interested in me." ---poet Billy Collins, as interviewed by Joel Whitney at poets.org 

Ha! Now I know why I love Collins's work so much. The whole interview is wonderful.

I do believe poetry should point to something outside yourself. As should all works of art. Even blog posts.

Which is why I'm sending you to GuysLitWire today. They are rocking the world and "Making a Difference, One Book at a Time - the Guys Lit Wire & Operation Teen Book Drop Event for Navajo & Apache Teens"

I defy you to find a better way live out Billy Collins words than to be interested in someone else today.

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Sherman Alexie

"A really good stand-up comic is a poet; it's about the use of language"— Sherman Alexie, as interviewed in the Iowa Review

This quote explains why I'm a big fan of both Alexie and Shakespeare: neither poet is afraid to make you laugh. (Here's a professor who apparently agrees with me.)

Furthermore, in a satisfyingly serendipitous moment, I just googled "Alexie" and "Shakespeare," to see if anyone else had mentioned the two online in the same breath--- and found out that Sherman Alexie is accepting his 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award at the Folger Shakespeare Library here in D.C. on May 8th.

P.S. If you want more quotes from Alexie, I also saw this at his website:

"A new book, Conversations with Sherman Alexie, edited by Nancy Peterson, includes interviews - ranging from 1993 to 2007- that feature Alexie speaking candidly about the ideas and themes behind poetry collections, short story collections, novels, and screenplays."

This post is part of a month-long celebration of not-quite-daily quotes about poets, poems, and poetry. For more quotes, see the archive of the Poetry Quote of the Day. There are many more National Poetry Month celebrations across the Kidlitosphere.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Edward Young

"We are all born originals---why is it so many of us die copies?" ---Edward Young, poet (1683-1765), as quoted in A Word a Day by Anu Garg.

And should you have time on your hands, don't miss Young's essay "On Lyrick Poetry" which is filled with such gems as

"bad Poets, that is Poets in general, are esteem'd, and really are the most vain, the most irritable, and most ridiculous Set of men upon earth."

 He also calls "the Poetic Clan" "Genus Irritabile among mankind."

However, in my mind, this last quote (which ties into today's admonition against winding up a pale copy of yourself) is the real killer, and it's what I find irresistible in any form of writing, be it novels, poetry or drama:

"It holds true in this Province of writing, as in war, "The more danger, the more honour." lt must be very Enterprising, it must (in Shakespear's Style) have hairbreadth 'Scapes; and often tread the very brink of Error" 

Zoop! Gone.

We all lost an hour this weekend. Zoop! Gone. Don't let the rest of the week slide by, too. I'm inspired by this quote I pulled from An Altar in the World:

"Why, when God's world is so big,
did you fall asleep in a prison
of all places?" ---Rumi

I can't wait to read the whole chapter, because it's entitled "The Practice of Getting Lost." Oh, right. I need lots more practice at that. It's not good enough that I've gotten lost returning to my hotel room from the lobby. Or that, yesterday, my husband and I hiked up to an overlook called Shepherd's Point, and I said, "Wow, what a great place for a sunrise service!" to which he said, "If we weren't facing west."

If you need more ideas to keep you awake and out of prison, I suggest:

The Virginia Festival of the Book is this weekend. Every year, the VFB is terrific, but this year, it has an expanded children's and YA author focus, with FIVE panels focused on the Kidlit world. Come out and savor the day.

Right now, this minute, go read my editor's beautiful essay, "Raised by Reading: A Life in Books from the Children's Literature Festival to Harry Potter." It's intellectually sharp and emotionally honest, just like Cheryl is.

"Be Kind..."

Check out the quote in the profile below. Miss Loupe and Room 208 approve.*

From Airman Magazine, Jan/Feb 2010

*See page 76 of Operation Yes

How Long?

"A novel must be exceptionally good to live as long as the average cat."

~ Hugh Maclennan

See the Cynsations blog for an interview with Leonard Marcus on what makes a book "stand the test of time." I don't think it has to do with cats, although Millions of Cats sure has. And Time Cat. And Catwings.  

Also, apparently, the ex libris art of bookplates often outlives the books in which they are pasted (in terms of collector value.)  Thanks to Gurney Journey for the link.

Finally, in addition to Jama's rich feast of a post about Charles Dickens last week, I was intrigued by this article in the Guardian: Why are we still reading Dickens? I like the answer given there---of course, it's about his characters---but I have to add it's also because of the freakin' great names he gave those characters: Smallweed, Jeremiah Flintwinch, Wackford Squeers, Pip, Uriah Heep . . . was there ever a writer so gifted at the insidious power of the aptly bestowed name? 

(By the way, the writer of the Guardian article calls these sort of names aptronyms. Although it may not give my book as many lives as a cat is entitled to, it was a technique I tried to use, but not overdo, in christening a few of the characters in the somewhat large-casted drama that is Operation Yes.)

NaNoWriMo Fuel: Throw Your Body at the Mark

Hey NaNoWriMo-ers! (And Lindsay, who's doing NaPlayWriMo!) Here's another quote for you: 

"The way to write is to throw your body at the mark when your arrows are spent." - Ralph Waldo Emerson


That quote is courtesy of my friend, Amber Lough, who is NaNoing at the airport as I type this. Go, Amber!

Also, if you need a juicy article on the craft of writing to inspire you, I heartily recommend Mary Pearson's recent post, The Sexy Unsung Hero. Guaranteed to get your writing heart revved up and ready to rock your writing goal for the day.

P.S. Teachers: if you ever think for one minute that what you do is not worth it, go read the comments on this post at Alphabet Soup, where Jama asked people to name their favorite teacher and why. (You can win a copy of OPERATION YES by commenting, but I would love the post anyway, for all the sincere tributes. I keep going back to see who has left a new dang-what-a-kicking teacher! story.)

Poetry Quote of the Day: Madeleine L'Engle (and an early Poem in my Pocket for Poetry Friday from Julie Larios)

(This post is also my Poetry Friday contribution. Happy early PF!)

Today's quote, the last of the month, comes from Madeleine L'Engle's book, Walking On Water. Here she's talking about the creative act, and she makes it clear before this excerpt that she's talking about all artists: the painters, the dancers, the musicians, the actors, the novelists, the poets . . .

"The artist, like the child, is a good believer. The depth and strength of the belief is reflected in the the work; if the artist does not believe, then no one else will; no amount of technique will make the responder see truth in something the artist knows to be phony."

Amen to that, and thank you all for indulging me in this month-long search for poetry quotes that embodied that "depth and strength of belief."  You can find all the quotes by clicking through my April archives in the sidebar, or by searching on the tag, Quotes. 

Today is also Poem in Your Pocket day, and I'm carrying Julie Larios's poem, What Bee Did. The wordplay in it delights me, and I'm glad to have it buzzing in my pocket. As I mentioned yesterday, I picked this poem before I realized that Julie had written it.  Julie is a regular participant in Poetry Fridays and blogs at The Drift Record, one of my favorite places to be inspired. The Madeleine L'Engle quote helps me understand why this poem works --- I believe in the Bee, in all his incarnations. And it doesn't hurt that I adore the line about belief in it. (You'll have to click through to find it.) 

The poem begins like this . . .

What Bee Did

by Julie Larios

Bee not only buzzed.
When swatted at, Bee deviled,
Bee smirched. And when fuddled,
like many of us, Bee labored, Bee reaved.
He behaved as well as any Bee can have.

Read the rest here. 

This post marks the end of my Poetry Quote a Day series for National Poetry Month.

Poetry Friday is hosted by Maya Ganesan at Allegro.

Poetry Quote of the Day: Kay Ryan and Getting Ready for "Poem in your Pocket" Day

Tomorrow is Poem in Your Pocket day. I'm telling you now so you have time to seek out a poem and tuck it away. Here's the one I carried last year.

 This year, I have a new one, chosen from the Poem in Your Pocket anthology, put out by The Academy of American Poets, with a foreward from U.S. Poet Laureate, Kay Ryan. Here's what she says about a poem vs. money in your pocket:

"A poem in your pocket is different. The whole way it works is different. In a way, you can't spend a poem even if you want to. As opposed to money---which seems intent upon getting out of your pocket as though it were a feral animal---a poem settles in. When I say "pocket" here, I mean "mind." A poem settles into your mind." ---Kay Ryan

Tomorrow, I'll tell you which poem from the anthology I chose to carry.  But here's a wild moment of poetic serendipity:  When I read the poem, I didn't look at the poet's name until after I felt that ping! gonna choose THIS ONE moment. And then I realized I knew the poet! Until tomorrow. . . ready your poems and pockets . . .

P.S.  Poets. org has linked to several poems about pockets for PIYP Day, including one fabulous excerpt from my friend Liz's book, A Sock is a Pocket for Your Toes.  Print it out and carry it if you want some happiness close at hand. 

This post is part of my Poetry Quote a Day series for National Poetry Month.

Poetry quote of the Day: Favorite Poem Project

Today's quote comes from a young reader of poetry, responding to the E.E. Cummings poem,"somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond."

"I have read this poem so many times that the spine of the book is broken and always turns to its page. Today I gave that book away to the first person that I have ever truly and sincerely loved. I gave her the book because there is no gift I could give her that would be more honest. This poem has shaped who I am. It has been a long journey, but Cummings's poem set my heart on a course to find love, and I have arrived, only to truly understand the poem for the first time."

---Scott Nesbit, 18  (as quoted in Poems to Read, an anthology for the Favorite Poem Project.)

This post is part of my Poetry Quote a Day series for National Poetry Month.

Poetry quote of the Day: Avivah Zornberg

Today's quote was not originally offered as a definition of poetry, but I'm taking the personal liberty of making it one.  And asking: do you have a quote that wasn't about poetry, per se, but works wonderfully when you put it in that light?

“Truth is shattered into a thousand pieces when God throws it down to earth.”

-from the blog, SOF Observed, which attributes this quote to "Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, citing a kernel of midrash from her new book, The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious."

This post is part of my Poetry Quote a Day series for National Poetry Month.

Poetry quote of the Day: Ted Hughes

“Because it is occasionally possible, just for brief moments, to find the words that will unlock the doors of all those many mansions inside the head and express something — perhaps not much, just something — of the crush of information that presses in on us from the way a crow flies over and the way a man walks and the look of a street and from what we did one day a dozen years ago. Words that will express something of the deep complexity that makes us precisely the way we are, from the momentary effect of the barometer to the force that created men distinct from trees. Something of the inaudible music that moves us along in our bodies from moment to moment like water in a river. Something of the spirit of the snowflake in the water of the river. Something of the duplicity and the relativity and the merely fleeting quality of all this. Something of the almighty importance of it and something of the utter meaninglessness. And when words can manage something of this, and manage it in a moment, of time, and in that same moment, make out of it all the vital signature of a human being — not of an atom, or of a geometrical diagram, or of a heap of lenses — but a human being, we call it poetry." ---Ted Hughes

Thanks to 7-Impossible Things Before Breakfast, who first posted this quote, and to Jules, who reminded me of it.

This post is part of my Poetry Quote a Day series for National Poetry Month.