Blog, Page 390

20th Virtual Poetry Circle

November 7, 2009 by Serena

Don’t forget about the Verse Reviewers link I’m creating here on Savvy Verse & Wit.

Send me an email with your blog information to savvyverseandwit AT gmail DOT com

And now, for the twentieth edition of the Virtual Poetry Circle. I can’t believe we’ve made it this far.

OK, Here’s a poem up for reactions, interaction, and–dare I say it–analysis:

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

We’re returning to contemporary poetry this week, and today’s poem if from Lynn Levin‘s poetry collection, Fair Creatures of an Hour (review forthcoming):

Helium (page 9)

I was happy as one
who offers her heart
and doesn’t care
if it’s accepted or not.
I was less, not more.
I skipped my stupid resentments
like stones across the river,
forgave those who walked off
while I was speaking,
owed me money,
blamed me for things I didn’t do.
If spirits could rise like helium,
then my spirits rose like helium.
I couldn’t tell my breath
from the new-mown grass,
the scent of the white azalea.
You said that I thre myself away.
You said that resistance
would have been nobler
than resignation. I began
to fear that you were right
for in the morning my heart was lighter
than air, but in the evening
I felt insolid and grew frantic.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions. Let’s have a great discussion…pick a line, pick an image, pick a sentence.

I’ve you missed the other Virtual Poetry Circles, check them out here. It’s never too late to join the discussion.

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle

Interview With Poet Kelle Groom

November 6, 2009 by Serena

Kelle Groom recently agreed to an interview with myself and 32 Poems. And here is what she had to say.

How would you introduce yourself to a crowded room eager to hang on your every word? Are you just a poet, what else should people know about you?

I also write personal essays/memoir. For the last year, I’ve been poetry editor for The Florida Review, and have now shifted into an advisory editor position. I work full-time as the Grants & Communications Manager for Atlantic Center for the Arts, an international artists-in-residence program in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Prior to this, I was the Director of Grants Administration for the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

Do you have any obsessions that you would like to share?

Writing, of course. And books. Coffee. Oceans. Ireland. Prehistory.

When writing poetry, prose, essays, and other works do you listen to music, do you have a particular playlist for each genre you work in or does the playlist stay the same? What are the top 5 songs on that playlist? If you don’t listen to music while writing, do you have any other routines or habits?

I always listen to music when I write, but feel weirdly secretive about it. A few of the pieces are Antony and the Johnsons cover of Dylan’s, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Gorecki’s Symphony # 3 with soprano Dawn Upshaw, especially the second movement (that should count for at least two…). Steve Earle’s Ft. Worth Blues, Jeff Buckley’s cover (and John Cale’s) of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. It’s pretty much the same songs/pieces for a year or so, regardless of the genre I’m writing in.

LOUD HOUSE

Het up boys, skitter boys, muttonchop
go-go boys, gurgle music, kidney stone
music, muchachos party, rubicon sand fire
flaring party, thunderbird ski hats in summer
party, sweaty head party, pound & thump,
socket burning beach party, orange forklift
beach, orange moon ba-boom, hooch smoke,
ta-ta smoke, stonkered house, pandemonium
tetherballed, turtle orbitted, oriflamme ant
house, rust hilled, I know I’m violating
myself house, Maybe you’ll see me
on MTV house, No, dude (to a dog) house,
evening knock knock knock knock
house, evening anamatter clink: glass and tin,
goo food jars, chest hammer music, earthmover,
dog bark music, beep beep back-up
talk, rag and straw sleep, panic sleep, dart
sleep, rummage, rumple, canyon sleep,
sulky bunco, mittenheaded boys, saw-
voiced reclamation boys, fumarole,
radio pale, tar breathing boys
in the chewed grass, white sail an exhale.

(originally appeared in 32 Poems; forthcoming in Five Kingdoms, Anhinga Press, 2009)

If you’ve enjoyed Kelle’s answers so far, I suggest you check out the rest of my interview with her over at 32 Poems Blog. Once there, you can find out about her workspace, her inspirations, and much more. Feel free to leave me comments about her interview or your thoughts on poetry in general.

About the Poet:

Kelle Groom’s poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and Poetry, among others. Her poetry collections are Five Kingdoms (Anhinga Press, 2009), Luckily, a 2006 Florida Book Award winner (Anhinga), and Underwater City (University Press of Florida).

She’s received awards from Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Millay Colony, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, United Arts of Central Florida, Volusia County Cultural Council, and New Forms Florida.

Filed Under: Interviews, poetry Tagged With: 32 poems magazine, Kelle Groom

Green Books Campaign, Nov. 10

November 6, 2009 by Serena

Design credit: Susan Newman

Avid readers need to create the demand necessary to spur publishers to use “green” publication methods and materials. Readers encourage publishers to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint simply by purchasing books made from “green” materials and through environmentally friendly practices.

As part of this effort, 100 online book reviewers — including Savvy Verse & Wit and Diary of an Eccentric — and 35 publishers from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have come together for one day — November 10, 2009 — to celebrate “green” books at the behest of Eco-Libris. The goal of the campaign is to encourage readers and publishers to ensure that books are printed responsibly and book purchases are “greener.”

Only 0.23 percent of publishers are committed to increasing the number of books made on recycled paper, according to Eco-Libris. Moreover, only about 5 percent to 10 percent of paper used by book publishers is recycled. Meanwhile, the Book Industry Environmental Council announced that it was committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the publishing industry by 20 percent or to a 2006 baseline by the year 2020, and an 80 percent reduction by 2050.

“Although there’s so much hype around e-books, books printed on paper dominate the book market, and we want them to be as environmentally sound as possible,” explains Raz Godelnik, co-founder and CEO of Eco-Libris. “Very few books are currently printed responsibly and we hope this initiative will bring more exposure to “green” books. Through this campaign we want to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.”

Julie Christopher, Senior Marketing Manager at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing — one of the participating publishers– says, “The mission of the Little Green Books series is to plant the seeds of earth-friendly living at an early age, and we were delighted to work with Eco-Libris on the campaign to help to spread this important message.”

As environmental issues continue to make headlines and paper-based books remain the dominant form on the market, Eco-Libris and online book reviewers want to call attention to those books that are made from recylced materials and FSC-certified paper. Books reviewed on Nov. 10, 2009, at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time by the online bloggers range from nonfiction and fiction to poetry and cookbooks.

For more information and a list of participating blogs, please visit the Web site for the Green Books Campaign. See you on Nov. 10, 2009, at 1 p.m. EST.

Filed Under: Eco-Libris, Green Books Campaign

Willoughby’s Return by Jane Odiwe

November 5, 2009 by Serena

Willoughby’s Return by Jane Odiwe reunites readers with Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Marianne’s sisters Margaret and Elinor from Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen.

“But three years of married life had done little to really change her. Marianne still had an impetuous nature, she still retained a desire for impulse and enterprises undertaken on the spur of the moment.” (Page 3)

Truer words were never spoken about Marianne. She is the same impetuous girl from Austen’s book, even though she is married to Colonel Brandon and has a son, James. Her husband, however, has obligations to his ward, the daughter of his deceased first love, and her child–a child she had with Marianne’s first love, Mr. Willoughby. Drama, drama, drama fills these pages, just as they filled Marianne’s life in Ausen’s work, but Odiwe adds her own flare to these characters.

Marianne continues to hide things from her husband no matter how innocent the situations may be and her jealousies drive her to make nearly scandalous decisions and snap judgments. However, while this book is titled Willoughby’s Return, he is more of a minor character and his storyline with Marianne looms from the sidelines as her younger sister Margaret and her beau Henry Lawrence take center stage.

“She watched two raindrops slide down the glass, one chasing the other but never quite catching up.” (Page 39)

Margaret is very like Marianne in that she is passionate, romantic, and impetuous. She’s opposed to marriage and Marianne’s matchmaking until Margaret sets eyes on Henry Lawrence. She falls head-over-heels for him, but Odiwe throws a number obstacles in their way.

Readers may soon notice some similarities between Henry Lawrence and Frank Churchill from Emma by Jane Austen, but the romance unravels differently for Henry and Margaret than it does from Frank and Emma. Readers that enjoy Jane Austen’s books and the recent spin-offs will enjoy Willoughby’s Return — a fast-paced, regency novel with a modern flair.

This is the 5th item I’ve completed for the Everything Austen Challenge 2009. I’m one item away from meeting my goal, which will be coming up either later this month or in December.

Don’t forget the Willoughby’s Return giveaway, here.

Additionally, I would like to thank Jane Odiwe and Sourcebooks for sending me a free copy of Willoughby’s Return for review. Clicking on title links will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page, not purchase necessary.

Filed Under: ARC, everything austen challenge, fiction, Read in 2009, reviews, sourcebooks Tagged With: jane odiwe, Willoughby's Return

Interview with Jane Odiwe, Author of Willoughby’s Return

November 4, 2009 by Serena

Jane Odiwe, author of Lydia Bennet’s Story (click link for my review) and most recently Willoughby’s Return (review forthcoming), took time out of her busy schedule answer a few interview questions.

Please welcome Jane Odiwe.

Most authors dealing with classic characters fell in love with them early on, but wanted something more. Is this how you felt about Willoughby, and what is it you sought to do that Jane Austen had not?

Rather than falling in love with Willoughby, I suppose it was really that ideal of romantic love that I fell in love with early on, and the relationship that Willoughby first shares with Marianne Dashwood. Jane Austen painted him initially as the epitome of the dashing hero and that is very attractive!

I wanted to discover if Marianne had truly recovered from the heartbreak that he caused and wondered how she might react if he re-entered her life. I also felt we needed to know more about Marianne’s relationship with Colonel Brandon who is her husband, a subject Jane Austen hardly touched upon.

Willoughby is often considered the villain of Sense and Sensibility, is this what attracted you to writing about his character or was it something more?

He is a villain, but I think his character is more complicated than that. I think a little part of me wanted to believe that he was not all bad and even Jane Austen made him remorseful in Sense and Sensibility. What was more important to me was examining the way Marianne perceived him – we see him through her eyes – and I wanted to take her feelings on a journey.

Many readers are eager to know which character or characters authors most identify with, so in your latest novel, which of the characters do you identify with and why?

I’d like to say Marianne or Margaret Dashwood, both romantic and passionate heroines who think with their hearts not their heads. Like Marianne, I can wax lyrical on a falling leaf from the sky and a picturesque scene, but that’s where the comparison ends. I think these days I probably identify more with Mrs Jennings, the interfering busybody friend of Colonel Brandon – I have a habit of asking totally outrageous and embarrassing questions of my children’s friends much to their great mortification!

Why choose Jane Austen novels versus other classic authors’ novels?

I just love them – I’m actually obsessed, as my family will tell you. Jane’s writing is the best and her books work on so many levels. I’m still discovering new wonders in every one, which is just as well, as there are only six.

Who is your favorite Jane Austen hero and why?

Captain Frederick Wentworth. The story of Persuasion has a special significance for me and that’s why he’s my favourite. It is the most wonderful love story – whenever I go to Bath my husband and I like to stroll along the Gravel walk and follow in the footsteps of Anne and Captain Wentworth. I also think Colonel Brandon would be gorgeous and I have to include Mr. Darcy in this trio of equally splendid heroes.

Do you have any obsessions that you would like to share?

I just asked my youngest son what he thought for an answer to this question and he immediately answered – your computer! I’m afraid it’s true, but it’s really my writing that is the obsession. I also Google anything and everything on Jane Austen every day – I told you I was obsessed!

Which books have you been reading lately, and are there any you would like to recommend?

I’ve been reading Jane Austen’s Letters and Persuasion, Emile Zola’s The Ladies’ Paradise, Samuel Richardson’s The History of Sir Charles Grandison, Sarah Waters’ Dancing with Mr Darcy, and Sue Wilkes’ Regency Cheshire. I’d recommend them all.

Finally, following Willoughby’s Return, do you have any other projects in the works? Do they deal with other classic literature or do you see yourself flourishing in the Jane Austen market?

Sourcebooks will be publishing my next book, Mr. Darcy’s Secret, in the Spring 2011, so that’s exciting to be having a third book published by them. I have started two other books which are both Austen related. I have other non-Jane books I want to write, but I’m really happy living in Austenland at the moment. I’d be really interested to hear what kind of books your readers would like to see – more Jane Austen inspired fiction or maybe another classic author. What do you all think?

Stay tuned for my review of Willoughby’s Return on Nov. 5. In the meantime, Sourcebooks has sponsored a giveaway for U.S./Canada residents. You can win 1 copy of Willoughby’s Return. To Enter:

1. Leave a comment on which classic author you think Jane should take on next or if you think she should continue with Jane Austen.

2. For a second entry, leave a comment on my review tomorrow.

3. Blog, tweet, or otherwise spread the good word about this giveaway (@SavvyVerseWit) for a third entry.

4. If you follow, I’ll give you an extra 5 entries. If you are a new follower, you will get 3 extra entries. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know.

Deadline is Nov. 11, 2009, at 11:59PM EST.

Filed Under: giveaway, Interviews Tagged With: jane odiwe

Pat Bertram Shares her Writing Space

November 3, 2009 by Serena

Pat Bertram is the author of three novels — More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Her novels can be found on Smashwords and at other retailers. She recently agreed to share with us her writing space, and she’s included beautiful photos of her book stacks. Please welcome Pat Bertram, photo of the author taken by D. Bertram, to the blog.

Okay, I admit it: I am a closet pencilphile. Seems silly, I know, in this electronic age, but I write in pencil on loose-leaf paper. There. I’ve outed myself. I feel so much better now.

I am not being contrary. It’s just that I have a better mind/writing connection using pencil and paper than I have with a keyboard, a mechanical pencil is easier on my fingers than pen, and paper is easier on my eyes than a computer screen.

I do have an office with a double folding table for a computer desk, which gives me plenty of space to spread out all the “to do” notes I make but never read.

The walls behind me are lined with books like three-dimensional wallpaper. I spend hours in my office every day, especially now that I blog and network more than I write, but for creative writing I sit in bed, clipboard propped against my knees or on a pillow. If, as Mel Gibson said, “A movie is like public dreaming,” then novels are like shared dreaming, and where better to dream than in a comfortable bed?

For me, fiction writing is largely a matter of thinking, of trying to see the situation, of figuring out the right word or phrase that puts me where I need to be so the words can flow. I don’t know the entire story before I writing, but I do know the beginning, the end, and some of the middle. That way I can have it both ways: planning the book and making room for surprises.

So, there you have it. That’s how and where I write. As for why I write, what inspires me — there are stories I want to read, and since no one else is writing them, I have to.

Pat Bertram is a native of Colorado and a lifelong resident. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book — character and story driven novels that can’t easily be slotted into a genre — she decided to write her own. Daughter Am I is Bertram’s third novel to be published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC. Also available are More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire.

About Daughter Am I:

When twenty-five-year-old Mary Stuart learns she inherited a farm from her recently murdered grandparents –grandparents her father claimed had died before she was born — she becomes obsessed with finding out who they were and why someone wanted them dead. Along the way she accumulates a crew of feisty octogenarians –former gangsters and friends of her grandfather. She meets and falls in love Tim Olson, whose grandfather shared a deadly secret with her great-grandfather. Now Mary and Tim need to stay one step ahead of the killer who is desperate to dig up that secret.

So what did you think of Pat Bertram’s writing space. Isn’t it great? I love the lines and stacks of books! A bibliophile’s dream.

Also, check out my two-part interview with Pat Bertram, here and here.

Filed Under: guest post Tagged With: Pat Bertram

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

November 2, 2009 by Serena

Charlaine Harris’ Living Dead in Dallas continues the Sookie Stackhouse series. Sookie has agreed to use here telepathic powers to help the vampires when necessary so long as the interviewees go free. The death of a co-worker and friend thrusts Sookie deep into the vampire world.

“‘Angelic Sookie, vision of love and beauty, I am prostrate that the wicked, evil maenad violated your smooth and voluptuous body, in an attempt to deliver a message to me.’

‘That’s more like it.'” (Page 40)

The Sookie Stackhouse series is full of vampires and other supernatural creatures, mystery, and witty dialogue. Readers will find the vampire world created by Charlaine Harris dark, intricate, and mysterious. As their world unravels to reveal its connections with other supernatural communities or its battles with other groups who wish vampires were back in the coffin, readers will be absorbed.

“I realized I’d been rented, like a chainsaw or backhoe. I wondered if the vampires of Dallas had had to put down a deposit against damage.” (Page 47)

Sookie is soon sent to help vampires in Dallas where she is caught up in the community’s feud with the Fellowship of the Sun. Some of the most interesting elements of this novel was learning about Anubis Air and its business of transporting vampires across state lines as cargo and offering them protection when they travel during the day. Living Dead in Dallas is a quick read.

Living Dead in Dallas is a book I purchased from Borders and is in my personal library. Also, clicking on images and text links to books will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page. No purchases are required.

This is the second book I’ve read for the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge, which I read during the October 2009 24-Hour Read-a-Thon. I’m hopeful I can read the rest and complete the challenge, though the deadline for this one escapes me at the moment.

Filed Under: fiction, purchased, Read in 2009, reviews, sookie stackhouse reading challenge Tagged With: charlaine harris, Living Dead in Dallas

NaNoWriMo Begins

November 1, 2009 by Serena

It’s November 1, and that means it’s time for National Novel Writing Month. Yes, I’m participating again this year. 50,000 words in 30 days.

I have never completed this task, but that’s because I can’t seem to turn off that internal editor. Whether this year is my year to finish or not, I’m committed and ready to have a crazy month of fun.

In case any of you book bloggers are joining in the fun, I’m pavcrawphan over on the NaNo site; here’s the link.

I haven’t written anything yet, but I hope to find some time today after laundry is done and other chores are completed. Who knows, I may start writing sooner rather than later.

***In other news***

I saw This Is It, the Michael Jackson documentary, this weekend and my review article is up over at D.C. Literature Examiner, if you are interested. I really enjoyed the movie.

Rebecca at Just One More Page emailed me to let me know that my Virtual Walking Tour post on her blog is up and ready for commenting.

Interested?? Check out my stop here.

Filed Under: announcements, National Novel Writing Month

Mailbox Monday #54

November 1, 2009 by Serena

Welcome to another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by The Printed Page, on Sunday.

This is the time during the week when I let you take a peek inside my mailbox at my books. I’ve either snagged them at the library, through giveaways, borrowed them from friends or co-workers, or received them from publishers, authors, or publicists.

Check out this week’s stash:

1. Soul Catcher by Leigh Bridger, which I won during Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

2. The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White, which I received for review.

3. Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble, which I received and will not be keeping, since it was won by someone out in the Philippines during Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I’ll be shipping this out shortly. Besides I already have an ARC of this and should be reading it soon.

4. Ravens (audio) by George Dawes Green, which I won from Peeking Between the Pages.

5. Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim, which I won from Girls Just Reading.

What did you receive in your mailbox?

Filed Under: mailbox monday

19th Virtual Poetry Circle

October 31, 2009 by Serena

Don’t forget about the Verse Reviewers link I’m creating here on Savvy Verse & Wit.

Send me an email with your blog information to savvyverseandwit AT gmail DOT com

And now, for the seventeenth edition of the Virtual Poetry Circle:

OK, Here’s a poem up for reactions, interaction, and–dare I say it–analysis:

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

We’re returning to classic poetry this week, and today’s poem is from Samuel Taylor Coleridge:

Christabel [Beneath the lamp]

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Beneath the lamp the lady bowed,
And slowly rolled her eyes around;
Then drawing in her breath aloud,
Like one that shuddered, she unbound
The cincture from beneath her breast:
Her silken robe, and inner vest,
Dropt to her feet, and full in view,
Behold! her bosom, and half her side—
A sight to dream of, not to tell!
O shield her! shield sweet Christabel!

Yet Geraldine nor speaks nor stirs;
Ah! what a stricken look was hers!
Deep from within she seems half-way
To lift some weight with sick assay,
And eyes the maid and seeks delay;
Then suddenly as one defied
Collects herself in scorn and pride,
And lay down by the Maiden's side!—
And in her arms the maid she took,
   Ah wel-a-day!
And with low voice and doleful look
   These words did say:
'In the touch of this bosom there worketh a spell,
Which is lord of thy utterance, Christabel!