tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519226438213680052024-03-13T23:51:50.809-04:00LitLinxSusan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-62127557129616169082011-07-08T10:23:00.000-04:002011-07-08T10:23:44.884-04:00A Paris Themed Summer<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgKfGaH3FNA/ThcLj5TjZQI/AAAAAAAAAh0/UC2EG2E1-bU/s1600/DSCN0047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgKfGaH3FNA/ThcLj5TjZQI/AAAAAAAAAh0/UC2EG2E1-bU/s200/DSCN0047.jpg" width="150" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first meeting of M. Lisa.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It's a Paris themed summer. Driving between Virginia and Vermont, I listened on CD to R. A. Scotti's <i>Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa</i>. Okay. True confession. I didn't know that the Mona Lisa had once been stolen! I tell you, if this tidbit had been included in high school history classes, I would have engaged.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/books/review/Murphy-t.html">Mary Jo Murphy's New York Times review</a> of the book is itself a literary work of art. She begins: "Four hundred years before Picasso reassembled women with eyeballs where breasts should be and noses poking out of ears, Leonardo da Vinci put a smile on a woman’s face — right where nature intended and yet unlike any smile before it or since. It was Mona Lisa’s, and on the morning of Aug. 22, 1911, it wasn’t there."<br />
<br />
Scotti's well researched account of the crime and its abundant suspects is a history lesson of the Western art world of the early 20th century. We're also introduced to the development of forensic science, the history of the <a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Louvre</a>, and the biography of Mona Lisa -- the painting the French call La Joconde. Since the reader makes or breaks an audio book, I'm happy to say that <span id="goog_871562256"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Kathe Mazur<span id="goog_871562257"></span></a> does a good job.<br />
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I read <i>Vanished Smile</i> after I'd seen Woody Allen's Cannes applauded <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/">Midnight in Paris</a></i>. The book provides historical details which compliment the film. They're a great match for a Paris themed summer.<br />
<br />
<i>For more on Paris:</i><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/08/keeping-personal-promise.html">Keeping a Personal Promise</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/08/mysteries-in-paris.html">Mysteries in Paris</a> <br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/08/almost-french.html">Almost French</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/08/sweeet-life-in-paris.html">The Sweet Life in Paris</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-should-i-see-in-paris.html">What Should I See in Paris?</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/list-of-35.html">The List of 35</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/first-day-in-paris.html">First Day in Paris!</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/paris-jour-deux.html">Paris Jour Deux</a> <br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/joyce-hemmingway-and-ujka-larson.html">Joyce, Hemmingway and Ujka Larson</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/american-library-in-paris.html">An American (Library) in Paris</a> <br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-birthday-in-paris.html">My Birthday in Paris</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/jaime-paris.html">J'aime Paris!</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-last-night-in-paris.html">My Last Night in Paris</a>Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-30860687079905665052011-07-07T10:48:00.000-04:002011-07-07T10:48:17.966-04:00The Mount Lives On ... for Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vA6tjKERuPk/ThXDP7TOX1I/AAAAAAAAAhY/TbkdtdO-N9Y/s1600/TheMount%2B103b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vA6tjKERuPk/ThXDP7TOX1I/AAAAAAAAAhY/TbkdtdO-N9Y/s320/TheMount%2B103b.jpg" /></a></div><br />
A few winters ago driving through Massachusetts to Vermont, I looked to my right while at a traffic light and made a surprising discovery. There was the sign for <a href="http://www.edithwharton.org/">Edith Wharton's home, The Mount</a>. I'd read a few of Wharton's books, and loved them. I had no idea she'd had an estate in Massachusetts. I couldn't visit then because it was closed for the season.<br />
<br />
When I returned home, I Googled "The Mount." I was shocked to learn that the estate was threatened with bankruptcy, and I a wrote a blog post about how to <a href="http://www.edithwharton.org/index.php?catId=3&subCatId=59">help save it</a>. Fortunately, gifts have enabled the historic site to remain open. At least for now.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sB2y44fFAns/ThXEpJMNx4I/AAAAAAAAAhg/yB46mtld6-I/s1600/TheMount%2B005b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="134" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sB2y44fFAns/ThXEpJMNx4I/AAAAAAAAAhg/yB46mtld6-I/s200/TheMount%2B005b.jpg" /></a></div>Returning from Vermont this week, I made my long awaited visit to The Mount. Needless to say, I was thrilled to walk in a favorite author's footsteps and imagine her living there, and awed by the beauty of the home and gardens she designed. In the coming days, I'll take you on a virtual tour with my words and pictures. <br />
<i>Read More At:</i> <br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2008/05/save-mount.html">Save The Mount</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2008/03/first-woman-to-win-pulitzer.html">First Woman to Win Pulitzer</a>Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-55990492407997881022011-07-01T09:32:00.000-04:002011-07-01T09:32:00.814-04:00Kellogg-Hubbard Library, VT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FXCrf6s64mI/Tg3H8m46hzI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/zd7RBi5POWo/s1600/WED.THURS%2B185b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="231" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FXCrf6s64mI/Tg3H8m46hzI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/zd7RBi5POWo/s320/WED.THURS%2B185b.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vermont, was dedicated on January 2, 1896. The Classical Revival style building is built of light-colored granite from Dummerston, Vermont. The library is named for Martin M. Kellogg, a New York real estate baron who was born in Barre, Vermont, and his wife Fanny M. Hubbard Kellogg, a Montpelier native. The couple willed their money to build the library. Fanny's nephew John E. Hubbard at first contested the will, but in the end contributed $30,000 more toward the library than the will provided. The Kellogg-Hubbard Library continues as a vibrant center in Montpelier.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-62846698372715838292011-06-28T06:06:00.025-04:002011-06-28T13:39:01.045-04:00Early Morning Writing<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8sJgRm1q0to/TgmsB_XrdJI/AAAAAAAAAhI/oWoAU234nfg/s1600/MON.TuesAM+026bb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8sJgRm1q0to/TgmsB_XrdJI/AAAAAAAAAhI/oWoAU234nfg/s320/MON.TuesAM+026bb.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning from my east facing window.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The crow calling just outside my window woke me enough to notice how light it was. Must be a least 7. No, only 5:18 a.m. Too early to be up with a long day ahead of me. But as I lay in the guest bed, the quiet was energizing. <br />
<br />
I'm staying on top a mountain near East Calais, Vermont, and the beauty of sound and sight and fragrance is balm to my soul. There is no hum of the highway half a mile away; no jarring sirens of emergency vehicles responding to the needs of the one million people living in a single county; no ridiculously heavy footsteps of the family in the apartment above me. Instead, I listen to the calls of birds I can identify (killdeer, crow, robin, some kind of owl) and the songs of those I don't yet know. This quiet is like a drink of cool water on a warm day.<br />
<br />
I am inspired to write, energized to do so now. Being in Vermont, I can't help but think of poet Robert Frost. He worked the land, knew the people, and recorded them in verse that grasps their vitality and reality. I feel a kinship to him in shared loves. I am writing in Vermont.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-41917914904571871652011-06-26T22:01:00.000-04:002011-06-26T22:01:53.801-04:00The Window Seat of the Perfect Present<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9rbwhqj1yQ8/Tgfi5HeaHVI/AAAAAAAAAgo/9-pdCc9TRnI/s1600/VINS+028b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9rbwhqj1yQ8/Tgfi5HeaHVI/AAAAAAAAAgo/9-pdCc9TRnI/s320/VINS+028b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The window seat of the "perfect present."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Living in the moment is vital. Not one of us has any certainty beyond the present. Yet I find myself thinking of the future. When I move to Vermont, then I will be happy, When I publish a book, then I will be successful. When I make a lot of money, then I will feel secure. Rarely do I find satisfaction in the moment. That is why last night was so incredible. I am in Vermont because my daughter is in the hospital here. It is a stress filled time of uncertainties and decisions. The kindness of strangers has provided me a place to stay, and last night I experienced, in the midst of a life storm, perfection in the moment. I sat in a window seat watching a thunder storm transverse the mountains as I read a book about a romance in Paris, eating chocolate, sipping red wine, and patting a purring cat. The moment was perfect, and I was there in it.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-30862247467704561612011-06-20T12:00:00.000-04:002011-06-20T12:00:43.290-04:00Creaky Old House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RuJdtUzwwUU/Tf9raLIQAgI/AAAAAAAAAgk/DIMyKwVSGxs/s1600/creakyoldhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RuJdtUzwwUU/Tf9raLIQAgI/AAAAAAAAAgk/DIMyKwVSGxs/s1600/creakyoldhouse.jpg" /></a></div>What a fun book this is. <em>Creaky Old House: A Topsy-Turvey Tale of a Real Fixer-Upper</em> by Linda Ashman is a rhyming adventure of a simple home-repair taking on bigger and bigger proportions. <br />
<br />
"Our house is kind of old and creaky.<br />
Porch is sloping, roof is leaky.<br />
Windows drafty, shutters peeling.<br />
There's a crack across the ceiling.<br />
Paint's a little chipped and faded.<br />
Might say it's dilapidated.<br />
Still, each one of us -- all nine --<br />
thinks the house is fine, just fine."<br />
<br />
The family of nine thinks their house is just fine until a doorknob falls to the floor. They look in the shed for one screw, and that begins a chain of events gone wild. Michael Chesworth's ink, watercolor and pencil pictures, reminiscent of Richard Scarry's style, provide a smorgasbord of comical images to illustrate the text. Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-1980473965250448562011-06-14T09:04:00.002-04:002011-06-14T09:06:23.820-04:00Flag Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UfTpvcbbmqQ/TfbPGqezmdI/AAAAAAAAAgg/fGxQ3sEaGWA/s1600/AmericanFlag.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UfTpvcbbmqQ/TfbPGqezmdI/AAAAAAAAAgg/fGxQ3sEaGWA/s320/AmericanFlag.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The American Flag is considered the oldest symbol of the United States. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman declared June 14 as Flag Day. It was the day in 1777 on which the Continental Congress designated the making of the first American flag.<br />
<br />
Britain’s Union Jack had flown over the colonies in America since 1607. But in 1775, in a show of unity, the colonists designed the Grand Union flag. It had 13 stripes to represent the 13 colonies, and a small Union Jack in the upper right hand corner to represent loyalty to Britain. The Grand Union flag was also called the Continental Colors or Congress flag. Ralph Waldo Emerson mentioned the flag in his <i>Concord Hymn</i>, a poetic commemoration of the first battle of the American Revolution, which took place on April 19, 1775, at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here once the embattled farmers stood,</div><div style="text-align: center;">And fired the shot heard round the world ….”</div><br />
On July 4, 1776, the colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, and almost a year later, on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating, “Resolved, That the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” That new constellation was the new county. <br />
<br />
The first American flag may have been designed by congressman Francis Hopkinson, or by a committee. Although historical evidence proves that Betsy Ross sewed American flags, it is not certain that she made the first one. <br />
<br />
While Francis Scott Key watched the fighting in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812, he noticed that once the bombing stopped, the American Flag was still flying. He wrote <i>The Star-Spangled Banner</i>, which in 1931 Congress named the national anthem. The very flag that inspired Francis Scott Key is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in D.C. <br />
<br />
In 1831 a Massachusetts sea captain named William Driver nicknamed the American flag “Old Glory.”<br />
<br />
As the country grew, Congress decided that after a state was admitted into the Union, a new star representing that state would be added to the flag on the Fourth of July. Since 1777, the flag has changed 26 times. The current 50-star flag has flown since 1960.<br />
<br />
For more information about Flag Day and the American flag, consider these children's books:<br />
<i>What’s So Great About … Frances Scott Key?</i> by Marylou Morano Kjelle<br />
<i>The American Flag</i> by Christine Poolos<br />
<i>Meet Our Flag, Old Glory</i> by April Jones PrinceSusan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-24583953513199767852011-06-11T14:16:00.006-04:002011-06-12T08:59:58.551-04:00Picture Books for Father's Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QXAIopYb8IA/TfOGjuzR-GI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/ncOUgRzZH0w/s1600/DadandDaughterLO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: .5em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QXAIopYb8IA/TfOGjuzR-GI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/ncOUgRzZH0w/s200/DadandDaughterLO.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div>Special occasions provide reading opportunities. Choosing books related to a holiday teaches children about the event, and adds to the festivities and memories. Try these picture books for Fathers' Day read alongs. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Daddy's Lullaby </i>by Tony Bradman<br />
<i>I Love Daddy </i>by Lizi Boyd<br />
<i>My Daddy's Job </i>by Peter Glassman<br />
<i>Father's Rubber Shoes</i> by Yumi Heo<br />
<i>Daddy Hugs 1*2*3 </i>by Karen Katz<br />
<i>Daddies Give You Horsey Rides</i> by Abby Levine<br />
<i>Father Bear's Special Day</i> by Else Holmelund Minarik<br />
<i>A Father's Day Thank You</i> by Janet Nolan<br />
<i>Father's Day</i> by Anne Rockwell<br />
<i>Daddy All Day Long</i> by Francesca Rusackas<br />
<i>When Papa Comes Home Tonight</i> by Eileen Spinelli<br />
<i>My Daddy and Me</i> by Jerry Spinelli<br />
<i>Driving Daddy </i>by Hope Vestergaard<br />
<i>Every Friday</i> by Dan Yaccarino<br />
<br />
Do you have others to recommend?Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-39596573736742339752011-06-08T16:27:00.001-04:002011-06-08T16:28:52.946-04:00Sandra's Recommendations for Fifth Grade Readers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZpLFXcgs9I/Te_NeJN1AnI/AAAAAAAAAf8/XYibbsoSqfw/s1600/mango.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZpLFXcgs9I/Te_NeJN1AnI/AAAAAAAAAf8/XYibbsoSqfw/s200/mango.jpg" t8="true" width="128px" /></a></div>My youngest daughter, now heading to high school, recalled for me her favorite books. Here are her recommendations for readers in fifth grade.<br />
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<em>A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass </em><br />
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<em>The True Confessions of Charlotte</em> Doyle by Avi<br />
<br />
<em>Peter and the Starcatchers</em> series by Dave Barry<br />
<ul><li><em>Peter and the Starcatchers</em></li>
<li><em>Peter and the Shadow Thieves</em></li>
<li><em>Peter and the Secret of Rundoon</em></li>
<li><em>Peter and the Sword of Mercy</em></li>
</ul><br />
<em>The Penderwicks</em> and <em>The Penderwicks on Gardam Street</em> by Jeanne Birdsall <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-makLsmXDwd4/Te_bAn4yBUI/AAAAAAAAAgI/UsU2Vrw-4Yg/s1600/facefirst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="131" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-makLsmXDwd4/Te_bAn4yBUI/AAAAAAAAAgI/UsU2Vrw-4Yg/s200/facefirst.jpg" /></a></div><em>A Face First</em> by Priscilla Cummings<br />
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<em>Marley, A Dog Like No Other</em> by John Grogan <br />
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<em>Edward's Eyes</em> by Patricia MacLachlan <br />
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<em>How to Steal a Dog</em> by Barbara O'Connor <br />
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<em>Island of the Blue Dolphins</em> by Scott O'Dell <br />
<br />
<em>The Invention of Hugo Cabret</em> by Brian Selznick <br />
<br />
<em>The Story of a Seagull and the Cat who Taught Her to Fly</em> by Luis Sepulveda<br />
<br />
<em>Elsewhere</em> by Gabrielle Zevin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2011/05/sandras-recommendations-for-fourth.html">Sandra's Recommendations for Fourth Grade Readers</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2011/05/sandras-recommendations-for-third-grade.html">Sandra's Recommendations for Third Grade Readers</a>Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-21695832819328434432011-06-03T12:19:00.010-04:002011-06-03T12:34:15.192-04:00My Book Club is FridayReads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Px-dPg3wNY/TegiDgh9PyI/AAAAAAAAAfw/KaXliwG-xs4/s1600/friday+reads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Px-dPg3wNY/TegiDgh9PyI/AAAAAAAAAfw/KaXliwG-xs4/s1600/friday+reads.jpg" t8="true" /></a></div>I was fairly new to Twitter when I noticed a message from @thebookmaven (a.k.a. <a href="http://bookmavenmedia.com/">Bethanne Patrick</a>) inviting me to share what I was reading, with the hashtag #FridayReads. I loved Bethanne's cheerleading and hourly, if not more frequent, count of how many people had participated. I shared. <br />
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Now I greet every Friday with TGI #FridayReads on my Twitter account. I look forward to sharing what I'm reading, to seeing the count of how many have shared, and to the sometimes clever, sometimes simple reminders to participate.<br />
<br />
FridayReads has expanded from Twitter (<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/fridayreads">@fridayreads</a>) to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/FridayReads">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://fridayreads.blogspot.com/">Blogspot</a>, too. The FridayReads blog includes lists of the top titles being read (or listened to) worldwide each week, and synopses of the books which the FridayReads team members* are currently reading. I've referred to both for ideas of what to read next. But still my favorite is participating on Twitter.<br />
<br />
#FridayReads has become my book group. I enjoy sharing my reading, greeting other FridayReaders on Twitter each week, and spreading the word. I think you'd enjoy participating, too. <br />
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*The FridayReads Team <br />
@thebookmaven (<a href="http://bookmavenmedia.com/">Bethanne Patrick</a>)<br />
@erinfaye (Erin Mitchell, <a href="http://www.erin-faye.com/">In Real Life</a>)<br />
@bookmeme (Ian Lewis, <a href="http://bookmeme.net/">Book Meme</a>)<br />
@bookladysblog (Rebecca Schinsky, <a href="http://www.thebookladysblog.com/">The Book Lady's Blog</a>)<br />
@shelfmagazine (<a href="http://www.shelfmediagroup.com/">Shelf Unbound</a>)Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-5466459444226173232011-05-27T09:11:00.000-04:002011-05-27T09:11:23.062-04:00Katie Shea Defines Literary FictionKatie Shea works for the Caren Johnson Literary Agency in New York City. It was a tweet that led me to her <a href="http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/Agent+Advice+Katie+Shea+Of+Caren+Johnson+Literary+Agency.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">blog interview</a> with Chuck Sambuchino, editor of <a href="http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/2011+Guide+To+Literary+Agents+Is+Out.aspx">Guide to Literary Agents</a>.<br />
<br />
As Shea works to build her own client list, she is especially interested in literary fiction. I hadn't heard that term before. Sambuchino defined it as, "'important' works with beautiful writing and envelope-pushing or groundbreaking subjects." He asked Shea to elaborate, and I loved her description:<br />
<br />
"Literary fiction involves serious and personal themes, while creating a beautifully written story. First off, I want something I can connect to. I am most interested in stories about family dynamics, motherhood, fatherhood, personal overcome, unexpected relationships, and self-discovery. I truly look for a story that has it all—love, hate, good, bad, tears, laughter, success, failure—showing me that the writer can connect with a vast audience on many levels.<br />
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"The tone of the book is also extremely interesting to me. The main character must always set the mood of the story. I like sadness and darkness, but I also like to see positivity and happiness somewhere in the plot. I want to feel the story in my veins."<br />
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Friends have suggested that instead of a memoir, I write a fiction book based on fact. It sounds to me that my book should be literary fiction. It's another step toward finishing the project.<br />
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Shea said four of her favorite literary fiction titles are:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IvwSpMNiw7Y/Td-h38cOyVI/AAAAAAAAAfo/JyKjAaceI-0/s1600/waterelephants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="129" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IvwSpMNiw7Y/Td-h38cOyVI/AAAAAAAAAfo/JyKjAaceI-0/s200/waterelephants.jpg" /></a></div><i>By Nightfall</i> by Michael Cunningham<br />
<i>Little Bee</i> by Chris Cleave<br />
<i>The Help</i> by Kathryn Stockett<br />
<i>Water for Elephants</i> by Sara Gruen<br />
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Which of these do you like?Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-90840770508151188062011-05-21T13:36:00.070-04:002011-05-21T15:52:27.548-04:00Sandra's Recommendations for Fourth Grade ReadersThese are my daughter's recommended reads for kids in fourth grade. They were her favorites when she was that age. They're real life fiction, historical fiction and fantasy. <br />
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<em>The Birchbark House</em> by Louise Erdrich<br />
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<em>Blood on the River: James Town 1607</em> by Elisa Carbone<br />
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<em>Each Little Bird that Sings</em> by Deborah Wiles<br />
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<em>The Golden Compass</em> by Philip Pullman<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMesZrT5T8k/TdgXsysWfwI/AAAAAAAAAfk/Rf1PLpMBL5g/s1600/HPSS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMesZrT5T8k/TdgXsysWfwI/AAAAAAAAAfk/Rf1PLpMBL5g/s200/HPSS.jpg" width="135px" /></a></div><strong>Harry Potter</strong> books 1 - 3 by J. K. Rowling<br />
<em>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone</em><br />
<em>Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</em><br />
<em>Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<em>Julie of the Wolves</em> by Jean Craighead George<br />
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<em>Midnight Rider</em> by Joan Hiatt Harlow<br />
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<em>My Side of the Mountain</em> by Jean Craighead George<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mdvmCCKbzrM/TdgXnolg4NI/AAAAAAAAAfg/-RhclFzC-bw/s1600/midnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mdvmCCKbzrM/TdgXnolg4NI/AAAAAAAAAfg/-RhclFzC-bw/s200/midnight.jpg" width="132px" /></a></div><strong>Warriors: The New Prophecy </strong>series by Erin Hunter<br />
<em>Midnight</em><br />
<em>Moonrise</em><br />
<em>Dawn</em><br />
<em>Starlight</em><br />
<em>Twilight</em><br />
<em>Sunset</em><br />
<br />
See also <a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2011/05/sandras-recommendations-for-third-grade.html">Sandra's Recommendations for Third Grade Readers</a>.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-23172545214342341452011-05-19T08:53:00.000-04:002011-05-19T08:53:46.522-04:00Sandra's Recommendations for Third Grade ReadersMy fourteen-year-old is an enthusiastic reader. Recently while waiting for me to finish my shift at the public library, she was browsing the shelves and reminiscing about the books she’s read. So I asked her to make me a list of her favorites; books she’d recommend to readers in different grades. This is the first installment of that project. <br />
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<i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> by Cressida Cowell<br />
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<i>Frindle</i> by Andrew Clements<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0gEZTpaG_CI/TdUPZ7erm7I/AAAAAAAAAeI/Gyxzb_pGjis/s1600/beezusandramona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0gEZTpaG_CI/TdUPZ7erm7I/AAAAAAAAAeI/Gyxzb_pGjis/s200/beezusandramona.jpg" width="133" /></a><b>Ramona</b> series by Beverly Cleary<br />
<i>Beezus and Ramona</i><br />
<i>Ramona the Pest</i><br />
<i>Ramona the Brave</i><br />
<i>Ramona and Her Father</i><br />
<i>Ramona and Her Mother</i><br />
<i>Ramona Quimby, Age 8</i><br />
<i>Ramona Forever</i><br />
<i>Ramona's World</i><br />
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<br />
<i>The BFG</i> by Roald Dahl<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cNy43LayK4A/TdUPk7Og24I/AAAAAAAAAeM/9j8HIBgwGHQ/s1600/WarriorsIntotheWild.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cNy43LayK4A/TdUPk7Og24I/AAAAAAAAAeM/9j8HIBgwGHQ/s200/WarriorsIntotheWild.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><b>Warriors</b> series by Erin Hunter<br />
<i>Into the Wild<br />
Fire and Ice<br />
Forest of Secrets<br />
Rising Storm<br />
A Dangerous Path</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-91x6eaCJPiI/TdUPwdFchtI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/iX4R_sOpclw/s1600/emilywindsnap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-91x6eaCJPiI/TdUPwdFchtI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/iX4R_sOpclw/s200/emilywindsnap.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><b>Emily Windsnap</b> series by Liz Kessler<br />
<i>The Tail of Emily Windsnap<br />
Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep<br />
Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist<br />
Emily Windsnap and the Sirens Secret<br />
</i><br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
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<i>The Trumpet of the Swan</i> by E. B. White<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8rlRMLjw888/TdUP9xDsL_I/AAAAAAAAAeU/rpMSEvZJgPI/s1600/littlehouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8rlRMLjw888/TdUP9xDsL_I/AAAAAAAAAeU/rpMSEvZJgPI/s200/littlehouse.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><b>The Little House</b> series by Laura Ingalls Wilder<br />
<i>Little House in the Big Woods</i><br />
<i>Little House on the Prairie</i><br />
<i>Farmer Boy</i><br />
<i>On the Banks of Plum Creek</i><br />
<i>By the Shores of Silver Lake</i><br />
<i>The Long Winter</i><br />
<i>Little Town on the Prairie</i><br />
<i>These Happy Golden Years</i><br />
<i>The First Four Years</i>Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-74364532022106551072011-05-14T14:46:00.000-04:002011-05-14T14:46:14.667-04:00Heritage Months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8IXl1oSYG2o/Tc7KB6C3EpI/AAAAAAAAAeE/yx5v-UjWeO4/s1600/asian-pacific-american-month1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8IXl1oSYG2o/Tc7KB6C3EpI/AAAAAAAAAeE/yx5v-UjWeO4/s200/asian-pacific-american-month1.jpg" width="150px" /></a></div>May is <a href="http://asianpacificheritage.gov/">Asian Pacific American Heritage Month</a>, one of five federally mandated heritage months recognized by The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. According to the <a href="http://smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/index.html">Smithsonian Education website</a>, heritage months are held to "pay tribute to the generations who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success." <br />
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The other four heritage months are Black History Month (February); Women's History Month (March); Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15); and American Indian Heritage Month (November).<br />
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Related Posts:<br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2011/02/pair-of-red-clogs.html">A Pair of Red Clogs</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2010/05/kids-titles-for-asian-pacific-heritage.html">Kids Titles for Asian Pacific Heritage Month</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2010/05/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month.html">Asian Pacific American Heritage Month</a> <br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2009/05/beckoning-cat.html">The Beckoning Cat</a>Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-53387598036017153272011-05-08T10:53:00.000-04:002011-05-08T10:53:17.817-04:00Mother's Day: The Same Bright StarA few years ago, National Geographic photographer <a href="http://www.joelsartore.com/index.php">Joel Sartore</a> honored mothers on CBS Sunday Morning, sharing that he never gave much thought to Mother's Day -- beyond ordering flowers -- until he heard a mother singing a lullaby to her child. The lullaby turned out to be <i>Baby Mine</i>, written in 1878 by (I believe) Italian-born trumpet player Mike Mosiello. The song was recorded on the Van Dyke label (81878).<br />
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"Baby mine, don't you cry.<br />
Baby mine, dry your eyes.<br />
Rest your head close to my heart,<br />
Never to part, baby of mine."<br />
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I am reminded of the song <i>Somewhere Out There,</i> written by James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It was the theme of the 1987 movie <i>An American Tail</i>.<br />
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When I lost full time care of my three children through a divorce custody battle, my heart was shattered. At night when they weren't with me, I'd miss tucking them in and kissing them goodnight. This song played in my mind, and it became for me a lullaby and a prayer for my children across the divide of time and space. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-insGhogkqic/TcaqLrI6GvI/AAAAAAAAAd0/wubvaUApg8w/s1600/Moon014b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-insGhogkqic/TcaqLrI6GvI/AAAAAAAAAd0/wubvaUApg8w/s200/Moon014b.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><i>"Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight,</i><br />
<i>Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight.</i><br />
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<i>Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer,</i><br />
<i>That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there.</i><br />
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<i>And even though I know how very far apart we are, It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star.</i><br />
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<i>And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby,</i><br />
<i>It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky.</i><br />
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<i>Somewhere out there if love can see us through,</i><br />
<i>Then we'll be together somewhere out there,</i><br />
<i>Out where dreams come true."</i><br />
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Sartore's tribute to mothers included photographs and a recording of his wife Kathy singing <i>Baby Mine</i> to their son. Sartore said that he now understands that, "There is no greater bond than between a mother and her child." I thank Sartore for reminding the world of this truth. It is my Mother's Day gift.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-44672239965111713622011-05-06T15:17:00.000-04:002011-05-06T15:17:39.801-04:00Social Media and Deep ThinkingEarlier this week I received via email a link to Andrew McAfee’s Harvard Business Review blog post <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/mcafee/2011/04/tune-out-turn-off-a-mantra-nee.html">Tune Out, Turn Off: A Mantra Needed for Our Times?</a> <br />
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The gist of the blog is that social media can be the enemy of deep thinking. True. But it can also be a conduit to deep thinking. Here’s my example. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P8GqivwkLdI/TcRIvV7f0kI/AAAAAAAAAdo/A56VcMRGtnU/s1600/alexie+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P8GqivwkLdI/TcRIvV7f0kI/AAAAAAAAAdo/A56VcMRGtnU/s200/alexie+002.jpg" width="165" /></a></div>A tweet offering a free issue of <i>World Literature Today</i>, a publication I’d never heard of, caught my attention. I requested a copy. The cover story of the issue I received (July/August 2010) is on Sherman Alexie, “named one of the New Yorker’s twenty top writers for the twenty-first century” (page 35).<br />
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I’d read Alexie’s young adult novel <i>The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian</i>, but I had no idea that he is such a prolific and well-known writer – until I read the article. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e8fqG57A_kc/TcRI5iZ3gLI/AAAAAAAAAds/hkRvszXrKzM/s1600/alexie+005b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e8fqG57A_kc/TcRI5iZ3gLI/AAAAAAAAAds/hkRvszXrKzM/s200/alexie+005b.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Because of the article, I checked-out his collection of poems and short stories entitled <i>War Dances</i>. It won the 2010 PEN / Faulkner Award for Fiction. In addition to laughing out loud and otherwise enjoying the book, Alexie also inspired deep thinking.<br />
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“Back in college, when I was first learning how to edit film – how to construct a scene – my professor, Mr. Baron, said to me, ‘You don’t have to show people using a door to walk into a room. If people are already in the room, the audience will understand that they didn’t crawl through a window or drop from the ceiling or just materialize. The audience understands that a door has been used – the eyes and mind will make the connection – so you can just skip the door.’”<br />
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“’Skip the door’ is a good piece of advice – a maxim, if you will – that I’ve applied to my entire editorial career, if not my entire life. To state it in less poetic terms, one would say, ‘An editor must omit all unnecessary information’” (page 5, from the story <i>Breaking and Entering</i>.)<br />
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Now for some of you this may seem like elementary advice. But for me, it inspired deep thinking about writing in general and my writing specifically.<br />
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There is a risk with social media’s constant stream of information to skim the surface and jump to the next thing. As McAfee writes, “This is potent, addictive stuff, and as Nick points out it does not lend itself to deep thinking and sustained concentration.”<br />
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But if we use social media to provide ideas, and then take time to pursue the ideas -- even unplug to think -- then social media can be a conduit to deep thinking. It is for me.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-21961309299021218662011-05-03T22:31:00.000-04:002011-05-03T22:31:27.593-04:00Can Libraries Keep Up?Over the past three years, staff and material budgets for local libraries in the United States have been decimated by the government entities that fund them. Yet a study by the American Library Association and the Gates Foundation found that over the past year, "Americans are making use of their libraries at steady or increasing rates" (<a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries2011/publiclibraries.cfm">The State of America's Libraries: A Report from the American Library Association</a>). Can public libraries keep up with the demand for services and resources without the money to fund them? I'm beginning to doubt it.<br />
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Internet stations in my local public library are installed with Microsoft Office 2003. More and more customers are coming to the library with flash drives and documents more advanced than the library computers are able to handle. There is no money for computer upgrades. At what point will the library's infrastructure become obsolete?<br />
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“Computer and Internet access at public libraries connect millions of Americans to economic, educational, and social opportunity each year, but libraries struggle to replace aging computer workstations and provide the high-speed Internet connections patrons need,” said Jill Nishi, deputy director of U.S. Libraries at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “As demand for these services rise, public and private investment to support public access technology at libraries is more critical than ever.” (From The State of America's Libraries.)<br />
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Where will this public and private investment come from? We hear that the economy is improving, but as gas prices and rents are on the rise, salaries are not. Neither are library budgets. Even print materials are becoming outdated. For example, the most recent edition of a book on blogging that I found in my library system was published in 2006. I discovered that many of the links referenced in the book are now obsolete. If public libraries aren't funded at a level that enables them to keep their resources current, will they ever be able to catch up? What do you think?Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-4960029196754792432011-04-29T15:23:00.000-04:002011-04-29T15:23:39.202-04:00Poems to PicturesIn honor of National Poetry Month, I hosted a poetry workshop entitled <em>Poems to Pictures</em>. Author and poet Ruth Baja Williams read the poems she'd set to a series of watercolors by artist Jane Andrle Gillette, photos of which we're projected for viewing. Workshop participants then chose from a selection of magazine and postcard pictures set out on a table, and crafted their own poem to picture. The results were stunning. In just 30 minutes, drafts were completed, read aloud, and appreciated. My favorite is <em>Remember the Lake, </em>by George Mason University creative writing student Benjamin Renne. He chose a magazine photo of <em>Morning, Lake George</em>, an 1871 oil on canvas by A T Bricher.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WusbidfdMq4/TbsNXiTHR3I/AAAAAAAAAdk/8QiOiXO8thM/s1600/IMG_1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268px" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WusbidfdMq4/TbsNXiTHR3I/AAAAAAAAAdk/8QiOiXO8thM/s320/IMG_1109.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning, Lake George. Oil on canvas by A T Bricher 1871</td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>Remember the Lake</strong><br />
By Benjamin Renne<br />
<br />
Remember the lake<br />
That swollen Autumn morning<br />
When you and me and Jack went<br />
Out for a row. We brought<br />
The tackle box and the rods and<br />
A paper bag full of fried egg sandwiches.<br />
<br />
Remember the rocks<br />
In the middle of the silent<br />
Pond, frost covered and slick. They <br />
Were the giants and the sirens, <br />
Enticing fantasies and chimeras which<br />
Even brave Ulysses can’t avoid.<br />
<br />
Remember the shoreline,<br />
How it seemed so far away<br />
When we were alone, the three<br />
Of us in the middle of the peaceful lake.<br />
The pebble beach, littered with goose<br />
Shit, was far away. So far.<br />
<br />
Remember the trees,<br />
Bare of life and slanted<br />
Like an old man with a broken<br />
Back. The birds, which used to<br />
Call those dead trees home, would<br />
Sing to us on that frosty morning.<br />
<br />
Remember the sky<br />
And the mountains gray,<br />
Fading into the background, where the<br />
Fog blends everything together<br />
So that the future is masked<br />
With the low clouds, fuzzy and unpredictable.<br />
<br />
Remember the car,<br />
The smell of fish<br />
Which permeated the leather seats,<br />
And Jack complained the whole way back.<br />
My boots were wet and stunk still<br />
Of the lake, but I smiled.<br />
Remember the lake?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><em>Other posts on poetry:</em><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2011/04/april-is-national-poetry-month.html">April is National Poetry Month</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2011/04/franz-schubert-and-friedrich-ruckert.html">Franz Schubert and Friedrich Rückert: Poetry and Music</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2011/04/loser-loss-late-wife.html">Late Wife</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2010/07/when-writing-poem.html">When Writing a Poem</a><br />
<a href="http://litlinx.blogspot.com/2010/04/mlb-opening-day.html">MLB, Opening Day</a>Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-74623983259484412302011-04-26T09:02:00.000-04:002011-04-26T09:02:41.907-04:00If You Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, You Might Like These, Too!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Zv_2cvh8B8/TbbBpmDjcRI/AAAAAAAAAdY/z0EB3WdBktA/s1600/wimpykid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Zv_2cvh8B8/TbbBpmDjcRI/AAAAAAAAAdY/z0EB3WdBktA/s200/wimpykid.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>Kids love series. If you think about it, so do adults. Whether in books or broadcast, series provide us characters we’ve come to know. We want to see what they’ll do next. <br />
<br />
One of the most asked for series by boys currently coming to me in the library is <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</i> by Jeff Kinney. The series began in 2004 as daily posts on <a href="http://www.funbrain.com/">Funbrain.com</a>. The first in book format, <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</i>, was published in April 2007. <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules</i> followed in February 2008; <i>The Last Straw</i> in January 2009; <i>Dog Days</i> in October 2009; and <i>The Ugly Truth</i> in November 2010. <br />
<br />
According to Kinney’s <a href="http://www.wimpykid.com/">Diary of a Wimpy Kid Website</a>, the first three books were based on the Internet version but, “The print version of the books have improved stories, better drawings, and new surprises for those who have already read the online version.”<br />
<br />
Series draw kids from book to book. But as one father said to me, “the challenge comes when the series ends. What do we read next?” Guiding kids to the next series when one is finished, or to a similar series while waiting for one with many holds, is a challenge for librarians, too. To help, I’ve produced my own list -- "If You Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid You Might Also Like …” It includes the series title, series author, and number of books currently in the series. A librarian or book seller can help you identify each individual title in the series. Or, you may want to visit <a href="http://www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/juvenile-series.">Mid-Continent Public Library’s database of Juvenile Series and Sequels</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>Andrew Lost</i> by J. C. Greenburg (36 books)<br />
Andrew and his friends encounter unusual adventures while exploring science.<br />
<br />
<i>Captain Underpants</i> by Dav Pilky (10 books)<br />
A school principal transforms into superhero Captain Underpants.<br />
<br />
<i>Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist</i> by Jim Benton (7 books)<br />
Franny K. Stein’s experiments are meant to improve life at school, but that’s not exactly how it goes.<br />
<br />
<i>Lawn Boy</i> by Gary Paulsen (2 books)<br />
A 12-year-old inherits his Grandpa’s riding lawnmower and turns a big business.<br />
<br />
<i>Melvin Beederman, Superhero</i> by Greg Trine (8 books)<br />
Crime in Los Angeles has met its match with Melvin Beederman, superhero and snack food lover.<br />
<br />
<i>My Weird School</i> by Dan Gutman (21 books)<br />
At Ella Mentry School, the adults are a little weird.<br />
<br />
<i>Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot</i> by Dav Pilky (6 books)<br />
Ricky is a little mouse with a big Robot, and their adventures span the universe.<br />
<br />
<i>Rotten School</i> by R. L. Stine (16 books)<br />
Bernie Bridges always looks for inventive ways to rule at his boarding school.<br />
<br />
<i>Shredderman</i> by Wendelin Van Draanen (4 books)<br />
Nolan hides behind his Shredderman identity to fight for justice.<br />
<br />
<i>Time Warp Trio</i> by Jon Scieszka (16 books)<br />
Joe, Fred, and Samantha time-travel throughout history.<br />
<br />
<i>Wiley & Grampa’s Creature Features</i> by Kirk Scroggs (10 books)<br />
Wiley and his Grampa face monster tornadoes, vampire trucks, and other horrors.<br />
<br />
<i>The Zack Files</i> by Dan Greenburg (30 books)<br />
Zack, his father, and Spencer share zany adventures.<br />
<br />
This is not an exhaustive list, and it’s not meant only for boys. Anyone who likes the fun of <i>Diary of a Wimpy Kid</i> might like these, too. Do you have suggestions for others to add to this list?Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-51527248579747276592011-04-21T22:31:00.000-04:002011-04-21T22:31:34.313-04:00I Can Save the Ocean!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R6pWg7GFSIc/TbDhv7xbCFI/AAAAAAAAAdU/PYX5kEjXo1o/s1600/max.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R6pWg7GFSIc/TbDhv7xbCFI/AAAAAAAAAdU/PYX5kEjXo1o/s200/max.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>Who am I to disagree with <a href="http://www.hbook.com/magazine/">The Horn Book Magazine</a>! But I do. The reverenced publication of children and teen literature reviews disses Alison Inches picture book <i>I Can Save the Ocean! The Little Green Monster Cleans up the Beach</i> (2010 by Little Simon). The July 1, 2010, review says, "<span>The cartoony illustrations of Max are mildly amusing, but the story is bland and the eco-friendly message is ham-fistedly delivered.</span>"<br />
<br />
I say rubbish! When Max the little green monster realizes that his habits are contributing to the pollution of the oceans, he determines to change his ways and educate his friends, too. The book presents kids with things they can do to contribute to the care of our environment, and encourages personal responsibility for ones actions. I fail to see any "ham-fisted" delivery or bland story line. And I believe the colorful illustrations are kid friendly. I recommend this book for all library collections -- school, home and private.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-44713343199404042732011-04-14T14:51:00.000-04:002011-04-14T14:51:35.151-04:00Poem in Your Pocket Day <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-jmVMZFGO0/TadBq2vr81I/AAAAAAAAAdQ/GUhmrrCDeT4/s1600/poeminyourpocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-jmVMZFGO0/TadBq2vr81I/AAAAAAAAAdQ/GUhmrrCDeT4/s400/poeminyourpocket.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Susan Ujka Larson</td></tr>
</tbody></table> It's <a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406">Poem in Your Pocket Day</a>, sponsored by <a href="http://www.poets.org/index.php">The Academy of American Poets</a> as part of <a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41">National Poetry Month</a>. Since it is a beautiful day here in the D.C. area, I've chosen <em>Today</em> by <a href="http://www.loc.gov/poetry/more_collins.html">Billy Collins</a> as the poem I will carry with me to share.<br />
<br />
<em>Today</em><br />
If ever there were a spring day so perfect,<br />
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze<br />
<br />
that it made you want to throw<br />
open all the windows in the house<br />
<br />
and unlatch the door to the canary's cage, <br />
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,<br />
<br />
a day when the cool brick paths<br />
and the garden bursting with peonies<br />
<br />
seemed so etched in sunlight<br />
that you felt like taking<br />
<br />
a hammer to the glass paperweight<br />
on the living room end table,<br />
<br />
releasing the inhabitants<br />
from their snow-covered cottage<br />
<br />
so they could walk out,<br />
holding hands and squinting<br />
<br />
into this larger dome of blue and white,<br />
well, today is just that kind of day."Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-20148975252390053342011-04-11T16:52:00.000-04:002011-04-11T16:52:14.752-04:00Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WcKUnDuidZc/TaNSmGGHe8I/AAAAAAAAAdI/w222sRDdfoo/s1600/miss-brooks-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WcKUnDuidZc/TaNSmGGHe8I/AAAAAAAAAdI/w222sRDdfoo/s200/miss-brooks-cover.jpg" width="155" /></a></div>With clever humor, Barbara Bottner introduces Miss Brooks and the first grader who is rather bothered by this school librarian's book fervor. "I think Miss Brooks gets a little too excited," she says in <em>Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)</em>. She finds the librarian's enthusiasm so "vexing" that when she gets home, "I ask my mother if we can move to a new town. My mother says there's a librarian in every town." In the end, this stubborn student learns that there are books for even the most discriminating reader. The illustrations by Michael Emberley add to the fun of the story. The book was published in the U.S. in 2010.<br />
<br />
It's <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/mediarelationsa/factsheets/nationallibraryweek.cfm">National Library Week</a>, and each year I like to share a few picture book titles having to do with libraries and librarians. In addition to <em>Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)</em>, here are two others to enjoy.<br />
<br />
<em>Library Lion</em> by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.<br />
When a lion entered the library, no one knew what to do because, "There weren't any rules about lions in the library." Miss Merriweather, the librarian, decides that the lion can stay if he is quiet. The lion comes daily to volunteer and attend story time. But one day when the lion can't be quiet, because he has a very good reason to roar, he is scolded for breaking the rules. He leaves the library, disgraced, and doesn't return until . . . . <em>Library Lion</em> is a wonderfully written and illustrated picture book published in 2006.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-am4LFY-PD88/TaNlsFweK4I/AAAAAAAAAdM/AxrsZNSXWWc/s1600/lola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-am4LFY-PD88/TaNlsFweK4I/AAAAAAAAAdM/AxrsZNSXWWc/s200/lola.jpg" width="175" /></a></div><em>Lola Loves Stories</em> by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw.<br />
Every Saturday Lola and her daddy go to the library and choose books to read throughout the next week. The books she picks influence her play. Lola might be a fairy princess, or a tiger, or pilot. The simple text and bright pictures of this picture book, published in 2010, will appeal to younger readers.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-86727549846806731802011-04-08T09:56:00.003-04:002011-04-09T15:33:33.995-04:00Late WifeThursday on twitter, January O'Neil (@januaryoneil) shared that she'd posted three new poems on her blog <a href="http://poetmom.blogspot.com/">Poet Mom</a>, in response to <a href="http://www.napowrimo.net/about/">National Poetry Writing Month</a> (#NaPoWriMo). NaPoWriMo challenges poets to write a poem a day during April, <a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41">National Poetry Month</a>.<br />
<br />
Of O'Neil's three poems, I loved <i>Loser</i>. As I read, I could picture it all, and relate.<br />
<br />
"I whisper it under my breath like a little prayer <br />
as we pass through the front door,<br />
you going in, me coming out, <br />
crowding the threshold <br />
in a weird game of chicken. <br />
We both have right of way <br />
but neither is willing to yield.<br />
A heart-skipped beat. A bottled misery.<br />
The word ripples from the underground <br />
spring of the diaphragm where a fissure <br />
has opened once again, the trauma <br />
of old love that never heals.<br />
I brace myself for unavoidable contact,<br />
avert the eyes, move through the stiff air<br />
like a cloud wedged between clouds. <br />
Say it, that mantra of the highest order. <br />
I hold my breath as your windbreaker <br />
brushes against my three-quarter length,<br />
my 100 wool against your polyester blend. <br />
What more is there to do but go through?<br />
L for loser, double L for lost love. <br />
The Motels had it right, <br />
“Take the L out of lover and it’s over,” <br />
because the body gives up what it no longer needs.<br />
This is how I walk through without looking back."<br />
<br />
This poem reminded me of another poet. <a href="http://claudiaemerson.org/">Claudia Emerson</a> won <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Poetry">The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry</a> in 2006 for her collection titled <i>late wife</i>. I agree with another poet's praise of the collection. <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/1115">Henry Taylor</a> says of <i>late wife</i>, "They [the poems] are deeply absorbing because their author has brilliantly observed brief but powerful moments, and rendered these miracles of observation with secure craftsmanship."<br />
<br />
There are many poems in Emerson's collection that I read again and again. They are striking in their realness. Here is <i>Frame</i>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eowCykkCovg/TZ8BMaB4L2I/AAAAAAAAAdA/7m3Cu-X1Xi4/s1600/frame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eowCykkCovg/TZ8BMaB4L2I/AAAAAAAAAdA/7m3Cu-X1Xi4/s200/frame.jpg" width="95" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by sul</td></tr>
</tbody></table>"Most of the things you made for me—armless<br />
rocker, blanket-chest, lap desk--I gave away<br />
to friends who could use them and not be reminded<br />
of the hours lost there, the tedious finishes.<br />
<br />
But I did keep the mirror, perhaps because<br />
like all mirrors, most of these years it has been<br />
invisible, part of the wall, or defined<br />
by reflection—safe—because reflection,<br />
<br />
after all, does change. I hung it here<br />
in the front, dark hallway of this house you will<br />
never see, so that it might magnify<br />
the meager light, become a lesser, backward<br />
<br />
window. No one pauses long before it.<br />
This morning,though, as I put on my coat,<br />
straightened my hair, I saw outside my face<br />
its frame you made for me, admiring for the first <br />
<br />
time the way the cherry you cut and planed <br />
yourself had darkened, just as you said it would."Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-80680590912693617102011-04-05T09:27:00.010-04:002011-04-05T09:49:12.122-04:00The Lady of ShalottReading <a href="http://marystewartnovels.com/">Mary Stewart's</a> Merlin Trilogy when I was 17 -- <i>The Crystal Cave</i>, <i>The Hollow Hills</i>, <i>The Last Enchantment</i> -- sparked my interest in Arthurian legend. Years later I encountered Anne Shirley, the fictional character in <a href="http://www.lmmontgomery.ca/">Lucy Maud Montgomery's</a> <i>Anne of Green Gables</i>, reciting stanzas of a poem as she floated in a boat down a river. I took those stanzas to my local library, and a generous librarian helped me find their source. The lines are from English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson's (1809 - 1892) ballad <i>The Lady of Shalott</i>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iGM9KsDkKpE/TZsUknHO0mI/AAAAAAAAAc8/2CloJts7QQs/s1600/300px-JWW_TheLadyOfShallot_1888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iGM9KsDkKpE/TZsUknHO0mI/AAAAAAAAAc8/2CloJts7QQs/s400/300px-JWW_TheLadyOfShallot_1888.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John William Waterhouse's <i>The Lady of Shalott</i>, 1888 (<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/" title="Tate Gallery">Tate Gallery</a><a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/">,</a> London)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The ballad is a masterpiece in poetic storytelling. Tennyson's poem is based on the legend of Elaine of Astolat, a character in the thirteenth-century Italian novella <i>Donna di Scalotta, </i>who dies of her unrequited love for Sir Lancelot, one of the greatest knights in King Arthur's Round Table. <br />
<br />
In the first four stanzas of The Lady of Shalott, Tennyson describes the setting.<br />
<br />
"On either side the river lie<br />
Long fields of barley and of rye,<br />
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;<br />
And through the field the road runs by<br />
To many-towered Camelot; <br />
And up and down the people go,<br />
Gazing where the lilies blow<br />
Round an island there below,<br />
The island of Shalott.<br />
<br />
"Willows whiten, aspens quiver, <br />
Little breezes dusk and shiver<br />
Through the wave that runs for ever<br />
By the island in the river<br />
Flowing down to Camelot.<br />
Four grey walls, and four grey towers, <br />
Overlook a space of flowers,<br />
And the silent isle imbowers<br />
The Lady of Shalott.<br />
<br />
"By the margin, willow-veiled,<br />
Slide the heavy barges trailed <br />
By slow horses; and unhailed<br />
The shallop flitteth silken-sailed<br />
Skimming down to Camelot:<br />
But who hath seen her wave her hand?<br />
Or at the casement seen her stand? <br />
Or is she known in all the land,<br />
The Lady of Shalott?<br />
<br />
"Only reapers, reaping early<br />
In among the bearded barley,<br />
Hear a song that echoes cheerly <br />
From the river winding clearly,<br />
Down to towered Camelot:<br />
And by the moon the reaper weary,<br />
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,<br />
Listening, whispers "'Tis the fairy <br />
Lady of Shalott." <br />
<br />
In stanzas five through eight, Tennyson describes the Lady's life.<br />
<br />
"There she weaves by night and day<br />
A magic web with colours gay.<br />
She has heard a whisper say,<br />
A curse is on her if she stay <br />
To look down to Camelot.<br />
She knows not what the curse may be,<br />
And so she weaveth steadily,<br />
And little other care hath she,<br />
The Lady of Shalott. <br />
<br />
"And moving through a mirror clear<br />
That hangs before her all the year,<br />
Shadows of the world appear.<br />
There she sees the highway near<br />
Winding down to Camelot: <br />
There the river eddy whirls,<br />
And there the surly village-churls,<br />
And the red cloaks of market girls,<br />
Pass onward from Shalott.<br />
<br />
"Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, <br />
An abbot on an ambling pad,<br />
Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad,<br />
Or long-haired page in crimson clad,<br />
Goes by to towered Camelot;<br />
And sometimes through the mirror blue <br />
The knights come riding two and two:<br />
She hath no loyal knight and true,<br />
The Lady of Shalott.<br />
<br />
"But in her web she still delights<br />
To weave the mirror's magic sights, <br />
For often through the silent nights<br />
A funeral, with plumes and lights<br />
And music, went to Camelot:<br />
Or when the moon was overhead,<br />
Came two young lovers lately wed; <br />
"I am half sick of shadows," said<br />
The Lady of Shalott."<br />
<br />
Stanzas nine through 12 tell of Sir Lancelot. <br />
<br />
"A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,<br />
He rode between the barley-sheaves,<br />
The sun came dazzling through the leaves,<br />
And flamed upon the brazen greaves<br />
Of bold Sir Lancelot.<br />
A red-cross knight for ever kneeled<br />
To a lady in his shield,<br />
That sparkled on the yellow field, <br />
Beside remote Shalott.<br />
<br />
"The gemmy bridle glittered free,<br />
Like to some branch of stars we see<br />
Hung in the golden Galaxy.<br />
The bridle bells rang merrily <br />
As he rode down to Camelot:<br />
And from his blazoned baldric slung<br />
A mighty silver bugle hung,<br />
And as he rode his armour rung,<br />
Beside remote Shalott. <br />
<br />
"All in the blue unclouded weather<br />
Thick-jewelled shone the saddle-leather,<br />
The helmet and the helmet-feather<br />
Burned like one burning flame together,<br />
As he rode down to Camelot. <br />
As often through the purple night,<br />
Below the starry clusters bright,<br />
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,<br />
Moves over still Shalott.<br />
<br />
"His broad clear brow in sunlight glowed; <br />
On burnished hooves his war-horse trode;<br />
From underneath his helmet flowed<br />
His coal-black curls as on he rode,<br />
As he rode down to Camelot.<br />
From the bank and from the river <br />
He flashed into the crystal mirror,<br />
"Tirra lirra," by the river<br />
Sang Sir Lancelot.<br />
<br />
In the last seven stanzas, Tennyson tells the effect seeing Sir Lancelot has on the Lady of Shalott. <br />
<br />
"She left the web, she left the loom,<br />
She made three paces through the room, <br />
She saw the water-lily bloom,<br />
She saw the helmet and the plume,<br />
She looked down to Camelot.<br />
Out flew the web and floated wide;<br />
The mirror cracked from side to side; <br />
"The curse is come upon me," cried<br />
The Lady of Shalott."<br />
<br />
"In the stormy east-wind straining,<br />
The pale yellow woods were waning,<br />
The broad stream in his banks complaining, <br />
Heavily the low sky raining<br />
Over towered Camelot;<br />
Down she came and found a boat<br />
Beneath a willow left afloat,<br />
And round about the prow she wrote <br />
<i>The Lady of Shalott</i>.<br />
<br />
"And down the river's dim expanse,<br />
Like some bold seër in a trance<br />
Seeing all his own mischance--<br />
With a glassy countenance <br />
Did she look to Camelot.<br />
And at the closing of the day<br />
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;<br />
The broad stream bore her far away,<br />
The Lady of Shalott. <br />
<br />
"Lying, robed in snowy white<br />
That loosely flew to left and right--<br />
The leaves upon her falling light--<br />
Through the noises of the night<br />
She floated down to Camelot: <br />
And as the boat-head wound along<br />
The willowy hills and fields among,<br />
They heard her singing her last song,<br />
The Lady of Shalott.<br />
<br />
"Heard a carol, mournful, holy, <br />
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,<br />
Till her blood was frozen slowly,<br />
And her eyes were darkened wholly,<br />
Turned to towered Camelot.<br />
For ere she reached upon the tide <br />
The first house by the water-side,<br />
Singing in her song she died,<br />
The Lady of Shalott.<br />
<br />
"Under tower and balcony,<br />
By garden-wall and gallery, <br />
A gleaming shape she floated by,<br />
Dead-pale between the houses high,<br />
Silent into Camelot.<br />
Out upon the wharfs they came,<br />
Knight and burgher, lord and dame, <br />
And round the prow they read her name,<br />
<i>The Lady of Shalott</i>.<br />
<br />
"Who is this? and what is here?<br />
And in the lighted palace near<br />
Died the sound of royal cheer; <br />
And they crossed themselves for fear,<br />
All the knights at Camelot:<br />
But Lancelot mused a little space;<br />
He said, "She has a lovely face;<br />
God in his mercy lend her grace, <br />
The Lady of Shalott."<br />
<br />
Tennyson's <i>The Lady of Shalott</i> is one of my favorite poems. The beauty of the language ("Willows whiten, aspens quiver") enthralls me, and the sadness of the story enchants me.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2151922643821368005.post-55598712615561135652011-04-04T09:07:00.000-04:002011-04-04T09:07:40.578-04:00Franz Schubert and Friedrich Rückert: Poetry and MusicFranz Schubert received his death sentence in 1823. Already the love of his life, Therese Grod, had married another. His father had banished him from home. And his finances were in ruin. Now he was diagnosed with syphilis. In the 19th century, that was a death sentence.<br />
<br />
A year earlier, well-known German poet Friedrich Rückert had published a collection of poetry by the title <i>Ostliche Rosen</i> (<i>Eastern Rose</i>). It is possible that Schubert read this book. One of the poems therein, <i>Du bist die Ruh</i> became the text for his lied (song) by the same name.<br />
<br />
You are the rest,<br />
The gentle peace,<br />
You are the longing<br />
And what it quiets.<br />
<br />
I dedicate to you<br />
Full of pleasure and pain<br />
As a dwelling here<br />
My eyes and heart.<br />
<br />
Come to me,<br />
And close <br />
Quietly behind you<br />
The gates.<br />
<br />
Drive other pain<br />
Out of this breast!<br />
Full may be this heart<br />
Of your joy.<br />
<br />
This temple of my eyes,<br />
By your radiance<br />
Alone is brightened,<br />
Oh fill it completely!<br />
<br />
Schubert’s musical interpretation of <i>Du bist die Ruh</i>, here sung by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvdZ1xIgv08">Soprano Sylvia Schwartz</a>, captures the passionate longing of the poet’s words. Considering the struggles of Schubert’s life at the time of its composition, the music seems to reflect the composer’s own heartfelt desires for life and love.Susan Ujka Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868083458222755281noreply@blogger.com0