And he sailed off through night and day

And he sailed off through night and day

and in and out of weeks
and almost over a year
to where the wild things are...Where the Wild Things Are

There are a million things we should be doing today but how can you ignore the passing of such an important person as Maurice Sendak? No, you cannot. Listen to the Fresh Air podcast if you miss it.

To honor M. Sendak, we're having a wild rumpus. Actually, every day is wild rumpus day for Giulia. If you need to laugh (who doesn't?!), you should watch these Colbert Report videos. Here's a list of all Sendak books; he shouldn't be remembered for just one.

ciao/the management

(photograph via scan)

Writing in Bed

Writers like Orwell, Proust and Churchill liked doing it. Could it have been because writing in bed can help access the unconscious? ~ The advantages of writing in bed. The Guardian

How convenient to do a search on what afflicts & then fit it to particular, present circumstance. Sold. We'll take it. Back as soon as possible, most likely Sunday.

ciao/xoxo

(photograph by Maria Stigjer via lovely Pia)

Ms. Smith Goes to Washington

Patti Smith will be reading from her award-winning book Just Kids at the National Portrait Gallery this Saturday, 11 December 2010 at 2pm. She is so much fun to meet--you should go if you possibly can. It will be very crowded, guaranteed. But hanging out early at the Portrait Gallery is no punishment! (There are nearby cafés for some good hot chocolate.) Sadly, Giulia's editor has an ironclad obligation at the very same time (mimph).

Here's Patti's website to sign up for announcements.

ciao-meow/GG Central

Write2Win - Calling All Writers & Editors

Writers and Editors: Will You Help Us?

Write2Win is a new nonprofit organization that brings the writing community into 6th-12th grade U.S. classrooms via email to provide personal mentoring to struggling students. Our goal is to make a difference by helping teachers and administrators who are working hard to turn around failing schools and galvanize effective educational innovation.

Low-achieving students in our Chicago and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, pilot programs have been raising their writing grades an average of over 19% working with our editors’ one-on-one guidance. For many of them, this has been the difference between a D and a B! Teachers report that students look forward to their personal notes and encouragement each time they receive our edited files.

Too many of our young people are falling through the cracks of the public school system, and too many are dropping out or graduating with very low academic confidence. We want to help them succeed, and having strong writing skills leads to success, not only in college but in just about any career they might pursue.

To that end, we are asking everyone who has taught writing or made their living as a writer or editor to consider volunteering an hour or two a week (or even an hour or two a month). Joining our team of volunteer writers is easy, flexible, and absorbing. You will notify us when you are available to take on a few papers, with no pressure from us. We usually have four to five days' turnaround time, so our editors find it easy to fit this into their schedules.

Many of us enjoy reading the students' papers and finding creative ways to encourage and mentor them. I hope you will consider joining us. Please go to this page on our website to see our small but mighty (and growing) wall of heroes: http://www.write2winonline.org/editors.html

You can view and open sample edited papers from this link to see the color-coded system we use to provide guidance to the students: http://www.write2winonline.org/system.html

Please write Linda Wolf at info@write2winonline.org for more information on becoming part of our team. More info: http://www.write2winonline.org/index.html

**************

As seen on Work-in-Progress. How about it?

(photograph via Spanish Vogue)

Happy Birthday, Beatrix

"It's the birthday of the children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, (books by this author) born Helen Beatrix Potter in London, England (1866). She's the author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902), The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903), The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (1904), and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908)." --The Writer's Almanac

GG & her editor are, but of course, big fans of Miss Beatrix. We have little time today to write much, but visit the V&A Museum links for information much better written (& edited) than we can accomplish today. The V&A holds the world's largest collection of Potter's drawings, literary manuscripts, correspondence, & related materials. The museum hosts a changing display on particular aspects of Potter's work in the Beatrix Potter Showcase. Another terrific link is the ENR Illustrators Project: Helen Beatrix Potter via the University of Pittsburgh's Helen Nesbitt Room site.

GG is a wee bit jealous to learn that her editor has seen much of Miss Potter's work (especially in the UK). We have explained to her that this was before she was born. We've not had a chance to return in four years--how could we? We can barely leave her for 48 hours to go to Chincoteague (the pony swim is today, remember). Honestly, you just can't win when GG begins to catalogue her complaints. (If you were thinking, GG's exploits over the years sound a tad Peter Rabbit-like...you would be correct.)

ciao-exasperated meow/GG's editor

PS: Quelle horreur! A man on a radio program is reciting his favorite rabbit recipe. Must go flatten GG's ear-tips to muffle the sound.

[images via the V& A, & wikimedia here, & here]

Hemingway's Cats

Today is Ernest Hemingway's birthday & we're celebrating with a little tour down Key West way. GG is jealous of the cool lives these cats lead in the laid-back tropics (& of their lineage, of course). GG would dearly love extra "toes". (Her Nibs has been informed that it is an unattractive thing, envy. Didn't make an impression.)

Here's a terrific link to the Hemingway Home & Museum. There are photographs of the cats (there's even one named Audrey Hepburn), a live cat-cam, & explanations about the cats in the writer's life, how they are cared for now (they're quite well-off, thank you very much), & the history of cats on Key West.

The largest available archive of Hemingway material is at the JFK Presidential Library & Museum, here. You can read Hemingway's short story Cat in the Rain, here (a pdf download).

ciao-meow/GG's literary editor

[photographs of Hairy Truman via LA Times blog, Hemingway with kitten via JFK Library & Museum & Hemingway Home & Museum]

Draw back the drapes

We're reading The Same Sea by Amos Oz & trying to figure out, as he tries, who cares? Because outside of the same few people, we're not hearing it. Little breaks of relief are one thing; willful ignorance & apathy are quite another. (two points of view by Giampaolo Macorig).

A subdued, slow-burn from Washington, DC.

Sicily by Land & Sea - Week's End

We bid you a wonderful weekend, whether it be calm or stormy. While the generous Giampaolo Macorig obviously uses colors, filters, & tints to achieve his dramatic, painterly photographs, let us assure you that Sicilia looks like this, out of another time or a dream--often. It can be quite harsh, too, & Giampaolo captures the intersection (& clash) of the past & present, the land & the sea, beautifully.

For the best (non-sentimental hoo-hah) books about Sicily, read one of the Inspector Montalbano series by the magnificent Andrea Camilleri. His translator, Stephen Sartarelli, is the best we've read from Italian into English. Truly, he is an artist, as well. You will not be disappointed. And the Inspector Montalbano? Salvo loves food & the descriptions of his enjoyment of even the most simple of snacks is a marvel of prose.

Camilleri's immensely popular (& often controversial-to-some-Italians) mystery-novels are increasingly popular in English-speaking countries. Like all series, you can begin anywhere, but particular favorites are The Terra Cotta Dog, The Snack Thief, The Shape of Water, and Rounding the Mark. If you read any two of these, you will understand a lot about Italy, Sicily, organized crime, culture, politics, food, wine, & what is really happening. It's not all Tuscany & la dolce vita, you know. It's so much more & much more complex...so do yourself a favor & read at least one. If nothing else, your mouth will water & inspire some excellent meals. (Or give a go at making the Inspector's favorite salty snack, calia e simenza. Are you intrigued?)

mille grazie e ciao-meow

Farewell, Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn

We refuse to enter the blog-o-fray between liberals vs. conservatives, to name just two warring groups. Let's just agree that he was one of the greatest of writers & his courage & integrity--artistically & personally--cannot be questioned. GG, postings on fashion herein notwithstanding, objects to the materialist nature, not just of the West but also to those in the developing world who rob their own people. On this, GG & her editor are in agreement with A.S.

Remembering Reetika Vazirani, 1962-2003

Today is the fifth anniversary of Reetika's death. She was a lovely, gracious person, and a marvellous poet, too. Here is a link to a web chapbook of Reetika's poetry.

Everyone who knew her misses her very much. It is difficult to believe that it has been five years. Condolences to her mother & her entire family.