Poetry Friday: Blundering

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January 18, 2008

1:07 pm

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On Writing, Poetry Friday

“Street Moths,” by X.J. Kennedy, from The Lords of Misrule (Johns Hopkins University Press). If you haven’t read any X.J. Kennedy, you’re missing a treat. He writes for adults and children, check out the links!

The Poetry Princesses are a group of poets – and me – who are writing sonnets of young adulthood. Though this isn’t a sonnet, it reminded me of a long play version We Real Cool and adds to the slowly growing pile of poetry I’ve found that records the adolescent masculine experience. I really like the imagery of blundering moths… so appropriate.

Street Moths

Mature enough to smoke but not to drink,
    Grown boys at night before the games arcade
Wearing tattoos that wash off in the sink
    Accelerate vain efforts to get laid.
Parading in formation past them, short
    Skirts and tight jeans pretending not to see
This pack of starving wolves who pay them court
    Turn noses up at cries of agony—
Baby, let’s do it! Each suggestion falls
    Dead to the gutter to be swept aside
Like some presumptuous bug that hits brick walls,
    Rating a mere Get lost and death-ray eyes.
Still, they keep launching blundering campaigns,
    Trying their wings once more in hopeless flight:
Blind moths against the wires of window screens.
    Anything. Anything for a fix of light.

Poetry Friday is hosted at Farm School.

All content (unless otherwise attributed) is © Copyright Tanita S. Davis and may not be reproduced in any form.

Hollow-headed Headrush

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January 16, 2008

8:02 pm

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On Writing, Random Notes and Errata

My brain is scrambled, so you’ll have to excuse this post – it’s kind of all over the board.
This is my brain on revision.
Sometimes the creative process seems like it saps instead of energizes, and those are the days I know I’m working on something stupid… like a title. Yes, Virginia, something that matters less than not at all has kept me up literally blinking sleepless. My editor said the working title The Time of Her Life reminded her of a bad 80’s movie (not that any of the YA readers have even seen it, but…), and so now we’re on the hunt for a title. My favorite at the moment is A. Fortis’ suggestion Along for the Ride. I think that describes my sanity. My latest favorites (in the category of Very, VERY Bad) are Notes from the Middle of the Road and Postcards from a Road Trip Hostage. Hee.

(You have to understand that part of the book is a road trip… Never mind. This is only funny if you’re as tired as I am. It’s one of those “you had to be there” kinds of things.)

On the up-side, my editor has enough faith in me to have made an offer today, so that’s Book #2 sold, my first for 2008! Yahoo! Of course, there’s a lot of work between now and contract signing, so I should hush and get busy. But first, some observations…

People are posting Take II of their TBR lists. I call dibs on including EVERY SINGLE ONE of Bookshelves O’ Doom’s books (with the exception of my own) for my follow-up list. More Skulduggery! More Hilary McKay!! More Bad Kitty!!! More MELISSA MARR!!!! Diana Wynne Jones, Celia Rees — people, it can’t help but be a happy new year!!! It’s certainly going to be awesomisity in terms of books. And if the sequel to Skin Hunger and Octavian Nothing come out — I may have to lie down.
Whew.

(And speaking of really cool book things, via Bookshelves of Doom, this dictionary wallpaper? I would TOTALLY do. I need to move back to my house and redo the living room immediately.)

Meanwhile, writers have been talking notesbooks, and now the Guardian is stroking that pen fetish. Apparently all writers worth their salt ought to write longhand, with gloriously beautiful pens. At least, that’s the theory. I adore fountain pens as much as anyone. Too bad I can’t really write with them without making a mess.

The 7-Imps interview Book Moot‘s Camille! Drop by and say howdy and thanks for all the Entling-entertainment. Someday I will have cool book-themed names for my entire family like that.

Cybil Sister and über-librarian Sara has been posting lately about great library tech — well, YALSA is inviting teens to make up songs about the library for a contest. THIS should be… unique…

Speaking of library tech cool, Simon & Schuster Children’s
Publishing and Ball State University announced that they’re going into partnership
to take Simon & Schuster authors and illustrators into more than 30,000
schools nationwide through live, interactive Web broadcasts. (Via Ypulse.) While this sounds really cool — why a University? Why not take authors into the classroom this way? The answer: “Simon & Schuster and BSU provide the author’s books to a select group of teachers who then develop grade-appropriate activities for other teachers to use before the live broadcast. Booksource has signed on to be the sponsoring book supplier. To facilitate preparation for the EAV [Electronic Author Visit], Booksource will assist participating teachers with book orders through a convenient link to their site and ordering information.”

Ah. SO it does involve actual children at some point. And then book orders. I guess it’s a win-win?

WOW. What a shot in the arm for children’s nonfiction. Tricia’s blog Open Wide, Look Inside has only been up for about three and a half minutes, and already there are tons of books listed. Way to go Dr. Stohr-Hunt!

Minh’s talking Tolstoy, doing a double-take on the Jon L. Muth adaptation of The Three Questions which has got to be the most unique children’s book yet. Minh, like Nikolai in the book, is seeking answers to these three hugely philosophical and disturbingly open-ended questions:
* When is the best time to do things?
* Who is the most important one?
* What is the right thing to do?

The picture book’s watercolor illustrations are gorgeously dreamy, but I’m still not sure about the “after eating a hot dog” answer to question one. Unless the question is “when is the best time to fall down in a unidentifiable-meat induced panic, choking.”

Oh, all right, all right, peoples, just get OFF Christopher Paolini’s back! The release of “Brisingr” (say that three times fast) on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 12:01 a.m., EDT, is only happening at midnight, says his editor, because bookstores wanted it that way, so they could host midnight launch parties. It has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the world’s frantic search for the next J.K. Rowling clone. Nothing whatsoever.

Sheesh.

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Cassie Edwards Gives Me Nightmares

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January 15, 2008

6:35 pm

6 Comments on Cassie Edwards Gives Me Nightmares

Musings on Extemporanea

It started with the Kaavya Viswanathan thing. It got worse more recently with the Cassie Edwards thing at Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books (and props to Sarah for pointing me to this bitingly sarcastic Newsweek article).

These plagiarizing chicks give me the creeps. Cassie Edwards is seriously giving me nightmares.

I don’t know why it even worries me. I never knowingly try and copy anything from anyone, I didn’t even do it in school (although untold millions copied from me. Yes. I was the Original Wuss Girl). I’m totally above board, and I know it. But I’m completely in a panic when I hear people caught copying saying it was “accidental,” and it was “unconscious.” Writing about WWII means I’m not writing in a vacuum; everybody and his dog has something to say about “the Just War” and “the most violent war in Mankind’s History.” What if I say something someone else has already said? What if my unconscious walks into someone else’s novel and goes shopping?

Today I worked on my acknowledgments for Novel #2, just to settle my nerves. They’re an entire page long so far, as I sought to list every book, website, magazine article, movie, photograph from the National Archives; anything that could have sparked my creativity. I almost feel like I’m trying to say, “No, it wasn’t me, it was the genius of the world that wrote this book!” But seriously: at this point, anything to stop the nightmares.

Geez. If my editor knew how much I get worked up over stuff like this, she would WORRY. Revision makes me loony. Deadline is Monday next; will be glad when this first bout is over…

Oh the Glory of the TBR Pile

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January 15, 2008

3:49 pm

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Book News, On Writing

To Be Read. To Be Savored. To Be Devoured.

Before I knew A.Fortis was going to do her own snazzed out graphic, I came up with one that’s a bit simpler, but for me, quite a bit to the point: Anticipation. I still get a rush from being able to read any old book I want! Having grown up with concerned parents curtailing my reading choices, it still seems like such sweet, heady freedom to say, “I want to read THAT one!” And then to do it.

So, gleefully, and in no particular order, comes my partial (because people, it is EVER evolving) list of newbies and not-so-newbies that have caught my eye and made my TBR list for 2008 (and just for fun, I starred those that could be called “multicultural”):

YA Fiction
Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine *
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah *
Something Rotten: A Horatio Wilkes Mystery, by Alan Gratz
Evil Genius, Catherine Jinks
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
How to Salsa in a Sari, by Dona Sarkar *
Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall, by Wendy Mass
It’s Not About the Accent, Caridad Ferrer *
Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature, by Robin Brande
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, by Gabrielle Zevin
Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt
Billie Standish Was Here, by Nancy Crocker
Sweethearts, by Sara Zarr
Beauty Shop for Rent, by Laura Bowers
Cures for Heartbreak, Margo Raab
Beige, by Cecil Castellucci
The Poison Apples, Lily Archer
She’s So Money, by by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong *
Long May She Reign, Ellen Emmerson White
The Fold, by An Na *

MG Fiction
Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Blue Balliett – mystery
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period, by Gennifer Choldenko
Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff, by Jennifer L. Holm; (illus. by Elicia Castaldi)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney
Eleven, by Patricia Reilly Giff – mystery
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz

YA SF/F
Into the Wild, Sarah Beth Durst – Cybils SF/F
The Spiderwick Chronicles, by Holly Black (all of them — before the movie gets to the UK)
Prom Dates from Hell, by Rosemary Clement-Moore – Cybils SF/F
The Dead and the Gone, Susan Beth Pfeffer
Everworld series, by K.A. Applegate *
The Black Canary, Jane Louise Curry *
Snow, Fire, Sword, by Sophie Mason *
Galax-Arena, by Rubinstein, Gillian *
The Call to Shakabaz, by Amy Wachspress *
Never Never and Elsewhere, by Will Shetterly *
My Sister Sif, by Ruth Park *

NonFic
Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers, by Nancy Amanda Redd
The Periodic Table: Elements With Style! by Adrian Dingle illus. by Simon Basher Kingfisher)
Tasting the Sky: a Palestinian Childhood, by Ibtisam Baraka

Graphics/Picture
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi *
Little Night, by Yuyi Morales*
Little Brother X, by Cory Doctorow
All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome, Kathy Hoopmann

Hookay. This is a PARTIAL list, and I just realized I’ve spent well over an hour adding to it. Over an HOUR. When I’m in the middle of a revision that needs to be to my editor next Monday. (Which is why my books have no links, and apologies for that – just really should NOT take the time for that!)

Right.
Reining myself in, then, and simply saying, “and everything else on everyone else’s lists that I haven’t read yet.” Definitely drop a few of your very best recommended into the comments box; I’m really looking for UK reads, too, since I can get them here, read them, and lend them to some of you in the U.S. (and Kel @ Big A, has already called dibs on this, so you’ll have to wrangle with her).

I want to LIVE on the YA, YA, YA list, by the way. Just so you know. Also, am taking up residence at Leila’s scarily organized list as well. I want them all.

More links for this anticipatory awesomeness at the ever-insightful Chasing Ray, who we can thank for this cool anticipation idea!

All content (unless otherwise attributed) is © Copyright Tanita S. Davis and may not be reproduced in any form.

Okay, okay, after this, I really am going to lie down…

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January 14, 2008

10:04 pm

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On Writing, Random Notes and Errata

A couple of news bytes that stood out to me:
…18-year-old Cassandra Carter, who rose to fame at 14 as a young author is putting off college to write a sequel to her first novel, in time for her second to be published. Ironically, the sequel is called Fast Life.

The second piece of news that stuck out to me is that Disney has crossed into a new market by marketing Disney tales like Aladdin, The Jungle Book and Winnie the Pooh Hindi, Marathi and Malayalam. I guess that’s a great idea, but I’m more inclined to wonder why Disney doesn’t find Indian stories to publish and market. But that’s just me…

All content (unless otherwise attributed) is © Copyright Tanita S. Davis and may not be reproduced in any form.

Squeeeeal!

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January 14, 2008

9:19 pm

3 Comments on Squeeeeal!

Happenings, On Writing

Ow! Ow, ow! OW!
I got my eyes dilated today so computers are NOT my friend, and I have a total migraine, but I have to squeal anyway that the ALA Awards are out. I am excited about the Printz Award winner,(which I REALLY enjoyed, but I have to admit that I thought that Sherman Alexie would rate in here somewhere…?) and I am excited about the Newbery — haven’t read it yet, but I’ve heard SUCH good things!! Boy, can my blogosphere friends pick ’em — thank you, everybody who have read these books and talked them up and have made me want to read them too (but again: we talked about Sherman Alexie… I guess they figured the National Book Award was enough? Too bad). But I’m even more excited that two books chosen for the SF/F Cybils list and a book I absolutely ADORED this year has won an Printz Honor. A big yahoo for Dreamquake, but three huge unexpected shrieks for newcomer A.M. Jenkins’ Repossessed, one of the sharpest and funniest bits of SF/F I’ve read this year.

Whoo!

I’ll be back when the headache fades.

All content (unless otherwise attributed) is © Copyright Tanita S. Davis and may not be reproduced in any form.

Sticking It To "Repulsive" Books

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January 12, 2008

11:07 pm

5 Comments on Sticking It To "Repulsive" Books

On Writing, Soapbox


Little Willow’s impassioned response to a book-labeling got me thinking again about fame — and publicity. Books get challenged and disappear when people don’t speak up. Long live those willing to be notorious in their defense of challenged and banned books.

According to Sarah Dessen’s blog, “The school board in Hillsborough County, Florida—where Just Listen was challenged by a parent, and called “repulsive”—has decided to keep it on the shelves, though many have opted to leave a sticker indicating that it’s for “mature readers.”

A sticker.
Well there. That’s America warned.
I’m sure young people everywhere are much safer.

All content (unless otherwise attributed) is © Copyright Tanita S. Davis and may not be reproduced in any form.

Battering Against the Brilliance

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January 11, 2008

2:46 pm

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Part and Poetry

The Writer

by Richard Wilbur

In her room at the prow of the house


Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden,

My daughter is writing a story.

I pause in the stairwell, hearing

From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys

Like a chain hauled over a gunwale.

Young as she is, the stuff

Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy:

I wish her a lucky passage.

But now it is she who pauses,

As if to reject my thought and its easy figure.

A stillness greatens, in which

The whole house seems to be thinking,

And then she is at it again with a bunched clamor

Of strokes, and again is silent.

I remember the dazed starling

Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;

How we stole in, lifted a sash

And retreated, not to affright it;

And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,

We watched the sleek, wild, dark

And iridescent creature

Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove

To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

And wait then, humped and bloody,

For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits

Rose when, suddenly sure,

It lifted off from a chair-back,

Beating a smooth course for the right window

And clearing the sill of the world.

It is always a matter, my darling,

Of life or death, as I had forgotten. I wish

What I wished you before, but harder.

From New and Collected Poems, published by Harcourt Brace, 1988. Copyright © 1969 by Richard Wilbur. All rights reserved.

May you continue to “batter against the brilliance.”

Poetry Friday: Hades Hath Frozen Over: I like a Bukowski poem.

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January 11, 2008

2:18 pm

16 Comments on Poetry Friday: Hades Hath Frozen Over: I like a Bukowski poem.

On Writing, Poetry Friday

“fame,” by Charles Bukowski. From Open All Night: New Poems (Black Sparrow Press).

some want it, I don’t want it, I
want to do whatever it is I do
and just do it.
I don’t want to look into the
adulating eye,
shake the sweating
palm.
I think that whatever I do
is my business.
I do it because if I don’t
I’m finished.
I’m selfish:
I do it for myself
to save what is left of
myself.
and when I am
approached as
hero or
half-god or
guru
I refuse to accept
that.
I don’t want their
congratulations,
their worship,
their companionship.

I may have half-a-
million readers,
a million,
two million.
I don’t care.
I write the word
how I have to
write it.

and, in the
beginning,
when there were no
readers
I wrote the word
as I needed to write the
word
and if all
the half-million,
the million,
the two million,
disappear
I will continue to
write the
word
as I always have.

the reader is an
afterthought,
the placenta,
an accident,
and any writer who
believes otherwise
is a bigger fool than
his
following.

I had to read Bukowski in grad school. His violence, aggressive language and sexually charged fiction wasn’t my favorite by a long shot, but with this one poem, I agree. Fame isn’t anything all that desirable to me. I’m not sure if it’s possible to make a living from writing without achieving some measure of fame, but I’d like to think I would still write every day if I won the lottery… so it must mean more than money to me. (Good thing, huh?!) If fame means having every facet of my life scrutinized and more attention paid to my couture choices than my writing, then I’m definitely not interested.

I wonder what the perks and drawbacks are for people who are ‘famous’ in YA circles… other than JK Rowling, of course, who is just having fun being a celebrity. If you don’t flash your cash or own a castle like Rowling does but can make a living from your writing, are you still considered famous? What really makes fame? I wonder.

Someone posted the Naomi Shihab Nye poem on fame last week, which really got me thinking. I love her concluding stanza:

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do

Is that fame enough for you and me? I wonder…

(I also wonder why all the “kids” from Fame look about thirty five. Anyway!) More poetry people have gathered at The Book Mine Set, get thee thence!

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"Let's Think Of Something To Do…"

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January 10, 2008

3:04 pm

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On Writing, Random Notes and Errata

“…While We’re Waiting.”

Remember that song from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood? Apparently the people during the writer’s strike have thought of something to do: write children’s books. (Via Mitali’s Fire Escape.) The article is titled, “Striking Writer’s Turn to Child’s Play.” Let me tell you something, Washington Post: the picture book writing: SO not child’s play.

I expect a few goodies in the mix since the people who write The Simpsons and other long-running TV favorites are writing. Will this be a shot in the arm for children’s books, or a really annoying (semi-BACA-y) idea? Time will tell.

All content (unless otherwise attributed) is © Copyright Tanita S. Davis and may not be reproduced in any form.