Writing With a Broken Tusk
Writing With a Broken Tusk began in 2006 as a blog about overlapping geographies, personal and real-world, and writing books for children. The blog name refers to the mythical pact made between the poet Vyaasa and the Hindu elephant headed god Ganesha who was his scribe during the composition of the Mahabharata. It also refers to my second published book, edited by the generous and brilliant Diantha Thorpe of Linnet Books/The Shoe String Press, published in 1996, acquired and republished by August House and still miraculously in print.
Since March, writer and former student Jen Breach has helped me manage guest posts and Process Talk pieces on this blog. They have lined up and conducted author/illustrator interviews and invited and coordinated guest posts. That support has helped me get through weeks when I’ve been in edit-copyedit-proofing mode, and it’s also introduced me to writers and books I might not have found otherwise. Our overlapping interests have led to posts for which I might not have had the time or attention-span. It’s the beauty of shared circles—Venn diagrams, anyone?
Narrative Momentum in Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Thank you to Sarah Ellis for recommending Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. It’s a short novella set in Ireland in the days of the Magdalene laundries, but that is not what it is about. Rather, it is the story of a man who deals in coal, a man with an ordinary life, a life that has turned out well, a man with no more than ordinary worries—but one who has nonetheless carried a hole in his heart since his childhood. See Keegan’s interview with another Claire, Claire Armitstead, in The Guardian, in which she expresses a refusal to condemn any of her characters, no matter how terrible their actions might seem.
On US Election Day, Here’s a Sentence to Reflect Upon
A couple of months ago, this item from People magazine showed up in my newsfeed: “First Politician Involved in January 6 Capitol Riots is Removed from Office Following Judge's Ruling.” It was the first time a judge officially labeled the events of January 6 an "insurrection." It was also the first time since 1869 that a U.S. official was disqualified from public office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
I read the item quickly, grateful for justice taking its course and expecting to move on to the next news item and the next, as one does over morning coffee.
Visualizing the Long Project
Thank you to Caroline Starr Rose for letting me know about this marvelous graphic depiction of a process with which I am all too familiar, having been in "this writing business. Pencils and whatnot" for about thirty years now. Being the slow, plodding writer I am, stubbornly Poohish, I know all about the arc of the long project and have occasionally surprised myself retracing my own footsteps in search of Woozles, or could they be Grandfathers?
Freedom in Structure and Other Thoughts About Words
This Thursday will be National Grammar Day in the United States, designated by none other than my colleague Martha Brockenbrough. I almost said "founded" but you can't found a day, or find it, for that matter, can you?