Hello and welcome to an officially wintry Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is November 16th, and folks, the snow is here to stay.
Today we celebrate the film release of the first book in the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I was living in Czech Republic at the time and the Oldest was nearing her first birthday. I have a fondness for Harry because, when the Oldest was a newborn, I binge read the first four books of the series (all that was out at the time) in the wee hours of the night while nursing the babe. I don't think I could have inhaled that literary food fast enough. However, I was intensely rattled by what happened in the maze/competition thing. Maybe it was the timing, you know, just experiencing the birth of my first child and then...well, Cedric. How could something so tragic happen in children's literature? This descent toward literary darkness affected me enough that when my children were devouring their own copies of Harry Potter, in both English and Czech, I just couldn't gather the courage to pick up Book 5, 6 or 7. To this day, I still don't know how Harry Potter's adventures end. And don't tell me! Maybe I will pick them up for a Christmas binge with the W.A. Kid-Writer-in-Residence.
Speaking of reading, let me segue to writing. I spent this past weekend in Grand Marais at the North Shore Readers and Writers Festival and it did not disappoint. My adventures kicked off with an Author Talk by David Mura who spoke about diversity in literature and his newest book, A Stranger's Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing. I also took his class on Narrative Structures & Techniques that drilled down the essence of the Hero's Journey in 3 Acts. Which reminded me of a line from the children's book, Emily Brown and Father Christmas, in which Emily Brown says in response to Father Christmas' laments about his latest gizmos and thingummies not working, "Sometimes the old ways are the best ways."
Enter Lorna Landvik and Leif Enger. Both spoke about their writing process and their strong belief that talking about the Work-In-Progress can ruin it. Emily Brown came to mind again, when she sternly tells Father Christmas after his epic tantrum, "Father Christmas, there is only one way to do this and that is by MAGIC."
At the festival, a lot of energy swirled around the idea of "write what you know." Which both tugs at my inspiration and nags at my sensibilities. Science Fiction and Fantasy writers had never experienced blue, three-headed, flying telepathic rhinos out in the wild until they created them. Alas, I'm not a writer of sci-fi and fantasy and there are no rhinos of any sort in my books.
Write what you know....
Hmmm....like a Jedi whisper it swirled like mist through my mind. When I discussed an idea of a love story between a Caucasian woman and a Vietnamese man, Marcie Rendon, the poet, asked me, "Have you ever slept with a Vietnamese man?" My mind raced through my dating past. She concluded, "Because I have a rule you shouldn't write about any race you haven't slept with." To which Shannon Gibney, author of Dream Country, countered, "Sleeping with someone, doesn't make you an expert on their race or their culture." (Note: I'm paraphrasing as Gibney's comment was a bit more graphic than appropriate for our polite Wannaska readers.)
Write what you know...
So what do I know?
I mulled over it during dinner at The Angry Trout (excellent fish tacos) and pondered some more over a beer at Voyageur Brewing Company (pretty good, but I'm spoiled by hubby's home brew). The next morning - EUREKA!
But I can't tell you anymore. I don't want to ruin the magic.
2001 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone film released
The film version of the popular book by the same name written by author J. K. Rowling starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and followed Potter's first year at Hogwarts, a school for magic.
1988 - Estonians declare sovereignty from USSR
Estonians issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration as part of the Singing Revolution. The Declaration declared Estonian sovereignty from the Soviet Union and declared Estonian laws paramount over Soviet laws. The day is now celebrated as the Day of Declaration of Sovereignty.
1965 - Soviets launch Venera 3
Part of the Venera program, it was the first space probe to land on another planet - Venus. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, it was not able to send any data back to Earth. The first space probe to send data from another planet to Earth was Venera 7.
1945 - UNESCO founded
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a special branch of the United Nations which promotes peace and well-being through education, scientific collaboration and cultural understanding and exchange. It is headquartered in Paris, France and has 195 state members.
1940 - Warsaw ghetto sealed
The largest Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland, the Warsaw ghetto, was created in October 1940 by a German decree. According to the decree, all Jews in the city had to move to the ghetto, which was closed off by a 10 feet wall and had soldiers and police guarding it from the outside 24 hours a day. The ghetto was the scene of one of the largest Jewish uprisings during the Second World War in 1943.
1977 - Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress
1952 - Shigeru Miyamoto, Japanese video game designer, created Mario, The Legend of Zelda
1930 - Chinua Achebe, Nigerian author, poet, academic
1922 - José Saramago, Portuguese author, Nobel Prize laureate
42 - Tiberius, Roman emperor
Today we celebrate the film release of the first book in the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I was living in Czech Republic at the time and the Oldest was nearing her first birthday. I have a fondness for Harry because, when the Oldest was a newborn, I binge read the first four books of the series (all that was out at the time) in the wee hours of the night while nursing the babe. I don't think I could have inhaled that literary food fast enough. However, I was intensely rattled by what happened in the maze/competition thing. Maybe it was the timing, you know, just experiencing the birth of my first child and then...well, Cedric. How could something so tragic happen in children's literature? This descent toward literary darkness affected me enough that when my children were devouring their own copies of Harry Potter, in both English and Czech, I just couldn't gather the courage to pick up Book 5, 6 or 7. To this day, I still don't know how Harry Potter's adventures end. And don't tell me! Maybe I will pick them up for a Christmas binge with the W.A. Kid-Writer-in-Residence.
Speaking of reading, let me segue to writing. I spent this past weekend in Grand Marais at the North Shore Readers and Writers Festival and it did not disappoint. My adventures kicked off with an Author Talk by David Mura who spoke about diversity in literature and his newest book, A Stranger's Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing. I also took his class on Narrative Structures & Techniques that drilled down the essence of the Hero's Journey in 3 Acts. Which reminded me of a line from the children's book, Emily Brown and Father Christmas, in which Emily Brown says in response to Father Christmas' laments about his latest gizmos and thingummies not working, "Sometimes the old ways are the best ways."
Enter Lorna Landvik and Leif Enger. Both spoke about their writing process and their strong belief that talking about the Work-In-Progress can ruin it. Emily Brown came to mind again, when she sternly tells Father Christmas after his epic tantrum, "Father Christmas, there is only one way to do this and that is by MAGIC."
At the festival, a lot of energy swirled around the idea of "write what you know." Which both tugs at my inspiration and nags at my sensibilities. Science Fiction and Fantasy writers had never experienced blue, three-headed, flying telepathic rhinos out in the wild until they created them. Alas, I'm not a writer of sci-fi and fantasy and there are no rhinos of any sort in my books.
Write what you know....
Hmmm....like a Jedi whisper it swirled like mist through my mind. When I discussed an idea of a love story between a Caucasian woman and a Vietnamese man, Marcie Rendon, the poet, asked me, "Have you ever slept with a Vietnamese man?" My mind raced through my dating past. She concluded, "Because I have a rule you shouldn't write about any race you haven't slept with." To which Shannon Gibney, author of Dream Country, countered, "Sleeping with someone, doesn't make you an expert on their race or their culture." (Note: I'm paraphrasing as Gibney's comment was a bit more graphic than appropriate for our polite Wannaska readers.)
Write what you know...
So what do I know?
I mulled over it during dinner at The Angry Trout (excellent fish tacos) and pondered some more over a beer at Voyageur Brewing Company (pretty good, but I'm spoiled by hubby's home brew). The next morning - EUREKA!
But I can't tell you anymore. I don't want to ruin the magic.
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
2001 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone film released
The film version of the popular book by the same name written by author J. K. Rowling starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and followed Potter's first year at Hogwarts, a school for magic.
1988 - Estonians declare sovereignty from USSR
Estonians issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration as part of the Singing Revolution. The Declaration declared Estonian sovereignty from the Soviet Union and declared Estonian laws paramount over Soviet laws. The day is now celebrated as the Day of Declaration of Sovereignty.
1965 - Soviets launch Venera 3
Part of the Venera program, it was the first space probe to land on another planet - Venus. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, it was not able to send any data back to Earth. The first space probe to send data from another planet to Earth was Venera 7.
1945 - UNESCO founded
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a special branch of the United Nations which promotes peace and well-being through education, scientific collaboration and cultural understanding and exchange. It is headquartered in Paris, France and has 195 state members.
1940 - Warsaw ghetto sealed
The largest Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland, the Warsaw ghetto, was created in October 1940 by a German decree. According to the decree, all Jews in the city had to move to the ghetto, which was closed off by a 10 feet wall and had soldiers and police guarding it from the outside 24 hours a day. The ghetto was the scene of one of the largest Jewish uprisings during the Second World War in 1943.
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
1952 - Shigeru Miyamoto, Japanese video game designer, created Mario, The Legend of Zelda
1930 - Chinua Achebe, Nigerian author, poet, academic
1922 - José Saramago, Portuguese author, Nobel Prize laureate
42 - Tiberius, Roman emperor
Remembering You
2006 - Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1980 - Jayan, Indian actor
1960 - Clark Gable, American actor
1885 - Louis Riel, Canadian politician
1724 - Jack Sheppard, English criminal
Enjoy a Harry Potter-a-thon, embrace some magic, and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
1980 - Jayan, Indian actor
1960 - Clark Gable, American actor
1885 - Louis Riel, Canadian politician
1724 - Jack Sheppard, English criminal
Enjoy a Harry Potter-a-thon, embrace some magic, and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
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| Happy Birthday, José Saramago, Portuguese author, Nobel Prize laureate |
I've pondered this "'Write what you know' business." My writings totally lack social relevance. I don't write with sophistication and purpose; that is, I'm not expounding on geopolitical events or using historical dogma and supporting it with documentation, i.e. my writing is rather pointless, as fun as it may be at times. I 'Write what I know', for sure; and thereby reveal I know little.
ReplyDeleteYou're too humble. Which is probably a good thing, for if you recognized your own brilliance, it'd probably mess with your creative mojo.
DeleteTo WannaskaWriter: Your Mac Furlong and Iclic Vermer stand toe to toe with Garrison Keillor's Clint Bunsen or any of the Krebsbachs. You know Wannaska.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And why does Keillor get to corner the market on Minnesota anyway? Only because we let him.
Delete