Images link to their pins, where I've collected a few more and linked back to the original source.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2011
Writerly Travels: The Mount
I first got the idea to write these little posts about writers' homes from a pair of posts I saw on Houzz. Edith Wharton co-wrote design and garden books in addition to her engaging novels (like The Age of Innocence, which I wrote about here) and put many of her design sensibilities into play in the home she had built in 1902. It was also the site of the composition of a number of her novels. The interior of the home is incredible and worth taking a look, but I would love to spend a few hours traipsing about the grounds outside and exploring the sunken secret garden...
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Monday, September 5, 2011
Writing, Briefly
I used to fancy myself a writer--a clever, brilliant, witty writer of incredibly moving stories. At that time, I was in middle school. A few weeks ago, I came across my old writing journals and my stories made me laugh out loud. They were one part fantasy (in the style of Redwall), one part sci-fi (à la Star Wars), and many, many parts adorably bad. Perhaps they were fairly good for a sixth-grader, but I now find it a bit amazing that I repeatedly earned honorable mentions in my school's annual short story competition.
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Sometimes I imagine that I'd start to enjoy creative writing again and imagine just the sort of place where I'd turn out novels that would end up dog-eared on a million nightstands, read over and over again until the pages fell out, and be loved as thoroughly as you can love a book. I imagine that if I had a perfect place in which to write, the stories and poems would create themselves. This is a rather Romantic notion of the writing process that I don't fully buy as well as something I've never been good at practicing, but it's the notion of creative writing that best suits the imagination.
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Wouldn't you feel creative in either of these spaces? It has always been my dream to have the perfect little nook for writing; my own cabin would be absolutely perfect. Virginia Woolf had something quite write when she wrote that a person (generally) needs a room of one's own in order to write. Having a pleasing physical space can help create the mental space in which to write. I'm always attempting to create that physical space for myself, but I haven't gotten it quite right yet.
Images link to the pins that contain their original sources.
Sometimes I imagine that I'd start to enjoy creative writing again and imagine just the sort of place where I'd turn out novels that would end up dog-eared on a million nightstands, read over and over again until the pages fell out, and be loved as thoroughly as you can love a book. I imagine that if I had a perfect place in which to write, the stories and poems would create themselves. This is a rather Romantic notion of the writing process that I don't fully buy as well as something I've never been good at practicing, but it's the notion of creative writing that best suits the imagination.
Wouldn't you feel creative in either of these spaces? It has always been my dream to have the perfect little nook for writing; my own cabin would be absolutely perfect. Virginia Woolf had something quite write when she wrote that a person (generally) needs a room of one's own in order to write. Having a pleasing physical space can help create the mental space in which to write. I'm always attempting to create that physical space for myself, but I haven't gotten it quite right yet.
Images link to the pins that contain their original sources.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Some Words
Some words just get in your heart and in your head and surprise you.
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I love when good words intersect with beautiful objects; the relationship between the written aesthetic and the physical aesthetic is something I feel keenly. When I'm looking back at bookmarks and pins, I love finding something that didn't just move me at one moment, but got to my heart again when I came across it. The words are by Kylie Johnson, a poet and potter, and the tray is for sale at anthropologie. If I owned it, it would hang on the wall.
Sorry this post is so late in the day--you probably won't see it until tomorrow. My husband took the day off of studying and we spent it having fun, mostly away from the computer.
"When the layers subside
and the fortune is empty
the pigment of our days
will echo pure
and I will be nowhere
if not with you."
I love when good words intersect with beautiful objects; the relationship between the written aesthetic and the physical aesthetic is something I feel keenly. When I'm looking back at bookmarks and pins, I love finding something that didn't just move me at one moment, but got to my heart again when I came across it. The words are by Kylie Johnson, a poet and potter, and the tray is for sale at anthropologie. If I owned it, it would hang on the wall.
Sorry this post is so late in the day--you probably won't see it until tomorrow. My husband took the day off of studying and we spent it having fun, mostly away from the computer.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
What I Did Today
I went through my omi's* letters, which my oma** has had tucked safely away since moving into this house seven or eight years ago. These are all sorted into protective sleeves in a binder so that I can scan them and document. Some of the letters are in German; these were found next to envelopes with postmarks from Germany, Romania, and Hungary. I don't know how old they are yet because I'm a little afraid to unfold them until Oma is able to translate them so I can record their contents in English.
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I realized, like many often do, how letters are a fading, if not already faded, mode of communication.
So I wrote a letter to my cousin. I still need to find a stamp--I don't even keep them on hand anymore!--but it'll be sent shortly. I am rather lucky, in that most of the people I would send letters to live near me and they are wholly unnecessary; I can literally just stop by their homes if I wish.
Of course, I could easily send my cousin a message on facebook, but then that surprise (which is probably ruined by now, since she usually reads these posts) of finding something for you, with your name, that's travelled a good distance, would be lost.
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I need to send more letters. I need to find some stamps...and people's addresses...and the box with my stationery.
*"Omi" is my great-grandmother.
**"Oma" is my grandmother.
(these are not my letters, but I will photograph them soon.)
I realized, like many often do, how letters are a fading, if not already faded, mode of communication.
So I wrote a letter to my cousin. I still need to find a stamp--I don't even keep them on hand anymore!--but it'll be sent shortly. I am rather lucky, in that most of the people I would send letters to live near me and they are wholly unnecessary; I can literally just stop by their homes if I wish.
{ready but for the stamp}
Of course, I could easily send my cousin a message on facebook, but then that surprise (which is probably ruined by now, since she usually reads these posts) of finding something for you, with your name, that's travelled a good distance, would be lost.
I need to send more letters. I need to find some stamps...and people's addresses...and the box with my stationery.
*"Omi" is my great-grandmother.
**"Oma" is my grandmother.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Writerly Travels: The Jane Austen House Museum
I'm taking another imaginary trip this morning. Do you know how much I wish this was real? I spent a few hours in Heathrow Airport on my way to Kenya four years ago, but that's all I've ever seen of the British Isles. For some time, I've been compiling a list of things I must see if I can manage a trip across the pond. The Jane Austen House Museum is, of course, one of the top locations on my list. If you've been here before, you already know of my love for Jane Austen, seen here, here, and here, so I'm sure a virtual visit to the home in which she wrote and revised the majority of her novels comes as no surprise.
{by David Quick, on Flickr}
{by erinsy, on flickr}
{by Pug, on Flickr}
{also by erinsy}
To examine why it can be insightful and useful for literary study to examine a writer's home and the environment that surrounded their composition, you can read this short article found on the Jane Austen House Museum's website.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Writerly Travels: The Emily Dickinson Museum
This Monday morning, I'd like to start a new series. Since sometime in high school, I've had this little dream of a road trip through the northeast US that would explore the different homes and locations in which many of my favorite authors composed their works. The highlight of the trip, for me, would be visiting the Emily Dickinson Museum and seeing the room in which she composed many of her poems, possibly even the one that inspired my blog's title (you can click on "The Poem" button in my sidebar to read it).
Since I can't really pull off the trip right now, I've been perusing the museum's site and getting a good virtual look-around at the homestead and the grounds. This only makes me want to travel even more, of course, but I'll keep reading anyway. Do you want to take a look?
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Since I can't really pull off the trip right now, I've been perusing the museum's site and getting a good virtual look-around at the homestead and the grounds. This only makes me want to travel even more, of course, but I'll keep reading anyway. Do you want to take a look?
Source: emilydickinsonmuseum.org via Katie on Pinterest
Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of visiting Dickinson's homestead is the knowledge that she hardly left it as an adult. How could she write a poem that spoke so deeply to me that I've inscribed it in journals multiple times, named a blog (of all things!) for a phrase in its last line, and memorized it the first time I read it, five or six years ago? How could she have enduring insights into the human soul as well as an ironic sense of humor, unlike many poets of her time, that still entertains readers today? I believe she must have had the deepest and truest relationships with the people she allowed in her life and that she must have been more willing to look inside herself and explore her own humanity than the ordinary person. I want to explore the grounds of the home in which she wrote. Perhaps there, I could gain some insight into her work and maybe even a little clue about how I could create a space in which I could write something beautiful and lasting.
What authors do you love? Is there an author's home you'd like me to explore or one that you've visited and would like to share?
Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of visiting Dickinson's homestead is the knowledge that she hardly left it as an adult. How could she write a poem that spoke so deeply to me that I've inscribed it in journals multiple times, named a blog (of all things!) for a phrase in its last line, and memorized it the first time I read it, five or six years ago? How could she have enduring insights into the human soul as well as an ironic sense of humor, unlike many poets of her time, that still entertains readers today? I believe she must have had the deepest and truest relationships with the people she allowed in her life and that she must have been more willing to look inside herself and explore her own humanity than the ordinary person. I want to explore the grounds of the home in which she wrote. Perhaps there, I could gain some insight into her work and maybe even a little clue about how I could create a space in which I could write something beautiful and lasting.
What authors do you love? Is there an author's home you'd like me to explore or one that you've visited and would like to share?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
ventures into the blogosphere: mackin ink
Have you ever read Mackin Ink?
It's fun, it's full of great stories, and Karey M. is an altogether enjoyable writer. She posts all sorts of nothing-short-of-awesome images, and tells great stories about her three daughters. This one, mackin ink: ricky..., is particularly laugh-inducing. Children are so precious. I go looking for good writing some days just for inspiration, and I don't remember how I got to Mackin Ink (probably reading about Alt Summit somewhere), and read through a bunch of posts. You'll smile, I'm sure, and then want to go write a great big bundle of all your thoughts, good or bad, and everything that is honest. It's some parts stream of consciousness, other parts planned humor, all parts inspiring.
Remind me to find a synonym for inspiring; I write it at least twice per post, I think. Thoughts?
For now,
{image posted on Mackin Ink, originally from Annabel Kassar}
It's fun, it's full of great stories, and Karey M. is an altogether enjoyable writer. She posts all sorts of nothing-short-of-awesome images, and tells great stories about her three daughters. This one, mackin ink: ricky..., is particularly laugh-inducing. Children are so precious. I go looking for good writing some days just for inspiration, and I don't remember how I got to Mackin Ink (probably reading about Alt Summit somewhere), and read through a bunch of posts. You'll smile, I'm sure, and then want to go write a great big bundle of all your thoughts, good or bad, and everything that is honest. It's some parts stream of consciousness, other parts planned humor, all parts inspiring.
Remind me to find a synonym for inspiring; I write it at least twice per post, I think. Thoughts?
For now,
{from Solo Debrayes, which I posted about a few days ago here}
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