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The Write Words
I moderate a small email chat group called Writer2Writer for Story Circle Network. Recently I asked participants to name their favorite author and then write about why.
I started the chat off by quoting Mary Oliver, one of my favorite authors, whose instructions for living a life is to “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” And since Mary was an American poet who won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, when Mary said tell, I’m sure she meant write about it. The words responded with me because that’s what I’ve been trying to do for most of my life.
But lately, I’ve been rather stuck. And that leads me to comment on a response to my writing prompt. It was from Stephanie Raffelock, who wrote: “A battered, dog eared, highlighted and underlined copy of May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude sits on the table next to my chair. I can quote the opening line without opening the book: “Begin here. It is raining.”
“Such simple lines,” wrote Stephanie. “Crisp and real. Who knew that they would lead to years of journals, which in turn would lead to a first short story and later, essays. Begin here. That’s all I have to do to start writing on any day,” said my writing colleague.
And those words from Mary, Stephanie and May were exactly what I needed to get unstuck. I immediately sat down and filled a couple of pages in my current journal, and then started writing this blog.
Thank you, Mary, Stephanie and May.
So, who, my treasured readers, is your favorite author and why?
Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is an avid reader, an enthusiastic birder, the author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), is always searching for life’s silver lining, and these days aging her way – and that’s usually not gracefully.
My favorite book is Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard. May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude also is in my top 5. Anything by Mary Oliver. I can crawl into their worlds and feel such inspiration. I also love a good mystery.
I don’t have a favourite author nor a favourite book. My preferences change. I’d still consider my childhood favourite author Karl May as one whose writings I like to read again. Also some of the books – not all of them – of the “Earth’s Children” series by Jean Auel. Oh, and definitely P.G. Wodehouse – really a favourite of mine.
I don’t really have a favorite author. In my younger years there were several and I would devour each new publication as they came along.
Sometime in the 80’s I read Ken Follet’s “Pillars of the Earth” and that became my favorite book and my answer to this question for years.
I listened to it for the first time, recently and was surprised at how much I had forgotten of my “favorite book” over the last 35+ years.
I went on to listen to more of his books, some I read all those years ago and some that were new. I think he may be my favorite author but his trilogy series now takes the spot of some of my favorite books.