Long walks as Wilder’s writing inspiration

“My spring-board has always been long walks. I drink a great deal, but I do not associate it with writing.” —Thornton Wilder Almost all Americans will be familar with Thornton Wilder (1897 – 1975). I would venture a guess that it is a rare American school that has not performed Our Town on its stage.…

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A political writer by default

“If you live in a country where politics are oppressive and you write—or try to write—you can’t avoid being a political writer.” —Josef Škvorecký Insightful words from Czech author relocated to Canada, Josef Škvorecký. I read a lot of Škvorecký, in both English and Czech, when I was living and working in Prague after the…

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Readers rule the (literary) world

“The writer does not and should not have the last word. That belongs to the reader.” —Tobias Wolff Love this quote from author Tobias Wolff. Although I always enjoy reading about authors’ writing process, I do tend to be skeptical when they are too insistent on overall themes and interpretations. Although those may be the…

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Writers in a perpetual dream state

“The good thing about writing books is that you can dream while you are awake.” —Haruki Murakami Love these wise words from brilliant Japanese author Haruki Murakami. After all, a writer will go nowhere without an active imagination. And yes, chances are your favorite author has a tendency to daydream at various points throughout the…

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Book review: The Stars are Fire

Author Anita Shreve is a master at penning realistic characters and delving deep into their psyches, and The Stars are Fire is a brilliant illustration of her significant talent in bringing her characters to life. Grace Holland is a young mother of two toddlers in post World War II Maine. Her husband, Gene, has retruned from…

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García Márquez on authors and pilots

“I’m happy when I’m traveling to know that the pilots are better pilots than I am a writer.” —Gabriel García-Márquez I love this quote from brilliant Colombian novelist Gabriel García-Márquez (1927 -2014). While García-Márquez, a truly gifted and original writer, is being modest, he also raises an important point. A pilot must demonstrate technical skill and mastery to…

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Authors as Martians, according to Martin Amis

“I think all writers are Martians. They come and say, You haven’t been seeing this place right.” —Martin Amis An interesting take on writers by talented British novelist Martin Amis. I like this imagery of a novelist as a Martian – giving his or her unique take on (perhaps oft visited) subject matter, with the…

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Alice Munro on small town stories

“The writers of the American South were the first writers who really moved me because they showed me that you could write about small towns, rural people, and that kind of life I knew very well.” Alice Munro I like this quote from short story writer Alice Munro. And if anyone knows how to tell…

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Bravo, Kazuo Ishiguro!

To be frank, after last year’s nomination of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan as Nobel Laureate for Literature left me rather annoyed, I wasn’t expecting much to emerge from Stockholm this year. So was I ever so pleasantly surprised to hear that this year’s honor was awarded to fabulously talented and diverse Japanese-English novelist Kazuo Ishiguro. My…

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