Blog Archives - Marianne Murphy Zarzana

Let the Beautiful Stuff Out

12/31/2010

As we close out 2010 and welcome in 2011, I offer you this quote from author Ray Bradbury for your writing life:
"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."

Wishing you a blessed season and a New Year filled with writing that stirs your heart and fills other hearts as well.

The Fringe Benefits of Failure

12/30/2010

Some of you may have watched J.K. Rowling's interview with Oprah in October. If not, I encourage you to find it online or read the transcripts. In it, there is a clip of the commencement address she gave at Harvard University in June 2008 on the theme of "The Fringe Benefits of Failure" (click on the title to watch the video). It made me think of Bill Holm, a former professor and colleague at Southwest Minnesota State University who wrote a book titled The Music of Failure that has a wonderful essay with that title. As human beings, and as writers, our failures can be our best teachers. As J.K. Rowling said in her interview, hitting rock bottom was the foundation for all that would follow.

The Art of Imitation

12/29/2010

Do you need a jump start for your writing? Something to do for your daily writing practice? Try imitating the greats.

In Heather Sellers' book The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students, she writes, "Imitation is a time-honored way to understand more deeply and to get more proficient at any art of skill, whether it's writing, cooking, painting, dancing, composing, acting, or designing clothes, furniture, or houses. Beginning chefs at first copy the recipe closely, getting their techniques down. Then, they start to add more and more of their own special touches, finally inventing not just recipes, but techniques and concepts of their own (which are then imitated, taught in culinary school, etc.). . . . Imitation is a great way to hone your creative thinking skills, to increase your confidence, and to help you find your way to your own best material. It's like dancing on someone else's feet. It might feel awkward, but it's a quick fabulous path to body-memory, internalizing the basic moves that separate amateur from pro. . . . Imitation doesn't decrease creativity. It strengthens and feeds creativity."

In grad school we chose poets we admired and wrote imitation poems. By imitating poet Sylvia Plath, I went to a deeper, darker place in my writing than I'd ever been before. By imitating poet Billy Collins, I found a more intimate voice, a greater sense of immediacy and subtle humor.

Who are your favorite poets and writers? Pick some of their poems and stories, then try to imitate them and see what comes up. As Sellers' writes, "Imitation is a way to practice writing." If you decide to submit your piece to a literary magazine, you can put "After (name of poet, title of poem)" under the title if you think it is closely tied to the original poem. Sellers notes, "Poets and writers often talk to each other in this complimentary fashion; it's not unusual at all. Imitation is, after all, the highest form of flattery."

Winston Churchill: A Fresh Take

12/28/2010

Last May I traveled to England, Belgium and France with three other professors from Southwest Minnesota State University and 20 students on a Global Studies voyage. We had studied the relationship between England and France in a Global Studies Seminar all semester, and we visited key historical locations we had covered in the seminar. Two of the most powerful experiences were visiting Churchill's War Rooms and the D-Day beaches in Normandy. Today I read a New York Times article by David Brooks in which he cites outstanding essays from the past year. The one that caught my attention was "Finest Hours: The Making of Winston Churchill" by Adam Gopnik, in the Aug. 30 issue of The New Yorker. As someone fascinated by the power of language, I was intrigued by this fresh take on the complexity of Winston Churchill's legacy and his use of rhetoric to galvanize a particular audience at a particular moment in time. A great historical essay. Thumbs up to Brooks for his selection.

Poem of the Day on Poetry Daily: "Deer, December" by Richard Terrill

12/27/2010

Today's Poem of the Day on the online website, Poetry Daily, is "Deer, December" by Richard Terrill, one of my graduate professors at Minnesota State University, Mankato. I love the vivid nature images in this poem and the surprising truth of the last line. The poem is from his new book, Almost Dark, published by University of Tampa Press. Terrill gave a wonderful reading from his book in October at Marshall Festival 2010, a writing conference hosted by Southwest Minnesota State University.

Terrill's other books include Coming Late to Rachmaninoff (Winner, Minnesota Book Award for Poetry, 2003), Fakebook: Improvisations on a Journey Back to Jazz, and Saturday Night in Baoding: A China Memoir (Winner, Associated Writing Programs Award for Nonfiction). Terrill is a terrific writer and an outstanding teacher, and I've learned much from him in the classroom and from reading his work.

Christmas Letters

12/26/2010

Tonight I wrote a short Christmas letter to family and friends--a snapshot, not a tapestry of the year. We try to send a Christmas letter because we love to receive these annual updates from others as a way to stay connected. But Christmas letters, like Christmas fruitcakes, often get a bad rap. The ones we receive in our mailbox, however, don't usually fall into the stereotype of brag sheets. Instead, there's often humor, reality and humanity.

So I say keep writing your Christmas letters, even if you don't consider yourself a terrific writer, even if it's been a tough year--as it's been for so many--even if you write and mail your letter a bit late (as we usually do). People really do want to take a moment to sit down, read your words, hear how your story is unfolding. And who knows? Your story, your words, may touch, inspire and impact others in simple yet miraculous ways.

Kindle under the Christmas Tree

12/25/2010

The #1 best-selling gift item this Christmas on amazon.com is the Kindle, and our family did our part to help this high-tech device earn that distinction. A Kindle was at the top of my husband's Christmas wish list, and today he downloaded a free copy of Charles Dicken's Great Expectations. Jim has read 8% of it so far--he is a record-keeper, so he likes the line at the bottom of the screen that keeps the reader apprised of their progress.

Everyone I know who has a Kindle loves it. They are usually voracious book-lovers and frequent travelers, so they appreciate the portability and access to so many books at their fingertips.

What does the popularity of the Kindle mean for the future of writing and of writers? What do you think? Do you have one? How has it changed or influenced your reading habits?

Christmas & Stories

12/24/2010

   When people gather at Christmas, there are always stories. As everyone sits around the Christmas tree, the newly engaged couple tell the story of their first date. The highlight? A major wardrobe malfunction. She stepped on the hem of her long, flowing skirt, essentially "pantsing" herself, as she descended from the seat of his pick-up truck at the end of the night. Her date, a southern gentleman with a dry sense of humor, leaned up against his pick-up and commented, "Kinda forward for a first date, isn't it?"
   And, of course, one good story begets another. So next a middle-aged married couple tells the story of one of their first dates. After one too many falls in the snow while cross-country skiing, the young grad student's corduroy pants ripped open in the very worn seat.
   Every good story must have some tension or trouble. With two people wanting to make a good first impression, what first date doesn't have tension? A good story must also surprise us and release the tension, like the universe reminding us, "Oh, c'mon, lighten up!"
   These are the stories we love, the ones we tell over and over and over again, adding more details as we go, how the mother reacted when the daughter called her to tell the story ("How can anyone have an accident like THAT on a first date?!"). The stories we tell at the wedding and at the anniversary, the stories that make us laugh so hard we cry.
   What stories do you tell at Christmas? How many of your favorites involve some type of tension, some unexpected, embarrassing and comical mishap? At the darkest time of the year, and in the darkest times of our lives, we crave the stories that literally help us to lighten up.

Stories Matter

12/23/2010

Today I listened to a talk by Minnesota's award-winning children's author Kate DiCamillo on Minnesota Public Radio (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/12/23/midday2/). She answered the question "Why do you write?" The show came on when I was driving around doing pre-Christmas errands, but after I arrived home, I had one of those MPR "driveway moments": I didn't want to miss a moment of DiCamillo's talk, so I sat with the car running in the driveway. She tells an amazing story about herself at the beginning of the show, so even if you can't listen to the whole hour, catch the first 30 minutes. Make a cup of hot chocolate in the midst of the holidays and listen to the story of a best-selling author who wrote for 6 years and had 470 rejections before she got published. Her mantra? "Do your work, show up." She said she's afraid when she sits down to write, but she does it anyway. So do your work. Show up. And keep showing up. Your stories and poems and essays matter.

Relax

12/22/2010

Today a writer friend, Christine Stewart-Nunez, author of the poetry book Postcard on Parchment, gave me the poem "Relax" by Ellen Bass, published in the American Poetry Review in September/October. It can be read on Poetry Daily online (just click on the poem title). Do you find that some poems arrive at just the right time? This one made it onto the most prestigious location in our home--the fridge door.