Sunday

Feb. 2, 1997

Watching

by Madelyne Camrud

SUNDAY 2/2

Today's Reading:"Watching" by Madelyn Camrud from THIS HOUSE IS FILLED WITH CRACKS, published by New Rivers Press (1994).

Today is Groundhog Day, when if the groundhog sees its shadow as it comes out of its hole, six weeks of winter will return; but if the day is cloudy and the groundhog sees no shadow, it takes it as a sign of coming spring and stays above ground.

It's the birthday of writer James Dickey who started out writing ad copy for Coca-Cola and went on to write DELIVERANCE; he was born in Atlanta, 1923

Writer Ayn Rand (WE THE LIVING; THE FOUNTAIN-HEAD; ATLAS SHRUGGED) was born today in St. Petersburg, Russia, 1905.

It's the birthday of American violinist Jascha Heifetz, born in Russia in 1901.

Writer James Joyce (DUBLINERS; A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN; FINNEGAN'S WAKE; ULYSSESS) was born on this day in Dublin, 1882.

The National League was formed today in 1876 with eight baseball teams.

Today in 1655 a British fleet captured New Amsterdam, the trading center of the Dutch colony in North America, renaming it New York for its new governor, the Duke of York.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

 

«

»

  • “Writers end up writing stories—or rather, stories' shadows—and they're grateful if they can, but it is not enough. Nothing the writer can do is ever enough” —Joy Williams
  • “I want to live other lives. I've never quite believed that one chance is all I get. Writing is my way of making other chances.” —Anne Tyler
  • “Writing is a performance, like singing an aria or dancing a jig” —Stephen Greenblatt
  • “All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • “Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up.” —John Edgar Wideman
  • “In certain ways writing is a form of prayer.” —Denise Levertov
  • “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” —E.L. Doctorow
  • “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” —E.L. Doctorow
  • “Let's face it, writing is hell.” —William Styron
  • “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” —Thomas Mann
  • “Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials.” —Paul Rudnick
  • “Writing is a failure. Writing is not only useless, it's spoiled paper.” —Padget Powell
  • “Writing is very hard work and knowing what you're doing the whole time.” —Shelby Foote
  • “I think all writing is a disease. You can't stop it.” —William Carlos Williams
  • “Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.” —Iris Murdoch
  • “The less conscious one is of being ‘a writer,’ the better the writing.” —Pico Iyer
  • “Writing is…that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.” —Pico Iyer
  • “Writing is my dharma.” —Raja Rao
  • “Writing is a combination of intangible creative fantasy and appallingly hard work.” —Anthony Powell
  • “I think writing is, by definition, an optimistic act.” —Michael Cunningham
Current Faves - Learn more about poets featured frequently on the show