by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 28, 2009 | my writing, stories |
My story, “The Empty Armchair,” which is loosely based on my first novel, The Painting Story, appears in the fall issue of Contrary Magazine. Here’s the beginning: Being sick has taken away the busy surface of my life. Gone are the errands and the...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 25, 2009 | craft of writing, details, reading |
So many things left unmentioned: David Foster Wallace’s skilled use of the French language: “Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rolants” (719) and hilarious translations from English to French: demi-maison (730) and from French to English: see Marathe...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 24, 2009 | details, life, time, truth |
David Foster Wallace in Infinite Jest… On Humor: This book is often laugh-out-loud funny. Hal: “I do things like get in a taxi and say, ‘The library, and step on it.'” (12) Hal: “I’m an O.E.D. man, Doctor.” (29) The Narrator...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 23, 2009 | craft of writing, details |
Following from yesterday’s Shakespeare quote, it’s interesting to note that the first two words of Hamlet are “Who’s there?” and the first two words of Infinite Jest are “I am”. I didn’t catch this. I read it on the...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 22, 2009 | journeys, truth |
So for those of you who are still reading–and not that there’s anything wrong with that–Infinite Summer has crossed infinite boundaries to become Infinite Autumn…(thanks for the title to Kim in a comment to yesterday’s post). And for...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 21, 2009 | truth |
Well, today, Monday, September 21, 2009, is the official date on which page 981, the last page, of Infinite Jest is to be read. And I have finished. It is the end of Infinite Summer. I am shocked at how much I loved Infinite Jest. I’d thought it would be...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 18, 2009 | catching moments, journeys, Pam Houston, place, poetry |
It’s writing group week. At this time of the year, we’re at Pam Houston’s ranch in Creede, Colorado. There are nine of us here, two who couldn’t make it. Saturday night we arrived to a dinner of salmon, fresh corn on the cob and green beans,...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 14, 2009 | my writing, stories |
My story, “The Splitting Sound,” appears in the fall issue of Clapboard House. Here’s the first paragraph: Across the street, I leaned against the yellow rental car. The house was smaller than I remembered, but that’s what everyone always said. The...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 11, 2009 | poetry, the day |
In remembrance of September 11th, 2001, this poem by Judyth Hill: WAGE PEACE Wage peace with your breath. Breathe in firemen and rubble, breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds. Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children and freshly...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Sep 8, 2009 | accumulation, journeys, my writing |
It’s been a year. Yes, it has. To celebrate–we’re going to have music. Enjoy listening to the 10, 000 Maniacs as you read, and I’d like to thank Natalie for her congratulations at the end of the song! I’d been thinking about starting a...
