by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Aug 8, 2009 | life, shapes, the day, time |
“There is nothing to be done but go ahead with life moment by moment and hour by hour–put out birdseed, tidy the rooms, try to create order and peace around me even if I cannot achieve it inside me.” May Sarton. As the last days of summer float by,...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Aug 1, 2009 | How We Spend Our Days, Pam Houston |
Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” On the first of each month, beginning today, Catching Days will host a guest writer. To inaugurate this monthly series, “How We Spend Our Days,” please welcome...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 29, 2009 | Dani Shapiro |
I’ve been trying to keep my computer issues out of my blog posts; but anyway, yesterday after I got my computer back, I went to Barnes and Noble, ordered a latte, and sat down to write a post. It had been a while (because of the computer issues). I wanted to...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 28, 2009 | craft of writing, Dani Shapiro |
Anne Enright, the author of The Gathering, winner of the 2007 Man Booker Prize, just wants to write, but as Dani Shapiro recently pointed out, some days it’s easier than others. “I need to write,” Enright said. “I go bonkers a bit if I...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 23, 2009 | reading |
As many of you know, I’m reading Infinite Jest. As many of you also know, I did not enjoy my first experience with the Kindle. Last week, the night before I was to leave for a 3-day trip, I stood by my desk, looking from Infinite Jest to Kindle. If I was ever...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 21, 2009 | catching moments, continuous life, poetry |
One of my all-time-favorite poems is “The Continuous Life” by Mark Strand from his book of poems, The Continuous Life. Here’s the beginning: What of the neighborhood homes awash In a silver light, of children hunched in the bushes, Watching the...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 17, 2009 | accumulation, craft of writing, stories |
Yesterday a flash fiction story of mine, Watching, was published in an online magazine called Six Sentences. Trying to tell a story in six sentences is enlightening because the writing process is compressed, making it easy to see what you’re doing and why. My...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 15, 2009 | craft of writing, details, reviews |
When Mari Strachan was a little girl, she used to create pretend newspapers, carefully writing the stories in pencil, drawing a picture to go with them, and then sewing the pages together. She says, “I’ve always loved the physicality of books and paper and...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 13, 2009 | craft of writing, details, memoir, memory, reviews, shapes |
I don’t write memoir. But I like the way Abigail Thomas writes, the way she tells the truth. “My truth doesn’t travel in a straight line, it zigzags, detours, doubles back. Most truths I have to learn over and over again.” I got hooked on the...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jul 10, 2009 | place |
So the logical, orderly side of me is distressed that I haven’t better organized this trilogy of posts–my writing room, the writer’s desk, and today, a room with a view. Instead it’s the writer’s side of me that has let one thing lead to...
