It's summer! Two official days out of school and I've finished my first "summer read." Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson is my kind of book: set in England, a sweet love story, but with a twist - this one dealing with prejudice. I was captivated and renewed as I read this book. It was a relief, a break, a treat.
It reminded me again of what I really do know: I am not a writer! I am a reader who loves good writing and who every once in a while tries to imitate something that touches her. Just before the end of Major Pettigrew I read this line, " ... there was only the pause of quiet reflection pooling between them like sunlight on carpet." I had to stop. Let this sink in. Be thankful for being able to read something like this. It is simply beautiful.
My husband wants me to be a writer. I did write him a short story for his birthday. It's okay. He loves it, that's all that really matters. But lines like "quiet reflection pooling between them" don't come into my head. And I don't think you can "learn" how to do this. It's there, or it's not. And that's okay. I collect lines like these like some small boys collect bugs. I mount them on pieces of paper and display them in places I can see them. I treasure them. Savor them. Love them. Show them to my students and encourage them to see if lines like these live in their heads.
And that is enough for me.
I have to smile because you do write so well--and you do have those little lines tucked here and there in your own writing. I wonder if it's hard for us to recognize in our own work what we see so clearly in the work of others.
ReplyDeleteBut more importantly for now, it's your vacation! Yippee!! I've thought about picking up that book but haven't. You make me want to read it!
Enjoy and embrace the summer. I am in the middle of reading "Major Pettigrew's..". I am in agreement with Ruth. You are a writer.
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