WRITE to the Heart of the Matter: A Memoir of Art and Creation

Just Kids
by Patti Smith

I love to read memoirs, biographies, and, of course, family histories.  I am irresistibly drawn to hear each person's story.  I share in their struggles, their day to day activities and enjoy seeing how they overcome their obstacles.  Of course it is easier when you know their life will be a great success, especially since they have written a book about it.

When I decided to read, or rather listen to, Patti Smith's book "Just Kids," I knew nothing of her life's struggles and successes.  I knew she was a songwriter/musician. I never listened to her music. If you had asked me the title of one of her songs, I wouldn't have been able to name one. As I started her book, I did not know what to expect.

I discovered Patti Smith is brutally honest.  About her life, her loves and her choices.  I also would have never guessed that this rock star was so well read. Now I know she is truly a poet and performer. What I discovered about her put me in awe of her accomplishments.

Patti's book tells of her life, focusing on a story of love and creativity. While  I knew little about her, I knew absolutely nothing about the other half of the "Just Kids" title, Robert Maplethorpe.  Robert and Patti journeyed through life creating art, being art and living art.  They struggled together, lived together and developed their talents in parallel careers. Their dedication to art and to each other outlasted their time together. As I said, it is a story of love, but that does not make it a love story, at least not in the conventional sense.

I was familiar with the Chelsea Hotel, and it turns out Patti lived there for years. The parade of celebrities who passed through this hotel made it the epicenter of Patti's link to the artistic world she so desperately sought after for years. From Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin and Grace Slick, many of the people who frequented the Chelsea Hotel also influenced Patti and helped her along the way. 

Struggles were plenty. And, Robert's creations are not a match for my artistic taste. There are times I wanted to yell at him to stop and change his direction, but there was no going back for him. Frustrating, just like real life. Yet, I could not stop listening to the book  What makes this story impossible to walk away from? The three human circumstances which drew me into the vortex are:

1. How they bonded and lived for art and, in turn, inspired each other to live their dream.
2. How they grew their art and developed themselves into artists. 
3. How they tried and continued and failed and tried and continued again and again before any true success came their way.

I still hear their voices clearly in my mind. Patti's powerful yet simple words haunt and hang in the air. The book made me believe I was there and saw it all happen. They were "Just Kids" and I am grateful Patti shared her and Robert's story with the world. Now I am going to listen to her music.

WRITE to the Heart of the Matter: Writing

Several short sentences about writing
by Verlyn Klinkenborg

A few weeks ago, I wanted to read something different from my recent fictional and biographical fare. The book was to be read on an airplane so I also wanted to travel light. I found this book at the library and loved its simplicity. The cover is simple, clean and clear.  I choose well.

I started to read and was amazed at the SHORT SENTENCES.  Short, powerful sentences.  These sentences offer a depth of writing skill and understanding that others would have required pages or chapters to generate.

Klinkenborg is one of those influential people with whom I was unfamiliar. He has great credentials as a member of the New York Times Editorial Board and teacher. He has spent years writing boiling down the essence of a thought to a simple sentence. He had the insight to write:

"Everything in this book is meant to be tested all over again, by you.  You decide what works for you. This is perhaps the most important thing I have to say....Part of the struggle in learning to write is learning to ignore what isn't useful to you and pay attention to what is. If that means arguing with me as you read this book, so be it."  Klinkenborg, Prologue.

That said, I felt no need to argue.  This book's poetical style uplifted and inspired me with every turn of the page.  I could feel how I write and how I could improve it simply by following Klinkenborg's words.  I read the book over two weeks ago, and I am ready to enjoy the experience again.

If you are a writer and also on my Christmas list, I'm sorry you won't have any surprises when you open your gift this holiday.  Yes, it's that good.

Write to the Heart of the Matter: Biography

Life
by Keith Richards
with James Fox

As you are aware, I love audio books. I listen to them on my daily commutes which expands my "reading" time immensely.

When I started my biography kick last fall, one of the first ones I read was by Keith Richards who I still mistakenly refer to as Keith Richard. I thought the book would fill some time since it was 16 discs. However, I soon discovered it did much more than fill a time gap.
Voice is obviously everything in audio. Richards pulls in the best. Johnny Depp voices the story with support from Keith and Joe Hurley. I could listen to these voices again and again and again.

I love the way Keith describes the creative process. While he applies it to songwriting, the process applies to everything in Life.  He recalls:

"The famous day when Andrew locked us in a kitchen in Wellesden and said, 'Come out with a song"--that did happen. Why Andrew put Mick and me together as songwriters and not Mick and Brian, or me and Brian, I don't know...And I said, 'If we want to get out of here, Mick, we better come up with something.'

We sat there  in the kitchen and I began to pick away at the chords...'It is the evening of the day.' I might have written that. 'I sit and watch the children play.' I certainly wouldn't have come up with that. We have two lines and an interesting chord sequence, and then something else took over somewhere in this process. I don't want to say mystical, but you can't put your finger on it. Once you've got that idea, the rest of it will come.  It's like you've planted a seed, then you water it a bit and suddenly it sticks up out of the ground and goes, hey, look at me." (Richards, pg. 142-3).

My favorite discovery in this book is how Keith lives now and how he loves his library.

"I lead a gentleman's life.  Listen to Mozart, read many, many books.  I'm a voracious readers. I'll read anything...The Nelson era and World War II are on the top of my list, but I do the ancient Romans, too, and a certain amount of the British colonial stuff, the Great Game and all that. I have a fine library furnished with these works, with dark wooden shelves reaching to the ceiling." (Richards, pg. 522-3).


I grew up listening to the Stones, hearing about them on the news, and thought I knew quite a bit about Keith Richards.  I didn't.  However, I learned much more as I listened to this book.  And, I liked what I heard.  I think you will, too.

Write to the Heart of the Matter: Biography

Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman
by Robert K. Massie

For the past four months, I have been immersed in biographies. From Keith Richard to Regis Philbin, from Carol Burnett to Carrie Fisher, I have been in a gravitational pull toward biographies of all kinds. This one is of exceptional interest to me since my heritage is German Russian.

Like many of us with this ancestry, I have read a number of books about Catherine the Great. I didn’t think there was much more I could learn about her life. And,I wouldn’t have considered reading another Catherine book except for two reasons.

First, my daughter told me about this new book. I was impressed that she heard about it, so I checked out the link she forwarded to me. It was an NPR interview with the author, Robert K. Massie, entitled “First she read, then she ruled.” This phrase accurately described Catherine’s life and I hoped the headline would inspire others to devote more time to reading. You can listen to the interview at www.npr.org/2011/11/05/141992986/catherine-the-great-first-she-read-then-she-ruled.

Second, as I listened to the interview, I realized I had read two other books by Massie: Nicholas and Alexandra and Peter the Great. These books were my first introduction to Russian history in the ‘70s and ‘80s. So, despite not planning to read another book about Catherine, Massie’s book intrigued me and I had to read it. I am glad I did.

Massie weaves together the lives of families, friends, and enemies of the Russian court, and makes the complicated and treacherous political maneuvers easily understandable. He builds full personalities of all the major players in Catherine’s life. Their motives, favors and eccentricities are well documented and balanced without making caricatures of them. His details guide the most knowledgeable Catherine fans to deepen their understanding of her life. Massie crafts complete personalities without fictionalizing or creating a textbook version of her life.

Due to his thorough research, Massie deftly builds a three dimensional character out of one of the saddest people in Catherine’s life, her husband, Peter III.

Peter, the pro-Prussian Prince of Holstein-Gottrop, is normally portrayed as an inept, pompous and cruel individual. While these attributes cannot be denied, Massie broadens the perspective of Peter. After his bout with smallpox, he returns to the palace and sees Catherine for the first time since his skin has been scarred. When he realizes how repulsed she is by his appearance, he is embarrassed and retreats from her. Massie evokes sympathy for Peter in this brief scene yet it does not change one’s overall opinion of him.

There are not direct references to Catherine’s Manifesto inviting Germans to settle in the Volga area, however, it is not a reason to miss this book. Massie has captured the essence of her life and survival. Her role, which was instrumental to our ancestors and to our own existence, is a worthwhile read. It is one of the best vehicles to bring a new generation to our unique history. As I mentioned, my daughter told me about the book. Isn’t that why we research and learn our history? To pass it on to our children? I am blessed to have had my daughter pass this story on to me.

Massie says he will miss Catherine after spending over eight years with her. I read the book this past month, shed tears at the end, and already miss the time I spent with her. You will, too.

Read any good books lately? "Scribbling Women"

When Harrison was let out of the crate on Thursday, he stood still for just a moment. Then ran around the house in circles like it was his personal racetrack. and, I guess it is. In his excitement, I believe he hit his foot on something when I heard a small whimper, but he trudged on not letting a minor incident damage his enthusiasm.

Healing is a process and so is life. The latest book I read, "Scribbling Women, True Tales from Astonishing Lives" demonstrates the process of how life creates writers, in particular, writers with whom you may not be familiar. But you should because these women writers set the stage for all women writers after them. They wrote when many women were barely allowed to learn to read.

Marthe Jocelyn captured my attention on the first page of her introduction. Just for the record, as I type this blog, I am sitting on my patio, the birds chirp and Harrison lays on the cool decking of the pool relaxing in the sun. Jocelyn writes:

"I like to write outside, at a table on my front porch, or even in the hammock. Sometimes I sit on a park bench and scribble away while I watch the world around me. Once in a hwile, I stay in bed on a cold winter morning, with a hot water bottle, a cup of team, and notebook across my knees. I am a professional writer. I write books for young readers and get paid for it."

Jocelyn turns to her research and explains how she came across the letters of lady Mary Wortley Montago. "As I learned and thought about Lady Mary's life, I realized that there must be dozen of other women who had written letters, or travel journals, or essays, or diaries; women whose observations, like Lady Mary's had chronicled or changed the world around them, even in very small ways."

After much research writing over three years, Jocelyn shares with us eleven women who took the time to scribble. From Sei Shonazou who lived from 965-1010 to Doris Pilkington Garimara born in 1937,these women traveled the globe and give a unique perspective into their lives. Surely, none of these women could have imagined how Jocelyn would uncover their writing much less publish it for the entire world to read. But I see Jocelyn's book as a victory for them. This book should be required reading for all writers, especially women. What we share in our diaries, blogs or stories to our children can make us immortal by what we leave behind.

Isabella Beeton lived a mere twenty-eight years yet she wrote a book with five hundred and fifty-six thousand words. Her book sold sixty thousand copies during the first year and two million within the decade. I shall be forever grateful that she standardized cooking measurement and the layout of recipes which continues today.


Life is a process we live day by day, and we need to revel and scribble in every moment of it. Whether we enjoy composing outdoors or on a couch or at a desk, it really doesn't matter where we do it. As Jocelyn wrote "What will your own story be? Get scribbling..."

Write to the Heart of the Matter...for Value Meals on the Volga

Value Meals on the Volga was my first book.

For any writer, the first book evokes special memories. The steps of the cooking, researching, writing and editing heightened my understanding of every aspect of creating a book. I learned a tremendous amount during during the process, however I learned considerably more about publishing after the book was in print.

I have an opportunity to revisit Value Meals on the Volga at a special author event at Barnes & Noble next Tuesday, November 1.

A panel of writers from the Scottsdale Society of Women Writers will discuss our writing and our published works. We will sign copies of the books which will be available for purchase. For more details, visit http://infiniteadventure.weebly.com/news--events.html

Hope to see you there!
WHEN: Tuesday NOVEMBER 1st , 2011 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. – Free Event
WHERE: Barnes and Noble Booksellers - 90th St., Shea Blvd., west of the 101, Scottsdale

BTW, the first sentence of Value Meals on the Volga is: "How will your grandchildren remember you?"

My Life in a Crate...Writing on Three Legs

When I last updated this blog in July, I was prepared for a relaxing one week vacation. It didn't quite turn out that way. Instead, I feel I have been living my life in a crate, both figuratively and literally.

I feel crated literally because my dog has been in a crate for the last four weeks and figuratively because my writing has been locked up in the crate with him.

Before the first weekend of vacation was over, my dog Harrison was scheduled to see the veterinarian on Monday. After two radiograms Harrison was diagnosed with dysplasia. He suffered pain from arthritis since his leg bone was out of his hip socket. Two weeks later, he had FHO (femoral head ostectomy surgery) on his back right leg. This surgery removes the ball of the bone at the top of the femur. With proper recuperation the tendons and ligaments strengthen and he can regain full use of his leg.

This little dog and his rehabilitation took over my life for the past four weeks. Not to mention how much he has taken over my household since his arrival on January 25th of this year. Harrison was 3 months old when he was found in a field by Maricopa Animal Control. I took him into my home the first day he was available for adoption.

He is a small dog, and only God knows his breed. The Maricopa Animal Control folks said he was likely a short hair Chihuahua-Terrier mix. Others have told me he looks like a Corgi, a Jack Russell terrier, a Dachshund, a Doberman pinscher and a Pit Bull. One of the veterinarians said he could be a Chihuahua and Labrador mix. But let’s not go there.

His progress has been slow, however that is normal. He has learned what it is like to be in a crate 99% of his day. Like Harrison, I felt like my writing has been crated away as I focused on him. It took more time than I imagined following the doctor's directions to a T. Harrison is a puppy and he views directions as mere suggestions to his routine. .Have you ever tried to do massage therapy on a dog? A dog that was less than anxious to have you touch his sore leg? Besides these exercises I gave up much of my writing time to spend more time with him to alleviate his boredom.

The last two weeks Harrison has been on limited leash time. He wants to walk on only three legs, so I constantly encourage him to put his "leg down." We need to walk at a pace so slow I could doze off yet it forces him to use the leg. Which is exactly the workout he needs to build up his strength.

Thursday starts the 5th week of recuperation for Harrison. He can roam freely without a leash. How will he react to his new found freedom? At eleven months old on that day, he begins a new life. He will walk unleashed for the first time without pain in his hip. Will he chase bugs for hours? Will he jump on the couch and laze in the sunlight? Will he dive into the swimming pool for the first time? Or, will he sit quietly outside the crate in shock?

As I finish this update, Harrison has no idea what lies ahead. Soon we will both be out of the crate. I cannot wait.