Bathsheba Monk
Bathsheba Monk Explains Everything
Can you break up with friends?
A friend of mine....let's call her D....came to the Memoir Writing Conference. We had some time to talk--we rarely see each other--and she said that she had made a decision in her life to drop anyone who didn't contribute something positive. The criteria is this: if she can spend 15 minutes with a friend and she decides the conversation is a waste of time, she tells them she is freeing them up to pursue more meaningful relationships. Harsh or realistic? And is the other person, now known as the dumpee, supposed to feel hurt or freed up? Has anyone actually done this to good effect?
Now It Can Be Told!
The Memoir Writing Conference was last Saturday and it's taken me till now to get it together to say thanks to people who made it to the Conference despite great personal odds. I think we should vote and give an award, but, nah, I really don't want to hear from anybody for about a month. So, we'll give out big awards and I'll vote by myself: First blue-ribbon award goes to Dr. Micah Sadigh, and I don't know what it is about Micah that makes people want to follow him around and skip lunch and everything. Maybe he's a secret hypnotist. But I think his charm is that he tells you what you want to hear and everyone in the room was seduced by that, and who wouldn't be? And, of course, the delightful Karolyn Vreeland Blume, who was so at home behind a microphone, telling people that they can write about anybody they want and that the onus is on the plaintiff to prove libel...well, that's kind of refreshing to a group of people writing memoirs, isn't it? And then there is the gritty Susan Straight who missed her daughter's prom--but as she pointed out and rightly so, it was her daughter's fault for not being asked sooner!--and anyway, Susan is my personal hero-novelist. Pat Badt mesmerized the crowd talking about color and Scott Sherk same thing with sound, and Cat Cappel warmed up the crowd with Yoga for creativity and Bill White was so funny talking about being funny in writing and of course, everyone was glad to have a chance to talk to literary agent, Betsy Lerner, and I don't think she dashed anyone's hopes per se, but it's nice to get a reality check, and more later on all of this.
Faye Moskowitz
“For who will testify, who will accurately describe our lives if we do not do it ourselves?”
Faye Moskowitz, And the Bridge is Love
Faye Moskowitz, And the Bridge is Love
Sugar Heart
I was in Israel a long time ago, engaged to a Jewish boy who wanted to live there--to jump to the end, the boy and I didn't last--and it was Valentine's Day on the kibbutz and I was running around like a moon infected crazy delivering tiny candied hearts to people in the communal dining room who didn't know what a valentine was and didn't care and threw the tiny hearts engraved with inane love messages over their shoulders, shrugging. I was breathtakingly young and dumb and REALLY thought these people should be educated on the elevating power of love, not even considering that St. Valentine was a Christian saint. But what did it matter? Isn't love always a good thing? Nowadays, a bunch of people in my family are evangelical Christians and so Valentine's day is lost on them too, as, they have educated me, St. Valentine was a Catholic saint, and evangelical Cs don't pay homage to saints. They don't send cards, give flowers, receive assurances that they are someone's special love--all this with a sour fervor in order to deny a saint's power--when it would be a lot more fun to just go ahead and have a heart.
Pre-Holiday Discount for Memoir Writing Conference 2012
The Memoir Writing Conference being held in Bethlehem, PA, April 28, 2012 is offering a twenty dollar discount until December 3. It's going to be a good time and, for a short time, just a little bit cheaper. Happy Holidays.
Gary Cooper, Gary Cooper
G. Bruce Boyer, one of our fabulous presenters at the Memoir Writing Conference 2012, has a new book coming out now. The book is called Gary Cooper, Enduring Style. A book signing will be held in NYC on November 15, the invitation is enclosed. I hope to see you there.
Memoir Writing Conference 2012 Spotlight on Susan Straight
I am so pleased to be hosting with ArtsQuest the Memoir Writing Conference in April 2012 at the Steel Stacks in Bethlehem, PA. We have a tremendous line-up of talent and experts to help you get your memoir in shape to send it out into the world or to just get it started. Award-winning, best-selling author Susan Straight will lead the session on place in memoir. Susan is the author of, most recently, Take One Candle Light a Room. Here is a link to her site where you can read about her and her books. Here is a link to the website where Susan writes about her beloved piece of earth--California. And here is a link to the Memoir Writing Conference 2012 website where you can sign up for both the conference and the limited-seating dinner the night before with Susan, Betsy Lerner and Micah Sidagh.
Secret Weapon
I've been really critical of the Spider Man fiasco...I mean, how much time and money do you need to put on a musical? The way it works with me is that I am a complete judgmental jerk then I hit the same obstacles I was so critical of which is what happened with my musical-in-development, Lois's Wedding. I am going to be one really smart old lady, all this wisdom. Anyway, after much development, the composer, the brilliant and talented Mike Krisukas and I decided to blow it all up and start again. Himmel Gott! But now I got a secret weapon in the person of Jeff Weiss, who you may know as the Obie-winning playwright-actor who just happens to live three blocks from me and who has taken an interest in Lois's Wedding, lucky for me. Did I mention he was brilliant? And not just because he thinks I'm brilliant, hahahah. More later, but the official word--from me-- is that Lois's Wedding is on track and preparing to explode on the scene.
