Tuesday

Dec. 7, 1999

To the Doe Last Seen Running Up the South Exit Ramp Toward Wal-Mart Plaza

by Pamela Gemin

Broadcast Date: TUESDAY: December 7, 1999

Poem: "To the Doe Last Seen Running Up the South Exit Ramp Toward Wal*Mart Plaza" by Pamela Gemin from Vendettas, Charms, and Prayers published by New Rivers Press.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. On this day in 1941, the Japanese staged a massive attack on the American Naval and Air base in Hawaii. 2,330 servicemen were killed, nearly half of them aboard the battleship Arizona, which was destroyed when one of its own 16-inch shells exploded. Many brothers died together, since the policy—later changed—had been to let family members serve in the same unit.

In 1908 on this date, The Watch and Ward Society of Boston successfully prosecuted a book salesman for selling a spicy book called Three Weeks. This led to the term "banned in Boston," which proved a boon to the sales of any book.

It's the birthday of painter Stuart Davis, born in Philadelphia (1894)—an early American Cubist who anticipated Pop Art by 35 years with his "Lucky Strike" collage (1921). He later changed styles and produced "The Mellow Pad" (1945-51) and "Little Giant Still Life" (1950), differing greatly, in their humor, from the Abstract Expressionism then dominating the New York art scene. He was especially fond of the images of taxis, chain-store fronts, and neon signs.

It's the birthday of English novelist Joyce Cary, born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland (1888). Best known for The Horse's Mouth (1944).

It's the birthday of journalist Heywood Broun [broon], born in Brooklyn (1888). He dropped out of Harvard to begin his career as a sportswriter for the New York Morning Telegraph, then the New York Tribune, which he left after differing with his publisher; Broun claimed Sacco and Vanzetti, anarchists accused of murder, were being railroaded. Later, he founded the American Newspaper Guild and served as its president until his death.

It's the birthday of novelist Willa (Sibert) Cather, born near Winchester, Virginia (1873). She and her family moved to Nebraska when she was 8; she grew up among immigrant sodbusters—Swedes, Bohemians, Russians, Germans. Her best writing dealt with such people and the conflicts rough living forced on them—especially her popular favorite, My Antonia (1918). In her novel O Pioneers! she wrote: "Isn t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before; like the larks in this country, that have been singing the same five notes over for thousands of years."

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

 

«

»

  • “Writers end up writing stories—or rather, stories' shadows—and they're grateful if they can, but it is not enough. Nothing the writer can do is ever enough” —Joy Williams
  • “I want to live other lives. I've never quite believed that one chance is all I get. Writing is my way of making other chances.” —Anne Tyler
  • “Writing is a performance, like singing an aria or dancing a jig” —Stephen Greenblatt
  • “All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • “Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up.” —John Edgar Wideman
  • “In certain ways writing is a form of prayer.” —Denise Levertov
  • “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” —E.L. Doctorow
  • “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” —E.L. Doctorow
  • “Let's face it, writing is hell.” —William Styron
  • “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” —Thomas Mann
  • “Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials.” —Paul Rudnick
  • “Writing is a failure. Writing is not only useless, it's spoiled paper.” —Padget Powell
  • “Writing is very hard work and knowing what you're doing the whole time.” —Shelby Foote
  • “I think all writing is a disease. You can't stop it.” —William Carlos Williams
  • “Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.” —Iris Murdoch
  • “The less conscious one is of being ‘a writer,’ the better the writing.” —Pico Iyer
  • “Writing is…that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.” —Pico Iyer
  • “Writing is my dharma.” —Raja Rao
  • “Writing is a combination of intangible creative fantasy and appallingly hard work.” —Anthony Powell
  • “I think writing is, by definition, an optimistic act.” —Michael Cunningham
Current Faves - Learn more about poets featured frequently on the show