Catching Days
is a blog about writing, reading, and life--how they meld, clash, and astonish. It's a net for catching days.How this site works:
One of my stories …
"The Empty Armchair" in Contrary MagazineOne of my essays …
"Childhood" at Numéro CinqOne of my reviews …
Heather Newton's Under The Mercy Trees in Contrary Magazine and republished by the National Book Critics Circle on Powell's Books Review-a-DayCatching Days is one of Powell’s Books “Lit Blogs We Love” !
Favorite Posts
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The Forgotten Waltz
by Anne EnrightFeatured Blog: January
Little Shavings from My Ration of Light: Am delighted to discover Victoria's blog with its Tuesday Trifles and its 482 Reasons Why She Needs a Trust Fund. Check it out and you will be delighted too.-
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I’m @catchingdays on twitter…
- Thx, Allan! RT @AllanDouglasDgn #SouthernWriter @catchingdays A writer blogging about reading, writing and life--how they intersect, clash.. 3 days ago
- RT @sayrafiezadeh: My face on 2nd st. Reading my @parisreview story @2A. Thanks @fictionaddiction. Thanks @allisonbrower for snapping it ... 3 days ago
- New essay by @pam_houston @HungerMtn's The#WritingLife http://t.co/uzINbQfz & her new book pubdate 1 wk from today! #contentsmayhaveshifted 6 days ago
- RT @robin_black: Check out this great list of books you should know on @BTMargins feature The Page Turner: http://t.co/Vrcw73il 6 days ago
- RT @so_you_know: been up for a bit. can't recall sleeping. think was writing there too. woke up thinking about words. this time Saul Bel ... 6 days ago
Monthly Archives: April 2009
out stealing horses
“We weren’t really stealing them…But we call it stealing to make it more exciting.” Per Petterson is a writer who can stand inside a moment, turn in a circle and look up and down until there is no inch of … Continue reading
Posted in catching moments, craft of writing, memory, reviews
Tagged Out Stealing Horses
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Fitzgerald finale, part 2
The Russian Doll Aspect of Life: I am the same person who liked to play with Troll Dolls in third grade, tried out for cheer leading in ninth, worked as a waitress in college, lived in France, and practiced law. … Continue reading
Fitzgerald finale, part 1
Perhaps one of the reasons I’ve been so taken with Tender is the Night is that the things Fitzgerald writes about are also the things I’m interested in. In this two-part post (a finale in the sense that I’ll be … Continue reading
a pattern of constant revising
Apparently on a little F. Scott Fitzgerald kick… The first novel he submitted to Charles Scribner’s Sons was rejected. Erika Willett writes, “Beginning a pattern of constant revising that would characterize his writing style for the rest of his career, … Continue reading
in a lyrical way
75 years ago this month, Tender is the Night was published. In a friend’s copy of the book, Fitzgerald inscribed the following: “If you liked The Great Gatsby, for God’s sake read this. Gatsby was a tour de force but … Continue reading
Posted in character, craft of writing, first sentences, reviews
Tagged Tender is the Night
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four wardrobe trunks
I have no trouble packing in a carry-on for a weekend trip, even a 3-day weekend. But until a few weeks ago, I’d never packed in a carry-on for a week-long trip. My husband suggested I try it. Well, I … Continue reading
from point reyes
It’s writing group week at Point Reyes, California–nine of us here (several in absentia) with Pam Houston. We arrived Thursday night at the Old Point Reyes Schoolhouse Compound for a dinner of fish stew. We come from all over the … Continue reading
Posted in Columbus GA, journeys, Pam Houston, place, recurring images, writing, writing group
Tagged The Vagrants, To the Lighthouse
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from sausalito
Last night around 10:15, I was driving into San Francisco and fireworks were going off across the bay. I got a little lost, but my gps saved me. Around eleven pm, I was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Amazing. Today, … Continue reading
Posted in catching moments, journeys, place, recurring images, the day
Tagged Out Stealing Horses, The Elegance of the Hedgehog
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from seaside
It’s a blustery day in Seaside, Florida, a town many of you may know from the movie The Truman Show. I was taking a quick break from Tender is the Night for a fun beach read, The Sunday Wife by … Continue reading
Posted in journeys, movies, place, reading
Tagged Kindle, Tender is the Night, The Sunday Wife
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the first days of April
“The first days of April were windy and warm. White clouds trailed across the blue sky. In the wind there was the smell of the river and also the fresher smell of fields beyond the town.” from The Heart is … Continue reading
Posted in Carson McCullers, character, Columbus GA, first novels, place
Tagged The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
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“It’s hard to tell somebody what you mean to say. And that’s an idea that I’m obsessed with. It’s why I write. It’s why everybody writes.”
--Jonathan Safran Foer