Monthly Archives: December 2009

VCFA visuals: 1st 3 days

Posted on December 30, 2009 by cynthia

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Posted in accumulation, catching moments, mfa, photo stories, place, the day | Tagged | 18 Comments

a new book bag

Posted on December 27, 2009 by cynthia

As some of you know, French was my first passion. The summers after seventh, eighth, and ninth grades I spent seven to nine weeks in Ferrisburg, Vermont at Ecole Champlain, a French camp on Lake Champlain. I just loved it. … Continue reading →

Posted in craft of writing, life, mfa, perspective, place, time, writing | Tagged | 16 Comments

Christmas magic

Posted on December 24, 2009 by cynthia

You can read Dylan Thomas’ story “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” online. You can also listen to the author read a substantial excerpt from the 1952 recording. In addition, you can hear the interesting story of how this recording came … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Dylan Thomas, details, the day, time | Tagged | 2 Comments

send in the elves

Posted on December 22, 2009 by cynthia

My desk this morning, instead of being covered with books and manuscript pages, is covered with Christmas lists. I want to write, but it’s hard to draw my mind away from the unanswered questions and undone errands on my list–with … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, May Sarton, memoir, the day, writing day | Tagged | 8 Comments

it is all just shopping

Posted on December 20, 2009 by cynthia

Wanted to share this quote with you from Anne Enright‘s The Gathering: “I love this undertaker.  He has that thing that young people got, sometime after I grew up.  He does not pretend.  He does not judge.  He talks about … Continue reading →

Posted in Anne Enright, character, craft of writing, details | Tagged | 8 Comments

the ordinary day

Posted on December 17, 2009 by cynthia

My husband just forwarded me an email, sent to him by a law school and golfing buddy, with a YouTube video of Katrina Kenison, the long-time editor of the Best American Short Story series, reading a seven-minute excerpt from her … Continue reading →

Posted in catching moments, family, life, memoir, time | Tagged | 10 Comments

the signal

Posted on December 14, 2009 by cynthia

In Ron Carlson‘s new novel, The Signal, a book that includes both clotheslines and abandoned places, each word counts, as each word should but often doesn’t in novels. The Signal packs a lot into its 184 pages: six days in … Continue reading →

Posted in Ron Carlson, character, craft of writing, dialogue, fall | Tagged | 12 Comments

what have i done with my life

Posted on December 11, 2009 by cynthia

Behind me climbs a tower of papers, each one containing a thought or a quote or an article that I want to write about here. A few minutes ago, I started shuffling through the stack. About midway down, I stopped … Continue reading →

Posted in D.H. Lawrence, Dani Shapiro, Marilynne Robinson, Virginia Woolf, life, time | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

books to trees

Posted on December 8, 2009 by cynthia

Writer Anna Clark is doing a series on her blog, Isak, suggesting that we all choose books as gifts for the holidays.  Each almost-daily post in the series suggests not only the title of a book, but also who that … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Columbus GA, books, reading | Tagged | 9 Comments

A Day in the Life of Elizabeth Benedict

Posted on December 1, 2009 by cynthia

Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” On the first of each month, Catching Days hosts a guest writer in the series, “How We Spend Our Days.” Today, please welcome writer … Continue reading →

Posted in A Day in the Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments