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Connecting People with Nature Page Lambert Connecting Writers with Words
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Greetings!
According to The New Yorker's Summer Fiction issue, the odds of anyone writing anything of substance after they turn 40 are not good. That's disheartening, since I haven't seen 40 for more than a decade and in 2 days I'll be one year closer to 60. Sam Tanenhaus, editor of the The New York Time's Sunday Book Review, expands on that theory in his essay "How Old Can a Young Writer Be?" According to Tanenhaus, Herman Melville was 32 when he wrote Moby Dick. But Virginia Woolf didn't enter her prime until she was in her 40s. Pearl S. Buck was only 39 when she wrote The Good Earth, but she was 46 when she wrote Peony, the same year that she received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Should those of us in our 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond, content ourselves with literary obscurity? Who are your favorite "over 40" authors? What substantive piece are you working on? If you think writers over 40 rock, SEND ME A COMMENT and I'll compile an IMPRESSIVE list to fuel our over-40 ambitions.
Speaking of AMBITION, it's the one thing the writers featured in The New Yorker's Summer Fiction issue seemed to have in common, which I find ironic because I've been trying to learn these last few years to be less ambitious, less driven, to be less about striving and more about thriving. So this summer's newsletter is dedicated to things that help us thrive. Not the least of which is one another. Page |
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FEATURED BOOK
 Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parentingby Amy Lou Jenkins
"My purpose," writes award-winning author Amy Lou Jenkins from her home in Wisconsin, "is to nourish the earth, to point my descendants to a way and a land where they may THRIVE. Thriving is no longer a numbers game; we have enough people. Much of the planet is plundered. I must learn to save and restore what I can--to discover the constituents of a life lived in support of the earth...I must think beyond my days."
Every Natural Fact is not a "scientific nor a cultural work of scholarship," though Jenkins explores the works of writers like John Muir, Wendell Berry, Aldo Leopold, and Rachel Carson, and her young son DJ carries copies of Peterson's Field Guides in his backpack as readily as he might carry a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And I think that's what I like about Jenkins' book the most - the fact that she weaves her son's nature lessons into their Wisconsin nature walks as easilty as she might slip a sandwich into his lunch. But don't be led astray by the ease and grace with which she writes about these five seasons with her son. Each walk into the woods may be a teaching moment, but each is also a time of asking profound questions. Published by HOLY COW PRESS, whose first publication over 30 years ago was a chapbook of poems by Thomas McGrath to his son entitled LETTERS TO TOMASITO, Every Natural Fact is in fine company. Click HERE for submission GUIDELINES. | |
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Today, two hummingbirds flew into my dining room and reminded me of this Ray Bradbury quote from a speech in Reader's Digest, on rescuing a hummingbird from the jaws of a cat:
"I held the bird in my hands, one hand cupped over the other. I could not feel the weight of the bird, and would not have known it was there or even alive, except I could feel its heart beating. So it is with a good story or poem. You should feel the heartbeat, without feeling the weight of what you are reading." |
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FEATURED EVENT - THRIVING, WRITING, RAFTING, AND ROCKIN'
 Featuring world-renowned sculptor from the Santa Clara Pueblo ROXANNE SWENTZELL and her daughter ROSE B. SIMPSON featured on the cover of The Santa Fean and in Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian magazine.
No rafting, sculpting, or writing experience necessary. Outfitted by Sheri Griffith Expeditions, voted Utah's Best!
August 31 - Sept 5, 2010
Colorado River, beautiful Westwater Canyon
$1299 ($300 deposit required to hold your space)
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"The river has taken hold of me as I watch it move through still canyons, forward, downward, headed towards its end when it will disappear into the sea. In the sound of the waters, I hear the river saying: Live life, while you can... don't hold back. Seek and savor the spirit-filled places, and rejoice in the companionship and love of your fellow travelers in time." ~ Camille, Washington D.C.
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FEATURED THRIVING
Illustration by Heather Gatley | GRASS ROOTS MOVEMENT
A few weeks ago I was flying back from the Oklahoma Writers Federation Conference, where I'd been asked to teach my ANIMALS AS CHARACTERS and WRITING WITH EMOTION workshops, as well as conduct some "book doctoring" sessions. While reading the inflight magazine MY MIDWEST, I came across an article by Jane Hodges, "THE PLOT THICKENS: When property owners lend their land, gardeners lend a hand." Apparently, there's a movement stirring in over 5% of U.S. households - homeowners with garden space, but no time or energy to garden, are hooking up with would-be gardeners who want to grow food, but have no where to do it. It's a brilliant sharing idea! To learn more, start with Urban Garden Share. |
FEATURED LITERARY JOURNAL ~ Pilgrimage thrives with Maria's gentle touch
 "For Everything Which Is Natural
Which Is Infinite Which Is Yes..."
~e.e.cummings
A small magazine living the big questions. A community-in-print serving an eclectic fellowship of readers, writers, artists, naturalists, contemplatives, activists, seekers, adventurers, and other kindred spirits. A place to tell the stories that matter. An invitation to inward and outward exploration. And an appreciation of the way home. Editor Maria Melendez taught creative writing and American literature at Utah State University and Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, IN. Her collection How Long She'll Last in This World (University of Arizona Press, 2006) was named a finalist for the 2007 PEN Center USA Literary Awards. But Maria's most enduring quality is her smile--joy thrives inside her, and within the pages of Pilgrimage. For submission guidelines or to buy a copy, click HERE.
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Wishing you an abundant and thriving summer!
To learn more about my custom retreats, career and project coaching,
manuscript editing, or published writing, please go to
www.pagelambert.com.
ClickHERE to read my blog, Connecting People with Nature, and Writers with Words.
VIEW THE SLIDE SHOW FROM THE 2010
LITERATURE AND LANDSCAPE OF THE HORSE RETREAT |
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