By: Susan Thomsen,
on 9/8/2010
Today is International Literacy Day.
Who is going to argue with literacy? Not me I!
I am going to celebrate by correcting typos on restaurant menus reading! Yay.
Jen Robinson's Book Page suggests literacy organizations to follow on Twitter. I like that idea, too.
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By: Susan Thomsen,
on 1/29/2009
On The Core Knowledge Blog, Robert Pondiscio cited a newspaper column bemoaning the disappearance of the Little Golden Books and other inexpensive children's fare; that columnist noted that the books are available in some places, mostly online. While I don't agree with the premise—I have seen The Poky Little Puppy, etc., in Walmart, for one—the blog did get me to thinking about affordable books for little ones.
The public library, of course, is the biggest bargain; library cards are free.
Here is a version of what I wrote in the comments at Core Knowledge:
Goodwill and other thrift stores are excellent places to buy inexpensive books for children, as are library sales. Tag sales and garage sales are other good places to look, not to mention online resources like Freecycle lists and Paperback Swap. Almost all libraries offer free Internet access, so one does not have to own a computer to have accounts or join email lists.
My local Goodwill sells children’s paperbacks for something like 50 cents. The various Scholastic clubs also offer at least some inexpensive books in almost every catalogue. (A tip: just avoid the books that come with the cheap tchotchkes. Breakage=heartbreak.)
Any other ideas? I hope you'll add them in the comments. I'd be happy to make the suggestions into a flyer.
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By: Susan Thomsen,
on 12/23/2008
What a lovely lot of trees, don't you think? And it's so special, so heartwarming, so seasonal that they're grown here in the Nutmeg State, too. Ah, smell the scents of evergreens and "O Tanenbaum" wafting through the air. Want to buy one of these beauties?
No?
Perhaps, then, we'd better go with a sunset.
At least it has some color.
Happy Holidays from all of us here at Chicken Spaghetti!
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By: Susan Thomsen,
on 8/6/2008
As the third anniversary of Katrina approaches, Susan Larson, books editor at the Times-Picayune, rounds up a long list of new titles that deal with the hurricane in some way. She includes children's books and a number of poetry books, too. I liked Julia Reed's House on First Street (nonfiction) and am on the library's hold list for Tom Piazza's City of Refuge (fiction).
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By: scriberess,
on 2/5/2008
To say that Austrian playwright, Peter Handke is a man of few words is truly an understatement.
In fact he has written a play entitled, "The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other" to be performed at the National Theatre from March 31 to April 12 for 30 performances. What makes his play "special" is that not one word will be spoken by the actors.
For 1 hour and 40 minutes, 450 characters will be silent.
According to a blurb on the National Theatre site:
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/thehour
The play is best described: "For a moment, a bright, empty town square. And then a figure darts across, and another and another – businesspeople, roller-bladers, a cowboy, several street-sweepers, a halfdressed bride, a film crew, a line of old men, a tourist, a beauty in a mirrored dress, Abraham and Isaac, a family of refugees, a fool – more and more people, the bizarre and the humdrum, fleetingly connected by proximity alone."
The idea apparently came to Handke as he sat at a cafe on an Italian piazza watching strangers come and go. Even if not a word is spoken, the play is not sound-less. The silence is punctuated by snatches of music, the occasional scream and the recorded sounds of an aeroplane or workmen drilling.
A National Theatre spokeswoman said: "It is a great piece of work, challenging and something that we should be doing. Tickets are selling well - not like hotcakes, but they are doing well. It is appealing to younger people. We think our more traditional audiences will wait until the reviews."
If this is a success, I shall re-read and re-edit my plays with the possibility of eliminating the dialogue. Perhaps I'll re-name the wedding play, "Make Me a Wedding and Let's Keep It Between Ourselves." Given that it's a comedy, there will be lots of body language and gesturing. Since my play has a mere 9 characters, it shouldn't be too difficult to fill the various roles.
If anyone attends this play, please pass on your impressions and review.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
By: Rebecca,
on 8/1/2007
I have something really exciting for you today, a podcast that gives a unique look into an art form we don’t often get to explore on the OUPblog, film. James Monaco author of How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia: Language, History, Theory got the chance to interview Laurent Tirard, writer and director of Moliere, a new film about the famous playwright. To read some plays by Moliere check out The Misanthrope, Tartuffe and Other Plays or Don Juan and Other Plays. To listen click the “play” button below. The full text of the interview is after the break.
