Just finished The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork. The exploration of depression is honest and may give words as well as hope to those within the condition. Learning to exist in the midst of the trial is displayed with a tender compassion.
Watch for Vicky's story of crisis and recovery. It may help you find your own memory of light or assist another along the path beside you.
The Memory of Light
by Francisco X. Stork
Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2016
Edited by Cheryl Klein
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By: Lorie Ann Grover,
on 5/25/2016
Blog: readergirlz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Lorie Ann Grover, Scholastic, Cheryl Klein, francisco x. stork, Arthur A. Levine, Memory of Light, Add a tag
By: Beth Kephart ,
on 3/13/2016
Blog: Beth Kephart Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: David Levithan, Carolyn Mackler, Luanne Rice, Francisco X. Stork, This Is the Story of You, New York City Teen Author Festival, Historic RIttenhousetown, Jean Dominique-Bauby, Add a tag
You know how, when the fever finally breaks, you emerge new (again) to the world? These past many days, fighting the flu that has afflicted so many, fighting the political news that is equally afflicting, I have been preparing for the week ahead—losing myself inside a heated fog, waking with urgency, getting out into the world, then rushing back home to my couch and its furry cover, where, again, I try to prepare—shrugging off the fever, then succumbing to it.
This week: The first workshopping of memoirs in my class at Penn, on Tuesday. A talk about Philadelphia stories at the Union League, on Wednesday. The alumni publishing event, at Penn, on Thursday. The NYCTAF panel, "Perspectives," featuring Carolyn Mackler, Luanne Rice, Francisco X. Stork, myself, and moderator David Levithan, on Friday at the New York Public Library (South Court), at 4:40. My first signing of This Is the Story of You at Books of Wonder on Sunday, at 2:30 (alongside many other wonderful writers).
(For more on any of these events, or additional events, including the upcoming keynote for the annual Historic Rittenhousetown fundraiser, see the sidebar on this page.)
The only way I know how to prepare for a panel is to read the work of my fellow panelists. And so I have. I began with The Memory of Light, Stork's moving meditation on depression and mental unwellness. This is the story of Vicky, a second-best sort of sister mourning the death of her mother who no longer wishes to live and whose suicide attempt fails. Rushed to a hospital, Vicky becomes friends with others her age who are also battling demons. Vicky needs a reason to believe that her life is worth living. She doubts that it is for long stretches of this book. But as her new friends spiral into unsettling places—and as they reveal their own humanity—something shifts.
Stork, whose Marcelo in the Real World is a book that also must be read, writes from a true place, a deep understanding of a condition, depression that, while it affects so many, remains so poorly understood: "You are not the clouds or even the blue sky where clouds live," Vicky is told. "You are the sun behind them, giving light to all, and the sun is made up of goodness and kindness and life."
With The Secret Language of Sisters, Luanne Rice, a bestselling adult novelist (whose work has often been translated to TV), presents her YA debut—the story of two sisters whose lives are irrevocably changed by a texting-when-driving accident. Roo, a photographer, hopes to be headed to Yale. Tilly, the younger sister, is envious/proud of Roo's abilities and grace. The accident that results from Roo's response to Tilly's text leaves Roo with locked-in syndrome—the same terrifying condition that lies at the heart of Jean Dominique-Bauby's memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. As the novel unfolds, the two sisters speak to us—yes, both sisters, despite the fact that no one (but us) can hear Roo's thoughts for the longest time.
Then there is the beloved Carolyn Mackler, author of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (a Printz honor book), The Future of Us (co-authored with Jay Asher), and others. In her new book, Infinite in Between, Mackler traces the intertwined lives of five high school students who survive freshman orientation and step (sometimes sideways, sometimes backwards, but finally ahead) toward graduation—five likable teens whose differences bind them.
Of the five, Zoe, the daughter of a celebrity now in rehab, is the most (ruefully) famous. We first meet her when she learns that her mother has (without saying goodbye) left their Colorado home. Zoe's life is about to change:
By: Melissa Walker,
on 2/17/2012
Blog: readergirlz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: francisco x. stork, irises, rgz salon, lyn miller-lachmann, Add a tag
"Eighteen-year-old Kate Romero and her 16-year-old sister, Mary, have helped their father take care of their mother for years, after a car accident left her in a permanent vegetative state. The stress has taken its toll on their father, a Pentecostal minister with an increasingly restive flock. When Reverend Romero dies suddenly of a heart attack, Kate and Mary must take care of their mother themselves. Their financial resources are dwindling rapidly, and the people around them to provide support—Kate’s boyfriend, Simon; their Aunt Julia; and Andres Soto, the ambitious young preacher who intended to replace Rev. Romero even before his death—have their own agendas. When the intellectual Kate spurns Simon’s marriage proposal because she wants to attend Stanford University on scholarship and the artistic Mary falls in love with an unlikely gang member, the girls weigh, in their separate ways, their duty to family against their right to pursue their dreams.
"Stork (Marcelo in the Real World and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors) has proven himself a master of characterization and character development, and Irises—his first novel narrated from a female point of view (though in third person)—is no exception. There is a subtle creepiness in otherwise good people that draws Add a Comment
By: Maryann Yin,
on 4/25/2011
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Young Adult Books, Poetry, John Green, Jeanne DuPrau, Penguin, Joyce Carol Oates, Gary Soto, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Francisco X. Stork, Book Wish Foundation, Corneila Funke, Cynthia Voight, Jane Yolgen, Nate Powell, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, What You Wish For: A Book For Darfur, short stories, Meg Cabot, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mia Farrow, Karen Hesse, Nikki Giovanni, Marilyn Nelson, Sofia Quintero, R.L. Stein, Add a tag
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By: Sara Lewis Holmes,
on 9/17/2010
Blog: Read Write Believe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Francisco X. Stork, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Franz Kafka, Add a tag
You might have missed this glorious poem at Francisco Stork's journal, which he posted on an ordinary Tuesday in June.
Inspiration
Taken together, this quote and this poem, make me believe that each book, each poem is a chance to die . . . and rise, living again.
Don't miss that chance.
Poetry Friday is hosted today at Wild Rose Reader
By: Amanda,
on 5/11/2010
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: young adult books, Francisco X. Stork, Add a tag
By: Sara Lewis Holmes,
on 4/2/2010
Blog: Read Write Believe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry, Poetry Friday, Francisco X. Stork, Add a tag
Many of you know Francisco from his novel, Marcelo in the Real World, which I blogged my devotion to here. And you might say that fear and safety are entwined in the choices Marcelo must make to live in the real world.
But today, I'm featuring Francisco's poetry, which also asks us to think about our continual longing to be open, to be unafraid, in a world that urges us to chose safety above all else. He told me that I could share his words as I wished, but I'm only giving you the beginning of The Song here, because I'd like you to read the rest at his blog. So you'll stay over there awhile and browse through his journal. And listen to his thoughts mixed up with the rain. Waiting in Darkness and The Six Perfections of Writing are good places to begin.
The Song
It is not logical to hear such a melody
this late spring
when the rains are still cold.
I had to stop when it first came,
its beckoning unrecognizable
or too familiar.
How can the frozen earth not
crack
to such song?
the rest is here
Poetry Friday is hosted today by Book Aunt.
By: Trisha, Gayle, and Jolene,
on 5/7/2009
Blog: The YA YA YAs (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reviews, Fiction, francisco x. stork, marcelo in the real world, Add a tag
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 4/17/2009
Blog: Ypulse (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: asberger's syndrome, francisco x. stork, marcelo in the real world, teens with disabilities, Books, autism, Add a tag
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By: Lorie Ann Grover,
on 5/25/2016
Blog: readergirlz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Lorie Ann Grover, Scholastic, Cheryl Klein, francisco x. stork, Arthur A. Levine, Memory of Light, Add a tag
By: Beth Kephart ,
on 3/13/2016
Blog: Beth Kephart Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: David Levithan, Carolyn Mackler, Luanne Rice, Francisco X. Stork, This Is the Story of You, New York City Teen Author Festival, Historic RIttenhousetown, Jean Dominique-Bauby, Add a tag
This week: The first workshopping of memoirs in my class at Penn, on Tuesday. A talk about Philadelphia stories at the Union League, on Wednesday. The alumni publishing event, at Penn, on Thursday. The NYCTAF panel, "Perspectives," featuring Carolyn Mackler, Luanne Rice, Francisco X. Stork, myself, and moderator David Levithan, on Friday at the New York Public Library (South Court), at 4:40. My first signing of This Is the Story of You at Books of Wonder on Sunday, at 2:30 (alongside many other wonderful writers).
(For more on any of these events, or additional events, including the upcoming keynote for the annual Historic Rittenhousetown fundraiser, see the sidebar on this page.)
The only way I know how to prepare for a panel is to read the work of my fellow panelists. And so I have. I began with The Memory of Light, Stork's moving meditation on depression and mental unwellness. This is the story of Vicky, a second-best sort of sister mourning the death of her mother who no longer wishes to live and whose suicide attempt fails. Rushed to a hospital, Vicky becomes friends with others her age who are also battling demons. Vicky needs a reason to believe that her life is worth living. She doubts that it is for long stretches of this book. But as her new friends spiral into unsettling places—and as they reveal their own humanity—something shifts.
Stork, whose Marcelo in the Real World is a book that also must be read, writes from a true place, a deep understanding of a condition, depression that, while it affects so many, remains so poorly understood: "You are not the clouds or even the blue sky where clouds live," Vicky is told. "You are the sun behind them, giving light to all, and the sun is made up of goodness and kindness and life."
With The Secret Language of Sisters, Luanne Rice, a bestselling adult novelist (whose work has often been translated to TV), presents her YA debut—the story of two sisters whose lives are irrevocably changed by a texting-when-driving accident. Roo, a photographer, hopes to be headed to Yale. Tilly, the younger sister, is envious/proud of Roo's abilities and grace. The accident that results from Roo's response to Tilly's text leaves Roo with locked-in syndrome—the same terrifying condition that lies at the heart of Jean Dominique-Bauby's memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. As the novel unfolds, the two sisters speak to us—yes, both sisters, despite the fact that no one (but us) can hear Roo's thoughts for the longest time.
I remembered my seizure, Tilly standing there—the worst feeling I've ever had, thrashing around with no control, hearing her scream just before I passed out. I woke up being restrained—or at least that's what I thought. I thought they had tied me down. Then I realized, No, there are no straps. It's me—I can't move. I can't speak. I can't get anyone to hear me.Rice has created a story of triumphal love despite harrowing circumstances.
Then there is the beloved Carolyn Mackler, author of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (a Printz honor book), The Future of Us (co-authored with Jay Asher), and others. In her new book, Infinite in Between, Mackler traces the intertwined lives of five high school students who survive freshman orientation and step (sometimes sideways, sometimes backwards, but finally ahead) toward graduation—five likable teens whose differences bind them.
Of the five, Zoe, the daughter of a celebrity now in rehab, is the most (ruefully) famous. We first meet her when she learns that her mother has (without saying goodbye) left their Colorado home. Zoe's life is about to change:
Zoe bit at her thumbnail. She knew things were getting worse with her mom, but it wasn't like anyone was talking about it. It wasn't like anyone ever talked about anything.Finally, there is David Levithan himself, who, with all his charisma and intelligence, constructs New York City Teen Author Festival—a mammoth undertaking involving more than a dozen venues and 110 authors. Every day, including today, at the Strand, there are events. David is behind each one. We're so grateful to him for opening these doors, and I'm grateful that he'll be moderating our panel—bringing his insights as an editor and his great talents as a writer.
"What?" she asked, her voice rising.
Rosa touched her arm. Their housekeeper was on the older side and had a granddaughter around Zoe's age she sometimes brought over.
"I know it's not fair," Rosa said, "but you can try to make the best of it."
"Where is Hankinson, anyway?"
"It's in New York State. Your aunt lives there. That's nice, right? You're going to stay with her for a while."
0 Comments on the week ahead, and thoughts on Francisco X. Stork, Luanne Rice, Carolyn Mackler, and David Levithan as of 3/13/2016 11:52:00 AM
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By: Melissa Walker,
on 2/17/2012
Blog: readergirlz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: francisco x. stork, irises, rgz salon, lyn miller-lachmann, Add a tag
Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and most recently, the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. The book has had multiple print runs and is available for order. (Don't forget to read the fascinating Cover Story for Gringolandia.)
We're honored to have Lyn here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, she reviews Irises by Francisco X. Stork (Scholastic):
"Stork (Marcelo in the Real World and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors) has proven himself a master of characterization and character development, and Irises—his first novel narrated from a female point of view (though in third person)—is no exception. There is a subtle creepiness in otherwise good people that draws Add a Comment
By: Maryann Yin,
on 4/25/2011
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Young Adult Books, Poetry, John Green, Jeanne DuPrau, Penguin, Joyce Carol Oates, Gary Soto, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Francisco X. Stork, Book Wish Foundation, Corneila Funke, Cynthia Voight, Jane Yolgen, Nate Powell, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, What You Wish For: A Book For Darfur, short stories, Meg Cabot, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mia Farrow, Karen Hesse, Nikki Giovanni, Marilyn Nelson, Sofia Quintero, R.L. Stein, Add a tag
A team of authors have joined Book Wish Foundation‘s What You Wish For: A Book For Darfur project. Book sale profits will be donated to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), an organization building libraries in Darfur refugee camps in Chad.
Penguin Group’s G.P. Putnam’s Sons imprint will release the collection in September. If you make a donation of $20 or more before April 30th and your name (and your child’s) will be included in the book’s acknowledgment section.
Actress Mia Farrow, who serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, has written the forward. The participating authors include: Cornelia Funke, Meg Cabot, R. L. Stine, John Green, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Cynthia Voigt, Karen Hesse, Joyce Carol Oates, Nikki Giovanni, Jane Yolen, Nate Powell, Gary Soto, Jeanne DuPrau, Francisco X. Stork, Marilyn Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Sofia Quintero.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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By: Sara Lewis Holmes,
on 9/17/2010
Blog: Read Write Believe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Francisco X. Stork, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Franz Kafka, Add a tag
You might have missed this quote from Franz Kafka, via Kurt Scaletta on Facebook:
We need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us. - Franz Kafka
You might have missed this glorious poem at Francisco Stork's journal, which he posted on an ordinary Tuesday in June.
Inspiration
Do not worry that your love’s beauty
Will dazzle me,
Blind me,
Keep me
From my daily bread.
Do not worry that the bursting
Notes of your anvil
Will stun me to dead stillness.
Taken together, this quote and this poem, make me believe that each book, each poem is a chance to die . . . and rise, living again.
Don't miss that chance.
Poetry Friday is hosted today at Wild Rose Reader
8 Comments on Poetry Friday: You might have missed, last added: 9/20/2010
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By: Inderjit Deogun,
on 9/6/2010
Blog: The Pen Stroke | A Publishing Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Books, In The News, Multimedia, Lane Smith, Macmillan, Francisco X. Stork, Marcelo in the Real World, It's a Book, Print vs. Digital Debate, Add a tag
Blog: The Pen Stroke | A Publishing Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Books, In The News, Multimedia, Lane Smith, Macmillan, Francisco X. Stork, Marcelo in the Real World, It's a Book, Print vs. Digital Debate, Add a tag
What am I reading now? Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
As the print versus digital debate continues to rage on, Lane Smith sums up the issue with It’s a Book. All readers, regardless of their personal stance, are sure to enjoy Smith’s delightfully humourous take. It’s a Book is absolutely brilliant! Take a look:
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By: Amanda,
on 5/11/2010
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: young adult books, Francisco X. Stork, Add a tag
Jacket description:
"Death. It surrounds Pancho. His father, in an accident. His sister, murdered. His own plans to trace her killer. And D.Q.-a guy Pancho's age who's dying of cancer. That is, if he'll ever shut up.
Love. D.Q. is writing the Death Warrior Manifesto, a guide to living out his last days fully. He needs just one more thing: the love of the beautiful Marisol. But as Pancho tracks down his sister's murderer, he finds himself falling for Marisol as well...
Faith. And choices that seemed right and straightforward become tender, tentative, real. While D. Q> faces his own crisis of doubt, Pancho is inexorably drawn to a decision: to revenge his sister and her death or to embrace the way of the Death Warrior and choose life."
Well, Francisco X. Stork has done it again and written a compelling, thought provoking novel which will lead you to question the ways of the world and fall in love with his characters.
I spent four months in Albuquerque, New Mexico while my son was in the hospital, where much of this novel takes place and have even stayed several nights at Casa Esperanza before moving into the Ronald McDonald House. All of the places Pancho and D.Q. talk about and go to, the streets Pancho walks down, the UNM Children's Hospital where D.Q. receives his treatment...it's all familiar to me, helping the story connect on a somewhat different level. It dredged up some memories, most unpleasant, but also allowed me to relive some of those months through a struggling young man's eyes.
Pancho is a tough boy and comes across just as so. You can see into his heart though, deep down where the sensitivity lies, and Stork brings that to the surface with perfect pacing and believability.
There are some flaws in the book. First of all, the cover is not entirely appealing. I'm not sure I would give it a second glance if I were a teen looking for the "next great read." And at times, D.Q. and his description of just what the Death Warrior Manifesto is gets a little too "deep" and unlike the thoughts of most teenagers, even if D.Q. is wise beyond his years.
I can't say I liked it as much as Marcelo, but that's ok. It's different, with a unique setting and some powerful characters. I can definitely see both guys and girls getting into this one, as they could with Marcelo, which is awesome.
Overall rating: 4 out of 5
The Last Summer of the Death Warriors
Francisco X. Stork
352 pages
Young Adult
Arthur A. Levine
9780545151337
March 2010
Review copy received from publisher
To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Associate and will receive a small percentage of the purchase price. Thanks!
2 Comments on The Last Summer of the Death Warriors (YA review), last added: 5/12/2010
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By: Sara Lewis Holmes,
on 4/2/2010
Blog: Read Write Believe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry, Poetry Friday, Francisco X. Stork, Add a tag
"In my grandfather’s house, la casa de mi abuelito, the roof was made of tin and so the rain made sounds that, depending on the force of the rain, resembled anything from dozen ballerinas tip toeing to a million marbles dropping out of a big bag in the sky. Even as a six-year-old, I liked the rain. I liked it when it rained so hard that the noise absorbed all my thoughts and there was this delicious mixture of fear and safety." ---Francisco X. Stork, in his blog entry, Rain
Many of you know Francisco from his novel, Marcelo in the Real World, which I blogged my devotion to here. And you might say that fear and safety are entwined in the choices Marcelo must make to live in the real world.
But today, I'm featuring Francisco's poetry, which also asks us to think about our continual longing to be open, to be unafraid, in a world that urges us to chose safety above all else. He told me that I could share his words as I wished, but I'm only giving you the beginning of The Song here, because I'd like you to read the rest at his blog. So you'll stay over there awhile and browse through his journal. And listen to his thoughts mixed up with the rain. Waiting in Darkness and The Six Perfections of Writing are good places to begin.
The Song
It is not logical to hear such a melody
this late spring
when the rains are still cold.
I had to stop when it first came,
its beckoning unrecognizable
or too familiar.
How can the frozen earth not
crack
to such song?
the rest is here
Poetry Friday is hosted today by Book Aunt.
6 Comments on Poetry Friday: Francisco X. Stork, last added: 4/2/2010
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By: Trisha, Gayle, and Jolene,
on 5/7/2009
Blog: The YA YA YAs (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reviews, Fiction, francisco x. stork, marcelo in the real world, Add a tag
Warning: This might turn into one of those Trisha-was-so-blown-away-by-what-she-read-that-she-is-incoherent reviews, because Marcelo in the Real World is just a beautiful, unputdownable, unforgettable, oh my god *so* good book. Believe what you’ve read elsewhere about this book; it really is that good.
Marcelo Sandoval’s father would say Marcelo has a cognitive disorder. Marcelo himself prefers to describe it as “excessive attempt[s] at cognitive order,” because there is nothing wrong with the way he perceives the world. True, Marcelo is easily overwhelmed by auditory and visual stimuli and his need to make sense of it all. He does not relate to most other people, but with practice and clear instructions, and his attendance at Paterson, a private school for students with disabilities, Marcelo is capable of functioning relatively normally. Now that Marcelo is seventeen, his father decides that it is time he learns to function “in the real world.” Therefore, Marcelo is to spend the summer working in the mail room of his father’s law firm.
Over the course of the summer, Marcelo learns about life in the real world, where, among the many things he learns, too many people are willing to take advantage of others. He begins to recognize emotions and feelings he’s never felt before, to live beyond the boundaries he previously restricted himself to. And through it all, Francisco X. Stork masterfully brings Marcelo to life, with intelligence and tenderness and so much heart.
At first, I did have a bit of difficulty falling into the rhythm of the book, so it took a couple of chapters for me to get into the story. Marcelo narrates the book and it reflects the way he views the world. Like Marcelo, the narration is deliberate and careful. Exact. Marcelo is very literal and needs clear explanations to understand words and concepts he hasn’t experienced or is unfamiliar with. Even before Marcelo tells us what his condition is, you can tell from the way he narrates that there is something different about him. When I hit chapter five, suddenly, things just clicked. I was invested in the story, invested in Marcelo. Because, did I mention how good it is? And, more than that, the connection Stork forges between readers and Marcelo, and how much I cared about Marcelo and everything he goes through? I haven’t reacted this way to a book since I read Jellicoe Road, and though I don’t love it as much as Jellicoe, I have to agree with everyone who thinks you’ll see a couple of shiny stickers on the (absolutely perfect) cover of Marcelo in the Real World come award season.
And here are some of the blog reviews I referred to at the start, because 1) I don’t think I could find them all, and 2) the list might end up being longer than what I wrote above: Angieville, Becky’s Book Reviews, Reading Rants, Reviewer X, YPulse. Or you can read the 5 (!) starred reviews its earned on Stork’s website. Also, behind the book with its editor Cheryl Klein and Becky’s interview with the author.
16 Comments on Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, last added: 5/22/2009
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By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 4/17/2009
Blog: Ypulse (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: asberger's syndrome, francisco x. stork, marcelo in the real world, teens with disabilities, Books, autism, Add a tag
Last week when I flew to the West Coast I picked out the YA novel Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork as one of my designated "plane reads" for the six-hour flight. Or, so I thought before making the mistake of cracking it open the... Read the rest of this post
Wow, Sara!
Thanks.
Total swoon . . .
"Let your giving fall
As the rain"
"Let your love fall
As the rain"
Actually not a swoon, but a little death. Thank you!
A college prof of mine said once that when we read or write, we have a chance to come back to life, and "anything coming back to life again hurts."
Great post.
sara, you come up with the best stuff, the best. always.
man.
sometimes it feels like i'm trying to chip through the polar cap with a toothpick. tap tap tap, one word at a time
thanks for this.
Francisco X. Stork must have that Kafka quote tacked up where he can read it every day.
Here's another quote (not sure if it's exactly right, but the sense is true): "Reading is breathing in; writing is breathing out." --Lester Laminack
ooo love this post! You've given me courage today.
Callie, how true. Thank you for that quote.
You guys, thanks for letting me drop back in; I never know what poem is going to wallop me, but it's nice to know you all have my back when it does.
Oh, Sara, that Kafka quote has been one of my favorites for years. I have a slightly different translation of it in my quote book (and I think you'll like the extra bit at the beginning):
"If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it? We would also be happy if we had no books, and such books as make us happy we could, if need be, write ourselves.
"But what we must have are those books which come upon us like ill-fortune, and distress us deeply, like the death of one we love better than ourselves, like suicide. A book must be an ice-axe to break the sea frozen inside us."
And that poem -- thank you and wow. Just gorgeous.