By: Sarah Miller,
on 3/5/2008
I'm having a little trouble being coherent, so just go read the news:
By: Bruce Black,
on 11/24/2007
Some writers refer to the process of writing as drawing water from a well, hinting at a reservoir of words stored beneath the surface. That well, like an underground aquifer, feeds our imaginations and drenches our words in the same way that underground streams secretly nourish the landscape. And it's limitless--yes, limitless--but only if we acknowledge the well as a source and carefully
By: Kate Messner,
on 9/14/2007
"My heart is singing for joy this morning."
-Anne Sullivan to Sophia Hopkins, March 1887
So begins one of the chapters in Sarah Miller's debut novel Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, and her quote from Annie Sullivan describes just how I felt when I finished this magical book.
Last spring, I issued an invitation to authors of historical fiction, to send me information about their books for a presentation I'm doing this fall at the New York State Reading Association Conference. I heard from wonderful writers -- some whose works I knew and some who were new to me. But one title REALLY caught my eye: Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller. First, it got my attention because the titles of our books are so similar. When I opened it up to start reading, it got my attention in another way -- a sweep-you-away-in-the-story kind of way.
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller tells the story of Annie Sullivan, the young woman who battled beliefs of the time and fought with every ounce of energy she had to give Helen Keller the gift of language. Sarah Miller tells the story in Annie's voice -- and tells it with a passion that speaks to the depth of her research and her pure love for this historical figure. Miss Spitfire not only tells the story we see in The Miracle Worker -- the story of Annie's time with Helen -- but also plunges into Annie Sullivan's past, and in doing so, provides a deeper understanding of the commitment and determination that led to her success.
The portrayals of Annie's emotional, psychological, and physical struggles with Helen were so vivid that I found myself reading with my brow furrowed in determined solidarity with Annie as she plunked Helen back into her seat at the dining room table for the tenth time. Truly, Annie had to be a spitfire to survive this monumental challenge when she was little more than a girl herself.
The minor characters in this novel sparkle, too. One of my favorite scenes brought Helen together for a lesson with the Kellers' servant boy Percy. I felt like I was about to burst with pride right along with Annie when Helen began to turn from a student into a teacher, helping Percy with some of the letters. Mr. & Mrs. Keller, too, are painted with a tremendous depth of understanding. It would have been easy to portray Helen's parents as one-dimensional characters who got in the way of Annie's work, but instead, Sarah Miller helps us to see their complexity and feel some of their anguish at having a beautiful, broken child.
Early in the book, Annie tells Helen's mother why her lessons are so vital to Helen.
"Words, Mrs. Keller, words bridge the gap between two minds. Words are a miracle."
Indeed, they are. And Miss Spitfire will have you believing in that miracle all over again.
Coming soon on my LJ...an interview with the author of Miss Spitfire, Sarah Miller!
I've always loved that story about Helen Keller at the water pump. It's a powerful illustration of how our minds suddenly open up, the "aha" experience. Journal writing often leads me to more productive writing. It's my most reliable writing ritual. I also often find when writing an essay that as I work through the first draft I discover what the essay is really about, the idea I was
Barbara,I think that "aha" experience-- whether it takes ten words or ten thousand words--is what we strive for in our writing... a moment of discovery, a chance to find something that we hadn't known or seen before. Each time it happens, it feels like an unexpected gift, doesn't it?Thanks so much for honoring Wordswimmer with "A Roar for Powerful Words" award. You've been so encouraging from the