TV shows do it. And so must I. I will be off the air for the next couple weeks. As far away from computers as I’ve been in a long time. There will be no posts to peruse for a while. I don’t doubt your heart is broken.
I could have had some posts on deck and spooled them out using Wordpress magic, but that’s not my style. Recharging is a good thing, and I plan to come back refreshed with musings on Kiwis, kamikazee chipmunks, dead bodies in hotel mattresses, tips on writing childrens’ books, and other silliness. See you then!
I'm heading home for a few days to visit with my mom. I'll be leaving bright and early tomorrow in the hopes that I get in at a decent hour. (Yes, I know I'm being pessimistic, but I don't think my flights have been on time in quite a long time.)
Tomorrow my wonderful poetry friends will be debuting original
rondeau redoublés as part of the poetry Friday celebration. I'm sorry I won't be joining them this time around, but I'll be with them in spirit. Be sure to stop by the blogs of
Tanita Davis,
Kelly Fineman,
Sara Lewis Holmes,
Andromeda Jazmon,
Laura Purdie Salas and
Liz Garton Scanlon to read their fabulous pieces.
Don't know what a
roundeau redoublé is? Check out this bit of background Kelly posted at
Writing and Ruminating.
See you back here later next week.
Ammon Shea recently spent a year of his life reading the OED from start to finish. His book, Reading the OED, has been published by Perigee, so go check it out in your local bookstore. In the post below Ammon reports on the Dictionary Society of North America Conference.
I spent four days last week sitting in a mildly uncomfortable chair and experiencing the distinct pleasure that comes from listening to people far more knowledgeable than I speak on the subject of dictionaries. It was the biannual meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America, held at Indiana University, in Bloomington, and although I learned an enormous amount, I have to confess that there is one question from my time there that still plagues me – why don’t more people go to conferences?
To be more specific about this query, I mean that I don’t quite understand why more people who are not connected with lexicography, linguistics, or some related field do not attend this meeting. I routinely meet people who say they are enchanted by dictionaries, and have questions about how they work and their history, what better way to indulge one’s interest in a subject than to go where you are surrounded by dozens of experts in a field?
Granted, this is not the typical holiday that comes to mind for most, and I guess that is reasonable. But I did see a few attendees, such as my friend Leonard Frey, whose interest in dictionaries is purely amateur (in the best sense of that word), and who drove up from Memphis with his wife. Their obvious enjoyment was so pure and infectious that it constantly reminded me how lucky I was to attend. Among the highlights:
Kate Wild, of the University of Glasgow, gave a talk on re-assessing Samuel Johnson’s usage labels that forever changed the way I’ll read that dictionary. Grant Barrett demonstrated an impressive and potentially enormously productive use of Amazon Turks in creating a database of user-created definitions. And Sarah Ogilvie showed that scholarship and sustaining audience interest need not be mutually exclusive, in a paper that effectively made the case that, while James Murray was certainly one of the greatest lexicographers in history, he was also prone to inordinate bursts of peevishness and paranoia.
However, the greatest enjoyment came from listening to the editors of the Historical Thesaurus of the OED, especially Christian Kay and Irené Wotherspoon (who between them have close to 80 years experience working on that magnificent project). I’ve mentioned the HTOED before, and feel no compunction to avoid repeating myself. If you have any curiosity about the English language go buy yourself a copy – it is not cheap by any means, but no matter the price it is a bargain. And I can imagine no better advocates for it than Kay and Wotherspoon, who exude intellectual grace and humor like few I’ve ever seen. If they decided to write a book on the history of Popsicle sticks and watch fobs I would run out and buy it.
On a side note, I will be taking a hiatus from this blog for the next three months, while I finish a book. See you all again soon.
Think of this post as the
Wood Between the Worlds. As it says in
The Magician's Nephew, "
it was the quietest wood you could possibly imagine....not the sort of place where things happen.........." That is how it will be here for most of 2009, I think, though I hope things will happen here again before Christmas. I love the topics in his blog and hate to set it aside temporarily, but I have some pressing business to take care of in several different worlds. You can visit these worlds by diving into the various link-pools below:
Through the pool next door to that one: I hop still further back in time, to the
7th Century, as I consult with my editor about my Saint Cuthbert picture book,
The Ravens of Farne.
And next to both of these....A
new pool to the world called
HALIWERFOLC, which will only open magically to
I hope you'll come explore these worlds with me while Storyspell sits here quietly for a little while.
Apologies for the dearth of posts lately. I’ve been cutting down on my blogging and cartooning so I can focus more on my writing. I’ll still be posting but not quite as often, so please do add Inkygirl to your RSS feed to be kept updated.
I hope your own writing projects are going well!
As I celebrate Christmas in England with my husband's family, I'll be on a proper hiatus from the blog (as opposed to one imposed by a lack of time!) Have a merry Christmas, and I will be back in the new year!
It has come to my attention recently -- when sending out events emails, calling publisher customer service, inquiring of publicists, talking to my friends, etc. -- that virtually the entirety of the publishing industry takes some portion of the month of August off. Next to that week between Christmas and New Year's, it's probably the deadest time of year in the echoing offices of the publishing houses.
And gosh darn it, I think this bookseller needs to get in on some of that lack-of-action. So I'm declaring the month of August a hiatus from The Written Nerd. Half of my readership is somewhere in the Hamptons or the Caribbean or Canada anyway (ha, or the roofs of their non-air-conditioned apartments -- who am I kidding?) I've got big plans for September, but I feel it's gonna be a really good thing for me to take a little time off in the meantime. I'm not going anywhere myself -- but loafing in the grass this morning in Prospect Park, I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be than right here in Brooklyn.
Not that there's nothing going on, mind you. I will be taking part in some cool activities coming up, which I have mentioned before. I'm posting their details here, so you'll have that to refer to in my absence, and you'll know where I can be found.
Thursday, August 7, 7:00-9:00 PM
Name Change Celebration
McNally Robinson becomes McNally Jackson! And Kate Christensen, Nathan Englander, Joseph O’Neill, Peter Sis, Matt Weiland, Sean Wilsey, Colson Whitehead become booksellers for a day!
McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince Street, NYC
Open to anyone, but RSVP in advance required; RSVP by emailing the bookstore.
Tuesday, August 19, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Emerging Leaders Night Out: IndieBound Edition
Networking, drinking, and learning about the new buy local initiative from the ABA. Free t-shirts to booksellers who RSVP by August 11!
Flatbush Farm and Bar(n), 76 St. Mark's Ave., Brooklyn
Open to young booksellers, publishers, and other book industry professionals; RSVP by emailing me.
Monday and Tuesday, August 25 & 26
ABA Emerging Leaders Council meeting with Ingram
Your reps of the national Emerging Leaders Council fly down to Nashville to meet with the nation's largest book wholesaler and discuss our goals and strategies
Just us 7 -- but we'll report back from our Southern rendezvous!
Sunday, September 14
Brooklyn Book Festival
Author readings, booksellers, publishers, lots and lots of Brooklyn book culture!
Brooklyn Borough Hall & Plaza
Open to the public
Saturday-Monday, September 20 - 22
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Fall Trade Show: NAIBA Con!
Education, author talks and signings, discussion sessions, trade show floor, bookseller insights, galleys, networking, yoga, cocktails, and much more!
Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2349 W. Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill, NJ
Open to booksellers from the mid-Atlantic region; register or find out more by emailing Eileen Dengler
Happy lazy days of summer, everyone. Hope you've got some good books to relax with. See you in September!
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Yay! I missed you. Glad you're back.
Good to be back :-)