Adventure to Willa Cather's Childhood Home

This weekend, a friend of mine and I cruised on down to Red Cloud, Nebraska, a historic town for its affiliation with Willa Cather. Sadly, we did not make it there in time to go on an official tour. Instead, we wandered the streets with a tour map we pilfered from an unmanned Opera House lobby.

The air was cold and getting colder, this being dusk and all. The city streets we are but empty of cars and drivers, and we were the only ones on foot. I wore my plaid brown and green pants that everyone seems to think are pajamas, and a zip up hoody. My friend wore his checkered slip ons and is even taller than me (and I'm 6'3"). We figured we looked like a "Big-City" couple, enjoying the sites of this "quaint town" (which is a problem nowadays: two guys--or even girls--hanging out by themselves are often looked upon as a couple.) Regardless of what the locals thought of our sexual orientation, we stuck out like lone stalks of corn that had been missed by a thresher.

It didn't take long to hit all the "major" locations: her childhood home, the house My Antonia was based on, and a handful of other houses and buildings that were used in her fiction or housed inhabitants she based her characters off. We were in and out of the town in less than an hour.

Our only interaction with the locals was my friend being given a smile--then a cold shoulder--to his question, witnessing a group of very drunk people hanging out at the community center, and being gobbled at by a fat dude riding in a minivan. What, exactly, that was supposed to mean, we couldn't guess--but decided we really didn't want to know.

Really, the best part of the entire excursion was the 6 hour conversation during the to and from drive. Big things are on the horizon for the two of us, things that might fail miserably, things that might be life-changing, things that might simply give the two of us a direction and purpose for life. Regardless, we're going to be stepping out soon and trying something big, big, big. Of course, I will keep you updated. In the meantime, let your fantastical minds run wild with the possibilities.

Terry Pratchett

I know I've mentioned him before and even probably wrote a mini-review for his recent book Nation--amazing, by the by--but I just wanted to take another minute to give him a good plug.

The more I've thought about him, and realized that I've read about a dozen of his books--probably my most read author then, or one of--he's been quite a formative author for this young writer. I remember reading Soul Music and really connecting with it. In fact, it affected me so much that I've been afraid to read it ever since, as I though it would suck. But the more I've read by him, the more and more I've been impressed with his writing.

Granted, we literary types aren't supposed to like genre fiction. We're supposed to turn up our noses and act like it's done nothing for the world--except maybe cheapen it. Yet how are we supposed to write of authors primarily known for their genre fiction: Ray Bradbury, George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, and even Terry Pratchett here. Sure, these folks entertain and write within their genre, but they still have something to say. Pratchett's Nation is one of the best coming of age stories and an examination about faith/beliefs/traditions I've read in a long time. And Bradbury, well, I'm going to rant about him later.

I think these authors walk a fine line between fluff and "deep-thinking" pieces that literary novels are supposed to be.

What I really want to say about this whole thing is that we need to get that stick out of our butts that tells us only to read "literary" works. You'll miss out on some very high-quality fiction. And there are many worse places to start than Pratchett. Give him a go.

Lit Journal Submission Opportunities

Today is a day that needs to be completed while working on other things. Many, many other things. So this is simply a plug.

Poets, Short Storiests, Essayists, Comicists, Artists, Bring the Ink needs you. A lit mag is only as cool as its submissions. So please, send something cool. Cool is good. It will make people read your work--and our mag. Check it out, and read some of our current material.

Gibberish tomorrow. More busy-ness, too.

Books, Glorious Books

As I've taken down my "Currently" snippet--where I showed what I was reading, watching, playing, etc...--I realize that I've neglected to plug any of my current reads. This has been even worse as I've been updating my Goodreads account and just assuming that everyone knows what I've been reading and whether or not it is worth their time. So, I'm going to take a moment to plug two of my current reads: Drown by Junot Diaz, and The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr.

Drown is a collection of short stories by the recent Pulitzer Prize winner of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao--a book I can't recommend highly enough. (If you haven't read it--especially if you are into comics and fantasy and nerdy crap--it's one of the best books ever. Even if you aren't into that stuff, I'm sure you will be blown away.) Now having read Diaz's earlier work, I don't think I would've been so floored by Oscar Wao. Right from Diaz's early beginnings, his story-telling and voice are impeccable. Really. He's the kind of writer that is both inspiring and soul-crushing. Inspiring because he shows what a wordsmith can do with a few choice words. Soul-crushing because he makes a fledgling author want to all but give up his attempt at writing because he will never amount to even a fraction of Diaz's talent. It's not fair. Not fair at all. But that being said, it goes to show how much everyone needs to read this man's books. The amount of emotion he can stir up within a person in such a small amount of space... I really hate this guy and his amazing talent. I continue to be in awe of him, and I suggest that you do yourself a favor and buy one, or both, of his books.

The Book of the Dun Cow is a much different read by comparison, but enjoyable nevertheless. While I might not be envious of Wangerin's writing, I'm still jealous of his emotional manipulation. (I need to work on this in my own novel.) He's got me caring about chickens and mice and dogs more than I ever have before. Many have compared this novel to Watership Down and/or Animal Farm, and while I see why they've done so--this is an allegory involving animals--the themes and overall emotion goes in a different direction than Adam's and Orwell's masterpieces. This might not be a book for everyone, but from what I've read, I'd be doing a disservice to the world of readers if I did not give it a bit of a push in their direction.

Really, there's not much better for a writer to do than read--then pass on the good finds. And if you want to see my lengthy list of recent reads and mini-reviews, hit me up on Goodreads. You can find me by searching for my lengthy email: chris(dot)smith(dot)mailliw(dot)william(at)gmail(dot)com. Just tell me you read my blog and I'll befriend you.