Thursday, January 24, 2013

Winter Journals

I'm reading Winter Journal, by Paul Auster, a library book. I went there to get short stories by George Saunders, the guy everybody is talking about, but my library didn't carry anything by him. (Fear not! Interlibrary loan!)

Winter Journal is a memoir, in second person, of all things. I remember reading about it, and here is an NPR mini-review. I've already encountered half of what's mentioned in the NPR account, and I'm only on page 13. Hmm. But I am gripped, maybe because I am so cold, wrapped in a scarf and various sweaters. It's winter in the Midwest.

The other journal--I titled this "Winter Journals"--is my new red leather heart-stamped diary, 30% off Valentine's-Day-related items* at Barnes & Noble, the coupon waiting in my email this morning, found just after coming to the last page of my previous diary. So it's a Random Coinciday in the blog.

To celebrate, uh, besides buying a new journal with a fine discount, I will say that I forgot to mention, in Meetings, that I found out about Jack Schwarz, my most recent poet at Escape Into Life, thanks to meeting in person his daughter Hannah when I was working on Cleopatra in Ohio in November! I do love meeting in person poets I've met online.

*red, heart-stamped

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It must have been amazing to meet in person. I have been lucky enough to meet an writer who inspires me in person, and it is one of the best memories of my life.

Marcoantonio Arellano (Nene) said...

Agree that, first; it is cold here in the midwest. imagine living up here in the North Pole or I mean Northern Indiana by the Lake and what ever wind misses 'the Windy City' hits us. second; it is nice making contact with the extraordinary writers that participate in this blog along with any creative people that pull the extraordinary hidden strings in the woven darkness of life.
Love Jack Schwartz and daughter Hannah.

I saw your sister was in Cleopatra in Ohio. Bet you were proud and at the same re-living, vicariously, through her.

Have a great Friday and weekend, mi amiga.

Hannah Stephenson said...

Meeting in-person is a true delight!!

It's funny to feel we know someone so well as we know other bloggers (and we do, right?)--many bloggers have been reading one another for years!

And George Saunders is wonderful. Pastoralia is terrific...I'm looking forward to his new collection, too!

Robert Mc said...

I like the Auster book a lot! I'm actually glad for some winter. For a while there it seemed we'd just have a long grey winter that would go until spring, if spring was still in the cycle.

Kathleen said...

Thanks, Robert. As coincidence will have it, I heard the tail end of a talk with Auster on RadioLab this morning, as I made my way home in the icy rain....