• The Written Word returns

    When Yahoo Groups shut down last month, I lost access to The Written Word, a mailing list I’d run for nearly 17 years. The contact information for hundreds of subscribers also disappeared as did my entire archive of past postings.

    The concept for The Written Word was simple: email a daily quotation about writing, editing, journalism, poetry or publishing. It was basically the online version of a page-a-day calendar.

    On weekends and vacations, I would prep future emails by scouring magazines and reading writing-related websites. I’d buy quotation collections secondhand and fill ’em with sticky notes, marking the pages that offered advice I wanted to share. Whenever I scrolled through social media, I’d save any interesting commentary from experts in the publishing business.

    While my goal was to provide a bit of inspiration to aspiring and professional writers, I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that the quotations I shared sometimes helped me too.

    As 2020 ended, I considered putting this project behind me. It was only after reading the many old emails I’d saved thanking me for sending the quotes that I decided to continue The Written Word. I may not be able to go out into the world and volunteer in person right now, but I can help others in this small way.

    So, I’ve relaunched The Written Word on Tiny Letter. To subscribe, click here. And if you enjoy what you read, share it with others and encourage them to subscribe as well.

  • Cemetery seraphim

    In Memoriam: A Look Back At The People We Lost in 2014

    hourglass.jpgSome people view obituaries as morbid stories, but in truth only one line of an obit deals with death. The rest of the story focuses on the amazing lives people lead. In 2014, these 15 obituaries were the people/stories that most resonated with me:

    * Robin Williams, comedian and actor
    * Josefa A. Platzer, restauranteur
    * Archibald Andrews, comic book hero
    * Philip Seymour Hoffman, actor
    * Ben Bradlee, editor
    * Jay Lake, author
    * Margot Adler, author
    * John Pinette, comedian
    * Frank Mankiewicz, former president of NPR
    * Hal Douglas, voiceover actor
    * Eli Wallach, actor
    * Mickey Rooney, actor
    * R.A. Montgomery, author
    * John Tull, survivor of the plague
    * Timothy Dowd, police detective

    Other wonderful obituaries that shouldn’t be missed (and people who shouldn’t be forgotten):

    * H.R. Giger, artist
    * Arthur Gelb, journalist
    * Edwin Kagin, atheist attorney
    * Milton William Jones, one of the last Pullman porters
    * Larry Agenbroad, paleontologist
    * Jean Beliveau, hockey Hall of Famer
    * Mike Nichols, director
    * Betty Jo Simpson, Internet sensation
    * Ralph White, actor
    * Don Pardo, broadcaster
    * Maya Angelou, poet
    * Ruby Dee, civil rights activist and actress
    * Shirley Temple Black, actress and ambassador
    * Harold Ramis, director
    * Joan Rivers, comedian
    * Casey Kasem, DJ
    * Lauren Bacall, actress
    * Pete Seeger, folk singer
    * Gabriel García Márquez, author
    * Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, ruler of Haiti
    * Ariel Sharon, former Israeli Prime Minister
    * Marion Berry, former DC mayor
    * Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer
    * Sir Richard Attenborough, director
    * Sid Caesar, comedian
    * James Garner, actor
    * Elaine Stritch, actress
    * Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, boxer
    * Joe Cocker, singer
    * Ann B. Davis, actress

  • Upcoming event in Keene, NH

    If you’re free on Wednesday night (Sept. 17) and interested in discussing any and all things related to writing/publishing/journalism, I’ll be speaking to the Among the Elms writers group at the Toadstool Bookshop (222 West St., Keene, N.H.). The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome.

  • Speaking of gift guides…

    I feel the need to call out the “Holiday Gift Guide” published on BOOKish.

    For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the site, BOOKish launched earlier this year to promote books published by Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster*. I subscribe because I like receiving reviews and excerpts from new releases.

    The recently published guide, which features recommendations from the site’s editors, claims to help you “find the right book gift for everyone on your list.” This is a worthy goal. However, if some of the gift categories are any indication, the site’s editors need a serious lesson in sexism.

    Under the “For Him” category, there are book suggestions for political junkies, history buffs, sports fans, comic book collectors, music mavens and film buffs.

    Under the “For Her” category: Books about parenting, sex, romance, cooking, being a good hostess and bibles.

    Did I miss something or have we time-warped back to the 1950s?

    BOOKish, please fix this guide. You’re doing a great disservice to your readers by assuming women care nothing about politics, history, comics, sports, music, film or, you know, the world outside of the home. Oh, and if the massive restaurant industry is any indication, your male readers probably want to become “kitchen maestros,” too.

    * Transparency note: My husband once worked for Simon & Schuster and had nothing but good things to say about the place.