Happy weekend, one and all! I think mine will be spent justifying my thesis in a thousand words (fun) and – rather better – hopefully the first trip of 2012 to Jane’s Teas. But I shall not leave you neglected, oh no – here is a miscellany to enjoy.
1.) The book – the first I heard of Marilynne Robinson’s new collection of essays was through a post at Mary’s Library. Mary found When I Was a Child I Read Books a little uneven, and I’ve got to admit, the excitement I felt at the title (a book about books, yay!) was dampened rather when I discovered what it was actually about (philosophy and theology and stuff… oh.) I have no problem with those topics, but they don’t compare to my love of books-about-books. Still, I’m intrigued to read it, since Robinson is such a brilliant writer – and this afternoon got a ticket to see Robinson talk about the book at Blackwell’s on 15th May. (Anyone around in Oxford then?)
2.) The link – is a week-long course my supervisor Sally Bayley is helping to run in Oxford: Sylvia Plath Interdisciplinary Masterclass. All the info is here, for those with the interest, finances, and proximity to Oxford! I would just add, Sally is lovely, passionate about literature, and able to engage people in discussions about it in a dynamic and friendly way. That sounds like a testimonial, doesn’t it?! But it’s true :)
3.) The other link – is the Explore Learning National Young Writers’ Award, a competition for budding writers aged 5-14. A story on ‘Old and New’, max. 500 words, can be submitted after April 11th by email, post, or at your local Explore Learning Centre. Andrew Cope will be the judge – apparently he writes the Spy Dog series. Being out of the loop on children’s books, I don’t know it – but I bet lots of you have read it aloud to your kids! All the info you need is here – I’d love to know if your children/grandchildren/nephews/nieces etc. are entering.
4.) The blog post – is Daniel’s at Hibernian Homme, mostly for the beautiful picture, and the question at the end – but also because if you haven’t discovered Daniel’s quirky, joyous, bohemian corner of the blogosphere yet, then you need to do some exploring…
I've just started reading the Marilynne Robinson book, and I'm enjoying it very much. I did realize almost immediately that I would have to start my review by warning everyone that this is *not* a book about books by America's greatest living writer. It's good though, but I wonder how well some of it will translate across the pond. So far, there's been a lot of talk of American ideals and history, which I find interesting, but limiting as far as the potential audience goes.
Thanks for that, Teresa – I will definitely give it a go, but I'm already disappointed that the title gave me such high, false expectations…