By Rebecca Hyde
Rowan Public Library
Have you dreamed of being a writer or are you just curious about how writers write? Then follow the example of the armchair traveler: read about the experiences of other people. You may become a better reader, if not a writer.
The following three books are not standard ěhow to writeî manuals. They are engaging if you accept writing as a road to self-discovery, as a way of truth-telling or turning life into art.
Roger Rosenblatt is an essayist, playwright and novelist. He is also a professor who teaches English and writing. His book, ěUnless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing,î is a narrative of one semester in his ěWriting Everythingî classes at Stony Brook University.
In his postscript letter to his students, Rosenblatt offers parting advice: Write as if your reader needed you desperately, because he does; both you and the human heart are full of sorrow, but only one of you can speak for that sorrow and ease its burdens and make it sing.
Anne Lamottís ěBird by Birdî describes the reality of a writerís life: feeling overwhelmed by the task, letting perfectionism ruin your writing, having writerís block. As Lamottís father told her 10-year-old brother, who was struggling to write a report on birds, ěJust take it bird by bird.î
Jill Conway write memoirs and is a former Smith College president. In ěWhen Memory Speaks,î she examines the work of memoirists over the centuries, reflecting on the different ways men and women narrate their lives and why autobiography is so popular with modern readers and writers.
The fourth book is about writing a journal: ěA Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place,î by Hannah Hinchman. Using observation and drawings, Hinchman records the details of her life. We are shown how to patiently observe and enjoy our surroundings.
Here are several more books about the experience and craft of writing. In the classic, ěWriting Down the Bones,î Natalie Goldberg offers help in ěfreeing the writer within.î Susan Witting Albertís ěWriting from Life: Telling Your Soulís Story,î is based on her workshops on ělife-writingî for women. In ěWrite the Story of Your Life,î Ruth Kanin examines the popularity of autobiography and also instructs through examples and suggested readings. Evelyn Nichols and Anne Lowenkopf offer practical advice in ěLifelines: A Guide to Writing Your Personal Recollections.î
Summer Family Movie Night ó at Rowan Public Library headquarters, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 6:30 p.m., ěCloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.î Part of the Centennial celebration. All movies are rated G, PG or PG 13 ó some movies are in appropriate for younger audiences. Children should be accompanied by an adult. Free popcorn and lemonade.
Computer classes: There are no computer classes in August.
Book Bites Club ó Aug. 30, 6:30 p.m., ěHouse Rulesî by Jodi Picoult. Book discussion groups for both adults and children are held at South Rowan Regional Library the last Tuesday of each month. The group is open to the public and anyone is free to join at any time. There is a discussion of the book, as well as light refreshments at each meeting. For more information please call 704-216-8229.
Displays: Headquarters óAnime by Robert Clyde Allen; South ó lunch boxes by Sharon Ross; East ó clowns by Elizabeth Ellenburg.
Literacy: Call the Rowan County Literacy Council at 704-216-8266 for more information on teaching or receiving literacy tutoring for English speakers or for those for whom English is a second language.