That Doll in the Red Kimono is set in the South or at least begins there is also a connection, considering my love of southern literature, from Mark Twain, to William Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy, Eudora Welty, etc. I grew up in the South, albeit Northern Virginia. Part of coming to age was coming to grips with the vestiges of the Civil War, the unspoken attitudes, the subsurface racial consciousness, to which I was blissfully unaware as a child.
Earlier this week, after repairing shutters at my parents home, after mentioning to my mom all the books about brain science and motivational psychology that I have been "reading" audio books while working out at the gym, Mom reminded me that I should also be reading literature, to which I replied, "I don't have time for literature."
Jan has managed to "hook me," so I definitely will read on, because I want to know how the story ends. Already, I know I have discovered a master story teller, based on Jan's description of how it felt to drive down a country road in the deep South, with a gas tank nearly on empty, which captured a feeling to which anyone can connect. Considering my challenge of finding ways to hook students who hate to write, I can learn a few things about the writing process from how Jan has constructed her story, which perhaps I can share with a room full of reluctant writers.
No comments:
Post a Comment
My goal is to engage in civil conversation.