Another book

If you happen to peruse my son Nathan's blog site you may recognize the name of the book I have just started reading - advice to writers titled "From Where You Dream" by Robert Olen Butler. With a slight difference in the author's middle name, that is, you may recognize it. Owen and Olen at various web sites seem to be interchangeable with no explanation as to why. This book jacket says Olen.

Residing most of yesterday on my car seat, the book rode with me to the store, my mom's apartment, and the beauty shop to get a permanent. Until after about 9:30 last night, I was able to snatch only a line or two at red lights, then a chapter before bed through sleepy eyes. Even though this book is non-fiction, it is about fiction and I think I am experiencing that suspension of unbelief , so necessary to the reader of fiction. In other words so far he has captured my conviction.

And while I am reading slowly, trying to digest as I go, there are already a few tentative consequences of my trying to write like Professor Butler recommends, without my head getting in the way. That should be easy as my head rarely gets in the way of anything.

Well, I think it did get in the way a little, but hey, this is my first effort:

There’s more to everything than we can see,
Something just under the bark of the tree.
A person in there, looking out from my cat -
The ululation of the shadow.
~~~~~~~
They can’t take Him out of light ripping through water.
~~~~~~~
Some people’s words are sudsy; hundreds and hundreds of frothy tiny bubbles crowding one another, and still more to come
- others, square and solid heavy stones dropping on us one at a time, for hours.
~~~~~~~
On the one side of the brain respect, honor, duty, industry, and virtue triumph over great odds. It is man.

On the other side a woman, Grace, sees something better just beyond the shoulder of the ordinary failure. It is man.