Snow and rain

Kenneth Grahame

Sorry for not having a show on Feb. 28th. I was looking forward to it. It was going to be much about George Herbert. He wrote great poems and had a great story.  But the weather kept me in bed.  Too much snow and rain this year. I am happy that February is over.  This week I am looking to read from the Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.  His birthday is this Friday, March 8.  The book was written in 1908. What a timeless classic.

Next Thursday - Feb 28 will celebrate Wales

Friday, March 1st is St. David's Day, the patron saint of Wales.  So, Thursday, Feb. 28th show will be a celebration of Wales. I am sure there will be something by Dylan Thomas, but there will be more.

W.H. Auden

This Thursday will be a morning dedicated to W.H. Auden, 21 Feb. 1907 - 29 Sept. 1973. We may have Erika Pfander come join as a guest reader. Check it out. 7 am Thursday.  

valentines day

This Thursday is Valentine's day and the show will be all love poems of various kinds.
Sounds like fun.

For Feb 7 It is Mr. Verne

Well, I have settled on Mr. Jules Verne for the show on Feb. 7.  On Feb. 8, it will be his 185th birthday.
His stories are well known to me, but I have never read them. So, this will be the day to begin a new friendship. Yay.

Thoughts for Feb 7 show round 1

I thought originally about Charles Dickens, as it will be his birthday on Feb 7.  But much was said about him last year on the 200th anniversary of his birth. It is also Sinclair Lewis' birthday, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. And on the 8th of Feb. we have John Ruskin, Elizabeth Bishop and Jules Verne's birthday.  There is much to choose from for this next weeks show. Any opinions?  

very cold day, jan. 24

Wow, it was cold coming in today.  And someone left the little heater on high in the studio, with the door closed. So it was a morning of cold and hot.  By the end of the reading, all my warm layers of closer were becoming a bit oppressive.

It was fun and challenging to read Jessica Keener's work, Night Swim.  It is very well written and the language easily flows as one reads it aloud.  Yet speaking from a non Jewish background and a man reading the journey of a young Jewish girl is a good exercise.  I think it is something worth doing more often. Reading  from very different perspectives can help us understand others better.  When I read this to myself, I imagine the voice of a young girl. But putting my own to it somehow engages me more in the character.

The story's characters and family dynamics are just that, chararcters and very dynamic. Thanks Jessica, for such a good story.

Next week, I am looking forward to reading short stories by John O'Hara. He is a wonderful and amazing short story writer. Short stories are a wonderful gift to literature. It is hard to distill a story to its essence in a short time, maintain engaging characters, full plots and keep it short.