In January, I got lost.
Lost in a memoir about getting lost.
Wandering in prose thick
and as full of escort
as a solitary walk in uncharted woods.
And then I spent time with an old man
on paths along the Hudson,
adrift in his thoughts
about nature and the Universe
and an off-track god easily righted.
At night, by bedside beacon,
a poet cast painful memories
of forgotten times
as shadows on my ceiling.
Disoriented — I was only five then —
I had no compass for how to feel.
I think it’s time for some fiction.
WORDS ©2013, Jen Payne
IMAGE: New York Rooftops, My Windows in New York by Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, 1943. Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky or Dobujinsky was a Russian-Lithuanian artist noted for his cityscapes conveying the explosive growth and decay of the early twentieth-century city.
Nice!
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Thanks! Can you recommend any fiction?
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damn, that’s good…
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Thanks. Seems if I am quiet enough, the words just come in.
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I am a constant non fiction reader, but sometimes need to take a fiction break. It is hard to find “good fiction” I think or maybe I am just too picky. If I see the words “terrible tragedy/ betrayal/ crime” or such I tend to slip it back on the shelf.
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More and more I find myself drawn to non-fiction. I’m in learning mode lately and hungrily eating new information. But I’m tired – winter-tired – and fiction seems like Chinese take-out for a change! Reading A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons. So far, a few dozen pages in, it’s a nice change of pace. Not a big fan of the tagedy/betrayal/crime…OK, except Dan Brown, who I devour voraciously!
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The Hatbox Letters (Powning) and The Country of the Pointed Firs (Jewett) are 2 of my absolute favorite Fic books. Both have been read more than once. As far as Non Fic I am not sure I could even narrow down to 50 favorites!
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I think I have Country of the Pointed Firs on my bookshelf – from a college class long ago. I’ll have to check it out. The Hatbox Letters (I just read a summary) sounds lovely! Thanks for the suggestions!
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It is definitely time for some fiction! 🙂
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That’s what I thought!
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