A very clever young man and one to watch!
News
Is your TBR pile in danger of toppling, like mine? Thank goodness we have the choice of creating our literary towers in the virtual world now. Book reviewer extraordinaire, Claire McAlpine, has just posted the long list for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013. I’ve only managed to read a few of these titles so have already added others to my tower.
Which titles have you read or added? Are you prepared to predict a winner at this point?
And may I just say, I look forward to seeing names from our great community of indie authors gracing this list in the near future!
She Walks In Beauty ~ Beauty Of A Woman Blogfest
Last year August McLachlan had an idea that seems to be growing into a movement in 2013 … a strong, positive, brilliant celebration of what it is to be a woman. I’m proud to be a part of it.
Make a note to spend some time over on August’s blog to find links to the posts that are being contributed this year. Click right here to get started! It is so much fun, so meaningful … and even powerful … to see the variety of perspectives that come together in this extraordinary collection from women and men.
In my post last year, I mentioned how the aging process sneaks up on us and how important it is to celebrate every day, wrinkles and all! I also talked about the pleasures of being a grandmother and how I think it is our joyful duty to help our grandchildren grow up in a world that is moving forward with equality for everyone, regardless of gender. Everyone should feel beautiful, male or female.
This year I want to introduce you to She Walks In Beauty, a book described as “ a priceless resource for anyone, male or female, who wants a deeper understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a woman.” Compiled and edited by Caroline Kennedy and published in 2011, this diverse collection of poetry contains selections from the Bible and Shakespeare to contemporary selections.
The first time I heard of the book was when I saw Caroline Kennedy on The Colbert Report discussing (?) poetry with Stephen Colbert. Very cool!
This fine anthology examines many of the stages most of us experience: falling in love; making love; breaking up; marriage; love itself; work; beauty, clothes, and things of this world; motherhood; silence and solitude; growing up and growing old; death and grief; friendship; how to live.
Each selection was personally chosen by Kennedy. Each section is prefaced by her insightful reflections and at times she shares intimate family memories.
I slowly enjoyed this excellent assortment of poems over a period of time, liking some and not caring for others. That’s how words are, right? They don’t all hit the spot in the same way with each of us. However I felt one constant throughout: the older we get, the more comfortable we are with the notion that our beauty comes from within. This is a book to be savoured at your leisure and many times over.
I was reminded more than once of the words of Kahlil Gibran ~ Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.
She Walks in Beauty makes a fabulous gift for any woman, any time. It’s beautiful! And you are beautiful! Remind yourself of that every single day.
Here’s a taste of what awaits you. This poem lends its title to the book and is found at the beginning.
She Walks in Beauty
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Ready, set, go!
Get out the fireworks, noisemakers, and pots and pans or just snuggle up on the couch with the tv tuned to the Rockin’ NYE show in Times Square … *a toast to Dick Clark’s memory* … . whatever works for you!
Celebrate all the good memories of 2012, move on from the not so good if you can, and welcome 2013 with hope and optimism.
I’m excited! I love to welcome in each new year and am forever grateful I have much to celebrate, like good health/a thriving family/wonderful friends/exciting plans. I hope you do too.
We also have a dear friend who is dying and will not see much more time here, let alone another year. We have spent many good hours with him and his wife through the holidays appreciating our moments together. His spirits and attitude are inspiring.
My husband’s brother and his family live in war-torn Aleppo, Syria where life is unimaginable to us right now. Amazingly, we can still talk to them on the phone most of the time but can do nothing more to help them at the moment. Nothing can get through. Each day brings fear and hardship. Their spirits and attitudes are inspiring.
Other extended family and friends are dealing with illness or difficulties. Their spirits and attitudes are inspiring.
Everyone reading this can tell similar stories and of course we all share in the pain of Newtown, Hurricane Sandy and other disasters. We marvel at the response of those whose spirits and attitudes are inspiring through it all.
Life.
This post is not meant to be a downer. I hope it is a reminder to celebrate the human spirit and to support each other and proceed together to make life better in whatever way we are able.
No matter what is being handed to us, the human spirit has a way of staying strong, seeing the positive, and working in whatever way, big or small, to remove the negative. So let’s grab on to this new year and vow to do whatever we can to make the world a better place.
Merci mille fois – thank you a thousand times, for the thoughts, the photos, the wisdom, the humour and most of all the friendship that we share in this amazing blogosphere community. I can’t wait to see what 2013 brings to us all. Onward!
