Plumeria
In my memory,
the scent swirls around the curl
of our shared laughter.
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Voice of the Verse Novel in the Digital Age
Although written in 2005 by Joy Alexander, "The Verse Novel: A New Genre" has most excellent points which are still accurate today. In summary:
1. The digital revolution translates into oral/auditory exchanges.
2. Therefore, the voice of a written text rises in importance.
3. The verse novel, with it's intimacy of exchange with the reader and heightened voice, is the perfect vehicle to carry story in the digital age. With arranged lines, readers "experience the words as sound."
Children’s Literature in Education, Vol. 36, No. 3, September 2005
Here's to verse novels, past and future!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Living with Lupus: Day 73
Logo from this blog.
At Day 73, I'm able to look back to Day 50 and see progress! It is at a sloth's speed, and I'm still housebound, and I still crash, but I don't stay at the bottom of the hole quite as long. The next day I don't start at such a low position either. That is worth celebrating!
So what brings joy to the day? Bath bombs and rubber ducks. Special delivery Green Tea Fraps, Matcha Blast Jambas, oatmeal, and sweet tea. Sweet cards and letters. Laughter with friends and family. Netflixing The Office and Kindling books like Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will. Warm soup and fresh flowers. These are a few of my favorite things. :~)
Here's a smattering of wisdom from my recent readings:
"Satisfaction comes from the richness of experiencing life and sharing the inner experience of life with others." Rachel Naomi Remen
"He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any HOW." Nietzsche
"There is only one thing that I dread, not to be worthy of my sufferings." Dostoevski
"Suffering ceases to be suffering the moment it finds meaning." Viktor Frankl
"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." John Piper
Onward!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Poetry Friday: You Steampunk Me
You Steampunk Me
Your steam-powered
sidecar, shoots me to the moon
on nitrous love beams.
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
This most awesome bike was parked outside my gym last fall. Bravo, visionary!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Poetry Friday: A Charm of Hummingbirds
A Charm of Hummingbirds
Supporting hearts lean
on and uphold each other.
Truth wings free from souls.
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Poetry Friday: Winged Words
Winged Words
Strung between flowers,
friends' words flutter in the breeze
of lupus with hope.
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
My dear friend, Dia Calhoun, solicited the words of writer friends and penned the responses onto beautiful fabric strips. Each is an encouragement in the midst of trial. As other friends stop in to visit, they kindly add their own words to the garland. Hanging in my window, this is a beauty full of light. Thank you to each contributor!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
Poetry Friday: M*A*S*H
Remembering the last episode of M*A*S*H to air on February 28, 1983, thirty years ago, and the ebook release of Loose Threads, here is the opening poem of my novel. Happy Poetry Friday!
M*A*S*H
Our living room
is cozied up with laughter.
Great Gran Eula smiles at the colonel
and sips her iced tea.
Grandma Margie snickers at Radar
over her knitting
Mom laughs at Hot Lips
and doesn't finish paying the bills.
I laugh so hard at Hawkeye
my beanbag chair
squishes under me.
We finally stop laughing
during the commercial,
and Grandma Margie says,
"I found a lump
in my breast."
Loose Threads
Lorie Ann Grover
Simon & Schuster, ebook, 2013