Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Calendar Discounts

I picked up a desk calendar at Barnes & Noble. Its cover had a compelling argument for me to buy it. It begins with: “75% Off” with members getting an additional 10% discount. The nuance overwhelmed me. I have it now. It contains a good number of photographs of writers at their work, which always interested me. Humans who do something are drawn to know how others have done it. (And I always attribute to “humanity” what I find in myself for some reason.) Any case, for a couple of dollars you can have very nice black & white photos of writers like Saul Bellow, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, E.B. White, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sontag, John Updike, John Chever, Eudora Welty, Amy Tan, Arthur Miller, George Plimpton, and others -- all of them in their space, many with pets hanging around. Demystification of the writing process is important, and staring at photos (especially bw, which adds authenticity) of modern masters can begin the process--photos of masters producing work that outlasts generations but that started someplace, in a room usually, where nothing became something, as mind and hand cooperated. Each photo has a quote from the author on the writing ritual.

I make no money from this unpaid advertisement, and I’m currently not employed by Barnes & Noble; in fact, I've never been in a barn in my life, though my last name can be translated with the word "noble" (Arabic: "Sharif") which is completely coincidental. And the statements mentioned here are representative of the author and not “From Clay” and cannot be used without express permission of the National Football League and the Chicago Bears, whose over-rated defense collapsed last Sunday in a heartbreaking loss to some team that has not identified itself with a known state or city, the Carolina Panthers, not "North" not "South."

The 2006 calendar is: "The Writer's Desk" by Jill Krementz.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

In honor of this calendar, i think you should post a picture of your writing space (but make you sure you vacuum first :)

Nadia

1/18/2006 10:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Come on now, don't hate on Carolina. The better team won. And we're trying to be inclusive, that's why there's no "North" or "South." We're uniters, not dividers.

Although a force to be dealth with season after season, it seems Carolina never gets the respect it deserves.

1/18/2006 2:35 PM  

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