story

Epiphany-Estelle-by-Heidi-9940116853_76481a2af4_o.jpg

Of Ambivalence, Epiphanies, and Sonnets of Compassion …

Despite all that I endured with my mother under her care, or lack of it, I was never ambivalent about my ability to love.

Even in the worst of times during my childhood, and while undergoing the nightmare of relationship with my mother, it has always seemed the easiest thing to love, the hardest to mistreat and push away, speak harshly to.

I cannot imagine being to my children as my

Of Ambivalence, Epiphanies, and Sonnets of Compassion … Read More »

"mémoires de rue (memoirs of the streets)" by patrice ouellet--8697118440_2cf7f11aef_o

Of Memoir, Ambivalence, and Love …

It is said that an autobiography comprise the story of a life and that memoir consists of a story from a life. A life can hold, and a person can write, many memoirs. But we have only one telling of the factual events constituting our life.

As a story from a life, a memoir consists of scenes from that life, or more importantly, moments from the aspect, area, or slice of our life that one is focusing upon.

The dimension of life

Of Memoir, Ambivalence, and Love … Read More »

Lonely and lost flower...! by Altaher Altabet--4615036065_59aaf7cee1_o.jpg

Of Self-Revelation, Philosophical Reflection and Sweetness …

If I could ask my mother one question, I would have to make out a list and whittle it down to the question that most encompasses all the answers I seek. I am amazed at how respondents are quite clear of what they would ask their mothers if allowed but one question.

Their questions are extremely well-thought out. Perhaps they

Of Self-Revelation, Philosophical Reflection and Sweetness … Read More »

Lotus Flower by Bahman Farzad /

Of Mothers, Understanding, and BeComing Present …

How might your life be different if you knew more about your mother?

Knew her fears and worries, not just about you, her daughter, or your siblings, and your father or other family members.

What would it mean to you to know and understand your mother as an individual with her own hopes, dreams and wishes, regrets, ambitions, etc?

How might you be different, your life changed if you could see the entire person that comprises your mother, the little girl who lives inside her?

A pang of fear grips me as I write this for

Of Mothers, Understanding, and BeComing Present … Read More »

Of Writing, Time, and The Realities of Publishing…

The reality of publishing is that it is difficult to make a profit in this business.

And why does one want to make a profit?

Because editors need to be paid, it takes money to print copies of a book, and most importantly, authors need food, shelter, and health insurance, none of which are cheap, if we are to write entertaining stories.

When publishing companies agree to print book, the writer must deliver and on time, lest the publisher demands

Of Writing, Time, and The Realities of Publishing… Read More »

Of Memoir, Climax, and “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”…

Writing teacher and mentor, Clive Matson, always said that if a writer found her or himself wanting and/or needing to explain her or his story that the reader might gain the author’s intended message, the author needed to revise their story further.

Completing a manuscript requires more than simply writing the story, editing and revising it for clarity regarding grammar and typos, or even for development of plot.

Within each story or novel lives the narrative of that story, and how it came into being.

The author’s understanding and exploration of this process informs

Of Memoir, Climax, and “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”… Read More »

Of “Mausam,” Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Creating for the Ages…

I recently saw the movie, Mausam, written and directed by Pankaj Kapur, and starring the beautiful Sonam Kapoor opposite the wonderful and delightfully handsome, Shahid Kapoor.

Like most Bollywood movies of its genre, historical dramatic romance, the movie move along taking its time to tell what I experienced as a beautiful love story.

Critics on both sides of the ocean suggest that the pacing could be increased by eliminating various scenes that do not contribute to the overall plot of the story.

I disagree.

The director could have deleted certain scenes and decreased the run time and perhaps maintained the high level of enjoyment I experienced.

But why fix what is not broken?

As an American moviegoer that has grown tired of movies aiming to tell a story with what often appears an ultimate goal of relaying the narrative, in movie format, in the shortest amount of time possible,

Of “Mausam,” Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Creating for the Ages… Read More »