Where I've drifted this week, deliberately and by chance:
This ten-minute video about the life of street photographer Vivian Maier. I've been following this project for about a year now, right here, and am fascinated by Maier's largely unknown life, and by the amazing shots she captured.
I was captured by E.M. Forster this week. I watched A Passage to India years ago and hated it, tried to read the book instead, hated it, and thought there must be something wrong with me. I was just too young, I think. I needed context. Context is something I work with all the time, with this '60s trilogy -- trying to give young readers context and framework and foundation. It matters.
This week I was led to a quote (you'll see it in the sidebar) from A Room With A View (a movie (lovely montage here) I loved and watched over and over again), which led me to thinking about trying to read Forster again. So I watched Howard's End this week (which made me want to re-watch Educating Rita!), then downloaded the novel from Project Gutenberg. It's great. It's more than great.
The class struggles Forster writes about in 1910 England are the same class struggles I am trying to delineate in book two of the '60s trilogy, which takes place in 1964 Mississippi. Who knew. Kismet. Synchronicity. I'm expecting it now, looking for it everywhere. I know it will come.
Onward. I loved this link from the kitch'n: Nourish Short Films: 54 Bite-Sized Videos about the Story of Your Food. Here's one, from Michael Pollan.
I'm in the midst of making another tiramisu blanket for our family's newest babe (I am now a great-aunt! hooray!). I want to make this next. Remember those chevron blankets from the '70s? I haven't made one in decades. Thanks to this reminder from the purl bee, it's time. I have lots of that blue sky cotton sitting around, waiting to take me back to the '60s.
It's cool this morning. I'm having trouble putting away the stuff of summer, the beach paraphernalia, the memories of a wonderful week away. Instead, my thoughts turn toward firewood and pumpkins. Funny how fall just *arrives* here in Atlanta. Time for some recipes with pumpkin, especially that pumpkin soup with bacon, which I will savor in front of the season's first crackling fire. Avec Howard's End. With my book two manuscript close by.
Hello, happy autumn.
xoxoxoxo, Debbie
PeeEss: If you are at SIBA this weekend in Charleston, come say hello! I'm there on Sunday, as SIBA has named Countdown its YA book of the year. Thank you, Southern Independent Booksellers! xoxo
