Morning sky is pale grey with an equally pale pink swath running through it and the trees are being tossed around by the wind. Well yesterday I found the quote I was looking for. I was writing about problems that are most immediately visible in a manuscript and one of them is when the story is episodic. While it’s fine for scenes to stand up on their own, good fiction (and memoir) must be tied together with theme, language and voice, and of course, characters. Thus connectivity is the key and all fiction is causality related. So here is the quote I was looking for—from not Henry James, but E. Forster from Aspects of the Novel:

Let us define plot. We have defined a story as a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence. A plot is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality. “The king died and then the queen died” is a story. “The king died then the queen died of grief” is a plot. The time-sequence is preserved, but the sense of causality overshadows it. Or again: The queen died, no one knew why, until it was discovered that it was through grief at the death of the king.” This is a plot with a mystery in it, a form capable of high development. It suspends the time-sequence, it moves as far away from the story as limitations will allow. If it is in a plot we ask “why?”

The darkness has faded revealing that fog has settled everywhere this morning blanketing the neighborhood, the giant evergreens across the street rising out of the mist. Easy to imagine I’m in England, or a Dickens-type character might emerge from the mist perhaps wearing a top hat or some shabby bundle of rags. I’m reminded of Carl Sandburg’s line, "the fog came on little cat feet", because when you wake up to a world of fog, it’s such a delightful surprise.

And oh joy, I just learned that Charlie Huston has a new crime fiction book out, The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. If you can handle gore and such, you might want to check out his site pulpnoir.com . He’s also blogging at Amazon’s Omnivoracious this week. Read his dialogue and weep.

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. He was already a Baptist minister when he led his first boycott of segregated buses in Montgomery at 26.I hadn’t realized that he was so young when he first became a civil rights activist. I was thinking back to myself at 26—it was the time I was living on an Ojibwa reservation in northern Wisconsin, writing poetry, raising my daughter, singing. I was a bit lost at that time in my life—partly because I was afraid of being a writer, partly because I had a lot of growing up to do. But leading what turned out to be a revolution at 26? Whew—with gratitude to his friends and family who lost him.

Yesterday I was trying to find a Henry James quote about drama—haven’t found it yet—but was reminded of his knowledge of storytelling. In his more than 50 year career he produced novels, plays, criticism, essays and stories. Since it’s January and despite a world-wide recession and weather that is freezing our eyeballs shut in some parts of the world (I talked with my aunt in northern Wisconsin yesterday and didn’t dare mention our temperatures were supposed to be in the 50s this week) we need to saddle up our hopes and plant our butts—some a bit wider since the holidays—at our computers.

Here’s a bit of inspiration from The Future of the Novel: Essays on the Art of the Novel by the esteemed Mr. James:
The house of fiction has in short not one window, but a million—a number of possible windows not to be reckoned, rather; every one which has been pierced, or is still pierceable, in its vast front, by the need of the individual vision and by the pressure of the individual will. These apertures, of dissimilar shape and size, hang so, all together, over the human scene that we might have expected of them a greater sameness of report than we find. They are but windows at best, mere holes in a dead wall, disconnected, perched aloft; they are not hinged doors opening straight upon life. But they have this mark of their own that at each of them stands a figure with a pair of eyes, or at least with a field glass, which forms again and again, for observation, a unique instrument, insuring to the person making use of it an impression distinct from any other. He and his neighbors are watching the same show, but one seeing more where the other sees less, one seeing black where the other sees small one see coarse where the other sees fine. And so on, and so on; there is fortunately no saying on what, for the particular pair of eyes, the window may not open; ‘fortunately’ by reason, precisely, of this incalculability of range. The spreading field, the human scene, is the ‘choice of subject’; the pierced aperture, either broad or balconied or slit-like and low-browed, is the ‘literary form’; but they are, singly or together, as nothing without the posted presence of the watcher – without, in other words, the consciousness of the artist. Tell me what the artist is, and I will tell you of what he has been conscious. Thereby I shall express to you at once his boundless freedom and his ‘moral’ reference.

It’s Wednesday night and I had to check out my guilty pleasure American Idol in Kansas City and the new judge, singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi. So far, lots of fun, thousands of people auditioning and many faces of delusion, eccentricity, and tone-deaf crapola mixed in with real talent. In case you missed it there was a woman (Mia?) who called down the wrath of God on the judges after being rejected. Actually I think she did it four times as in God is going to get you. Poor losers are so unattractive—let’s all remember that.

Thanks to a kind Portland-based writer Loey Werking Wells here is the information on the blogging gig I mentioned earlier from the Huffington Post: “SYDNEY, Australia — Position: Island caretaker. Duties: Lazing around Australia's Great Barrier Reef for six months. Salary: 150,000 Australian dollars ($100,000).

Unemployed, take heart _ the aforementioned job ad is for real. Billing it the "Best Job in the World," the tourism department in Australia's Queensland state on Tuesday said it was seeking one lucky person to spend half a year relaxing on Hamilton Island, part of the country's Whitsunday Islands, while promoting the island on a blog.

The move is part of a AU$1.7 million campaign to boost tourism in the state. In exchange for the plush salary, free accommodation in an oceanfront villa and airfare from the winner's home country, the "employee" will be required to stroll the island's white sand beaches, snorkel, maybe take a dip in the pool _ and post photos and videos of his or her experiences on a weekly blog.
"It'll be huge," Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Peter O'Reilly said, adding he expected thousands will apply.

Applications are open until Feb. 22 and 11 finalists will be flown to Hamilton Island in May for the final selection process. The job begins on July 1.

On the Net: Best Job in the World: http://www.islandreefjob.com/ “

Morning sky is pale grey and weather prognosticators are predicting a week of sun and warm weather. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I can handle another day of the Bush Farewell Tour. Hasn’t this been the longest two months of your life, or is it just me? At Monday’s press conference (which, by the way, they needed to fill in the last two rows with interns because there weren’t enough journalists to fill the chairs) he was in full blown loony mode, playing fast and loose with the truth. As pugnacious, arrogant, defiant, delusional, and bizarre as ever. As usual there were no tough questions from reporters who no longer needed to worry about being barred from the White House press corps, and as usual, Bush refused to call on Helen Thomas. Bush said, “I think it’s a good, strong record. You know, presidents can try to avoid hard decisions and therefore controversy. That’s just not my nature.” And after leaving an enormous swath of wreckage behind him from millions of Americans out of work, an economy in ruins, our stature in the world destroyed, to two unsuccessful wars, to Paulson giving away billions to banks with no accountability, not one damn reporter disagreed with or questioned him. We need journalists who are not yes-men for corrupt administrations and we need them now.

It was especially disturbing to hear him defend the federal government’s handling of the Katrina catastrophe, claiming they weren’t slow or inept. As you can imagine this didn’t sit well with the people of New Orleans where there are still 200,000 abandoned houses, where five hospitals still haven’t opened, where the bitter memories of Katrina will never fade. According to Editor & Publisher: Tuesday, The Times-Picayune -- whose staff was forced to abandon its New Orleans headquarters in the rising flood waters and whose reporters were the first to alert the nation that the city had not "dodged a bullet" on Katrina -- begged to differ. Strongly.

"There ought to be no question that the government's immediate response was slow and shameful," the Times-Picayune said in an unsigned editorial headlined, "New Orleanians, and the nation, know what happened after Katrina." But I could go on and on about the human catastrophe that is George Bush. Memo to him and Sarah Palin (borrowing from Keith Oberman): we cannot miss you if you don’t go away.

Elizabeth Alexander was on The News Hour last night with Jim Lehrer discussing poetry and her role in the Obama inauguration. She says she plans to be “quiet and humble” and explained the role of poetry in people’s lives. She also talked about how when she was one her parents took her to see Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Speech in Washington. Talk about coming full circle—she was an amazing. Asked how she is crafting her poem for the inauguration, Alexander said, "I am trying to both be quiet inside and keep my ears open outside to listen to where we are right now." You can see a clip of her at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ There are also poems and more information about her at the ArtBeat blog.

Yesterday I had the radio on in the background and Thom Hartmann of Air America mentioned that there is a position open for a paid blogger. I’ve searched for information but cannot find it, but here is what I heard. There is now an audition process going on for a blogging gig that sounds too good to be true. The person who is awarded the job will spend a year on an island in the Great Barrier Reef blogging about life on the island. And oh yes, earning $100,000 a year. If anyone knows the details, write me.

I woke several times during the night to the roar of wind thundering through here loud as a 747. Blustery-- a marvelous word-- was invented for days like this. Highways and roads are being closed in the mountains because trees are toppling over and debris is blowing around. Meanwhile, there are flood warnings and watches out for the region, especially southwest Washington since the ground here is saturated by rains and snow and now more rain is arriving as snow melts.

For the past ten years or so I’ve taught a workshop called Writing Recharge in January and during the workshop we’d talk about how to push aside doubts and excuses and make writing a part of our daily lives. At the core of every writer’s life is a routine that sustains him or her during the good times and bad. Now many of us don’t like to subscribe to routines—too confining, too dull, too, well, routine. But think about how children respond to a bedtime routine—how a routine can offer comfort and solace and peace. Here are some tips to help you slip back into your writing routine.
1. Put writing first. Writing goals will never be accomplished if you write with leftover scraps of time and energy.
2.Remember that difficulty and anxiety are normal components of writing..
3.Don’t wait for inspiration, write anyway.
4.Don’t give in to distractions.
5.Associate with positive people who have like goals.
6.Take charge of your thinking.
7.Keep going despite your moods.
8.Take breaks. Writing is sedentary and cramps the arms, upper back and shoulders. Get up and stretch at regular intervals, walk around the block, perform yoga postures.
9.When the going gets tough, take a vacation.
10.Analyze your writing and life goals and start living as if your already have it.
11.Experiment. When you’re stuck or procrastinating, try another medium. Haul out crayons, paints, collage materials, clay, and express your ideas. Draw a sketch of a character or thumb through decorating magazines and create a collage that represents the home and lifestyle of your wealthy, eccentric protagonist. Grab a camera and travel to an inspiring location and snap photos focusing your writer’s eye on the world. Go to the garden and plant a bed of flowers or bulbs or herbs. Or, slip into the kitchen and make a pot of soup or stew, bake a cake, experiment with a lasagna recipe. You might be surprised at how many ideas for your stories will begin simmering as you dabble in another medium.
12. Stay focused. Work on one paragraph, one scene, one project at a time during your writing session. While outlines or elaborate plans can be immensely helpful as a map for our projects, each day as you begin your writing, focus on a single goal for that day and don't let the whole project crowd into your head. Often the enormity or complexity of a project can be intimidating. Don’t scare yourself: keep your goals firmly in mind —perhaps you want to write two pages, two hours, or finish a tricky scene where your character must escape from a locked cellar.
13. Ignore trivial worries. Don't worry about trivial concerns---such as other people stealing your ideas, how to spend your book advance, and what outfit to wear when you appear on Oprah. Or they’re obsessed with copyright issues. Should they print the copyright mark on every page? Should they date every page, mail copies of their work to themselves? Or they wonder if Courier or Times New Roman is the best font to use. Other writers are obsessed by the worry that someone will make them change their words. Other writers are nitpicky perfectionists and tinker with every comma and adjective afraid to declare ‘the end’. Write first, then edit and polish what you’ve written, then worry about getting it published.
14. Conserve your writing energy. Don't squander your creativity talking or fantasizing about your writing. Keep the details to yourself and write instead of gabbing about what you plan to write. Some writers waste their story by spilling it to friends, but talking too much can dissipate its power. Or sometimes well-meaning friends or family will have so many suggestions that we get confused about the true direction of our work.

More words to add to the word list: Hurdy-gurdy, whipsaw, cobbled, avatar, corrode, chirping, bulwark, loopy, spangles, lofty, rocketed, pomposity

Night is settling in on the first day of 2009. I wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year.

So what are your doable or impossible dreams for the new year? Here are a few of mine:
I hope that no matter how trying our times that we can all muster a dose of optimism and more than a dose of laughter.
I hope that children everywhere are safe and beloved.
I wish that children everywhere would spend less time with video games and more time reading.
I hope that my aunts will thrive this year after dealing with radiation treatments, heart surgery, and other health issues.
I hope that people (especially my students and friends) who were born to write will sit down and write instead of surrendering to their fears.
I hope that poetry and poets will thrive.
I hope newspapers will find a way to survive while continuing their necessary tradition of investigative reporting and other services to communities. And may they find readers, especially younger readers, who appreciate good journalism.
I hope that news organizations everywhere will devote more ink and air time to the catastrophic effects of the economic crisis on people who were low-income before the current downturn.
I hope that family farms continue to thrive and become more numerous, and more people will grow gardens and teach children where food comes from.
I hope that a college education can be made affordable for low and middle income students.
I hope that independent film makers continue to make intriguing films.
I hope that global warming will stop being a political issue, and become a fact of life that must be combated with rationality and worldwide cooperation.
I hope that things start shifting so that our sense of community and mutual responsibility grows. Which might mean that people who collect friends on Facebook and other such places, might instead start nurturing friendships in the real world, as in face to face, as in I’ll bring you chicken-soup-when-you’re-sick and hold-your-hand-at-your-mother’s-funeral kind of friend.
I hope that fake memoirs will no longer be published.
My greatest hope is for peaceful solutions in the world’s craziest trouble spots. Let’s all hope for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians; for the suffering people of Zimbabwe, Congo, Sudan and other African countries ripped to shreds by hatred and violence; for Pakistanis and Indians, also, people so often on the brink of hostilities.
Along these lines, I hope that a more rational and creative policy for Afghanistan is reached. Perhaps the folks in government and the military will realize that if Alexander the Great, and the Soviet Union and Great Britain at their military peak could not conquer Afghanistan, that neither can we and we should get the heck out of there. Perhaps a modern, functioning democracy is simply not viable there…..Or perhaps we can help them rebuild their agriculture instead of supporting the current narco economy.
I hope that a flag lapel pin will never again be equated with patriotism.
I hope that the phrase “war on terror” is retired.
I hope that the Obama administration has great success in 2009—although this takes into account the daunting tasks ahead. Universal health care would be a fine start.
I hope the Detroit automakers return to profitability, this time selling cars with fuel-saving technologies.
I hope that as promised, we begin the troop withdrawal in Iraq along with diplomatic envoys, and work with the Iraqis to establish a working, trusting, long-term relationship. And fix the electricity system for the Iraqis on our way out the door.
I hope that stem cell research is once again funded.
I hope that Guantanamo will be closed down.
I hope that a Special Prosecutor is installed to investigate the Bush administration war crimes.

Sky is the color of soot with clouds the color of gloom. The drifts and piles of snow are mostly melted, the nearby creek has risen two feet, and the city of Portland needs a new plan for dealing with a “snow emergency.” Perhaps they could start by buying more snow plows.

Meanwhile, 60-plus miles away in the Pacific 19,000 Gray whales are surging south to Baja to warmer waters to birth their calves. It’s the largest mammal migration in the world, and they travel about 12,000 miles. In my imagination I imagine them passing by, huge bulks with knuckled backs and spouts sometimes visible from the shore, their acrobatics as they breach from time to time, their songs reverberating into the depths. Whales calve only every two to four years and the mystery of whales seems endless.

In yesterday’s New York Times book section there was another exposé about a falsified memoir, Angel at the Fence by Herman Rosenblat. Now this one was supposedly a shocker because the author was a guest on Oprah, and had previously published the story in shorter versions. The book will not be published and the publisher has asked Rosenblat to return his advance. He said, “I wanted to bring happiness to people, to remind them not to hate, but to love and tolerate all people,” he wrote in the statement. “I brought good feelings to a lot of people and I brought hope to many. My motivation was to make good in this world. In my dreams, Roma will always throw me an apple, but I now know it is only a dream.”

It seems fairly simple to me: fiction is a pack of lies—the bigger, the better. Memoir is the truth as best you know it.

I wanted to pass along a press release I received for Oregon writers: Willamette Writers Coast Branch starts the New Year off with a workshop, “Writing Oregon 150 Stories,” led by Matt Love, editor of Citadel of the Spirit: Oregon’s Sesquicentennial Anthology (Nestucca Spit Press, 2009) on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, at Newport Public Library from 7-8:30pm.

Part of the Oregon 150 Celebration is the Oregon Stories Project (www.oregon150.org/oregon-stories) an online site collecting stories of 500 words or less about Oregon. Anyone can submit an essay or oral history as well as an accompanying photo, audio or video.

To encourage local authors to write their own Oregon 150 story, Matt Love will provide examples of current Oregon 150 Stories as well as exercises and prompts to get writers started. All interested people are welcome to attend, listen to stories, tell and write their own, and receive help in shaping them to the 500-word limit. The workshop concludes with directions to submit stories either online or by mail to Oregon Stories Project, Oregon 150, 1211 SW 5th Ave. #L17, Portland, OR 97204.

Matt Love, Director of Writers on the Edge and publisher of Nestucca Spit Press is the author of parts 1 and 2 of the Beaver State Trilogy-Grasping Wastrels vs. Beaches Forever Inc.: Covering the Fights for the Soul of the Oregon Coast; and The Far Out Story of Vortex I.

Snow is falling again, adding to our white, white world and I’m heading out to spend Christmas with my daughter’s family. I wanted to wish everyone safe travels and a beautiful Christmas and downtime to enjoy the peace of the season. I also wanted to point out a few articles at salon.com. ( http://www.salon.com/)

First, there is Garrison Keillor’s essay about attending a Spanish-speaking mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christmas Without Translation.

Then, there is the list of the top ten movies of 2008 by Stephanie Zacharek—Two of my favorites made the list, The Visitor and Happy-Go-Lucky.

I would also recommend the article about the state of the publishing world Read it and Weep: Book Industry in Financial Crisis by Jason Boog. It behooves writers to pay attention to the huge shakeup happening in the publishing world. It also behooves us to write better and make contacts and then write better.

And finally just a tidbit to pass along--the Saddleback Church of which Rick Warren is the pastor has scrubbed from their website their position about not allowing gays to join their church. They’ve also removed information about how humankind once walked the earth with dinosaurs. Perhaps besides Obama, Warren is feeling the pressure.

He recently was interviewed by Sean Hannity, and Sean Hannity asked him, “Should we attack Iran?” And Rick Warren said, “Well, it’s our God-given obligation to take out evildoers.” Doesn’t that have an eerie ring of familiarity?

I don’t need to dream of a white Christmas any more but I do dream of a world where everyone is given dignity and a place at the table.

Happy Solstice and Hanukkah to all. Winter began around here awhile ago and snow, lots and lots of snow toppled from the heavens, followed by ice and more snow and now our world is frozen and quiet and still. Oh, and more snow is in the forecast. My plans for Christmas are now in doubt as the world remains white. I have to laugh at myself—in my secret heart I’ve been longing for this much snow and like the song says, I dream of a white Christmas. But now that it’s here I fret because I cannot go anywhere…..

A lovely reader of this blog sent me an email decrying my opinion of Rick Warren being chosen by Obama to take part in his swearing-in ceremony and suggesting that I dislike all Christians. Since she doesn’t know anything about my religious or spiritual affiliation I find this accusation puzzling. I have nothing against Christians in general who are in the majority in this country and do countless good works, although there are certain religious organizations that I believe are dangerous. Particularly right wing evangelicals who are constantly inserting themselves into our laws and rights of individuals and who operate with such breath-taking hypocrisy as they espouse pious views about family and the sanctity of life. Now, I know that Rick Warren and his church accomplish lots of good works, but I still don’t trust the post-Falwell face of the evangelical movement and question how the Saddleback Church, which doesn’t allow gays into its congregation, can identify themselves as love-thy-neighbor Christians.

As a writer I recognize that symbolism matters. And the symbolism of Warren at the inauguration ceremony infuriates me. For the record I believe firmly in a separation of Church and State, believe in a benevolent God, a just society, and freedom and equality for all, not just the 80 million evangelicals in this country. And that art matters. But don’t get me started on all I believe…

Like many people in the publishing industry I’ve been complaining about the mega-advances that celebrities receive for their books and so was thrilled to read Timothy Egan's NY Times attack on Joe the Plumber. If you haven’t had a chance to read Egan’s books, you’re missing a great writer.

Also, since books lists are so much fun, here’s Jezebel's list of 75 books that women should read. The article was in response to Esquire's list for menwhich is a response to Esquire’s list for men. I’ve read most of them! Happy holidays to all and stay warm out there.

The morning sky, a dismal shade of slate promises snow.
I’m getting jazzed about 2009. Since I spent half of 2008 recovering from a car accident because a young woman could not find her cell phone while driving and plowed into me, I’m ready to close the door on this not-so fun year where I spent so much time in bed I’ve memorized the obscure pattern in my bedroom ceiling. I’m not kidding about this. And since I’m still recovering and lately my head has been throbbing constantly, well, it’s best to dream of spring and new things and imagine goodness that must surely follow travail.

So I was thrilled to hear that Elizabeth Alexander will be the inaugural poet when President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in next month. She is the fourth poet to achieve this honor and along with Aretha Franklin and Yo—Yo Ma, I’m sure she’ll rock the place. Violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill will join Ma for a new work composed by John Williams. I always equate Williams with Steven Spielberg movies, don’t you? And I hear that Nickelodeon is going to cover the inauguration. How fun is that? Everyone is planning for a massive turnout with Rick Warren giving the invocation as the sour note for the day. Would someone explain why it’s necessary to court evangelicals?

But back to Alexander. From her website: “Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright, and teacher. She is the author of four books of poems, The Venus Hottentot, Body of Life, Antebellum Dream Book, and American Sublime, which was one of three finalists for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize. She is also a scholar of African-American literature and culture and recently published a collection of essays, The Black Interior. She has read her work across the U.S. and in Europe, the Caribbean, and South America, and her poetry, short stories, and critical prose have been published in dozens of periodicals and anthologies. She has received many grants and honors, most recently the Alphonse Fletcher, Sr. Fellowship for work that “contributes to improving race relations in American society and furthers the broad social goals of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954,” and the 2007 Jackson Prize for Poetry, awarded by Poets and Writers. She is a professor at Yale University, and for the academic year 2007-2008 she is a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.”

And speaking of poets, W.S. Merwin was a guest on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross on December 16th and discussed his new volume of poetry, The Shadow of Sirius. If he’s still writing at 81, surely we can all pen a few more lines?

Meanwhile, speaking of out with old and in with the new, I’m trying to ignore the Bush Crime Family’s Farewell/Legacy tour as they try to reshape their oh-so tarnished image. Like they’re going to change our minds that invading and occupying Iraq was a good idea??? And now that Cheney admitted he authorized war crimes, what are we going to do with him? Throw shoes at him? So let’s not schlep down that wincingly obvious pile of horse pucky.

I’m also jazzed that Caroline Kennedy might be joining the Senate because I’ve long admired her and think she’s a terrific writer with a great mind. Other good news: in case you haven’t heard, check out ART BEAT at pbs.org/newshour/art/blog which is covering the national art scene by Jeffrey Brown, Newshour correspondent—I’m looking forward to this coverage. As I’m sure you know, in hard times we need art…and more art….

The wintry weather is still blustering through our region, and I’m keep listening in to the prognosticators trying to figure out when I can venture forth. Stay warm and keep it lit and power to the people.

The morning skies are pewter colored as we’re heading for the Solstice and another winter storm is arriving to add to the snow and ice already on the ground. School closings are being announced and I can imagine children all over the city still tucked in their beds. Yesterday afternoon after the sun shone on the icy street in front of my house, I was able to make it to the post office to mail out-of-town Christmas gifts and the grocery store to stock up on food. The line in the post office was the longest I’ve ever seen, but everyone was cheerful and resigned and laden with packages. I passed the time trying to peek at the addresses on these packages, imagining them arriving in North Carolina and Ohio and other destinations.

At the store, there were few parking spots and carts available and inside it buzzed and clattered with throngs of shoppers jamming the aisles in search of provisions. For the first time since I’ve lived in Portland, the shelves were being stripped of basics like bread and butter and milk. I was reminded of people stocking up before a hurricane although the parking lot was slick with ice. After returning home with my provisions I walked inside and experienced a dull, empty sensation that can only be called cabin fever as there are predicted more days ahead of storms and ice and cold.

Now, since I grew up in Northern Wisconsin, I know that winter can deal out much harsher blows that our below freezing temperatures and traction-device only driving conditions. Last week I was talking with someone about the coming storm and talking about a winter I spent in Wisconsin on the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation when I was in my twenties. My daughter was in first grade and every morning I’d walk her about a half mile to the bus stop through the woods. Most mornings it was about twenty five below and the dawn came in shades of violet painting the horizon and we’d shine a flashlight on the animal prints in fresh snow. As we walked along it was still as if the whole world was holding its breath in the snow-covered forest except for loud cannon blasts emitting as trees cracked in the deep freeze of winter. Somehow, these memories are still some of my best although I can still remember the bone-chilling cold and what it felt like to return to my cabin and the wood stove.

This morning I told myself I was a winter writer, that sun is a distraction. I tell myself that cold weather makes a person feel really alive—and it does, it does. So I’ll concoct a pot of stew and I’ll drink tea by the quart and I’ll watch the snow tumble down, marveling at how the world is transformed under fresh layers of white.
For people living in Washington, Kay Kenyon, of the Write on the River conference held each May in Wenatchee, WA sent me this announcement: Update: Expanded Writers' Competition

Greetings! It's time to give yourself a gift this holiday season, or to spice up your new year with an early resolution. The 2009 (second annual) WOTR Writers' Competition has been expanded with two distinct prose categories, both fiction and nonfiction, and more generous awards.

Some things are the same: maximum word length is still 1000 words, and the entry is $15, or $40 for entry fee and a written critique. Anyone in Washington may enter -- aspiring, pre-published, or published, and you have until February 6, 2009 to mail in your entry. See our website for rules, guidelines and printable form.
You can start the new year right -- just start writing!! (http://www.writeontheriver.org)

The neighborhood is blanketed in such thick fog that some of the nearby trees are mere shadows. Over the weekend I was out a tree farm on Saturday during a day with turquoise skies then drove home later with my tree under a sunset of rose, amber, and violet that was spectacular. On Sunday morning I was upstairs at my desk in my pajamas when I heard a loud truck approaching. A house was sailing past with two men riding on top of the roof like circus performers riding elephants. One man walked along on the sidewalk snapping photos with his cell phone as a gaggle of families with children followed along. I dressed quickly and joined my neighbors to watch the house being lowered into the lot. A deep hole had been dug because they’re adding another story beneath the house, then the engineers spent the next hour positioning it so that it could be winched into place. I spoke with one of the drivers of wide load trucks who described some of their more difficult jobs and then chatted with neighbors I’d never spoken with before. And I kept imagining a real circus arriving in the days of old when the men would erect the Big Top and all the excitement and speculation.

America has always been a place of opportunity and second chances. Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York, is now writing a column for Slate. His first column is titled We need to stop using the bailouts to rebuild gigantic financial institutions. I couldn’t agree more…

I received this notice from amazon.com yesterday that I wanted to pass along:
We invite you to visit the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award website at www.amazon.com/abna where you can read the latest news on this year’s contest. Find out more about bestselling authors Sue Monk Kidd and Sue Grafton who will be leading our expert reviewer panel upcoming contest.

You can also read about some of last year’s finalists who have since received publishing contracts. Plus, don't miss Bill Loehfelm's 2008 winning novel “Fresh Kills,” hailed by the Associated Press as “the finest crime fiction debut since Dennis Lehane burst on the scene,” now available in hardcover from Penguin Group (USA).

The submission period begins on February 2, 2009 and ends on February 8, 2009 or when we receive 10,000 entries, whichever comes first. If you're an author with an unpublished novel, you can sign up for important contest updates and information on how to get your entry prepared for submission. Please note that previously published titles, including self-published titles, are not eligible for entry.

Visit the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award website at www.amazon.com/abna.

Writers ask me often about finding agents or if I can hook them up with agents. Sorry, not in the business of match making, but I suggest that if you’re agent hunting that you read their blogs or at the least the submission guidelines that their agency posts online. Here are two blogs that are worthwhile. The first is from Nathan Bransford who writes:
I'm a literary agent with the San Francisco office of Curtis Brown Ltd., a New York based literary agency that has been representing writers since 1914. I'm particularly interested in literary fiction, mysteries and suspense, historical fiction, narrative nonfiction, business, history, sports, politics, current events, young adult fiction, science fiction and anything else I happen to like! I'm afraid I do not represent poetry or screenplays. If you are interested in submitting a project for representation, please e-mail me a letter describing your project at nb@cbltd.com. No attachments, please. If you have a question, please first check the links in "The Essentials" directly below, and especially the FAQs. Thanks for reading this literary agent's blog, and best of luck with your search for representation!

And another blog by Janet Reid Literary Agent . Here is her introduction: I’m a literary agent with FinePrint Literary Management in New York City. I specialize in crime fiction. I’ll be glad to receive a query letter from you; guidelines to help you decide if I’m looking for what you write are below. There are several posts labeled “query pitfalls and “annoy me” that many help you avoid some common mistakes when querying.

It’s December already and today the sky shifted from foggy mist to a silver hue. Then it was sunny and blue and by mid-afternoon a cloud bank had rolled in like it meant business and now it’s drizzling. Temperatures still warm, ski resorts still not open on the nearby mountains. Luckily, I write instead of ski and clouds are conducive to writing. On this day in 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the front of a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr., took up her cause and called for a boycott of the city-owned bus company, which lasted 382 days. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of buses was unconstitutional.

So I was thinking about Rosa Parks and her rare act of courage and thinking too about how writing requires courage and belief. What if the book you’re writing or are afraid to write causes a movement, just as Rosa’s refusal exploded the South’s Jim Crow’s laws? Or maybe your book will make a reader look more closely into the past, or understand her sister or father or neighbor better. Or maybe your book will open a groundswell of compassion for all humankind. You never know what a single act of courage or words on the page can unleash.

And news from MediaBistro: Bill Shapiro (editor of Other People's Love Letters) is looking for your literary rejection letters, planning to publish them in a 2010 collection entitled, Other People's Rejection Letters.

If you need more immediate satisfaction (or sympathy) feel free to include your literary rejection in the comments section. Or check out the excellent Literary Rejections on Display blog.

From the press release: "Whether typed form letters or handwritten in a fit of rage, whether sent by text message, email, or scrawled in crayon, any kind of rejection is fair game ... If you have a letter, you can either send it to me or scan it (600 dpi, por favor) and then email it."

For my word list ballyhooed, boondoggle, hornswoggle, crimeny....What words have you added lately?

Thanksgiving morning is dawning in shades of mysterious gray. I’ve gotten off easy today—only need to bring side dishes to the gathering. My condolences to the citizens of Mumbai and India—what a heartache. I hope anyone who reads this has a bountiful, safe, and love-filled Thanksgiving. While it’s always wise to focus on gratitude, in these worrying times, I’m listing things that keep me sane, make me smile, laugh, and fill me with hope. I’m sure as soon as I post this I’ll think of more although I’m going to leave out puppies and babies….but here goes in no particular order. I’m grateful for:
the children in my life who always make me laugh and enchant me with their insights and vision.
friends who lead interesting lives, who see things differently than I do, listen to my woes, and laugh at my jokes.
my family
this great country, no matter how battered and off track we veer at times.
a childhood that taught me a love of books, laughter, and nature.
books
writers and artists everywhere for enlarging the human story.
librarians and booksellers everywhere for keeping the flame lit.
Barak Obama for his big brain, real family values, and running a smart campaign. And, of course, winning. Ditto for Joe Biden.
Sarah Palin for running for an office that she nothing about and for misjudging the American peoples’ intelligence.
that we can soon bid farewell to George W. and Cheney.
Russ Feingold, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, and other smart and caring folks in our Congress.
the doctors who are helping me recover from my accident.
Tarcher for buying my latest book and to my great editor Gaby for her insights and support.
my students and clients who teach me so much about writing and storytelling.
everyone who reads my books and supports my work.
Teaching writers
filmmakers
the beauty of the Oregon coastline with its sweeping beaches, ever-changing skies, and endless swath of blue ocean and sunsets that practically break your heart they’re so magical.
My pile of notebooks I’ve kept over the years filled with ideas, phrases, poems, short stories and jottings
A good writing session
Walking at dusk
The Columbia River Gorge
All the shades of green
sandcastles--they always inspire whimsy.
tea, especially Earl Grey—and whoever started dumping leaves into boiling water.
ditto for soup—it’s my staple these days and has there ever been a meal so warming and satisfying?
that I can work in my pajamas or bathrobe.
that gas prices are coming down.
that I don’t work on Wall Street.
And let’s not forget:
Snowstorms
gardening
Trees.
wine
naps
swings
My computer which has become an extension of my brain.
Fresh sheets.
Moisturizer. (I’m serious)
Dahlias.
The internets.
mittens
NPR
The sound of the ocean
Reading in bed
Pedicures
That I Joe Six Pack is not my man
Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.
Learning something new.
Bird song.
Dreams, even when I cannot decipher their meaning
Train travel.
J.I. Rodale’s The Synonym Finder (this should be further up the list)
The lonely sound of a fog horn, especially when heard in dense, horror-movie type fog.
Live music.
Chicago.
Art museums.
Outdoor concerts.
Walking in brisk weather.
Stars.
Violas
The far-off sound of a train whistle
Choirs
Little boys in bow ties
Bulbs emerging in the spring
Picnics.
The smells of Thanksgiving dinner roasting in the oven.
Suitcases with wheels.
Scarves.
Ginger.
Autumn colors.
Pumpkins.
Christmas trees.
Strings of lights.
Lighthouses.
Red barns.
Bloggers.
Holly.
Small children who wear glasses
New socks.
Jeans that fit just right.
Greeting cards.

It’s almost 7 a.m. and still dark here in Portland. A big congratulations to Tom Daschle for his new position as Secretary of Health and Human Services and Eric Holder as Attorney General. It’s so exciting to have grown-ups running things again!

As you might have guessed I own a bookcase crammed with books about writing. Well, actually dweeb that I am, I have two, although one contains a lot of anthologies. A few years ago when my copy of Between the Lines came in the mail hot off the presses from my publisher, Writer’s Digest , I had an epiphany. For years I’d been a member of the Writers Digest Book Club, and for years I had considered other writers the experts, while I was, well, if not a hack, maybe a runner-up or perpetual bridesmaid. But when I held that book I realized that all along I’d wanted my book in that catalogue and I’d had a vision for years of creating a book about writing….I hadn’t imagined that I’d write five or six, but that’s another story. But I still read what other writers say about craft and the diligence it takes to crank out words. One book I own that you might want to peek into is written by thriller writer, David Morrell (alas, no relation). The lecture was called, Why Do You Want To Be a Writer?

From The Successful Novelist, A Lifetime of Lessons About Writing & Publishing LESSON ONE: WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER? "When I teach at writers’ conferences, I always begin by asking my students, “Why on earth would you want to be writers?” They chuckle, assuming that I’ve made a joke. But my question is deadly sober. Writing is so difficult, requiring such discipline, that I’m amazed when someone wants to give it a try. If a student is serious about it, if that person intends to make a living at it, the commitment of time and energy is considerable. It’s one of the most solitary professions. It’s one of the few in which you can work on something for a year (a novel, say), with no certainty that your efforts will be accepted or that you’ll get paid. On every page, confidence fights with self-doubt.
Every sentence is an act of faith. Why would anybody want to do it?

The usual answer I get is, “For the satisfaction of being creative.” The students nod, relieved that this troubling line of thought is over. But in fact, the subject has barely been started. I rephrase my question, making it less threatening. “Why do you want to be writers?” This time, I tell my students I don’t want to hear about the joy of creativity. Squirms. Glances toward the ceiling. Toward the floor. Someone is honest enough to say, “I’d like to earn the kind of money Stephen King does.” Someone else chuckles. “Who wouldn’t?” We’re on our way."

While you’re at the Backspace website, you might want to check out the 23 articles written by literary agents—such as Ethan Ellensburg’s article on targeting agents.

As you know every year People magazine has it’s sexiest man alive issue and this year they chosen Aussie Hugh Jackman. I would recommend that you jog over to salon. com for “Our third annual alternative to People magazine's Bible of Sexy -- with its pretty pinups and bland predictability -- has become a tradition here at Salon. In our third year, we've curated a list of 17 men for whom 2008 was a winning season. (For the first time, we also opened up the awards to the Open Salon community, selecting our two favorite picks from their suggestions and adding them to our list.) These are smart men, men of brains and brawn, art and athleticism. And they're not bad looking, either.” I won’t give away the winners, but agree with all of them (there’s even a novelist in the mix) and also think the writing in this article is clever and fun and smart.

Sky is still dark this morning. Today is the anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address: It began: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

According to The Writer’s Almanac “It was a foggy, cold morning on this day in 1863. Lincoln arrived at the new national cemetery in Gettysburg at about 10 a.m. Around noon, the sun broke out as the crowds gathered on a hill overlooking the battlefield. A military band played, a local preacher offered a long prayer, and the headlining orator, Edward Everett, spoke for more than two hours. When Everett was finished, Lincoln got up and pulled his speech from his coat pocket. It consisted of 10 sentences, a total of 272 words. The audience was distracted by a photographer setting up his camera, and by the time Lincoln had finished his speech and sat down the audience didn't even realize he had spoken.”

Thank God eloquence is now back in fashion in our political leaders. But then there are rumors that Sarah Palin has a $7 million deal publishing deal to write her memoirs. If you’re offended by this number, join the club. I’m hoping the rumor is wrong—but then I keep hoping that she’ll disappear from the national stage and stay home in Wasilla with her mouth shut and her reputation, such as it is, permanently tattered, tarnished and ruined (couldn’t think of a third word that begins with t) . But no such luck…

What is comforting that book deals are still being made. Every day in my email box I receive notices about newspaper journalists being axed by the thousands, magazines being shuttered or having their staffs slashed, and now publishing houses laying off their employees. No matter how you add it up, there are a lot of writers out of work these days. But books are being bought and read and savored and are still our companions. Barak Obama is reading books about FDR, The Defining Moment: F D R's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter and F D R by Jean Edward Smith and according to industry experts, those books are flying off the book shelves and many are going into additional printings. Then of course Doris Kearns Goodman’s book, Team of Rivals, The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln is also selling like crazy.

And here’s a new take on the industry or perhaps a sign of the times. A group of women authors that include Ursula LeGuin have banded together to form Book View Café. They describe the site this way: “Book View Cafe is a new approach to publishing made possible by the Internet. While most of the fiction on the site is free, authors will also be offering expanded work, additional content, print versions, or subscriptions for a fee. Our authors are all professionals with publishing credits in the print world. The Internet is giving us an opportunity to make their out-of-print, experimental, or otherwise unavailable work to you. We love feedback on how we are doing.

Every day, new content available nowhere else will be served up on Book View Cafe: short stories, flash fiction, poetry, episodes of serialized novels, and maybe even a podcast now and then. The content will be archived and available after the posting date by visiting the author's bookshelf.”

Meanwhile, I’m planning on supporting the publishing industry by buying books as Christmas gifts. Now, I always buy books as Christmas books and gift cards to books stores as gifts, but this year I’m doubling my efforts. If we all buy at least one extra book for a Christmas gift maybe it will help keep the book stores and publishing houses alive.

Sullen skies again but the big rains that have been causing flooding in parts of the Northwest are supposed to be ending…or at least for awhile. Well yesterday my editor at Tarcher sent me a mock up of my cover—and it’s fabulous! If you read this blog you might know that we’ve been wrangling over the title because they didn’t want to use my title Dear Bad Writer….Anyway, the book is about all the ills that I’ve seen in my clients’ and student’s manuscripts over the years because I’d like to help people NOT get rejected. The book cover looks like a manuscript cover page and it has coffee rings in one corner as if the editor had placed a coffee cup on it and includes red ink. I cracked up and voted for adding more red ink because often when I return manuscripts they look like a bleeding corpse…And the new title is Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us which is a common line from a rejection letter, although we haven’t quite settled on the subtitle.

And speaking of editing. Awhile ago I was having dinner and listening to live music with friends at a local blues club/restaurant. That night there was one bartender working the entire room and waitressing/busing the tables, although there are usually two women working on a Saturday night. She was a maestro of efficiency—whisking around the room like a ballet dancer, but she forgot my friend’s order for crab cakes. When she returned with the order and her apology she mentioned that the previous night she’d had a waitressing nightmare where the orders were piled up and people were yelling “Miss!” and grabbing at her as she struggled to keep up with a huge crowd of hungry people. Which led us into a funny conversation about our stress/worry dreams. I used to be caterer and would dream that hundreds of people were showing up at the door for the event and I hadn’t yet begun to cook their food. Or sometimes these days, I need to speak before a large crowd or teach and I dream that the event is starting and I haven’t prepared my talk.

So this morning I woke up from a dream in which I was teaching or leading a writer’s critique group. There was an older writer in the class and her manuscript wasn’t coming together. In the dream I was struggling to explain to her how she might improve her plotting techniques and I suggested that she start working on complicated jigsaw puzzles, to try and slip into a more creative problem-solving mindset. Then I suggested that she copy my habit of using a notebook when she reads and make notes on metaphors and similes because her language was flat. In the dream I’m sort of stumped as to how to help her, but I don’t want her to give up….I want her to make a big leap in her writing…..

In case you haven’t heard about it, the good folks at the University of Oxford have assembled a list of the ten most annoying and overused buzzwords and phrases. The list appears in a new book, Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare, by Jeremy Butterfield. Butterfield said: "We grow tired of anything that is repeated too often – an anecdote, a joke, a mannerism – and the same seems to happen with some language." (Drum roll please)
1. At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science

Bless their hearts, although they left out my top irritations: very, synergy, strategy, utilize, think outside the box, needless to say, paradigm shift, quite literally, long story short, agree to disagree, hands-on, the bottom line, tongue in cheek, totally, absolutely, really, so called, sea change, wake-up call, no brainer, not an option, my friends and maverick (don’t get me started) Irregardless of whether you agree with them, it’s plain as day that compiling this list wasn’t rocket science. Happy writing and deleting those clichés.

Day is emerging and the world looks as gloomy and foreboding as a Gothic tale. A big thanks to all the veterans among you. I hope you are safe and well and realize our gratitude for your service. If you don’t know of these sites, you might want to check out a social networking sites for vets and their families, www.comminityofveterans.org or www.mywetwork.com .

Well I’m still basking in my post-election bliss. Here’s how columnist Frank Rich in his op ed describes how Karl Rove’s wedge politics aren’t working any more and we Americans can no longer be ruled by fearmongers: “Our nation was still in the same ditch it had been the day before, but the atmosphere was giddy. We felt good not only because we had breached a racial barrier as old as the Republic. Dawn also brought the realization that we were at last emerging from an abusive relationship with our country’s 21st-century leaders. The festive scenes of liberation that Dick Cheney had once imagined for Iraq were finally taking place — in cities all over America.”

And I am sending a big shoutout and thanks to Howard Dean who has announced that he won’t continue as head of the DNC. Remember how so many, especially Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove, laughed when he declared the 50 state strategy? They ain’t laughing now….

And didn’t I tell you that Sarah Palin is the gift that keeps on giving? You might want to check out her Fox interview where she complains about her handlers and the people that are outing her for not knowing that Africa is a continent or the countries in North America. Meanwhile, she’s saying that she hopes that God will “show her the door” of the White House. Over my dead body but she is not going quietly.

From the Fox interview with Greta Van Susteran: “I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is.

"Even if it's cracked up a little bit, maybe I'll plough right on through that and maybe prematurely plough through it, but don't let me miss an open door."
Also, she claims her fall from grace is all the media’s fault, especially "those bloggers in their parents' basement just talkin' garbage". Tee hee. Just for the record, I blog from my second floor office and my parents live far away.

Of course, a lot of politicos are claiming that Mitt Romney is behind these Palin smears because he’s trying to take down Palin now since he wants to run in 2012. And have you heard how much money the Mormon’s spent on California’s Proposition 8? Keep an eye on the election results in Alaska—something fishy is going on up there and I’m not talking about the salmon industry. Votes are disappearing, Harry Reed doesn’t want to seat convicted felon Ted Stevens (imagine that!) and Sarah will have a big say in their Senate seat.

The New York Times has an interesting article online, For South, a Waning Hold on National Politics which talks about how the South is no longer a solid voting block and thus Nixon’s famous Southern Strategy is dead. The article is at www.nytimes.com/2008/.11/11/us/politics/11south.html

Call me an elitist, because brains are in fashion again, but I’ve never been happier about our political landscape. Or, as columnist Michael Kristof wrote: “Barack Obama’s election is a milestone in more than his pigmentation. The second most remarkable thing about his election is that American voters have just picked a president who is an open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual.” The times they are a-changing. Happy writing to all.

Skies are gloomy but my mood could not be more buoyant. I want to thank Barack Obama and his family for all their sacrifices and hard work. Ditto for his staff especially the able David Plouffe and David Axlerod and the millions of volunteers and donors that helped make this victory possible. Thanks to John McCain for his gracious and classy concession speech, especially his congratulations to "the next president of the country that we both love." And thanks to Jesse Jackson standing in the crowd at Grant Park with his emotions sketched on his face, proving the power of this moment.

We the people have spoken. This victory is George W. Bush’s impeachment, an end of an era, and a resounding repudiation of the criminal, right-wing faction that has wreaked so much damage on the country. I need to echo Gerald Ford after he took office after Nixon left the presidency in disgrace when he announced to the country, “Our national nightmare is over.”

No more apathy in the American electorate. No more being ruled by fear. No more of our personal liberties being violated. No more elections stolen. No more voter suppression. No more being reviled by the rest of the world. No more ignoring the reality of global warming. No more unbridled executive power. No more signing statements. No more torture. No more no-bid contracts. No more Abu Ghraib. No more ignoring the Geneva Convention and illegally and indefinitely holding prisoners at Guantanamo. No more warrantless surveillance of American citizens. No more borrowing billions to keep this limping economy afloat. No more deregulation of the banking industry. No more watching Bush and Cheney’s incredibly self-satisfied, smug, smirky expressions, no more enduring their obvious disdain for anyone who is not a billionaire Republican. No more empowering the evangelical wing of the Republican Party and allowing them to set the agenda for our national policies. No more Sarah Palin in our face every day, although I predict a huge book deal or talk show. And the list goes on…..

And three of the main reasons I’m so happy about last night’s victory: Justice John Paul Stevens is 88; Ruth Bader Ginsberg is 75; David Souter is 68; and all are expected to leave the Court within the next four years. With many cases likely to be decided by the Supreme Court in the next several years that linger from the years of Bush lawlessness and radicalism, this is one of the most important long-term effects of this historic election. As Obama said last night in Chicago, “It's been a long time coming, but change has come to America." Let’s bring back the Constitution keep hoping and keep the faith.

Sky is pale with cloud cover. The Packers lost in overtime yesterday, but I’m not going to dwell on it. I’m also trying not to dwell on my worries about the election, but the truth is I’m as nervous as a cat. In case you haven’t voted, here are the two scariest words in the English language: President Palin.

Last week I thought a lot about the passing of Studs Terkel who died at 96. A great story teller with a keen sense of history, he wanted to live long enough to see Obama elected. He left behind a pile of published works and amazing interviews from his radio shows. He most often talked with and about the common person, as in his book Working, but was not common. He was the essence of Chicago, he was erudite and compassionate, and what I love about Midwesterners—brash, bold, plain spoken, and funny.

He didn’t set out to be writer because he first went to law school, and was a writer through the WPA writer’s program in the 1930s. He was an actor, but then he became a columnist, and had his own television show until he was caught in the crosshairs of Senator Joseph McCartney’s House Un-American Activities Committee and was blacklisted. After the Red Scare abated he landed a daily radio show on Chicago’s WFMT which was when he learned the power of oral history. In his last years he kept on cranking out books, held onto his love of life. I loved listening to him chat with Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion who also wears red socks, the Studs trademark. I’m going to miss his wit and curiosity and his voice like gravel over whiskey.

He said, “I want people to talk to one another no matter what their difference of opinion might be.” And, “I hope for peace and sanity—it’s the same thing.”

Now go out and vote.