The Friday
David Baldacci, Matt Shaw, Rudolfo Anaya, Josh Fernandez, Jeannette de Beauvoir, Shola von Reinhold, "Wild In the Streets," Celia Farber
Mike Goodenow Weber, in writing about Rudolfo Anaya, let’s us in on what makes for a great writer:
Matt Show’s very useful writing prompts and more:
Of many memorable stories in this new memoir, Josh Fernandez’s caring approach to his teaching stays with me the most. He conducted a Go Fund Me campaign to buy a student a computer. This is how it should be and should have been all along:
Sometimes those who look the least like vandals vandalize society the most:
Shola von Reinhold’s soulful “Lote” is a real literary tour de force:
Free film: “Wild In the Streets,” 1968. Vandal President Max Frost, at age 25, thinks he has ruthlessly clear ideas about how the nation should be run. But whose puppet is he, really? Drugs didn’t suddenly just appear in the 60s — POOF! It took a lot of hard work behind the scenes to push society in a certain direction. Note the irreverent protests in the Capitol Building, the grey Confederate-esque jacket and corbat, and the hair. (I’ve included the trailer if you don’t have time for the film.)
Every student’s curriculum should teach the fact that making revolution is always a lose-lose effort. Societies are always worse off than before the revolution because chaos permits the worst (most evil, aggressive and stupid ) elements to take over. In the rare cases that revolution appeared to succeed, like the American Revolution, the opponent took over quietly, infiltrating, turning the country into an overgrown puppet… :
Journalist Celia Farber’s The Truth Barrier is worth reading:
Amy Tan's Writing Tips
"I didn't fear failure. I expected failure." -Amy Tan New York Times bestselling author Amy Ruth Tan is best known for her first book, The Joy Luck Club, also made into a film. She actually intended it to be a book of interconnected short stories, but the critics were intrigued with "the creative structure of the novel." It was MUCH easier to think …