February 22, 2009
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I went to the library yesterday and brought home a big bag of books. I planned to read John Updike’s works at least one book in each of several categories that Mr. Updike had written such as criticism, short stories, novels but I did not go through that plan. I saw the logo on my librarian’s sweat shirt “too many books too little time” and that made me smile sharing the logo sentiment. I realize that I am too ambitious so I skim down my plan a bit. OK, Mr. Updike has gone. I will revisit his writing when I have more time. Let me read the works of these American writers while they are alive and well. How about I will just concentrate on American female writers such as Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison and just one book from each author until I form a general concept of American contemporary literature? After all Ms. Morrison is a Putlizer and National Book Award and Nobel prize winner; and many acclaimed writers have mentioned the Song of Solomon (including the President Obama and Junot Diaz Pulitzer winner with the novel the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) but I have not read none of her works yet. And Ms Oates is also prize winner and being famous as a prolific writer. No one ever write a review about her work without mentioning prolificacy. I got her The Gravedigger’s Daughter. I saw Blonde but I am not inclined to read about the life of a famous actress. I rather read a book about anguish, hope and despair, failure and triumph, sin and redemption of an obscure life and in that I can identify myself and people around me. I also checked out “The Faith of a Writer, Life, Craft, Art” of Ms. Oates. I think the book will be helpful for someone aspiring to be a writer. Page 23, To a Young Writer, Ms. Oates wrote: “Write your heart out. Never be ashamed of your subject, and of your passion for your subject. Your “forbidden” passions are likely to be the fuel for your writing. . . .”
But this plan of reading American comtemporary literature may have to be put on hold for a month or two because I have another plan.
A well known Vietnamese writer has asked me to write an article for his Literature Magazine which has been published every two months. The coming magazine’s theme will be Contemporary Chinese Writers. So I check out from the Library a book of poetry of Ha Jin and his Pen Award novel “Waiting,” which I read a while ago but want to have it at hand just in case I want to quote. Besides Ha Jin’s works, I also got Wolf Totem, author Jiang Rong. This book got Man Asian Literary Prize and was said to be bought the highest price, six figure number, for the publishing rights to be translated to English and published in the United States. It does not receive favor reviews in American literary. I also research a few articles about Gao Xingjian. I read a few chapters of the Soul Mountain, the novel that got him the Nobel prize, but it does not catch my short span attention so I give up. Maybe I will try read a few more chapters so I can write a good article for this theme.
Stupid me! Why I am toiling to write these things. What posseses me? Fame? This is such a fleeting word. It dies before the word can be uttered. But let fame be what I want to go after. Let it be a concrete goal so I can strive to achieve. I will go after fame like I will look at the moon and think someday I will step on the moon land. You will not have sympathy for me unless you are burning with a desire for art, whether it is writing, performing, painting, filming, etc.
Sometimes I wake up at night to think if I die tomorrow one of the regrets I have is I am not able to write a few stories that I am carrying inside my head for a while. I am afraid to write them. There are many fears I have to confront but this subject may have to be put aside. I always think I cannot write them now because if I start I will not be able to stop. I have a few responsibilites so making a living is priority. Serious writing must await until I retire and let’s hope I will not die too soon.
Comments (4)
Awww, I used to refer to your site for good books to read, like the Kite Runner and Memoirs of a Geisha. Have you read any particular good books lately and would recommend? Spring Break is coming up and I can use a good book to relax my mind =)
Don’t wait. Write them down. Write them on the train, on your way to work, write them in a notebook, write them on the back of grocery receipts, write them anywhere..Stories that you want to tell, don’t let them sleep and disappear. I for one, will love to read them.
I love how you describe fame..I would think it is not fame that you seek (or I seek because I see me in what you write here) or maybe a trail of footprints that are left behind and a bit of recognition that perhaps we make a dent somewhere..so when we are gone, there is a part of us live on even if no one reads it or cares.
I love to write. Even my little posts I hover over, going back two or three times to fix this and move that until I can read it and not find something wrong. I love to edit even more than I like writing.
I miss working on books. Every once in a while a character from my novel (which I never finished editing) pays me a little visit, just a brief hello. But it’s long enough that I miss that story, that family. Which is funny since I made all but one up and she was just someone I sat behind on an airplane. I only saw her face when she got up to go to the bathroom.
My memoir I have less interest in, even though I think it’s more of a compelling read. I wouldn’t want my children to read it until they are much older.
For some reason I am perfectly happy just writing on Xanga. But that’s because I have people like you reading me
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Oh, and Updike was one of my first favorite authors. Still is.