from Maya

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

~ Maya Angelou ~

word of the day :: paen

paen:

[pee-uh n]

–noun

1. any song of praise, joy, or triumph.

2. a hymn of invocation or thanksgiving to Apollo or some other ancient Greek deity.

Origin:

1535-45; < L: religious or festive hymn, special use of Paean appellation of Apollo < Gk Paiā́n physician of the gods

"Let arms give place to civic robes, laurels to paens."

:: Marcus Tullius Cicero ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

from Gustave

"Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live."

~ Gustave Flaubert ~

word of the day :: tomfoolery

tomfoolery:

[tom-foo-luh-ree]

–noun, plural -er·ies

1. foolish or silly behavior; tomfoolishness.

2. a silly act, matter, or thing.

Origin:

1805-15; tomfool + -ery

"If you put tomfoolery into a computer nothing comes out of it but tomfoolery. But this tomfoolery, having passed through a very expensive machine, is somehow ennobled and no one dares criticize it."

:: Pierre Gallois ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

This YouTube video about Brontë sister action heroes is hilarious!

from Alexander

"Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open."

~ Alexander Graham Bell ~

national short story month

May is National Short Story Month. It may not be as "old" as National Poetry Month (see this post), but it is just as inspiring! I love a good short story. To me, a well written short story is the epitome of good writing. An entire story, theme, character, and message is delivered in so few pages. That's a pretty tall order, so I have a healthy respect for a good short story author. Here are some of my faves, in no particular order.

Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Artist of the Beautiful
The Minister's Black Veil
Rappaccini's Daughter
Young Goodman Brown

Edgar Allen Poe
The Cask of Amontillado
The Fall of the House of Usher
Ligeia
The Purloined Letter
The Tell-Tale Heart

Ambrose Bierce
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Yellow Wallpaper


Flannery O'Connor
Everything That Rises Must Converge

word of the day :: miasma

miasma:

[mahy-az-muh, mee-]

–noun, plural -mas, -ma·ta

1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting that atmosphere.

2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.

Origin:

1655-65; < NL < Gk míasma  stain, pollution, akin to miaínein  topollute, stain

"There is tonic in the things that men do not love to hear. Free speech is to a great people what the winds are to the oceans...and where free speech is stopped miasma is bred, and death comes fast."

:: Henry Ward Beecher ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

from Eleanor

"The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other kind of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~