Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “inspiration”

04 Mar 2023
10 Comments

Writer Life: The Office


Sorry, this isn’t a post about Steve Carrell and his team. This post is a rumination about desks and what is expected when sitting behind one in the pose as a working writer. I like the sound of saying “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

I would call this an office. Yet, she doesn’t look happy.

I will say this about having an office—I don’t actually have one but I do have a room that I attempt working in. It also functions as a guest bedroom and the movie den. It’s nickname is Mom Cave.

When I am in my office, i.e. the Mom Cave, my office is actually an Ikea chair and a footstool with a side table. Conventional is not my forte.

Once upon a time I did have a desk but didn’t have an office. This desk was built by my resident MacGyver and housed my enormous Tandy computer (remember Radio Shack?) and printer and two small filing cabinets, plus the TV. Some great stories were written there, but being in the central room, not a lot of quiet was had.

The next office was again not an office but a desk. It was set up in our bedroom. A bit more privacy; however, with three children in the household, privacy was at a premium. I did learn not to let my son and his friend play games on my computer unless I wanted the frustration of corrupted memory and glitches. It was time for my own computer. Enter laptops.

Think deep purple and this is my temporary office.

A laptop meant the filing cabinets could go. Same with the desk, which was actually a door on top of the cabinets (we’ve all done that type of economy desk, right?). I still needed a place to work so why not a small loveseat? Eggplant plush moved into my bedroom. Some really great stories were written there. Plus, I could sneak into my room and watch a movie on my laptop and say I was working.

Once the kids started to empty the nest I was able to claim a bedroom. A real office was on the horizon. Children do return now and then for visits so a bed is needed. Not a real office, although close enough.

Long winters and a stimulus check turned the pseudo office into a den aka the Mom Cave. Got my smart TV, sound bar booster, a sweet recliner loveseat. Oh yeah, my Ikea chair for when I do decide to write. Lots of great stories written there.

Wait, I only watch TV after a day at the office. Honest.

This past week, with the Artic Express chugging into town, I have relocated to the living room recliner as the Mom Cave is too cold for comfort. I’m finding I am getting a lot of work done out here. Surprisingly. When typing tedium takes over I look out the window and watch the birds forage and frolic at the feeder. I stay longer and work. I might be on to something.

Oh deer, he chased the birds away.

Over time I have decided the office is a mindset, not so much a place. I still like saying I have an office though.

Posted in opinion, Reflections, writers and tagged , , ,
06 Sep 2022
10 Comments

National Read a Book Day


It’s obvious I’m a Book Booster. Reading, reviewing, writing. Celebrating access to books. Promoting reading. A book in hand whenever possible. Today’s national recognition is an everyday celebration for me.

I couldn’t fathom not having a book handy to read.

How about you? Is this a special day or an everyday note of recognition?

Posted in authors, Book Boosters, Books, Libraries, Reading, Reflections and tagged , , ,
19 Dec 2021
2 Comments

The Amazing Days of Christmas Break: Day One


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The Amazing Days of Christmas Break: Day One
Posted in celebrations, holidays, Reflections, Seasons and tagged , , , , ,
15 Apr 2021

National Poetry Month: Ars Poetica


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National Poetry Month: Ars Poetica
Posted in American poets, poems, Poets, Reflections and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
15 Apr 2021

National Poetry Month: Ars Poetica


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National Poetry Month: Ars Poetica
Posted in American poets, poems, Poets, Reflections and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
15 Apr 2021
1 Comment

National Poetry Month: Ars Poetica


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National Poetry Month: Ars Poetica
Posted in American poets, poems, Poets, Reflections and tagged , , ,
30 Apr 2020
3 Comments

NPM: The Hand


April is National Poetry Month and my plan of sharing poems of significance to me fell to the wayside as life happened (or didn’t happen).

Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is a Thing of Feathers” was the first post, and now I am ending the month with Mary Ruefle’s “The Hand” as a tribute to students, teachers, the general education community. I miss being in the classroom.

The Hand

The teacher asks a question.
You know the answer, you suspect
you are the only one in the classroom
who knows the answer, because the person
in question is yourself, and on that
you are the greatest living authority,
but you don’t raise your hand.
You raise the top of your desk
and take out an apple.
You look out the window.
You don’t raise your hand and there is
some essential beauty in your fingers,
which aren’t even drumming, but lie
flat and peaceful.
The teacher repeats the question.
Outside the window, on an overhanging branch,
a robin is ruffling its feathers
and spring is in the air.

This poem is a poster that I place prominently in my classroom, to remind me, and to remind my students, that we all have something to share, yet if we don’t make that effort to speak out no one will know what we had to offer.

This poem has even greater meaning for me since I am now separated from my students and I am unable to hear their voices and we are unable to share our ideas with one another. Distance teaching provides learning, yet it’s in a vacuum since I am unable to interact with my students. They might be gaining knowledge through the lessons I send out to them; however, how are they receiving that knowledge, what it means to them is somewhat lost. Electronic response is not the same as seeing that hand raise and hearing their voice.

Yes, I miss being in the classroom. I miss my students.

Posted in education, national poetry month, Reflections and tagged , , ,
15 Oct 2017
5 Comments

PADding About with Poetry


Teaching poetry to a class of teens is almost intimidating as being the student learning the language of metaphors and similes and alliteration and such.

For one thing there is the DWA

factor–Dead White Authors.

Occasionally I detect a certain resentment of having to study the antiquated language and suspect ideas of people who lived in times current adolescents have a difficult time relating to, especially when many of these authors were among the 1% of their day. Understanding that religion revolved around one belief and not a myriad seems wrong to some of many students.

Getting students to remove their 21st century hats in order to not be hindered by Frost using “queer” when describing how the speaker’s horse thinks it’s strange to stop in the middle of the woods is a little challenging but not insurmountable.

Another challenge is getting students to embrace poetry as a necessity. Actually, for that concern I have a ready reply:

If you can figure the meaning of a poem and explain it in such a way it is comprehensible to others, you will no doubt succeed in other endeavors in life, such as presenting a new scientific concept to your co-workers or even putting together that bike in a box for your kid some day.

I do sympathize with my students about the saturation of 18th and 19th century poems we tend to study, especially in AP Literature. This is why I subscribe to services that provide a poem everyday. It’s like those word a day subscriptions except more words and they sometimes rhyme.

Over the past few years I have amassed quite a collection. Now what? Aha! I pulled together a monthly menu and created a PPT what I call the PAD–Poem A Day. While I take attendance, students read the poem on the projector screen and then discuss some aspect. Most of these poems are contemporary and the topics, as well as formats, tend to be more relatable for my students.

The other day we covered Robert Bly’s moon poem. I then had students find three objects in the room and describe them in a new way. The best one involved calling our box fan a meditation counselor since it had the ability to provide a cooling off whenever we were heated up. Nice.

I remember Robert Frost and his puzzled horse in fifth grade and I have taught it to my tenth graders and seniors. I’m hoping once we have chatted about meaning and metaphor they will think poetry is lovely as they move through life. My hope is they’ll carry a verse in their pocket or be able to pop out a ready line to fit any occasion.

Posted in Poetry, Reflections and tagged , ,
02 Jan 2016
19 Comments

Well, I Never…


There are so many lists out there dealing with resolutions of sorts these days: Buckets, Blessings, Brags, and I toss out my own B.I.G. (“Before I Get–too old, too lazy, too nervous…)

I think I’m on to a new kind of list. Instead of a wish list or a hopeful list or even a done it list, I’m starting a “Well, I Never and Glad of It List.”

Truthfully, aren’t there some things you’ve never done, and you are glad you haven’t?

Here are a couple of starters for me:

  1. I have never had a cup of coffee.
  2. I have never read or watched Harry Potter.
  3. I have never Twittered or Instagrammed.
  4. I have never been inked.

The first admission is usually met with surprise or doubt and sometimes an offer to buy me a cup of java.

The second one is met with shock, and once with outrage. Devotees can be so sensitive.

The third often involves a knowing nod and camaraderie, or a puzzled concern, as if the person is in the company of a technological dinosaur. 

The fourth is tricky as it involves which age group I’m talking to, since tattoos are seen differently by different generations.

Of course there are some “Well, I nevers” I shall never contemplate:

  1. Swimming with sharks.
  2. Spelunking
  3. Staying in an ice hotel.

    travelchannel.com

    So–do you have a couple of “Well, I nevers” to share?
Posted in Blogging, humor, Reflections, Writing and tagged , ,
10 Jan 2015
21 Comments

The Giver et al


I have rediscovered The Giver. 

the-giver

sometimes the movie reminds the reader the greatness of the book image: bookopia.com.au

When it arrived on the scene in 1993 I was not an impressionable YA reader. No, I was a thirtysomething wife/mom/librarian and read books no matter what age they were intended for. Hmm. the only thing that’s changed is my age and the fact that I’m a librarian at heart while teaching English.

Like most readers, I felt a bit cheated at the ending. It was not neatly wrapped up and presented as a conclusion of satisfaction. Ambiguity can be quite frustrating, yet that’s one reason why The Giver is so memorable. We all want to know what happened to Jonas. Having rediscovered The Giver through watching the 2014 film led me to discover the other books in the series: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. And here I thought all these years that the story ended with that famous sled ride.

Apparently it took twenty years for the book to become adapted to the screen. Jeff Bridges bought the rights and had originally wanted his father Lloyd to play the part of Giver. It didn’t happen, but viewers can watch a family reading of The Giver as one of the special features selections on the released DVD. Having finished reading the entire quartet I am smitten with the entire story. I hope there is a continuation of the series since each adds to the overall understanding of Jonas’s world.

An added bonus to rediscovering The Giver was reading the latest edition which contains author Lois Lowry’s twenty year reflection of The Giver’s impact.

A goal for this year: revisiting novels, particularly juvenile and YA novels, to gain a different perspective and insight.

Anyone interested in doing the same?

 

Posted in Books, Movies, Reading, Reflections, reviews, writers, Writing and tagged , , , ,

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